Skill Session

This groundbreaking new program is required for all law students during the first two weeks of Spring semester.  During these two weeks, all students take one, three-credit skills course.  Second and third-year students have a full range of skills courses from which to choose.  The Skill Session enriches first-year instruction by moving beyond the traditional doctrinal courses and Legal Writing and Research courses.  Providing first-year students with an appropriate trial skills course, for example, would have them finish the first year with practical experience in both the appellate and trial process.

The Skill Session offers a skills curriculum comparable to that offered by most urban and suburban law schools.   Courses offered include Lawyers as Entrepreneurs, Contract Negotiation and Drafting, Chancery Court Practice, Elder Law Workshop, Health Care Law Workshop and Witness Preparation for Trial.

Professional Skills Fellows 

The School of Law is honored to have an experienced and accomplished group of Adjunct Professors teaching in our inaugural Skill Session in January of 2013. In recognition of their contribution to the professional skills training of our students, we recognize these teachers as our Professional Skills Fellows of 2013:

Lee Caplin

  • Course: Lawyers as Entrepreneurs
  • About: Lee Caplin is Chairman and Founder of Picture Entertainment Corporation, the multi-media company that originated and executive produced the Academy Award®-nominated motion picture release “Ali,” starring Will Smith.  Mr. Caplin holds a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School.  He is a leader in the telecommunications and multimedia industry for over 20 years, and is co-founder of Penske Media Corporation, the owner of Variety Magazine and other entertainment brands, and Keystone Entertainment Group, a film production company with an multi-award winning library of over 40 films. An attorney, entrepreneur, and educator, Mr. Caplin has published over 200 titles of illustrated children’s and educational books; his own book “The Business of Art” is a three-time international Best Seller.

Jim Carroll

  • Course: Contract Negotiation and Drafting
  • About: Jim Carroll holds a J.D. degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Millsaps College.  He is a founding member of Carroll, Warren and Parker firm in Jackson, Miss.  He has practiced law for over 35 years in the areas of domestic and international insurance litigation and municipal annexation litigation, and he is Past President of the Mississippi Chapter American Board of Trial Advocates and a member Mississippi Bar Foundation.  He is admitted to practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals (first, third, fifth and eleventh circuits), the U.S. District Court (northern and southern districts of Mississippi) and the Supreme Court of Mississippi.

Diala Chaney

  • Course: Chancery Court Practice
  • About: Chaney is currently a staff attorney with the Mississippi Department of Human Services in Oxford, Miss.  She provides legal counsel for the state to establish paternity, child support, modification and contempt orders for those who request state services.  Ms. Chaney also has experience with commercial, civil and family law. She holds a LL.M. degree in taxation from the University of Alabama School of Law, a J.D. degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi.  She is a member of the Mississippi Bar Association and the American Bar Association, among others.

Rick Courtney

  • Course: Elder Law Workshop
  • About: Rick Courtney is a founding partner of Frascogna Courtney, PLLC in Jackson, Miss.  He holds degrees from  Mississippi College and the University of Mississippi School of Law.  He has practiced law since 1978 and his practice areas include elder law, public benefits law (Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, Veterans), personal asset protection and estate planning (wills, trusts, property ownership), trusts and trust administration, special needs planning for persons with disabilities, guardianships and conservatorships for mentally incapacitated persons, nursing home and disability rights, and probate administration.  He is the first attorney in Mississippi to have received the designation of Certified Elder Law Attorney by the American Bar Association-accredited National Elder Law Foundation.

Katie Gilchrist

  • Course: Health Care Law Workshop
  • About:  Gilchrist is a partner with Adams and Reese, LLP in Jackson, Miss. She earned her J.D. and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Mississippi.  Her practice focuses on recent developments in Federal health reform, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements and appeals issues, contracting matters and HIPAA and fraud and abuse compliance work. She also has experience in all types of employment discrimination actions including sexual harassment and discrimination, race and age discrimination and Fair Labor Standards Act cases.  Katie is admitted to practice in all State and Federal Courts in Mississippi, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

 Duke Goza

  • Course: Witness Preparation for Trial
  • About: Goza is a partner with Hickman, Goza & Spragins, PLLC in Oxford, Miss.  He holds a J.D. degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Delta State University.  His practice areas include torts law, trusts and estates, and insurance law, and he has represented clients such as AT&T and Merchant & Farmers Bank. He is admitted to the Mississippi Bar, U.S. District Court Northern District of Mississippi, U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bill Luckett

  • Course: Lawyers as Entrepreneurs
  • About: Luckett holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, and a J.D. degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law.  He is currently the president of Luckett Tyner Law Firm in Clarksdale, Miss.  He serves as senior litigator, specializing in trying lawsuits in federal and state courts, and serves as an expert witness in legal malpractice suits.  He is a frequent lecturer at attorney seminars, and a frequent speaker for civic clubs, tourist groups and universities.  He is a member of the Mississippi Bar and the Tennessee Bar and served on the Executive Council of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Hospitality & Restaurant Association and holds a lifetime membership with the NAACP. His work also extends to real estate development and restaurant ownership, as he is responsible for the restoration and preservation of many Clarksdale-area properties, and serves on the Mississippi Heritage Trust Board of Trustees.

Anita Modak-Truran

  • Course: Contract Negotiation and Drafting
  • About: Anita Moda-Truran is a partner with Butler Snow in Jackson, Miss., currently working in the pharmaceutical litigation group and intellectual property section. She holds a J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and a bachelor’s degree from Gustavus Adolphus College.  Her practice areas include drug and medical device law, product liability law, copyright counseling and litigation and media and entertainment law.  She has tried over 100 cases in state and federal courts, from simple prosecutions to complex litigation. Modak-Turan is admitted to the Illinois and Mississippi Bars, U.S. District Courts (Illinois-Northern District and Mississippi-Northern and Southern Districts), U.S. Court of Appeals (fifth and seventh circuits), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

David Pharr

  • Course: Contract Negotiation and Drafting
  • About: David Pharr is the founder of the Law Office of David Pharr in Jackson, Miss.  A graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, he has more than fifteen years of experience with commercial litigation, business counseling and intellectual property. David has been an equity partner with an AmLaw 100 firm, where he spent ten years representing small and large businesses in litigation and transactional matters.  He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Mississippi Bar Association, among others.

Magistrate Judge David Sanders

  • Course: Contract Negotiation and Drafting
  • About: Magistrate Judge Sanders holds J.D. and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Mississippi as well as a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi.  He is currently Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.  Previously, he served as the Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi. He has also worked in private practice in Natchez, Miss.  Sanders has been a member of the Mississippi Bar since 1997 and is president of the William C. Keady American Inns of Court.

Jim Warren

  • Course: Contract Negotiation and Drafting
  • About: Warren holds a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. He is a founder and Managing Member of Carroll, Warren and Parker firm in Jackson, Miss. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of cases and has tried and arbitrated cases in a variety of venues over the last 25 years.  He has served as arbitrator, special master and mediator.  Warren is admitted to practice in Mississippi, Florida and the United States Virgin Islands and all U.S. District Courts in those jurisdictions.  He is admitted in U.S. District Court in Puerto Rico, U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of Texas, U.S. Courts of Appeals (Third, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits) and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is Vice-Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the Mississippi Bar.  He is a Fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation.