UB Law School students are honing their practice skills and
going deep in specific legal specialties by taking part in the
school’s unique “bridge term” courses.
The four-week courses, held from start to finish each January,
afford students the opportunity to develop practice-ready skills
while at the same time gaining expertise in one or more practice
areas. Most bridge-term courses are taught by legal practitioners
serving as adjunct instructors who bring real-world experience to
every class.
Charles Patrick Ewing, professor and vice dean for academic
affairs, says the bridge courses are a key part of the Law
School’s renewed commitment to graduating new lawyers ready
to practice on day one.
“As part of the Law School’s enhanced efforts to
provide state-of-the-art skills training to all students and to
prepare them to be practice-ready upon graduation, we have
increased the level of skills training available in our bridge
semester,” Ewing says.
“These courses are taught by highly experienced
practitioners, as well as members of the full-time faculty. For
example, during the most recent bridge term, we offered courses on
jury selection, managing a law practice, commercial litigation,
alternative dispute resolution, discovery strategy, financial
institutions, post-conviction remedies, death penalty practice,
taking and defending depositions, and examining and cross-examining
expert witnesses. We also offered courses on practice issues in
family law, tax, personal injury, Social Security disability and
intellectual property cases.”
The Law School offers dozens of bridge courses each year. Here
is just a sampling:
- A course taught by Hon. Robert T. Russell, a Buffalo City Court
judge, provides insight into the workings of Housing Court,
including the laws governing housing and health code violations,
property nuisance laws, the “Bawdy House Statute” and
demolitions.
- The post-conviction restrictions imposed on sex offenders,
popularly known as Megan’s Laws, are the topic of a course
taught by Gary Muldoon, JD ’76. The course, which looks at
the costs and effectiveness of efforts to reduce recidivism by such
offenders, featured as a guest speaker Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr.,
JD ’73, a justice of New York State’s highest court,
the Court of Appeals.
- Steven Weiss, ’91 teaches “Law Firm as a
Business,” a course that provides students with some of the
practical business skills they need to succeed in the private
practice of law. Notably, the course discusses ways new lawyers can
create a successful niche practice in the increasingly competitive
legal market.
- Case studies of actual IP cases—involving the movies
“Backdraft” and “Shakespeare in Love,” and
the Ice Cube song “Gangstas Make the World Go
Round”—form the basis for a course in intellectual
property litigation taught by Kenneth W. Africano, JD ’85.
Students in the course review pleadings, expert reports and other
evidence, and work hands-on to analyze the cases.
- “Choosing the Right Jury” is the title of a skills
course taught by Stuart Austin, JD ’93. “Defense
attorneys who once relied on their instincts are now realizing that
a poorly picked jury is more harmful to their case than a murder
weapon with fingerprints,” Austin says. Through role-playing
and experiential learning, students gain practical experience in
the voir dire process and understand the psychology behind picking
a jury.
- Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden, JD ’83, an Erie County Family
Court judge, teaches “Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice
System.” The course, which focuses on Article 730 of the
Criminal Procedure Law, helps students understand the special
burden courts face when the accused has a mental disease.
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