Dahlstrom and King-Walker
Jointly Handle Two Day Bench Trial
by Jennifer Dahlstrom
As a legal intern in the Law Clinic last summer, I had the privilege of being assigned to a civil case that the Law Clinic had filed a couple of years ago against the trustee of a trust for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, and constructive trust. Katherine King-Walker (left in photo) and I were jointly assigned to the case. Professor Lynette Petty was the supervising attorney on the case. Many interns have worked on the case over the past couple of years, getting it ready for trial. When Kathy and I were assigned to the case at the beginning of the summer, all discovery had been completed, and the case was ready for trial. As expected, the attorney representing the defendant filed a motion for summary judgment. I reviewed the case in depth and did extensive legal research in order to answer the motion in a timely fashion. The judge ruled in our favor on the motion.
A two day bench trial was set for August 6th and 7th. I spent the summer preparing my direct exam questions, cross exam questions, and closing for the trial. Kathy took care of the opening and direct exam and cross exam questions for her witnesses. We spent many hours writing and practicing our questions in the Robinson Courtroom with Professor Petty. Professor Petty helped us develop our questions and helped us refine our courtroom presentations. By August 6th, we were well prepared to present our case to the court.
The trial went very smoothly. The judge was much more informal than we had expected, which created a relaxed atmosphere. Counsel for the defendant made a motion for a directed verdict at the close of our case, which I had to answer on the spot and without any additional preparation. The judge postponed his ruling on the motion and the trial continued. At the close of defendant's case, the judge instructed both parties to submit proposed findings of facts and conclusions of law for his approval. For the next month, I worked on this proposal and submitted it to the judge by the deadline.
At this time, the judge has not made his final ruling on the case. However, I am confident that we did the best job that we could have done. Professor Petty is a wonderful instructor and trained us well. Although this case was a tremendous amount of work, it was a very educational experience. I feel very fortunate to have been permitted to work on this case and to gain the experience that the Law Clinic offers. I would encourage anyone who wants to practice law to take Law Clinic.
