Temple Law School has a national reputation as a leader in trial advocacy, repeatedly ranking as the #2 law school for trial advocacy in the country. But while Temple’s trial team gets the bulk of the attention, both in the headlines and from prospective law students, it plays a rather small role in what makes Temple such a great school for advocacy. In fact, the trial team is relatively small (about 15-20 students) and the selection process is highly competitive. Luckily, for students interested in litigation who don’t make it onto the trial team, there is the Integrated Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP).
ITAP is a two-semester-long block of classes that Temple students can take during their second year. The program is set up as a mixture of doctrinal/fundamental classes and practical/experiential classes. The first semester classes consist of evidence, trial advocacy I, and a lecture class that covers many aspects of litigation. The second semester classes are civil procedure II, trial advocacy II, and a continuation of the lecture classes. The classes are designed so that each week you will learn the theory in one class, and you will put it into practice in the other. For example, you would learn how to introduce medical records in court during your evidence class, and you would actually practice introducing them during your trial advocacy class. Each semester follows a hypothetical case, and the semester ends with a mock trial based on that case.
“For me, one of the best things about ITAP is the small class size of the trial advocacy section … it allows students to get a lot of individualized attention and feedback.”
The first semester of the ITAP curriculum follows a criminal case. Our case file was about a he-said-she-said domestic violence incident involving a hammer. The second semester follows a civil case. Our case file was a “dram shop” case in which a lawsuit was filed against a bar on behalf of a woman who died in a car accident after consuming alcohol at the bar.
For me, one of the best things about ITAP is the small class size of the trial advocacy section. The trial advocacy classes are generally between 10-15 students, a teaching assistant (TA), and the professor. The TA is a third-year student who took ITAP during their 2L year. The professor is either a Temple Law professor or a practicing attorney from Philadelphia. The classroom is set up like a courtroom with the TA acting as the various witnesses and the professor acting as the judge. The small class sizes are great for a few reasons. First, it allows the students to get a lot of individualized attention and feedback. Also, the students form a close-knit bond over the year, which creates a laid-back environment that allows each student to participate without feeling like they’re in front of a bunch of strangers.
Before starting law school I knew I wanted to be a litigator. When choosing which law school I was going to enroll in, it was very important for me to pick a school that would give me the tools I needed to feel confident and prepared for a career in the courtroom. Temple and the ITAP program have been fantastic choices for me, and I would highly recommend both of them to anyone interested in litigation.
