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What’s truly wonderful about these competitions is the huge number of Fellows who are involved in judging, providing feedback to the students and inspiring young legal talent. Second, we have our Boot Camp Trial Training Programs, which are aimed at teaching and inspiring young lawyers to embrace a career of trial advocacy. Each program involves a faculty of twenty lawyers and judges who present lectures, demonstrations and panel discussions, using a case for the day from the committee’s case library. Paul Sandler, who chairs the Boot Camp Trial Training Program Committee, has been a tour de force, travelling throughout the country running the boot camps – and all on his own nickel. Just this year, boot camps have taken place in Phoenix, Arizona; Greenbelt, Maryland; Salt Lake City, Utah; Atlanta, Georgia; Orlando, Florida and New Orleans, Louisiana – with even more scheduled or waiting to be scheduled. Many of you have participated in the boot camps by demonstrating an aspect of a trial – a direct, cross, opening or closing – or talking about best practices. The secret of the success of the boot camps is the talent and energy of our Fellows who really care about the future of our profession and enjoy the opportunity to inspire the young lawyers attending these programs. Third, under the leadership of Past President Doug Young and Tom Heiden, Chair of the Teaching of Trial and Appellate Advocacy Committee, we started a Diversity Trial Advocacy Training Program. The College is committed to not only diversifying our own ranks, but also to helping train the next generation of diverse trial lawyers so that the lawyers trying cases in our courtrooms mirror the diversity in our communities. The faculty of the Diversity Trial Advocacy Training Program are Fellows from across the United States and Canada, who volunteer their time and expenses. During the two-day program, the Fellows demonstrate each segment of a trial — opening statements, direct and cross examination of fact witnesses and experts, impeachment and closings. The participants are then split into groups of four, and each small group has a Fellow assigned to it. The participant lawyers then learn by doing – i.e., they practice and conduct each trial segment. The faculty provides constructive critique and feedback. The program culminates with each participant lawyer conducting (in teams of two) a full trial of the program case file before Fellows serving as judges. The reviews from the young lawyers who have participated in the program have been overwhelmingly positive – so much so that we are planning for a second program later this year to meet the demands of the participants. 7 JOURNAL