Advocacy Institute Contact

Contact: law-advocacy@buffalo.edu

Christine Bartholomew, Co-Director
Jennifer Scharf, Co-Director

Trial Advocacy
* Jennifer Scharf, Director

Appellate Advocacy
* Lucinda Finley, Director

Mediation
* Steven Sugarman, Director

Innocence and Justice Project
* Alexandra Harrington, Director

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The Advocacy Institute

Launched in 2014, the Advocacy Institute is dedicated to helping students cultivate the skills, discipline, and ethics necessary to become creative and principled advocates for their future clients. The Institute serves as host to the law school’s Innocence and Justice Project as well as its programs in Trial Advocacy, Appellate Advocacy, and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

These programs provide students with training from leading judges, trial attorneys, and faculty, with the goal of helping our students become superior advocates; enabling our students to excel and pass the bar; and serving as a pathway for employment in the careers of their choice. We also offer a Certificate of Concentration in Advocacy that is nationally unique in exposing students to a diverse set of experiences essential to the development of skilled litigators.

Trial Advocacy
8/27/26
The fundamentals of Trial Advocacy are learned in the law school’s Trial Technique course, in which students spend a semester preparing and trying simulated cases under the tutelage of experienced trial lawyers. After Trial Technique, students have access to advanced trial courses and trial-related writing instruction. The law school also sponsors multiple student teams, coached by dedicated faculty and volunteer trial lawyers, in competitions throughout the United States.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
8/27/26
Alternative Dispute Resolution includes a variety of methods for resolving disputes outside of traditional courtroom litigation, such as through mediation or arbitration.
Appellate Advocacy
8/27/26
Students interested in Appellate Advocacy may advance to upper-level courses and compete in the Desmond Moot Court Competition as well as prestigious national and international competitions, coached by highly skilled practitioners.
Innocence and Justice Project
8/27/26
The Innocence and Justice Project (IJP), housed within University at Buffalo School of Law’s Advocacy Institute, combines strategic litigation, client service, and policy advocacy to address the problems of over-incarceration and racial injustice in the criminal legal system. Central to our mission is the idea that justice means that people, including those who commit violent crimes, ought not be condemned to life in prison.

The Advocacy Institute depends on the generosity of alumni and friends of the University at Buffalo School of Law for its existence and growth. To become involved in our mission, please contact: law-advocacy@buffalo.edu. Thank you for your support.

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CONTACT US

For additional information on the Advocacy Institute, or to become involved in our mission, please contact law-advocacy@buffalo.edu.