{"id":377689,"date":"2026-10-20T07:42:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/377689\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T07:42:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:42:23","slug":"nysba-trial-academy-returns-to-train-the-next-generation-of-trial-lawyers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/377689\/","title":{"rendered":"NYSBA Trial Academy Returns To Train the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tNYSBA Trial Academy Returns To Train the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers<\/p>\n

10.19.2026<\/p>\n

By Jennifer Andrus <\/p>\n

\"A2026 NYSBA Trial Academy students and faculty.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmateurs want praise; professionals want critiques,\u201d was the opening guidance from Judge Mark Drummond to a room full of eager new attorneys at the 2026 New York State Bar Association Trial Academy held this month in Albany.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis faculty has a combined 386 years of trial practice, and our sole purpose over the next four days is to make you a better litigator,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

NYSBA President-Elect Michelle Wildgrube echoed that sentiment, challenging students to make the most of the program, which offers practical training and fulfills one of the association\u2019s key missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will leave here with the confidence and expertise needed to advocate effectively for your clients in the courtroom,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Five(L-R) Program Co-Chairs, Alexandra Ferlise, Jenny Warren, Michael O\u2019Brien, National Institute for Trial Advocacy Program Director Judge Mark Drummond and NYSBA President-Elect Michelle Wildgrube.<\/p>\n

The Trial Academy is back after a one-year hiatus under a new collaboration with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. The program is a multi-day, immersive experience with training on every aspect of a trial from preparation to closing arguments to verdict.<\/p>\n

The reconfiguration of the program was a month\u2019s long effort by the three program chairs representing the Criminal Justice Section; the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section; and the Trial Lawyers Section.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are improving upon the foundation of the Trial Academy we have done in the past. The program is more student centered with more experiential learning and less lecturing,\u201d said Michael O\u2019Brien who was there representing the Torts, Insurance and Compensation Law Section.<\/p>\n

Fellow program co-chairs Jenny Warren from the Trial Lawyers Section and Alexandra Ferlise of the Criminal Justice Section say they learned from other faculty and the students themselves during the event, improving their own trial skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so impressed with not only the progress of the students, but the engagement of the faculty and how much they are dedicated to the Trial Academy and its students,\u201d Ferlise said. \u201cI do not think that this type of engagement and this type of experience can be replaced by anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program chairs were supported by a legion of NYSBA members volunteering to teach and critique the students including Red Hook Village Justice Jonah Triebwasser.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrial work is 90% show business, 9% facts and 1% law,\u201d the justice said as part of one student\u2019s critique during closing arguments on the first day.<\/p>\n

Ferlise was surprised by how much fun the event was and encouraged others to volunteer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly did not know what to expect in the Trial Academy. I had perhaps unexpectedly a fantastic time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTrial Academy co-chairs joined by NYSBA Secretary Tom Maroney.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NYSBA Trial Academy Returns To Train the Next Generation of Trial Lawyers 10.19.2026 By Jennifer Andrus 2026 NYSBA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-377689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}