Nashville, Tennessee’s Bass, Berry & Sims has announced the completion of its first associate litigation training program, culminating in full-scale mock jury trials at Vanderbilt University Law School.
The six-month program was designed to provide associates with direct litigation, trial advocacy, and jury persuasion experience. The goal of the training is to prepare associates to become first-chair trial lawyers, a client-service strategy to provide quality service at non-senior rates.
Clips of the training sessions, including opening statements, direct examinations, and closing arguments, are available on YouTube.
In June, the firm laid off 10 associates and 22 staff.
Nashville’s Bass, Berry & Sims employs more than 225 attorneys, representing numerous publicly-traded companies and Fortune 500 businesses.
This sounds like a great program. With trials becoming more and more elusive for newer attorneys, it’s uplifting to hear about a firm that’s willing to expend time and energy to train their trial lawyers.
Another training opportunity that new trial lawyers may have overlooked is the possibility of volunteering at their local prosecutor or public defender’s office. Tomorrow I’ll be speaking to a group of prosecutors and civil attorneys who will be volunteering to work as part-time prosecutors for 6 months. Everybody wins — the prosecutor’s office gets some much needed help, and the civil lawyers gain some valuable courtroom experience!
Best wishes,
-Elliott