It’s well known that there are fewer and fewer civil jury trials. Which means less opportunity for younger lawyers to gain trial experience. Given the importance of jury trials to our system, Pennsylvania has decided to do something about it.
I recently listened to a Legal Speak Podcast in which Aleeza Furman interviewed Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Christine Donohue. Justice Donohue talked about a new program she recently helped institute called Project Litigate. The program will create more opportunities for junior lawyers to get trial and courtroom experience and hone their skills. It stems from the sad fact that there are fewer and fewer trials.
I have written before about the dangers of the reduced number of trials. Justice Donohue cited some alarming statistics in Pennsylvania. In 1997 in Pennsylvania some 2116 civil cases were tried to a jury verdict. In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, only 706 cases were tried by juries. I suspect that post-pandemic, there will be even less. Pennsylvania is not unique in this regard. Says Donohue, “Younger attorneys need the opportunity to stand up on their feet and present their cause to the judge and jury.”
Project Litigate
The Project was instituted at Justice Donohue’s request but implemented by lawyers. A Pittsburgh attorney, John Gizmondi, at Justice Donohue’s request, put together a task force of attorneys from across Pennsylvania. The Task Force looked at whether there was a problem with getting younger lawyers more trial and courtroom experience. More importantly, it analyzed what could be done to fix it. The state bar association and various plaintiffs and defense lawyers associations all came forward to assist. All had representatives on the task force.
The Pledge sets out various steps that can be taken within law firms to get younger
