Students Try Cases in Federal Court for McLaughlin Trial Workshop

The Denis F. McLaughlin Advanced Trial Advocacy Workshop is a winter course offered to third-year day and fourth-year weekend students interested in litigation and trial advocacy. The Workshop culminates with the unique opportunity to try a mock jury trial at the federal courthouse before sitting  federal judges. Since its inaugural class in 2020, the Workshop has doubled in size and trained 160 Seton Hall Law students, helping them launch careers as trial attorneys.

The Workshop covers all aspects of the trial of a case and is taught by Professors Denis McLaughlin, Jacob Elberg, and Jamie Pukl-Werbel, together with a select team of expert trial lawyers and judges. The first half of the course begins over the winter break and breaks down a trial from start to finish. Each day of class students practice a discrete trial skill such as developing the theory of the case, opening statements, direct and cross-examination of witnesses, examining expert witnesses, introducing exhibits, and closing arguments. Students build upon skills learned in Persuasion and Advocacy while delving deeper into the detail by using hands-on exercises to illustrate key points. During this portion of instruction, students receive feedback from experienced and successful trial lawyers representing a wide range of civil and criminal litigation practices.

The Workshop sessions for each day conclude with a dinner keynote address by a distinguished trial lawyer or judge. This year's keynote speakers included Joey Novick (‘06), Improv for Lawyers; Judge Jamel Semper, for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey; Jennifer Davenport (‘03), Deputy General Counsel and Chief Litigation Counsel for PSEG; Kevin O’Toole (‘86), Managing Partner for O’Toole Scrivo; Thomas Scrivo (‘89), Managing Partner for O’Toole Scrivo; Judge Michael Farbiarz for the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey; Betsy Fishbone, Vice President, Senior Associate General Counsel for Colgate-Palmolive Company; and Lieutenant General Stuart Risch(‘86), Partner for Shook, Hardy & Bacon and Retired Judge Advocate General for the United States Army.

After the class portion of the Workshop, students are paired and assigned their case file. Students put all their newly developed skills to work over the next week as they independently prepare for trial. At the end of the week, students conduct mock jury trials of their case files at the federal courthouse before sitting federal judges. Additional witness roles were played this year by actual medical doctors who work with The Center for Social Justice. This partnership allowed students the opportunity to prepare for and examine non-student witnesses and gave the doctors experience testifying in court. The jury pools consist of law students, courthouse staff, and undergraduate students from Seton Hall interested in public law and legislation. The presiding judges this year included: The Honorable Jessica Allen (‘96), The Honorable Jose Almonte, The Honorable Tonianne Bongiovanni (‘88), The Honorable James Clark, III (‘86), The Honorable Madeline Cox Arleo (‘89), The Honorable Andre Espinosa, The Honorable Justin Quinn (alum), and The Honorable Michael Shipp (‘94). All eight judges presided over the cases this year in the Martin Luther King Building and Federal Courthouse in Newark.

3L Rosalena Morrell says the Workshop reaffirmed her interest in litigation and is an invaluable experience because it is a unique opportunity to get the chance to apply the skills you learn in class to a real scenario in a federal courtroom. She adds, “The Workshop is great for relationship building, as you can be paired with law students you haven’t worked with during your three years, and many law school alumni come to class for lectures and networking.”

Rising third-year students apply for the McLaughlin Advanced Trial Advocacy Workshop at the beginning of the fall semester by submitting an application addressing their interest in litigation. The Workshop Directors then select- thirty-two students to participate in the course. Associate Director, Professor Jacob Elberg, recommends this unique opportunity for students who are interested in courtroom advocacy to sharpen their trial skills and to experience first-hand what it is like to try a case. Professor Elberg emphasized that the Workshop is a wonderful opportunity for students who are not certain of their interest in litigation and want to try it out before graduating. Upon completion of the course, students receive three credits. The Workshop is generously endowed by the law firm of O’Toole Scrivo, founded by Seton Hall University Law School classmates Kevin O’Toole and Thomas Scrivo, class of 1989.