Teaching at "KROK"

Today was my first experience teaching at the 15,000 student Ukrainian Economics and Law University (Університет Економіка та Права), also popularly known as "KROK," or "Step." I met with a small class in the mock trial room of the law school. Because we teach only a single two and a half hour session each week at KROK, the students did not have the benefit of two days preparation time which the other closing argument presenters enjoyed. I spent the first hour of my lecture going over the case file with the students and discussing presentation strategies with them. During the second hour about six of the students were brave enough to attempt a largely extemporaneous argument. Interestingly, at KROK, as with the other two law schools I worked at today, only a single student (in each case a woman) was brave enough to present for the prosecution. All of the others elected to argue the defense case. I suppose this was out of a mistaken belief that the defense case was easier. This, of course, is not the case, as the case file is so carefully crafted with balanced arguments for either side, that it doesn't really make any tactical difference to choose one side over the other. At KROK I was most impressed with the presentations of Ludmilla (seated on the front row at the right), who presented for the prosecution, and with Tanya (second from the left) who presented for the defense. Olga also tells me that there are other very promising students at KROK who were not in attendance today.