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 The Hillman Advocacy Program is an annual three-day seminar that has provided affordable, high-quality, professional courtroom training to hundreds of trial lawyers. Formerly known as the Trial Skills Program, this learn-by-doing seminar is patterned after well-known techniques developed by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) in Boulder, Colorado. It gives approximately 62 young lawyers a unique opportunity to develop courtroom skills under the guidance of some of Western Michigan’s top trial lawyers – all of whom volunteer their time. We keep the number of participants low to maintain a 3-to-1 student to teacher ratio. In 1981, Judge Douglas W. Hillman responded to the call of then Chief Justice Warren Burger and an investigatory committee of the U.S. Supreme Court for, "a need to take positive steps to improve the quality of advocacy in the United States District Courts." Judge Hillman was determined that such criticism should not be directed to the trial practice in the Western District of Michigan. And so he enlisted the aid of his fellow jurists and several leading trial lawyers to form an instructional workshop where young attorneys could learn by doing. 2012 Registration Application The 2012 regsitration application for the Hillman Advocacy Program is now available. Please use the links below to down printable versions. |
The Hillman Advocacy Program has been completely full for the entirety of its 31 year existance educating over 1,800 students, and it continues to draw some of the brightest young legal minds in West Michigan.
The Hillman Advocacy Program is financially supported by many generous law firms, corporations and individuals. Click the links below to see a full list of our sponsors. |
