Courses

Oral Presentations In and Out of the Courtroom (SC)

Section 4ZO, Fall 20

Schedule Information

Enrollment: 8/10

Credits: 1

Course Description

Verbal presentations are central to good lawyering, even if you never intend to set foot in a courtroom. The attorney who speaks well is better able to counsel a client, persuade a judge, connect with a colleague -- even land the job in the first place. This course is designed to help you learn to communicate persuasively in a variety of settings in which lawyers are called upon to speak. This is an experiential class, so you can expect to make a presentation in each class, and to have some fun doing it. Public speaking is a skill that you can master if you learn the fundamentals and are willing to stand up and give it a try. This class will show you how. (While this course is designed with non-litigators in mind, it is also appropriate for students who intend to practice trial advocacy. See also Hallmarks of Distinguished Advocacy for a public speaking class for litigators [mutually exclusive with this course], Persuasion for a J-term public speaking class, and Advanced Verbal Persuasion for students who would like additional instruction after taking this class.)

Course Requirements

Exam Info:

Midterm Type (if any): None

Description: None

Final Type (if any): None

Description: None

Final Exam Notes:

None

Written Work Product

Written Work Product: Students will write and perform multiple oral presentations.

Other Work

Other Course Details

Prerequisites: Because the credits in this course count toward the JD Program Professional Skills requirement, JD candidates will be given enrollment priority for this class Concurrencies: None

Mutually Exclusive With: Hallmarks of Distinguished Advocacy (9053), Oral Presentations Outside The Courtroom (9185), Persuasion for Advocates (9055)

Laptops Allowed: No

First Day Attendance Required: Yes

Course Notes: This class will meet entirely online. Class will take place synchronously via Zoom. Any additional remote learning details from the instructor will be posted to the course's Canvas page at a later date.

Graduation Requirements

*Satisfies Writing Requirement: No

**Credits For Prof. Skills Requirement: Yes

Satisfies Professional Ethics: No

*Yes means professor requires everyone in the course to submit a substantial research paper (which is the requirement standard in Academic Policies), so no paperwork required to be submitted to SRO. No means student must timely submit paperwork to SRO if intending to use a paper in this course to satisfy the Writing Requirement.

**Yes indicates course credits count towards UVA Law’s Prof. Skills graduation requirement, not necessarily a skills requirements for any particular state bar.