The American Inns of Court Program Awards recognize great Inn programs presented at Inn meetings during the year which ran from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. The award-winning program and the best special project will be recognized with plaques that will be presented at local Inn meetings this fall. Special lapel pins will also be presented to members of each of the pupillage teams.
Thank you to all of the Inns that submitted their programs! We had out best program year ever.
FIRST PLACE
Oral Advocacy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (P11808)
The Honorable William A. Ingram American Inn of Court – San Jose, California
Summary: This program focused on the improvement of oral advocacy in the trial and appellate courts. The pupillage team created eight short skits based on real life oral advocacy challenges. Some of the challenges the team addressed were stage fright during a court appearance, failing to answer a direct question in court, violation of an in limine order during closing argument, and critiquing the trial court during oral argument in an appellate court.
Materials: Script, Articles, Handouts
SECOND PLACE
Civility Wars: The Umpire Strikes Back (P11866)
The Temple American Inn of Court – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Summary: This program explored civility and how it relates to a situation in which one lawyer uses influence of age, experience, or status in the legal community to dominate an opponent. The presentation utilized the characters and theme from the movie "Star Wars" as it portrays a battle between the meek and the mighty and applies equally well to the law and the paths lawyers take in their quest for justice. The first three scenes of the program were presented by video, a copy of which is available from the program library, and the final scene was a live presentation in a courtroom.
Materials: Script, Law, Facts, Handouts, DVD
THIRD PLACE (Two-way tie)
The Reasonable and Ethical Conduct of Attorneys Using Social Media (P11829)
The Sagamore American Inn of Court – Indianapolis, Indiana
Summary: This program presented the ethical ramifications for judges and attorneys who use social media including blogs, e-mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other resources. Through three pre-recorded skits the program focused on the use of these tools and highlighted how quickly and easily an attorney's conduct can run afoul of the Rules of Professional Responsibility. After each skit, a discussion was held and audience members identified how the character’s behavior conflicted with the rules.
Materials: Script, Articles, Law, Facts, Handouts, DVD
Whose Case is This Anyway? (P11844)
The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court – Sacramento, California
Summary: This program spoofed the Tiger Woods scandal and raised issues concerning tension between attorneys and clients and the allocation of authority between attorneys and clients in conducting a legal case. The characters in the program faced ethical quandaries including whether or not to accept a reasonable settlement offer when the client wants to go to trial, how to deal with questions about the client's honesty, and the obligations of junior attorneys and their supervising attorneys when attorneys disagree on the handling of an ethical issue.
Materials: Script, Law, Questions, Handouts
OUTSTANDING PROGRAMS
Trial in Style (P11792)
The Thomas S. Forkin Family Law American Inn of Court – Cherry Hill, Camden County, New Jersey
Summary: This program demonstrated the rules of evidence by presenting clips of movies including "My Cousin Vinny", "The Verdict", and "And Justice for All". A movie clip was shown followed by a discussion of whether or not the attorney's behavior was appropriate in the scene.
Materials: Handouts, DVD
Binary Ethics: Where are the Grey Areas in Discovery? (P11795)
The University of Pennsylvania Law School American Inn of Court – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Summary: This program focused on ethical challenges posed by e-discovery for retained and in-house counsel. The program highlighted issues including potential tension between supervising and junior counsel, tension between retained and in-house counsel, and struggles created by differing levels of expertise.
Materials: Script, Articles, Facts, Questions, Handouts, PowerPoint
Lawyer on the Rocks: The Substance Impaired Lawyer and You – An Interactive Substance Abuse Program in Three Parts (P11826)
The Louis M. Welsh American Inn of Court – San Diego, California
Summary: This program focused on substance-related disorders and began with a brief overview of the issue and its extent in the legal profession. The presentation consisted of three pre-recorded skits: "Opposing Counsel and the Substance Impaired Attorney,” "Shaky Counsel: The Judge and the Substance Impaired Attorney", and "Trouble & Associates: The Subordinate Attorney and the Substance Impaired Attorney". After each skit, a facilitator led a discussion of the issues raised in the skits.
Materials: Script, Articles, Law, Facts, Questions, Handouts, DVD
Issues in Evidence – The Musical! (P11830)
The Hon. J. Clifford Wallace American Inn of Court – San Diego, California
Summary: This program focused on the ethics, introduction and use of evidence, including percipient and expert witness testimony. The presentation was in the context of a fact pattern involving a plaintiff hospital alleged to have been denied certification for Medicare reimbursement by a racially-motivated state department of health official. The program materials included a PowerPoint presentation with the basic facts, a written script, and music with re-written lyrics sung by the cast. Between scenes, audience members were questioned about ways in which evidence was used or admitted and about ethical issues presented by the material.
Materials: Script, Articles, Law, Facts, Handouts, PowerPoint
Death of Privacy – Confidentiality Confronts the Internet and Tell-All TV (P11845)
The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court – Sacramento, California
Summary: This program opened with a review of a situation in which a lawyer was content to work in a zealous and professional manner, but who realized that such tact might not keep her competitive. The presentation dealt with the world of television personalities, the World Wide Web, Facebook and Twitter. The audience was encouraged to discuss ethical dilemmas created by current ethical rules that may not take changes in technology into consideration.
Materials: Script, Articles, Law, Questions, Handouts, DVD
RU12? The Alarming Spread of Incivility in Modern Society (P11857)
The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court – Sacramento, California
Summary: This program invited Inn members to imagine incivility as a contagious virus spreading from person to person. It examined how the virus could spread by attraction, reward, modeling and learning and considered what could be done to stop the virus of incivility from infecting the entire world. After a brief introduction by a judge, the pupillage team presented a two-act play, and a discussion followed each act.
Materials: Script, Law, Questions, Handouts, DVD
The Ethics of Accuracy, Honestly (P11858)
The Anthony M. Kennedy American Inn of Court – Sacramento, California
Summary: This program was crafted to engage the audience in a spirited discussion on the honesty and accuracy of lawyers, the pressures to win it all and make money, and the impact on litigation of access to information through electronic research tools and media.
Materials: Script, Articles, Law, Questions, Handouts, DVD
Lighten Up!: Achieving a Sense of Proportion in an Era of ‘Zealous Advocacy’ (P11872)
The American Inn of Court of Acadiana – Lafayette, Louisiana
Summary: This musical program explored way that lawyers can and should achieve a sense of balance between zealous advocacy and professional civility in the practice of law. The program was presented in three vignettes narrated by members of a fictitious band called "The Coral Briefers", which served as a sort of Greek chorus singing songs and providing intermittent narration. Woven throughout the program were music parodies of songs recorded by Jummy Buffett, who was referred to in the program as the contemporary authority on learning how to 'lighten up'.
Materials: Script, Handouts
BEST SPECIAL PROJECT
Bankruptcy Trial Skills Program (P11893)
The Hon. John C. Ford American Inn of Court – Dallas, Texas
Summary: The Ford Inn, in conjunction with the Dallas-Fort Worth Association of Young Bankruptcy Lawyers, formed a committee and designed a program to provide substantive and practical litigation skills training for bankruptcy lawyers. The project was divided into two parts: a series of five 90-minute classroom sessions and a five-hour mock trial. The faculty was made up of federal and state court litigators who had tried several significant contested matters or adversarial proceedings in the bankruptcy court. The mock trial demonstrated a scripted motion to lift an automatic stay.