The O’Toole Chronicles: Trial Advocacy Workshop

The year was 2019 – my partner, Tom Scrivo, and I were approached by the Dean of Seton Hall Law School to finalize our recent discussions about making a legacy donation to our alma mater, the school where we met, became fast friends, and graduated from in 1989.

Over the years, Tom and I talked about doing something big at our former school and truth be told, Tom was more positive and enthusiastic about a proposed contribution. Instead of funding a program at SHU, I was content to find other soulful charities that would make an immediate impact.

Candidly, I didn’t love my law school days and barely made it out alive. Tom, on the other hand, was the super student, and he and now Federal Judge Madeline Cox Arleo, and Robin Newman, were the only ones in our study group who loved, dare I say adored the experience. Others in our group were ambivalent about the experience – Paul DeMaio and Chip Sgro were brilliant students, but neither of them ever donned the Pirate Blue or went all in for their alma mater. So why this column?

Because in the back of my mind, I was always thinking about the one class in law school that literally changed my life: Trial Advocacy, taught by Professor Denis F. McLaughlin.  I remember it like it was yesterday. It was January 1988 when we walked into the classroom, and little did we know how our futures would soon be changed and lives uplifted after the experience.

At that time, the course enrolled 20 students.  We were used to classes of close to 100, where the professor stood at the front of the room and lectured from behind a podium, only calling us to answer questions about the law or facts about the cases we were reading.  Right from the start, Professor McLaughlin told us that his class would be different – that we would be trained to put on a trial, and we would be videotaped for critique and review.  We did trial preparation, perfected opening and closing statements, honed our direct and cross-examination skills, and learned the art and stagecraft of being a litigator. We were videotaped (Betamax, look it up) and we had the distinct embarrassment of being critiqued in the open classroom. You found out quickly that we had no place to hide or shy away from the labor of training. Voice modulation, amplification, posture, staging…all part of the class. We were taught the rules of the court and the proper way to address the judge and jury.

I can’t overemphasize the obvious – this single class gave birth to the litigator inside me and gave me the confidence and skills to stand on my two feet and advocate. What I learned in 1988 has served me well in the courtroom and in the political arena every day since.

So where did this leave us, as my partner and I debated how best to create philanthropy with real impact?

Given this cause and effect, Tom and I decided to establish a workshop at Seton Hall Law to afford other students this same exciting opportunity. Our law firm, O’Toole Scrivo, donated $500,000 to fund the Denis F. McLaughlin Advanced Trial Advocacy Workshop. This workshop is now in its sixth year and the current class has 32 students. Professor McLaughlin is at the helm of this workshop, Associate Director, Professor Jacob Elberg directs the program, and Assistant Dean of Experiential Education, Professor Jamie Pukl-Werbel teaches the trial advocacy curriculum, alongside a select team of expert trial lawyers and judges.

As Professor Jamie Pukl-Werbel explains:

The McLaughlin Advanced Trial Advocacy Workshop is for the law student who really wants to get in court, stand up, make an argument, and advocate on behalf of a client. It is our capstone litigation experience for some of our best future litigators and provides an opportunity like no other.

The program is highly selective and held during the winter intersession over three weeks in January.  For seven days the students watch daily lectures on a skill such as cross-examination, and then get the opportunity to actually do a cross-examination and receive feedback from practicing lawyers with years of trial experience.

The experience is intense, as after students participate in experiential learning-style class all day, the course includes a nightly keynote address by some of the most accomplished trial lawyers and judges of the bench and bar. The students have the unique opportunity to network with federal judges, high-ranking government lawyers, lifetime prosecutors, general counsel of Fortune 500 companies, and even The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army. 

The most amazing part of the workshop?  The last day of the program each student has a full trial before a District Court Judge in the Federal Courthouse in Newark. We get the undergraduate Seton Hall students involved as well – they come to Newark and act as judges for our law students. Eight federal judges volunteer their time to hear our students’ cases and give them feedback on their litigation skills.

Last year I traveled to a national law school trial advocacy conference in Florida and presented on this workshop.  My colleagues at other law schools were simply blown away by what we are able to accomplish, and the access our students receive to a “real world” trial.  It’s all due to the philanthropy of Senator O’Toole and Tom Scrivo. 

Now back to the Senator’s story…

Now that the sixth year has been completed and the 32 students have taken their law school experience to K2 heights, I want to close and offer some observations.  Professor Denis F. McLaughlin is one of the rare individuals you meet who simply changes lives. How many of us can really look in a mirror of our inner selves and confess to leading a selfless, noble, instructive and meaningful life?   I know Denis can. After 30 plus years as a much sought after professor, Denis remains at Seton Hall Law and still thrives by inspiriting and mentoring the next generation of lawyers and community leaders. Even though I didn’t love my law school experience, Denis made me fall in love with the law and the art of litigation. It was his passion, commitment, steadiness, patience and acute love of the law and love of the students that allowed this dream to be imagined and live on. Denis and his legacy continue.

On behalf of all his students, past and present, and in a cool Mr. Holland’s Opus type way, we thank Denis for changing our lives and serving as our lifetime mentor and role model.

While I’m at the thank you stage, I need to include and cite the unbelievable commitment of Professors Jamie Pukl-Werbel and Jacob Elberg. Jamie and Jake have jumped into this project and expanded the scope and mission. I am fully confident that they will carry forth for many years this important program that will continue to separate these students from the rest of the pack and will continue to place Seton Hall on the top as they excel in the legal innovation and practical skill building necessary for this program. Thank you, Jamie and Jake, for living each day to better serve our legal community and our students. This program wouldn’t be as noticeable and impactful without your indelible excellence.

Thank you to the 100 or so volunteer lawyers who each year contribute to the unique education of these students.

Thank you to the federal judges who oversaw the mock trials and thank you to the corporate leader speakers who took time from their day to add color commentary about life in the big leagues and offer some meaningful career advice.

Lastly, I need to thank Thomas P. Scrivo for a few things. First, I need to thank Tom for having the imagination and generosity to seed this amazing project five years ago. I also need to thank Tom for his unrivaled giving to the legal community as a leader at the federal and state levels. Whether it be his successful defense of a state judge facing expulsion or sanctions, vetting dozens and dozens of federal and state candidates for judgeships, or simply and magnificently working his craft as a highly sought-after trial attorney or special master, Tom has set the bar of excellence for the rest of us.

A quick personal note on Tom. After he served as chief counsel for Governor Christie for 20 months and he was soon about to resurface in the private sector, I can attest that virtually every single major law firm called me to gauge whether Tom had any interest in interviewing with them. I had no idea as I was just his former classmate in Section C who was lucky to get to sit next to him in the back row.  Here we are, almost eight years later, running our own law firm together, cool stuff.

Last note of thanks: Thank you to Seton Hall Law for having faith in its students, and thank you for investing big for those who will be the stewards and leaders of our state and legal community.  Of New Jersey’s 441 state court judges, 117 of them (27%) are Seton Hall Law graduates; that number greatly exceeds Rutgers (88), Widener (42), Harvard (6) and Yale (1).

Professor Jamie Pukl-Werbel is the Assistant Dean of Experiential Education at Seton Hall University.