Faculty Leaders Cary Bricker Michael Colatrella, Jr. Mary-Beth Moylan

Faculty Leaders
Cary Bricker
Professor of Lawyering Skills;
Director of Mock Trial Program; CoDirector of the Center for Advocacy &
Dispute Resolution
Professor Cary Bricker
is an expert in teaching
advocacy and directs the law
school's award winning Mock
Michael Colatrella, Jr.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs;
Professor of Law
Professor Michael Colatrella
is an expert in alternative
dispute resolution, including
mediation, negotiation, and
conflict management. He is
the co-author of the
Mary-Beth Moylan
Professor of Lawyering Skills,
Director, Global Lawyering Skills
Program, Co-Director of the Center
for Advocacy & Dispute Resolution
Professor Mary-Beth Moylan
is
the Director of the Global
Lawyering Skills program.
She is also an expert on
Trial program. She co-created
both the year-long Federal
Defender Clinic and the Art
of Plea Bargaining practicum,
currently teaching the latter.
Professor Bricker is faculty in
the US-Russia Foundation's
"Legal Education Exchange"
(LEX) program. In August,
2013 she was cited as one of
26 "best law teachers" in the
United States in the book
What the Best Law Teachers
Do (Harvard University
Press, 2013).
interdisciplinary text
Mediation: Skills &
Techniques (Lexis Nexis
2008), which is widely used in
law schools, graduate schools,
and schools of diplomacy.
Professor Colatrella is the
supervising attorney in the
Prisoner Civil Rights
Mediation Clinic. He received
the McGeorge School of Law
Sprankling Faculty
Scholarship Award in August
2015 for his article, Informed
Consent in Mediation: Promoting Pro
Se Parties' Informed Settlement
Choice While Honoring the
Mediator's Ethical Duties, 15
Cardozo J. Conflict Resol.
705 (2014). Ed Telfeyan
Julie Davies
Professor Edward Telfeyan
had 20 years of experience as
a litigator and transactional
attorney before entering
academia. He teaches first and
second-year law students in
the Global Lawyering Skills
program. Professor Telfeyan
directs McGeorge's awardwinning Moot Court Program
which has garnered many
best
brief and oral advocate
wins.
As the Director of Moot
Court, Professor Telfeyan
Professor Julie Davies
teaches
torts, the negotiation and
settlements practicum course,
civil rights and animal law.
She directs the McGeorge
Inter-American Summer
program.
Professor of Lawyering Skills;
Director of Moot Court Program
Professor of Law; Former Associate
Dean for Academic Affairs The summer program features
externships for students in
Guatemala, as well as
coursework in a cross-cultural
setting. Students enroll in
Legal Spanish classes and get
real world experience in a
California's initiative process,
election process and
constitution. Professor
Moylan lectures and writes on
these topics, while also
teaching Civil Procedure and
serving on the executive
committee of the Anthony
M. Kennedy Inn of Court.
She is the co-author of
Global Lawyering Skills
(West
2013). Professor
Moylan is the Immediate Past
President of Association of
Legal Writing Directors
(ALWD), where she served as
president in 2014-2015.
Adrienne Brungess
Professor of Lawyering Skills;
Director of the Capital Lawyering
Concentration
Professor Adrienne Brungess
had her own family law
litigation practice before
entering academia. Drawing
upon that practical
experience, she teaches in the
McGeorge Global Lawyering
Skills program, as well as the
Negotiation and Settlements
course. Professor Brungess is
also the Director of the
Capital Lawyering
Concentration through
McGeorge's Capital Center
teaches the Advanced
Appellate Advocacy seminar,
which is required for all
McGeorge moot court
competitors. He also oversees
the Moot Court Honors
Board.
foreign culture. for Public Law & Policy.
Professor Brungess presented
at a number of regional and
national legal skills
conferences this year.
Student Success
Mock Trial and Moot Court 2014-2015 Victories
Mock Trial
National Trial Competition:
Regional Winners / National
Quarter Finalists
American Association for
Justice (AAJ): Regional
Finalists
Top Gun: Semi-Finalists and
Most Professional Advocate
Moot Court
New York National: Regional Winners / Top Advocate
in Region
Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition:
Regional Winners / Regional Best Oralist / Both Best
and Second Place Oralist at Nationals
Roger J. Traynor Appellate Moot Court Competition:
Second Place / Two Top 10 Individual Oralist Awards
Selena Farnesi Wins Third Place at Top Gun
Selena Farnesi, '15, established
herself as one of the best student advocates in the
country, tying for third place in Baylor Law School's 2015 Top Gun national Mock
Trial Competition, held June 4-7 in Waco, Texas. Farnesi also earned the
competition's Most Professional Award. After winning all four preliminary rounds
against Chicago-Kent, Faulkner University, Hofstra and UC Berkeley she advanced
to the semifinals. After that well-fought round, New York University advanced to
the finals, ultimately winning the entire competition.
Farnesi
received the first $10,000 Ferris-White Best Student Advocate Prize, funded
by McGeorge alumni and former trial team stars R. Parker White, '80, and Noël Ferris, '79. Ferris and White's
own experiences while Trial Advocacy students at McGeorge inspired them to create an annual prize for the
graduating student who demonstrates consistently outstanding trial advocacy skills.
Farnesi shared her memories of why she chose McGeorge: "I
knew I wanted to be a trial attorney long before I
started law school. I
chose to attend McGeorge, in large part, due to their reputation as a school that produced
courtroom ready advocates ... I owe my successes to
[McGeorge] programs; as well as to my fellow students and
teammates, my
amazing coaches, and the directors of these programs ... come November when my name
appears on the pass list, I'll be proud to call myself a McGeorge Trained Trial Attorney." Read more.
Pascual Among Top Student Appellate Advocates
Maricar Pascual, '16,
established herself as one of the top student appellate advocates
in the country in the two competitions in which she participated last year. In the
Thomas Tang National Moot Court Competition, Pascual received the award for top
oral advocate in the Western regional rounds and then received the same accolade
when her team advanced to the final rounds. She and her partner , Caroline Soto '15,
were the first and second top oralists in the country in Tang's national round.
Last
spring Pascual established her claim as the top oral advocate in the state by
winning the title of best oral advocate at the Roger B. Traynor
Moot Court Competition that was held in San
Francisco. There, Pascual competed against top students from U.C. Berkeley, U.C. Hastings,
U.C. Davis,
Pepperdine and Santa Clara, in addition to ten other California law schools. No other law student was
similarly honored
three times as the top advocate in a moot court competition last year. Thus, Pascual can
rightfully claim to be one of the top student appellate advocates in the country.
Pascual shared her experience in the Moot Court program: "It
has been an honor to have been able to represent
McGeorge at competitions along with my teammates. ... After participating in McGeorge's advocacy programs,
I know that I have been thoroughly trained
as both an oral and written advocate and I am grateful." Read more.
GLS Final Four Winner Joins 2015-2016 Moot Court Team
Sheena Farro, '17, won the Top Oral Advocate Award at the 2015 McGeorge GLS
Final Four competition.
In the Global Lawyering Skills II course students work
with a single case preparing and arguing motions in the trial court and through the
appeals process following a judgment. This way, students see how the case evolves,
applying attorneys' analytical skills to solve unfolding litigation problems.
Farro did not come to law school expecting to be an advocate: "I
began my
education at McGeorge terrified of public speaking and with little confidence.
Professor Telfeyan's GLS I class cemented my foundational understanding of the
paradigms of legal writing, arming me with vital tools that I use daily. Professor Macfarlane's GLS II class was
intimidating at first. My first oral hearing to the "trial court" was not very successful. Professor Macfarlane
worked with me through the year and by spring, I found myself positioned to win the campus wide Final Four
Top Oral Advocate competition. ... my success in that class has afforded me many opportunities that I may not
have received otherwise, such as becoming a member of the McGeorge Moot Court
Honors Board and
becoming a student member of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court." Read More.
Innovative Experiential Curriculum & Programs
McGeorge Crosses Boundaries in Experiential Training Professors Jay Leach and Cary Bricker are leading McGeorge's
participation in participation in the US-Russia
Foundation's "Legal
Education Exchange" (LEX) program. This past year McGeorge
collaborated with the Russian Foreign Trade Academy' helping them
develop experiential and interactive teaching methods and create
curricular materials for their newly formed two year Masters of Law
program. The other American law schools participating in LEX are
Georgetown, Denver University and Emory.
For the past several years, McGeorge faculty and students have run a
training program for public defenders in Santiago, Chile in
interviewing, counseling and plea negotiations. The next training will
be held in November 2015.
The Inter-American Summer Program in Antigua, Guatemala,
hosted by McGeorge, with
partner University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and affiliate Gonzaga University School of
Law, completed its seventh year in summer 2015. Seven law students participated in externships
in Guatemala, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay.
Professor Mike Vitiello has assisted many other teachers across the country in integrating
experiential education with the Bridge to Practice
book series published by West. Professor
Vitiello is an author and the series editor for this series of experiential supplements.
Wide-Ranging Offerings in Experiential Education McGeorge's
innovative experiential curriculum emphasizes hands-on, active learning, and new
requirements have been phased in over the past three years. Beginning with the class of 2016, students
are required to complete (a.) either an Externship or Clinic (3 units minimum), and (b.)
a minimum of 8
units of simulation and practicum courses, including at least one simulation course and one practicum
course. Included among the
innovative experiential offerings are:
Prisoner Civil Rights Mediation Clinic
Federal Defender Clinic Legislative and Public Policy Clinic
Persuasive Public Speaking Simulation Course
Business Transactions: Art of the Deal Practicum Course McGeorge offers enhanced mediation, arbitration, negotiation and settlement courses, such as:
Art of Plea Bargaining Practicum Course Arbitration: Advocacy & Practice Simulation Course The McGeorge Advocacy program spans the full duration of law school:
First-year
students are invited to compete in the Ben Franz First Year Mock Trial Competition
and the First Year Moot Court Competition each spring.
Second-year
students take Global Lawyering Skills II, where they receive instruction in brief
writing and oral advocacy. They may also elect to enroll in Trial Advocacy and Advanced Trial
Advocacy, and they may be selected for the Mock Trial team.
Third-year students, in addition to the continued option of Trial Advocacy, may be selected to
take the Advanced Appellate Advocacy class while competing on the Moot Court team and
serving on the Moot Court Honors Board.
Evening
students have the opportunity to participate in the First Year competitions, as may
continue on all Mock and Moot teams and courses through their Fourth Year.
Unique Global Lawyering Skills Program
The
McGeorge Global Lawyering Skills (GLS) two-year integrated lawyering skills program infuses
transnational practice and cultural considerations into a traditional legal writing and research course.
The
second year features year-long case files for students to step into the
role of lawyers and represent
clients through pre-trial and appellate practice.
McGeorge faculty members have authored writing resources: Mary-Beth Moylan and Stephanie Thompson's Global Lawyering Skills, (West 2013), with all
GLS faculty members as contributing authors.
Hether C. Macfarlane and Suzanne E. Rowe, California Legal Research (Carolina Academic
Press 2nd ed. 2013).
Stephanie Thompson's Legal Writing Exercises: A Case File and Formula-Based Approach to
Legal Reasoning (West 2010).
The GLS program review from last year looked to employers, recent graduates, and current students to
evaluate the program. Responses from all groups surveyed was overwhelmingly positive about the
existing program.
"Without
question, I have found the McGeorge students to be better equipped [than students from
other law schools] to jump in and get the job done." - Erick C. Turner, TURNER LAW GROUP
Many
responders to the program review noted the importance of exposing students to a wide range of
skills they will need in practice and recognized that GLS's focus on core legal research and writing with
additional exposure to a wide array of lawyering skills was a good mixture for preparing students for
the work they will encounter as lawyers.
Sharing with the Advocacy Community
National Ethics Trial Competition
McGeorge's National Ethics Trial Competition was established
by Professors Joe Taylor and Jay Leach
in 2006 to promote ethics and civility in a mock trial competition setting. To date, it is the only law
school competition that features an ethical issue in the trial case file and scores participating teams based
on their professionalism and civility during their individual rounds. This spring the law school will
celebrate the competition's 10-year anniversary.
McGeorge Hosts Regional Competitions
McGeorge
hosted the Western Regional of the 22nd Annual Thomas Tang Moot Court in October
2014. A regional round of the 66th Annual New York National Moot Court Competition will be
hosted at McGeorge on November 13-14, 2015.
McGeorge to Host Writing Conference
The Western Regional Legal Writing Conference will be held at McGeorge on August 5-6, 2016.
McGeorge.edu