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TEXAS LEGAL AID LAWYERS GET TOP NOTCH TRAINING AT
TEXAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION TRIAL ACADEMY
Members of American College of Trial Lawyers donate services for four-day training.

AUSTIN, Texas --- As part of a broad-based plan to increase the availability of legal aid for the poor, the Texas Access to Justice Commission hosted the first Texas Trial Academy to enhance the litigation skills of legal aid lawyers. The Texas Trial Academy was held May 15-19, 2005, at The University of Texas School of Law.

Members of the elite American College of Trial Lawyers donated their time to share their extensive trial knowledge and skills with the front-line lawyers who advocate for the poor. Membership in the American College of Trial Lawyers is by invitation only, extended to experienced trial lawyers who have demonstrated exceptional skill and whose careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethics and professionalism.

The Texas Trial Academy, the brainchild of Commission Chairman James B. Sales, of counsel at Fulbright and Jaworski in Houston, offered training sessions for legal aid lawyers from throughout Texas. The program schedule included workshops on voir dire (jury selection), direct and cross examination of witnesses, and preparation and delivery of opening and closing statements. The University provided its state-of-the-art courtrooms as well as staff assistance for videotaping the sessions.
 
“Improving the justice system for the poor is not just about raising money,” Sales said. “We have to equip advocates with the tools and training that will put them on a par with their competition. Legal aid programs could not afford to purchase this level of training for their lawyers, but the Texas Trial Academy has empowered legal aid attorneys to provide top-quality representation to those who could not afford it otherwise. All the trainers volunteered not only their time and expertise, but paid for their own travel costs, too. We are very grateful to them.”

The training, attended by 29 Texas legal aid lawyers, included live demonstrations of courtroom trial skills by experienced litigators who have distinguished themselves as some of the top trial lawyers in the country.  Following each day’s demonstration, participants in the Texas Trial Academy had the opportunity to practice their skills and receive personalized professional critiques designed to develop and refine trial techniques. Attendees did not have to pay to attend the training. Scholarships covered their travel and lodging costs.

In addition to the intense trial training, participants had the opportunity to attend a dinner with judicial icon Judge William Wayne Justice, a federal district judge best known for his rulings on integration, bilingual education and prison system reform in Texas.

The Texas Access to Justice Commission (www.TexasATJ.org) was created in 2001 by the Supreme Court of Texas to develop and implement policy initiatives designed to expand access to and enhance the quality of justice in civil legal matters for low-income Texans. The Commission has created several initiatives to increase resources for and awareness of legal aid, including the domestic violence Protective Order Kit, the Texas Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and www.TexasLawHelp.org, an online resource for free legal information.