Harris Keenan & Goldfarb Advocacy Certificate
The New York Law School's Harris Keenan & Goldfarb Advocacy Program will offer students interested in litigation the opportunity to earn an Advocacy Certificate in Civil, Criminal, or Appellate Advocacy.
This program will offer students guidance about how to combine skills courses with writing and doctrinal courses to develop proficiency in an area of litigation.
Students interested in litigation can earn an Advocacy Certificate by taking a combination of procedure, writing, and skills courses. The Harris Keenan & Goldfarb Advocacy Program has three tracks: civil, criminal, and appellate. Each track culminates in a clinical, field placement, externship, or co-curricular experience in which students put the skills they’ve learned into practice.
Students interested in applying to the Program can do find more information on the Academics section of the NYLS Portal.
Related Courses
Advanced Appellate Advocacy
This course will cover the basic procedural and substantive issues involved in the filing, preparation, and arguing of an appeal, including the requirement of preservation and the applicable standard of review.
Advocacy of Criminal Cases
This course introduces students to the law and skills involved in criminal practice, including a semester-long case simulation to help students hone the skills they learn.
Anatomy of New York State Divorce Action
This course deals with the substantive and procedural laws and policy related to a divorce action in New York State, guiding students from initial interview through final argument.
Asylum Clinic
In this upper-level clinic, students are trained to represent immigrant clients under faculty supervision and argue cases in the Immigration Court and before the Newark and New York Asylum Offices on behalf of refugees fleeing persecution in their home countries.
Children and the Law in Practice
This simulation course is designed to introduce students to lawyering skills in the context of representing or serving children and their families.
Civil Procedure
This Core Curriculum course introduces students to the rules governing the conduct of civil litigation in the United States.
Civil Rights and Disability Justice Clinic
In this year-long clinic, students will engage in impact litigation and other forms of legal and strategic policy advocacy to advance the cause of social justice.
Criminal Defense Clinic
The Criminal Defense Clinic engages students in the actual practice of criminal law, under supervision, on cases at all stages of the criminal process, from arraignment through trial.
Criminal Procedure: Adjudication
This course covers the substantive and procedural laws surrounding the criminal adjudication process, including the right to counsel, preliminary appearance and hearings, pre-conviction release, and more.
Criminal Procedure: Investigation
This upper-level Core Curriculum course deals with the laws, regulations and policies governing investigations of criminal matters.
Criminal Prosecution Clinic – (Kings County)
The Criminal Prosecution Clinic – Kings County engages students in the prosecution of criminal cases in conjunction with the Brooklyn District Attorney under the supervision of adjunct professors.
Criminal Prosecution Clinic – (New York County)
The Criminal Prosecution Clinic – New York County engages students in the prosecution of criminal cases in conjunction with the Manhattan District Attorney under the supervision of experienced ADAs.
Deposition Skills
Students in this experiential learning course will learn the purpose of depositions, how depositions fit into an overall plan for case theory and development, and the rules governing the conduct of depositions.
Drafting: Litigation
This course provides students with a basic understanding of drafting various types of litigation documents, such as motions, discovery requests, and trial memos.
Education Law Clinic
In the Education Law Clinic, students are trained to practice education law in New York City at various firms and nonprofit agencies, under the supervision of civil rights and education law attorneys who are NYLS adjunct faculty.
Evidence
This Core Curriculum course examines the scope and function of the Federal Rules of Evidence against the background of problems arising in the trial of an issue of fact, and the rules are evaluated on the basis of their tendency to promote or impede a rational method of investigation.
Family Law Clinic
In this clinic, students will interview clients, draft documents, conduct legal research, and engage in community outreach, as they experience Family Court practice and learn more about the Family Court Act and a range of family law matters.
Family Law in Practice
This is an experiential course designed to teach the basics of family law doctrine through two extended simulations, while developing students’ research, writing and lawyering skills.
Housing Rights Clinic
This full-year clinic focused on housing provides students with the opportunity to represent clients in litigation and develop and implement advocacy campaigns.
Immigration Law and Litigation Clinic
In this clinic, students will be trained to screen and represent juveniles before the Executive Office of Immigration Review.
Intensive Trial and Advocacy Skills
This course provides an introduction to the basic trial and advocacy skills that lawyers use in motion argument, hearings, trials, administrative proceedings and arbitration.
Judicial Externship Placement and Seminar
This course includes a placement with a federal judge or a state court judge in New York City or surrounding jurisdictions with a related seminar.
Law Office Externship Placement and Seminar
This externship experience is comprised of an externship placement with a mentor attorney at a law office and a co-requisite seminar.
Legal Practice I
This course integrates the teaching of legal reasoning and analysis, predictive legal writing, and legal research and problem solving with other lawyering skills, such as fact analysis and client interviewing.
Legal Practice II
This course introduces students to persuasive legal writing, oral advocacy, client counseling, and negotiation.
Legaltech, Legal Operations, and the Future of Practice
This course combines substantive legal content related to legal technology (including electronic discovery) and its use in practice as well as simulations introducing students to the practical application of the technology.
Litigating Copyright and Trademark Cases
This course provides students with the opportunity to experience the pre-trial steps in a copyright and trademark litigation in federal court.
Medical Malpractice
This course addresses the laws and policies surrounding problems in the delivery of health care by a range of providers.
Memo and Brief Writing
This writing and research course is designed for students who are interested in improving their memo and brief writing skills.
Moot Court Executive Board
Students are elected to the Moot Court Executive Board after serving for at least one term as a member of the Moot Court Association.
Moot Court Member
This course is reserved for members of the Moot Court Association.
Negotiating, Counseling and Interviewing
This course focuses on the techniques needed to lead clients through negotiated resolutions.
Negotiation: Theory and Practice
This course focuses on negotiation theory, practice, and ethical implications.
New York City Law Department Tort Defense Specialized Externship
This field placement and co-requisite seminar on state and local government expose students to the practice of municipal law.
New York Practice
This course covers the conduct of civil litigation in the courts of New York.
Persuasion
This writing and research course provides students with the opportunity to develop their uses of language, rhetorical devices, and other techniques to persuade others.
Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic
The Post-Conviction Innocence Clinic provides an opportunity for upper-level students to represent clients in post-conviction matters under the direct supervision of a faculty member.
Pre-Trial Advocacy
This course gives students the opportunity to develop pre-trial litigation skills.
Securities Arbitration Specialized Externship
In this placement, students will learn how to conduct factual and legal analysis, draft pleadings, and represent clients in securities arbitration proceedings before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority under the supervision of experienced attorneys.
Tax Litigation Seminar
This course examines strategic, jurisdictional, and procedural issues arising in tax litigation.
Trial Advocacy
This course provides focused study and practical training in the overall skill of conducting a jury trial.
Trial Competition Team – Executive Board Member
The Executive Board, along with the Faculty Advisors, oversee the Team’s activities.
Trial Competition Team – Member
As members, students on the team represent the School in regional and national trial competitions.
Visual Persuasion in the Law
This upper-level interdisciplinary course explores how new digital technologies are altering how lawyers communicate and argue. The final exam is a take home paper; alternatively, students may elect to collaborate on producing a short law-related film.
Office of Clinical and Experiential Learning • T 212.431.2179 • E ocel@nyls.edu