Advocacy Skills Certificate


Overview

Students who want to hone their skills in trial settings can earn the Advocacy Skills Certificate. By completing the certificate requirements, students gain a solid grounding in all aspects of litigation, while gaining hands-on experience through a related clinic or field placement.

Certificate Requirements

Students who intend to pursue a certificate program should complete the Declaration Form. The form deadline for your intention to pursue a certificate is November 1st of your 3L year, though you may certainly do so at an earlier point. If you fail to meet the requirements of the certificate by the time you graduate, you will not earn the certificate.

In addition to all other J.D. degree requirements, students must complete the requirements below to earn the Advocacy Skills Certificate.

Core Courses

Complete both of these courses:

  • Evidence
  • Trial Advocacy

Elective Courses

Complete five of the following courses:

  • Administrative Law
  • Advanced Criminal Procedure
  • Advanced Litigation
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Capital Punishment
  • Civil Rights Actions
  • Commercial Arbitration
  • Complex Litigation
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Criminal Practice in Kansas
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Deposition Skills Workshop
  • Electronic Discovery 
  • Federal Courts and the Federal System
  • International Moot Court Competition
  • Jurisdiction
  • Juvenile Law
  • Kansas Supreme Court Research Practicum
  • Mock Trial Competition
  • Mock Trial Council
  • Moot Court Competition
  • Moot Court Council
  • Pretrial Advocacy
  • Remedies
  • State Court Practice

Clinical/Field Placement Requirement

Complete one of the following courses:

  • Criminal Prosecution Field Placement Program
  • Elder Law Field Placement Program
  • Field Placement Program (assuming appropriate placement)
  • Judicial Field Placement Program
  • Legal Aid Clinic
  • Medical-Legal Partnership Field Placement Program
  • Project for Innocence & Post-Conviction Remedies

Course descriptions

Questions?

Laura Hines
Director, Shook, Hardy & Bacon Center for Excellence in Advocacy
Centennial Teaching Professor
lhines@ku.edu
785-864-9265