Teaching at the Академії адвокатури України

Today was the first day of teaching. The first assignment was at 11:00 a.m. at Академії адвокатури (the Ukrainian Academy of Advocacy), a private law school specializing in the training of defense attorneys, with a student body of a little over a thousand. I had agreed to meet Olga at the Universityet Metro station, so left the apartment at about 10:10, boarded the Metro at Lva Tolstovo, switched to the red line at Maidan/Kreshchatik, then on to Universityet. It was my first experience in the Metro during the prime working hours. When the doors to the subway cars open, there is a tremendous press to both enter and exit. It then appears that the car is packed, like sardines in a can, but people continue to plunge in through the open doors, literally pressing the crowd back into the car. I got in myself, and quickly found that I should have remained by the door. After two stops, I was about in the middle of the car, and so when my stop came up, I had to put my briefcase over my head and push my way out.

It is interesting to observe the throngs of people as they ride the very long escalators up and down from the surface (the one at Universityet must be easily 500 feet long. Not a word is spoken, each individual rider lost in his or her own world.

The Academy is a pleasant building, with arched lecture rooms containing fireplaces. I lectured for an hour and twenty minutes on closing arguments, receiving many questions from the students. The group was unusually small because of finals, but it was a nice and pleasant way to break me in as a visiting lecturer. Afterward the department head and another professor from the school invited me to join them for "tea" in the on-site commissary. She seemed to know all about Utah, and told me that she had recently visited Salt Lake City, and had been to the "Temple" to hear the organ play and the choir sing. I told her that my sister sings in the choir.

Overall, I am very impressed with the students. Their command of English is amazing. I used a few English references which need a Russian/Ukrainian translation (such as when I talked about Gerry Spence's use of a three legged milking stool in jury summation to illustrate the prosecution's burden. The Russian word for milking stool is доения стула.