The Vermont Trial Academy is back live and in-person this year on July 29 at Vermont Law School. After two years of remote sessions, practitioners, judges, actor-witnesses, and law-school-student timekeepers, will gather to hone trial skills and share wisdom. (They will, importantly, also be sharing coffee and lunch).
Participants will be expected to prepare 7-minute presentations of four trial segments for either a criminal, civil or family case, in advance of the Academy. Please indicate your preference (criminal, civil or family) when you register. The relevant case materials will be provided on the VBA website about two weeks before the event.
For many participants, court appearances are a routine part of their jobs. However, there is an “Observe Only” option as well on the registration form. If you would like to see your fellow lawyers in action (and learn from their performances without having to present yourself), here is your chance! The registration fee is the same regardless of the track you choose or if you choose just to observe.
Trial segments will include: (1) an opening statement; (2) a direct examination of a witness; (3) a cross examination of a witness; and (4) a closing statement. The number of segments that you’ll present will depend on the number of participants who register. Each segment you present will be critiqued by the presiding judge in your courtroom and by an experienced trial practitioner.
Whichever track you choose; all participants will have the opportunity to mix and mingle with some of Vermont’s most seasoned lawyers and most experienced judges and justices.
Members of the VBA Young Lawyers Division will serve as your witness(es) and will testify based on the case materials fact patterns.
The presiding judges will be U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Kevin Doyle, Vermont Supreme Court Justices Karen Carroll and Nancy Waples, and Vermont Superior Court Judges Mary Miles Teachout (retired), Cortland Corsones, Samuel Hoar, David Fenster and John Treadwell.
Trial Academy 2022 is set up for in-person attendance only and will not be recorded. So if you miss it, you’ll have missed it for good. It’s a full day, from 8:00 to 4:30, and a total of 7.25 CLE credits are available. The credits are approved and certified to qualify for Rule 12(a)(1) and Rule 15(c) of the VT Rules of Admission.
A link to the registration form is here. See you at VLS on July 29!