The 21st Century attorney must be comfortable with the many technological advances being adopted by courtrooms around the country. With the completion of the Julian C. Dixon Courtroom and Advocacy Center, Southwestern is able to provide students with hands-on training in all of the latest courtroom technology during law school, so when they step into a ‘real world’ courtroom, they will be fully prepared for the practice of law.

The Alternative Dispute Resolution Suite

The Dixon Center – An extraordinary academic laboratory

First and foremost, the Center will provide an incomparable setting for Southwestern students:

• To learn effective, innovative advocacy, litigation and alternative dispute resolution skills
• To gain unparalleled, hands-on opportunities to practice their skills in a professional setting and become adept at how and when to use the latest courtroom technology
• To have unique opportunities to observe real hearings and trials occasionally held in the Center

The Dixon Center – A valuable resource for the legal community

The Center will also provide a state-of-the-art courtroom resource for the legal profession and the community:

• As a model for jury and appellate courtrooms, and ADR settings of the future
• As a cutting-edge technology-based training facility for attorneys, mediators, judges and court administrators
• As a venue for special Court of Appeals, Bankruptcy Appellate Panel, and other formal hearings

A teleconference in the ADR Suite

A team practices for an upcoming moot court competition with the assistance of a professor

New Courses to be Taught by
Legal Technology Experts

In addition to incorporating the use of courtroom technology into traditional trial advocacy and alternative dispute resolution courses, Southwestern will offer specialized courses in computer-assisted litigation beginning in Summer 2004. Two prominent experts in courtroom technology, Visiting Professor Fred Galves and Adjunct Professor Timothy Piganelli, will team-teach the first of these hands-on courses to be held in the Dixon Center.

Professor Galves has taught and lectured extensively in Europe and around the U.S. regarding the use of display technology in the courtroom and the associated evidentiary and trial tactic concerns. Currently on the faculty of The University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, he has also been a visiting professor at the University of California at Davis School of Law and Fordham Law School. His article, "Where the Not So Wild Things Are: Computers in the Courtroom, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Need for Institutional Reform and More Judicial Acceptance," in 13 Harvard Journal of Law and Technology 161 (2000) features an accompanying CD-ROM with full computer animation footnotes.

Professor Piganelli, the founder of Legal Technology Consulting, Inc., based in Phoenix, is one of the top authorities on trial presentation and courtroom technology. He brings expertise in technical engineering and the development of state-of-the-art computer technology solutions. Professor Piganelli has served as a technology consultant on computerized trial presentations for both high-profile cases and low-budget prosecutions throughout the country.

The Most Advanced Courtroom Equipment and Technology

The Dixon Center has been designed with a sophisticated network of systems that greatly enhances communication among judges, attorneys, witnesses and jurors participating in a court proceeding. The facilities support multi-media and web-based evidence presentations, remote tele/video conferencing capabilities, and both webcast and traditional broadcast capabilities. Equipment and technology features include:

• Computers on the judges’ bench, clerk’s desk, attorney’s smart lectern, etc.
• Laptop connections throughout the courtroom
• Microphones (desktop, hand-held and lapel)
• LCD Monitors for judges, jury members, advocates
• 52” and 42” Plasma Screen displays for trial participants and observers
• DVD/VCR Units in attorney’s lectern, ADR table
• Speakerphones for teleconferencing at judges’ bench, ADR table
• Color Video Printers
• Document Display Cameras at attorney’s lectern and ADR table
• Multi-Channel Assisted Listening/Interpretation Devices
• Closed-Circuit Cameras with voice directed capability
• Smart Panel Board with Electronic Annotation Tools
• Wireless Control System

For the 21st Century Attorney:
Computer-Assisted Litigation

This new two-unit course will focus on the use of litigation software and trial display technology. The course will cover technical, procedural and evidentiary issues related to computer-assisted litigation. Students will learn how to use pre-trial and trial litigation computer programs and software technology by organizing a document-intensive case and preparing key exhibits for trial presentation.

For more information on the Dixon Center,
visit www.swlaw.edu/campus/dixoncourtroom.html