CritelliLawBarristers and Trial Lawyers Iowa/New York/London
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| CritelliLaw Barristers and Trial Lawyers Iowa/New York/London |
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Thursday, July 14, 2005  Katie Powell 
posted by bbk |
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Time to Say Goodbye! Welcome Katie Powell! The Katie Diaries Katie makes the News.....Be sure to read the newspaper article on Katie which immediately follows the Katie Diaries. We welcome Katie Powell as our 16th Middle Temple pupil. Having studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford University, she went on to complete the Graduate Diploma in Law at City University, London. She then undertook the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law, where she was Queen Mother's Scholar of the Middle Temple and was graded "Outstanding". She has debated for Middle Temple at both a national and international level, and was one half of the winning Middle Temple team in the Inter-Inn Mooting Competition 2005. She has secured pupillage at Essex Court Chambers in London, which she will start in October 2005, and intends to practice in commercial law. She hopes to use her experiences on the Anglo-American exchange to give her an international outlook on legal disputes. Her interests include trekking, traveling, the piano and reading. She will be called to the Bar on 13 October at the Middle Temple. She may be reached via email at c_e_powell@hotmail.com. The view of the pupillage is to allow The Middle Temple scholars to actually experience the practice of law in another jurisdiction and discern the differences between the law and procedure of England and Wales and that of the United States. Pupils take an active part in client interviews, case review and strategy development, legal research, argument formulation, mediation and in-court advocacy. Additionally, they are detailed to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and various trial courts to experience the American court system. But the pupillage is about more than the law. Pupils are encouraged to expereince America, not as a tourist but as a resident. Watch this webpage and follow Katie's experiences. Week One Katie arrives in Des Moines and settles into her flat during the 4th of July holiday period. In chambers she is actively involved in case strategy discussion regarding a contentious corporate dissolution and an upcoming defamation trial. Differences between the American and English civil justice systems are explored with an emphasis on the American jury system. Further, Katie is exposed to the American discovery system, video-taped depositions and computerized assisted litigation. Finally Katie is taught the basics of American legal research. Socially Katie experiences American shopping at Super Walmart and is astonished that American's can buy guns at will, over the counter here in the "land of the free." The week was marred by the horrible and tragic terror events in London. Hopefully Katie witnessed America's closeness to Great Britian and the sincereness of our expression of concern for our British colleagues. America and Great Britian are joined by a common heritage; now New York and London are joined as victims of terror. Week Two Katie's second week started with a dinner with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Ternus, David Walker, the Dean of Drake Law School and all the officers of the Iowa State Bar Association. Katie experiences that we are two countries divided by a common language in trying to explain the English Bar's academic, vocational and pupillage system to the amusement of her pupilmaster. At the conclusion of the dinner, Katie was detailed to the President of the Bar, Mr. J.C. Salvo to experience life and practice in the small town environment of Harlan, Iowa. For the following two days, Katie experienced general practice, client interviews, etc. in this provincal town. She then accompanied the Salvo family to Omaha, Nebraska where she toured the various shops with Mrs. Salvo. She returned to Des Moines on Thursday only to be thrown into a very complex client interview where mediation and litigation strategy was explored in depth. She witnessed the use of powerpoint in the client conference process and discussed the strategy and tactics used by an advocate in mediation. Week Three After a brief trip to Chicago where she experienced the one of the best cities in America she returned to Iowa. Explaining the weather in Iowa is one thing, experiencing it quite another. This week the weather has consistently been around 100F. She now knows why every place is air conditioned. The Anglo-American pupil is encouraged to experience American culture. Katie chose to do so by working in a homeless shelter. It has been said that a society is to be judged by how it treats its poor and its prisioners. She has experienced the former and it falls to her to pass judgment. On the legal side, new concepts in American style discovery were experiened. All pre-trial depositions are simultaneously video-taped and traditionally court reported. The video tape and court-reported transcript are they synchronized to produce a closed captioned video movie of the testimony from which clips of testimony which are relevant to the case can be made. Katie experienced how they were made and used in case preparation. Likewise, she learned about computer assisted litigation. After being trained in the use of litigation software, she began the evidence data input phase in a major case. Experiencing case and client conferences are an important part of the pupil learning process. Later in the week she participated in a major case strategy conference in a complex commercial case. Throughout the process she is challenged to identify the differences between the Anglo and American systems. Week Four Katie goes to Court! Because she was here with us our newest barrister was not able to be called to the Bar at the July 28th Call. So that she does not feel left out by the legal profession, Katie is going to Court. Whilst her colleagues are being called Katie will be appearing and advocating in an American court defending a family charged with misrepresentation and fraud in a conveyancing transaction. More on this later...... ....Katie learned her first lesson about real law...if it is possible that a case will be put off list (continued) it will. All set to use her newly acquired advocacy skills and the case was continued. Returning to the office, Katie was exposed to the use of video technology in preparing testimony for Court. Working on a libel case, Katie experienced how to parse or make selected clips from a video taped deposition testimony which could then be close captioned with the actual written trial transcript. This is truly state of the art advocacy technology. She concludes that an American advocate must be part movie producer and part traditional advocate. She next moved to a consultation involving strategic planning for mediation in an upcoming case. At the close of the week, she was off to experience university life in the Midwest by spending the weekend in Iowa City, Iowa, the home of the University of Iowa which boasts 40,000 students. While there she will consult with expert witnesses on the libel case and other cases. Week Five Katie sees America If you can't go to Court you might as well go to the Rockies. Katie left this evening (Thursday) for her first train ride across America. Her journey will take her from Iowa, across the great plains, through Denver to Winter Park Colorado. After experiencing the Colorado Rockies she will move on to Salt Lake City, Utah. She will see some of the most beautiful geography in the United States and return home on Tuesday. In an incredible coincidence, Katie happened to be on the same train as the client in the libel case. After receiving the good news that the motion for summary judgment (Order 14) in the libel case on which Katie had been working was successful and the case dismissed, the client was notified and told to find Katie and give her the good news. Needless to say they celebrated on the way back from Denver. Back in Chambers, Katie was immediately dispatched to experience life in the United States District Court. There she witnessed American criminal advocacy. Back at the office she participated in her first mediation...American style. She will end her week by attending America's oldest and largest "fair", the Iowa State Fair. This is Americana at its best(??). It promises to be an interesting end to our Sixteenth Anglo-American Scholar's tour of duty. Time to say Goodbye Saying goodbye is the sad part of the pupillage. Katie is an impressive and energetic young advocate who will have a successful career at the Bar. We hope that in some small way we have contributed to her success. We thank the Benchers of the Middle Temple for allowing us to work with Katie and for supporting the Anglo-American Scholarship. Nick Critelli (MT 1991) Tre Critelli (MT 2002) posted by bbk | Thursday, July 14, 2005 London law visitor spends time in Harlan Harlan NewFriday, July 15, 2005 www.HarlanOnline.com by Emily Klein News Reporter HARLAN -- Katie Powell is almost 4,000 miles from her family and school in London, England but said the people of Des Moines and Harlan have made her feel at home. Powell recently finished her law studies in London and was chosen to spend July and August working under former Iowa State Bar Association President Nicholas Critelli in Des Moines. She arrived in Des Moines on July 4 ands spend her first week learning about he law office and what cordially does. Critelli is friends with J.C. Salvo, Harlan, who is the active president of the Iowa Bar Association and asked if Powell would be interested in spending three days at Salvo, Deren, Schenck & Lauterbach PC in Harlan. Powell said she has visited California, Florida and New York in the past but Iowa was much different. "It's such an opportunity to see how American law works," she said. "You can get such a warped perspective if you just go to those big cities." Powell, a London native, said when she started college she didn't intend to sutdy law. She attended Oxcord University for three years studying philosophy, politics and economy. Though her mother is a law professor and her father is a lawyer, Powell said she really didn't become interested in a legal career for herself until she learned more about it in her classes. She enjoyed competing in debating competitions and said when her classes discussed politics and freedom she realized that she would like to become a barrister. After Oxford, she attended City University for a year to learn the basics of law before moving onto the Inns of Court School of Law in London for ayear where she received more specialized training about cross examination and conferencing skills. In the British legal system, there are two types of lawyers. One is the solicitor who handles standard written legal advice, Powell said. The other is the barrister who actually argues a client's case in court. Powell said the client does not contact a barrister, but rather they contact a solicitor for advice, then the solicitor contacts a barrister if one is needed. Learning about jury selection and practice juries is very foreign. Powell said because in British law, the judge is the only person a lawyer need to persuade. "There's a much greater faith in America with trusting the everyday person." she said. "I think it's important that the average man is involved in law." Though she said she hasn't drawn any conclusions about which country's legal system she thinks is more effective, Powell did say she worried that some people in the UK avoided pursuing legal action because if they lost the case they would have to pay all the legal fees. Powell said so far her impression of the Midwest has been positive. Not knowing anyone in the region, she said everyone has been very welcoming. She also said she has been impressed by the number of American flags she has seen. "There's a real sense of national identity that I think British people feel awkward about," she said. Powell said she has enjoyed the beautiful countryside and sense of community in Iowa. She said she would like to practice law in the United States but its legal system is too different from Britian's. When she leaves Des Mones, Powell will return to London to begin her pupilage which will last a year and hopes to be offered a tenancy afterward. She plans to focus on commercial law during her pupilage and tenancy. When finished, Powell said she will be able to practice law on her own. posted by bbk | Thursday, July 14, 2005 |
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