[June 4, 2012 – Columbia, SC] Collins & Lacy, P.C. is pleased to announce founding partner, Joel Collins, has been selected as a faculty member for the 2012 American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) National Trial College at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 29 – August 4, 2012.
The ABOTA National Trial College provides young trial lawyers with intensive training in the art of successful jury trial advocacy. The training covers all aspects of trial, including effective trial preparation, convincing opening statements, and closing arguments provided through real-time demonstrations by both plaintiff and defense attorneys. This program consists of four days of intense instruction on technique and critiques by the twenty-person ABOTA member faculty from all across the nation. It is designed for third and fourth year trial attorneys. Following the four days of academic work, students present a mock trial before a real jury and follow up with a closed circuit television viewing of the jury deliberations. The students also receive critiques from the faculty members. The students participate in a graduation ceremony on the final evening. This is the second installment of the program. The first was at Princeton University in 2010, with 35 fellows completing the rigorous training.
When asked about his involvement with the National Trial College, Collins says, “I am excited about the prospect of working with my fellow faculty members in such a dynamic environment. An added treat is the fact that my son, Andrew Pickens Collins, III has been accepted as one of the 36 students who will attend the college. I look forward to contributing to the program as an educator, but am equally delighted I will have the opportunity to learn from others during the week.”
Joel Collins is the co-founder of Collins & Lacy, P.C. and currently chairs the firm’s Professional Liabilitypractice group. Mr. Collins received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He was the recipient of the 2002 Jeter E. Rhodes, Jr., Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, presented by the South Carolina Chapter of ABOTA. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina Honors College, teaching a course on the United States Constitution. He is a member of theInternational Society of Barristers, Litigation Counsel of America, and serves as a board member of theSouth Carolina Chapter of the National Safety Council. In 2005, he received the James Petigru Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law and was most recently selected as a recipient of the 2012 Leadership in the Law Award by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
