Law
schools
have
talked
about
the
“practice-ready
lawyer”
for
years.
An
aspirational
goal
that
flits
into
recruiting
materials
on
gossamer
wings
before
collapsing
under
the
weight
of
three
years
of
casebook
work.
The
legal
academy
developed
its
model
over
a
century
ago
and
it
will
cling
to
it
with
the
tenacity
of
a
lamprey
with
tenure.
And
despite
efforts
to
bring
more
experiential
training
into
the
system,
learning
the
practical
side
of
the
profession
continues
to
rely
largely
on
the
apprenticeship
model.
Trial
advocacy
ends
up
one
of
the
subjects
lost
in
the
law
school
shuffle.
Classes
turn
on
debating
the
finer
points
of
appellate
decisions,
and
trial
practice
only
shows
up
when
the
Supreme
Court
declares,
“dear
God,
whatever
you
do,
don’t
do
THAT
in
front
of
a
jury.”
That
leaves
the
finer
points
of
trial
work
to
on-the-job
training,
with
all
the
added
pressure
and
the
time
constraints
that
go
with
it.
What’s
impressed
me
about
the
MoloLamken
Advocacy
Academy
ever
since
I
first
heard
about
it,
is
that
it
stakes
out
some
middle
ground
between
the
classroom
and
the
sink-or-swim
of
being
thrown
into
a
case.
The
week-long
course
for
rising
3Ls
nestled
at
the
end
of
summer
associate
gigs
and
before
returning
to
campus,
runs
students
through
a
practical
advocacy
curriculum.
And
they
get
paid
to
do
it.
This
year’s
Academy
finished
up
last
month,
and
we
reached
out
to
some
of
the
attendees
to
get
first-hand
accounts
of
the
experience.
Off
the
top,
everyone
we
contacted
praised
the
program
and
called
attention
to
the
resources
the
firm
commits
to
the
course.
“Over
the
course
of
the
week,
partners
from
every
ML
office
flew
in
to
lead
training
sessions
and
give
detailed,
practical
feedback,”
said
Matt
Beattie-Callahan
of
Yale.
“Even
the
firm’s
two
named
partners,
Steve
Molo
and
Jeff
Lamken,
were
consistently
present
and
personally
engaged,
taking
time
to
offer
individualized
feedback
and
guidance.”
Some
law
schools
have
invested
practical
education,
but
there’s
an
element
that
no
amount
of
ivory
tower
education
can
capture.
“The
Academy
taught
techniques
that
aren’t
really
used
in
the
more
rigid
moot
court
and
mock
trial
formats,
but
I
think
will
be
extremely
helpful
in
real
litigation
settings,”
said
Daniel
Green
of
UCLA.
Law
schools,
for
better
or
worse,
impart
Platonic
ideals
with
Socratic
flair.
A
law
school
mock
trial
won’t
replicate
what
happens
when
seasoned
litigators
break
down
their
craft.
It’s
not
even
necessarily
the
school’s
fault
—
there’s
a
built-in
artificiality
that
comes
with
a
graded
environment
that
a
mentorship
program
doesn’t
bring.
And
with
that
comes
some
direct
and
honest
feedback.
After
devoting
law
school
to
overcoming
“a
hand-talker”
habit,
Avery
Newcom
of
Cornell
described
learning
to
love
the
hands.
“At
MoloLamken,
every
partner
insisted
that
I
had
to
use
my
hands.
We
even
watched
videos
of
advocates
on
mute,
and
their
effectiveness
came
almost
entirely
from
their
hand
motions.
The
Academy
taught
me
that
what
I
thought
was
my
greatest
weakness
is
actually
one
of
my
greatest
advocacy
strengths.”
Some
great
film
critics
will
tell
you
to
watch
a
movie
once
with
sound
and
once
without,
so
you
can
focus
on
the
visual
storytelling
the
audience
experiences
unconsciously.
A
jury
isn’t
any
different,
and
all
those
hand
gestures
convey
meaning,
accentuation,
and
personality.
Blending
classroom
training
with
stand-up
advocacy
exercises
—
including
surprise
“pop-up
argument”
assignments
where
students
got
short
legal
problems,
like
a
contested
evidence
objection,
and
were
asked
to
break
it
down
and
prepare
an
oral
argument
under
a
short
time
window
—
the
Academy
blends
the
law
school
class
technique
with
on-the-job
experience
with
actual
practitioners
guiding
the
learning.
It’s
a
unique
curriculum
that
anyone
looking
to
get
into
trial
advocacy
should
check
out
if
they’re
hoping
to
leave
law
school
having
fulfilled
a
little
of
that
“practice
ready”
promise.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
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if
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Joe
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Managing
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