Learning through the prism of a working court

The Hon. James L. Gale, Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases, with Elon Law alumnus Justin Ramey L’13 in the law school’s Robert E. Long Courtroom, home to the North Carolina Business Court.[/caption]The North Carolina Business Court hears cases involving complex commercial and corporate law disputes in Elon Law’s Robert E. Long Courtroom. In most cases, hearings are open to the public, and the court provides an excellent forum for students to observe an actual working court in action.

“I wish I had that when I was in law school,” said Reid Phillips, an attorney at Brooks Pierce law firm, in the News & Record article. “The ability to have that right there in your building, so close, and be able to go in and sit and hear lawyers argue important cases is just a wonderful learning opportunity.”

James L. Gale, Special Superior Court Judge for Complex Business Cases, presides over Business Court trials in Greensboro. Judge Gale’s chambers are also located in Elon Law’s primary facility, the H. Michael Weaver Building in downtown Greensboro.

“I have a good bit of interaction with the students, and certainly enjoy having them there,” Gale said in the News & Record article.

Law students Madeline Obler-Grill L’14 and Daniel Watts L’15 offer insights about the value of Judge Gale’s involvement in the law school community and the Business Court’s benefits in the News & Record article. Andy Haile, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law, describes how he incorporates the activities of the Business Court into his business law and tax law courses.

The April 23 News & Record article about the role of the North Carolina Business Court in the education of Elon Law students is available here.

In addition to housing trial proceedings of the North Carolina Business Court, the Robert E. Long Courtroom at Elon Law serves as a classroom for trial advocacy courses, practice space for the law school’s moot court and mock trial programs, and a location for final rounds of the law school’s annual Billings, Exum & Frye National Moot Court Competition. More than a dozen Elon Law students have clerked, externed or interned for judges of the North Carolina Business Court, who also hold trials in Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C. These students benefit from hands-on experiences working with accomplished judges and many of the best lawyers in North Carolina and the nation.

More information about the North Carolina Business Court is available here.