Volunteers Help Mold Fresh Legal Minds

Private giving comes in many forms at The University of Montana. While some give with their wallets, others donate their time and considerable expertise.

Such is the case with the School of Law's Advanced Trial Advocacy Program, a sort of new-lawyer boot camp taught each spring since 1986 by experienced judges and lawyers who volunteer. When the hourly rate of most of these folks is considered, it's a sizeable donation indeed.

Up to 36 law students and new practicing attorneys enroll in the program and then conduct a weeklong mock trial from opening statements to closing arguments. During each long, intense day, students are critiqued and even videotaped as they perform before their esteemed instructors.

The case for the 2005 class involved a wrongful death action arising from an automobile accident in which a 4-year-old passenger was killed by a police car. The patrol car was responding to a 911 emergency call. The officer, police chief and city were sued for wrongful death. The students alternated between representing the defendants and the plaintiff.

Karen Townsend, chief criminal deputy attorney for Missoula County, has directed the program in recent years.

"I volunteer because I learn from these students each year, as well as my fellow faculty members," Townsend says. "Because of the dedication of Montana lawyers and judges, the students who come to this program get priceless guidance and start out as better trial lawyers. We see the payoff when students who have benefited from this program appear as skillful litigators."

The idea for creating the program came from Sam Haddon, now a U.S. District Court judge in Great Falls. Among the volunteer faculty members this year were judges Gary Day, Ted Lympus and Diane Barz; John Connor, chief criminal counsel at the state Attorney General's Office; and prominent lawyers Dana Christensen, Cliff Edwards and Steve Harman.

"When I have called to ask busy, talented lawyers and judges to volunteer for this program," Townsend says, "they almost always say 'yes' and tell me that they, too, are honored to have been asked."

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