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Setting the bar for courtroom-ready skills.

You will benefit from a wealth of expertise as distinguished academics and experienced attorneys teach courses in trial advocacy, appellate advocacy, and dispute resolution. And you'll sharpen your practical skills through externships and clinics. Earning an Advocacy Certificate means you have developed the litigation and dispute resolution skills that will set you apart.

Requirements

To earn the Certificate in Advocacy, you must complete 18 credits from a menu of designed advocacy courses and participate in an advocacy program extracurricular event. You must have an average cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, or an average grade of B or better in each course of your advocacy certificate curriculum, in order to receive the certificate.

Advocacy Certificate coursework and activities are designed to achieve key learning outcomes and competencies.

Required Courses

  • Evidence
  • Trial Practice I
  • Trial Practice II

Completion of three graded credit hours of Corboy Fellowship or Trial Practice I Applied may substitute for Trial Practice I or Trial Practice II. Completion of six graded credit hours of the Corboy Fellowship or Trial Practice I Applied may substitute for both Trial Practice I and Trial Practice II.

Elective Courses

To complete the certificate, you must complete at least one course in each of these four areas: advanced litigation; trial or appellate advocacy writing; dispute resolution; and one co-curricular experience.

Advanced Litigation

  • Advanced Evidence
  • Advanced Litigation Skills
  • Advanced Trial Practice
  • Class Actions
  • Deposition Advocacy Workshop
  • Employment Discrimination Litigation
  • Federal Courts
  • Federal Litigation Practice
  • Health Care Litigation and Medical Malpractice
  • Illinois Civil Litigation
  • Illinois Litigation: Racism, injustice and Poverty
  • Patent Law Litigation
  • Personal Injury Law and Advocacy
  • Prosecuting and Defending Terrorism Cases
  • The Law of Jury Selection
  • Trial Practice-Modern Trials

Trial or Appellate Advocacy Writing

  • Advanced Legal Research
  • Advanced Legal Writing for Litigation
  • Advanced Writing for Legal Practice:
    • Advanced Appellate
    • Business Practice
    • Civil Litigation
    • Illinois Civil and Criminal Litigation
    • Judicial and Scholarly Writing
    • Public Interest Law
    • Responsible E-mail and Letter Drafting
  • Honors Appellate Advocacy
  • Pre-Trial Litigation: PI Cases
  • Supreme Court Seminar

Dispute Resolution

  • Advanced Mediation Advocacy Practicum
  • Advanced Mediation Certification and Courthouse Practicum
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Child and Family Law Mediation
  • Externship at Center for Conflict Resolution
  • International Arbitration: Public and Private
  • International Commercial Arbitration and the CISG
  • Mediation Advocacy
  • Mediation Certification and Courthouse Practicum
  • Mediation Seminar
  • Negotiations Seminar

Co-Curricular Experience

  • Advanced Health Justice Project
  • Arbitration Workshop
  • Business Law Center Clinic I
  • Business Law Clinic II
  • ChildLaw Clinic
  • Collaborative Law Workshop
  • Community Law Center Clinic I
  • Community Law Center Clinic II
  • Community Law Center Clinic Veterans Practicum
  • Criminal Law Practicum
  • Domestic Violence Practicum
  • Education Law Practicum
  • Externship
  • Family Law Practicum
  • Federal Tax Clinic I
  • Federal Tax Clinic II
  • Health Justice Policy Clinic
  • Health Justice Project
  • Human Trafficking: Advanced Protections for Children
  • Immigration Law Practicum
  • International Arbitration: Oral Arguments
  • International Commercial Arbitration Practicum
  • Legislation and Policy Clinic
  • London Comparative Advocacy Program
  • Mediation Workshop
  • Restorative Justice
  • Skills Competition Teams: Client Counseling, Mediation, Negotiation
  • Special Education Dispute Resolution
  • Storytelling and Presentation Skills for Lawyers (formerly Advanced Courtroom Communication or In-Court Communication)
  • Workways of the US Supreme Court and the Constitution

Extracurricular Event

Additionally, you must attend at least one event sponsored by the Advocacy Center, including, but not limited to: conferences, lectures, colloquia, or advocacy competitions (volunteering).

Applying for your Certificate

After completing all requirements, during your final semester you must complete an online application for the Certificate in Advocacy. You are required to submit your online application according to the following deadlines:

  • Winter graduates: December 1 (Extracurricular Event Attendance can be submitted with your online application or as an amendment by December 15 to ggerardi@luc.edu)
  • Spring graduates: March 1 (Extracurricular Event Attendance can be submitted with your online application or by as an amendment by May 1 to ggerardi@luc.edu)

You should submit your online application pursuant to these deadlines even if you are currently enrolled in certificate coursework and/or if you have yet to attend an approved Extracurricular Event. You are required to present a draft of your application to the Registrar during your graduation interview and this Sample Certificate in Advocacy may be helpful in that regard.  The Advocacy Center Assistant Director will approve your online application and submit it to the Law School Registrar's Office upon completion of your last semester of schooling.

Please contact the Advocacy Center Assistant Director, Gina Gerardi, at ggerardi@luc.edu with any questions related to the Certificate in Advocacy.