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California Desert Trial Academy College Of Law
22 September
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Principles Of Professional Conduct – Competence

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Soft Skills, Training
Principles Of Professional Conduct – Competence

The preamble of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct describes a lawyer and member of the legal profession as “. . . a representative of clients, an officer of the legal system and a public citizen having special responsibility for the quality of justice.” One primary principle of the Model Rules is that a lawyer must be competent as a representative of clients. In 2018, the California Supreme Court issued an order that approved 69 Rules of Professional Conduct for California attorneys, rejecting only one. These new rules became effective in November of 2018 and closely follow the ABA Model Rules of Professional...

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21 September
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Factors Affecting Trial Strategy: The Client

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Trial Advocacy
Factors Affecting Trial Strategy: The Client

A lawyer’s plan of attack for a case that goes to trial utilizes certain trial tactics to implement an overall trial strategy. Because every case is different, the trial strategy of each case will be different as well. Just the same, specific universal principles may be applied in every case to formulate the best trial strategy for the case at hand. One factor that affects trial strategy in every case is the client. In personal injury cases, plaintiff’s attorneys are free to choose their clients while defense attorneys, who are retained by insurance companies, do not possess this same luxury. A...

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18 September
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How To Write A Client Questionnaire – Criminal Cases

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Necessary Forms
How To Write A Client Questionnaire – Criminal Cases

No attorney relies on an initial in-person interview as the first means of encapsulating the relevant information related to a client. Before an attorney sits down with a client for the first time, a diligent attorney requires a client to complete some type of intake form or questionnaire. A completed new client questionnaire provides an attorney with a checklist and self-screening device designed to obtain, in a short amount of time, the information required to review a client for the ability to pay fees and the absence of any conflict of interest or other potential problematic attorney-client issues that may...

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17 September
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Writing Interrogatories To Prove A PI Plaintiff’s Case

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, legal writing
Writing Interrogatories To Prove A PI Plaintiff's Case

Many, if not most, tort cases arise out of motor vehicle accidents and are based on allegations of an individual negligently operating a motor vehicle. While mundane in the legal world, personal injury plaintiffs must prove each of the elements of negligence. Using interrogatories as a discovery tool can help attorneys develop the facts and identify the evidence necessary to prove each element. First, any plaintiff’s attorney must design interrogatories to ascertain the basic facts about the accident. Any responses by a party to interrogatories relating to any person, event, or condition that is alleged by the defendant to have contributed to the...

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16 September
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About Cross-Examining Eyewitnesses

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Trial Advocacy
About Cross-Examining Eyewitnesses

In any trial involving some event whether an interaction, accident, or transaction, the evidence presented in the form of testimony by eyewitnesses is typically immensely persuasive. There are some simple principles for lawyers to remember when formulating a plan to cross-examine a witness. Jurors place great weight on eyewitness testimony, especially if the witness has no apparent bias and is simply a neutral, disconnected party who happened to allegedly observe the event under scrutiny. The evidence offered through eyewitness testimony is promising to a juror, assuming that the witness is credible and reliable. If a juror believes that an eyewitness has...

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15 September
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How Do I Know If I Should Take The Case?

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Soft Skills, Training
How Do I Know If I Should Take The Case?

It really is no secret that the practice of law is highly competitive. There may be times when young lawyers and sole practitioners sit at their desks and wonder when a client will walk through the door. For attorneys, it is easy to find yourself taking every case that comes your way. However, in the long run, this may make your practice inefficient and unprofitable. As a young lawyer, how do you know if you should take a case? When attorneys accept a bad case from a client, several problems typically transpire. The matter causes the attorney to expend valuable resources...

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14 September
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Florida Court Conducts Jury Selection Over Zoom

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Law Practice, Trial Advocacy, Uncategorized
Florida Court Conducts Jury Selection Over Zoom

With the pandemic continuing to rage in the late summer of 2020, courts continue to adapt all over the United States. Florida’s courts have been operating under emergency guidelines since a March 13, 2020, order suspended jury trials and implemented other actions to restrict potential virus spreading activities in Florida state courts. Some jury trials have resumed in parts of Florida using remote teleconferencing technology for all or part of the proceedings. As a way to assist in planning how to safely resume jury trials during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Miami-Dade County, Florida, recently conducted a jury trial...

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11 September
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CDTA’s Fall Semester Moves Forward

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Distance learning, Distance learning law school, Online Law School
CDTA’s Fall Semester Moves Forward

As the fall approaches, the California Desert Trial Academy (CDTA) is ready to commence classes on September 8, 2020, both in-person and online in full compliance with government guidelines. The CDTA is dedicated to safeguarding the health and safety of students, faculty, staff, and community while making every effort to continue its Juris doctorate program. While the coronavirus pandemic is making the return to school a much different experience than it has ever been and ever will be for most, if not all, students, the CDTA upgraded its fixed facilities with extensive cleaning and sanitization of the interior facilities. The pandemic has...

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10 September
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Avoid Overextending Yourself During The Pandemic

Posted by cdtalaw
in CDTA, Distance learning law school, High Pressure, Uncategorized
Avoid Overextending Yourself During The Pandemic

In the last months of the spring and summer, this blog has featured material with a focus on trying to help law students remain productive through the pandemic. Perhaps one aspect of the quarantine that has been overlooked is for everyone, not just law students, to avoid overextending themselves by trying to do too much during these trying times. As people everywhere are forced to stay at home as the global pandemic rages amidst events causing widespread demand for social change, there is a bottomless “suggestion box” to which all types of media are regularly contributing. It seems that maximizing our...

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09 September
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NY Law Professors & Deans Support Diploma Privilege

Posted by cdtalaw
in Bar Exam, CDTA, Law Practice, Uncategorized
NY Law Professors & Deans Support Diploma Privilege

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major dilemma for the Supreme Courts and State Bars of almost every American jurisdiction, as well, more importantly, tens of thousands of recent law school graduates. The quarantine has caused the cancellation of the traditional summer July bar exam. Although most jurisdictions have rescheduled their bar exams and made provisions to administer them online, many legal scholars, professors, lawyers, and judges have spoken out for licensing these recent graduates based on diploma privilege. Professors in New York have called for states to extend licensure based on diploma privilege. The 15 deans of law schools located...

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California Desert Trial Academy College of Law
45-290 Fargo Street
Indio, CA 92201
(760) 342-0900

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Statement of Nondiscrimination

Consistent with sound educational policy, CDTA College of Law does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, ancestry, religious creed, national origin, disability, medical condition, age, marital status, political affiliation, gender identity, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

California State Bar Standard and Required Disclosure

The method of instruction at this law school for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally in physical classroom facilities.

Students enrolled in the J.D. degree program at this law school who successfully complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students Examination required by Business and Professions Code 6060(h) and Rule VIII of the Rules Regulating Admission to Practice Law in California as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination.

A student who passes the First-Year Law Students Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s J.D. degree program. If the dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s J.D. degree program, but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.

Copyright CDTA California Desert Trial Academy College of Law. All rights reserved. The Desert’s first and only Law School. Proudly serving all of Southern California; accepting applications from Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.

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