>What's New

Some of the exciting opportunities coming up this year include:

Educating Advocates Conference – November 2007

We are excited to host the Inaugural Conference on the Art, Science and Skill of Advocacy Instruction on Nov. 16, 2007. We have assembled an all-star cast of scheduled speakers including Roberta K. Flowers from Stetson University College of Law, Peter T. Hoffmann from University of Houston Blakely Advocacy Institute, Michael Kaye from Washburn University School of Law, Thomas A. Mauet from University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Edward D. Ohlbaum from Temple University Beasley School of Law, James H. Seckinger from University of Notre Dame Law School, Susan R. Steingass from University of Wisconsin Law School, and the Honorable Warren D. Wolfson and David Erickson from Chicago-Kent College of Law.

These professors and practitioners represent the cream of advocacy instruction in the United States. In this group, you will find professors, authors, and practicing attorneys. Many have volunteered as NITA instructors throughout their careers and have made a lifetime commitment to excellence in teaching advocacy. We will discuss trial team programs, designing courses, and teaching skills. Conference attendees will also have access to all taped sessions and other materials on Stetson’s Advocacy Resource Center, a 21st century initiative that captures the wisdom of a generation in a format that preserves it for future teachers and practitioners.

Stetson University College of Law Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Advocacy – November 2007

Stetson University College of Law awards a lifetime achievement award for excellence in advocacy to a deserving member of the legal community. This award recognizes excellence in all facets of advocacy, from teaching others to representing clients. The recipient exemplifies the legal profession’s commitment to furthering the art, science and skill of advocacy instruction. The inaugaral recipient of this award is Mr. Terence MacCarthy, a noted federal public defender and an outstanding teacher. Mr. MacCarthy will be recognized during a dinner held on Nov. 15, 2007 at the Stetson Gulfport campus.

Training Skills Program – May 2008

Come join our nationally recognized faculty, including both Stetson professors and experts from throughout the United States, when we kick off our annual program to certify advocacy professors. Attendees will be awarded a certification from the university and will leave the program with a complete package designed to not only increase their ability to effectively teach skills, but to also support them long term as they continue to grow and develop as advocacy professors and instructors. Our three day program will teach critiquing, course design and scholarship. This program begins where normal advocacy critiquing instruction ends. We will share the Stetson methodology for critiquing students, focusing on the what, the how and the why. What the advocate did, how the performance could be better, and why a change should be made: we will teach advocacy professors this three step process using the same pedagogy. We will then break up into small groups and focus on course design and scholarship. Participants in this course will learn how to critique while interacting with members of the Stetson student community, including students from our award winning competition teams and our advocacy concentration program.