A bridge to legal practice

Class.

Dr. Rory Houghtalen, a Rochester psychiatrist, a guest leacturer for the course “Sex Offense Registration & Commitment Statutes” taught by Gary Muldoon '76.

Resisting the temptation to take it easy, a large segment of SUNY Buffalo Law students have made good use of the January doldrums. They’ve plunged into the intensive one- or two-credit courses offered during the law school’s block 4 of the spring semester, augmenting their personal curriculum with practice-oriented learning in targeted areas. These are referred to as bridge courses in the law School.

The Law School offered 30 such bridge courses during January, says Professor Charles P. Ewing, who as vice dean for academic affairs oversees the curriculum and supervises adjunct professors. Most of the bridge courses, Ewing says, are taught by adjuncts – working professionals, almost exclusively attorneys, with subject-matter expertise.

“These are very experienced practicing attorneys, many of whom have been teaching these courses for a long time at the Law School,” Ewing says. “A substantial portion of our student body take one or more of these courses. Both students and the adjunct faculty put a lot into these courses, and they get a lot out of it.”

The one course not taught by a practicing attorney is Child Developmental Rights: The Child as Legitimate Citizen, taught by Bruce M. Gilberg, a Rochester clinical psychologist. Says Ewing: “There was a tremendous amount of interest among students in this course,” which looks at the evolving area of children’s legal rights.

Ewing notes that several of the bridge courses deal with aspects of business law and several others are in the area of criminal and family law.

Though the intensive four-week courses are not unique to SUNY Buffalo Law, Ewing says, “We are one of the pioneers in doing bridge courses. We have always looked at it as an opportunity to bring people to the Law School who are subject area experts and can provide skills-oriented training. It’s a plus for our students.”

Among the courses offered this term:

  • Private Sector Alternative Dispute Resolution, covering primarily arbitration of commercial and private-sector disputes.
  • Intellectual Property Litigation, studying actual litigated matters including copyright infringement actions over the films Backdraft and Shakespeare in Love.
  • Buffalo Financial Control Board, examining the legal underpinnings for the state’s intervention in Buffalo’s finances.
  • The Trial of a Death Penalty Case, following a hypothetical case from pretrial preparation through the sentencing phase.
  • Discovery Strategy and Deposition Tactics, in which students practice taking depositions from a plaintiff and a defendant and are critiqued along the way.
  • Choosing the Right Jury (Criminal Voir Dire), building the skills necessary for this important phase of trial. “You will learn to become your own jury expert,” the course description promises.
  • Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System, examining how the courts implement Article 730 of the Criminal Procedure Law and deal with criminal defendants who have a mental disease or defect.
  • Sex Offense Registration and Commitment Statutes, looking at state Megan’s Laws and other post-conviction restrictions imposed on convicted sex offenders.