Law students could see the practice of law played out just down the hall later this spring as a number of Western New York judges have expressed interest in holding sessions in the new state-of-the-art courtroom that is nearing completion in O'Brian Hall.

The opening of the courtroom will be the culmination of what law school administrators call the most exciting capital project in the history of the school, an event that is expected to strengthen ties between the Law School and the local bar, as well as offer invaluable learning opportunities for UB students.

	Judges have shown interest in holding sessions in the new courtroom under construction in the Law School, shown here in an artist’s rendering.

"The courtroom project should present several different benefits to the Law School," said George Kannar, vice dean and professor of law, who is overseeing the project. "I expect there to be real synergy between the academic community and the community of practice; they benefit from us, and we benefit from them.

"The response from the legal community has been uniformly enthusiastic," Kannar said. "A number of judges at the state trial, federal trial and state appellate level have confirmed that they will hold sessions in our new facility."

The project, which began in mid-July, involves converting the huge, outdated Moot Courtroom in O'Brian Hall into genuinely usable space, creating a working courtroom, two 85-seat lecture halls and three smaller classrooms. The courtroom space includes a judge's chambers, a technology-support room and a jury-deliberation room. The area under construction encompasses 11,700 square feet, according to Gordon Love, project coordinator for Facilities Planning and Design. The courtroom and classrooms will be able to support the use of computers during trials and instruction.

Two of the classrooms were used earlier this month for "bridge" courses, with the other three coming on line for the start of the spring semester last week. The courtroom should be completed later in the spring, Love confirmed.

The project has a price tag of slightly more than $1 million.

The case statement for the Law School's capital campaign describes the new space as "a well-proportioned, Mission-style, state-of-the-art courtroom, suitable for both jury trials and appellate arguments.a tasteful and efficient new space. There seems no reason to doubt that this new courtroom, in these new surroundings, will quickly become a true point of pride and common focus for the Law School, its alumni and the legal community as a whole."

The Western New York judicial community has expressed support for the project.

"If you build it, we will come," Eugene F. Pigott, presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, New York State Supreme Court, said he told Dean R. Nils Olsen. "We will be there as soon as the dean tells us we are welcome.

"It will be very good for the court. I am certain it will benefit the Law School as well, but we like to bring the court to the people a little bit if we can," Pigott said.

Noted Samuel L. Green, Appellate Division judge: "It is invaluable if you are a law student."

Leslie B. Foschio, federal magistrate judge, said that whenever feasible, judges would be willing to conduct any type of civil case they have consent jurisdiction for in the courtroom.

"I am willing to hold court at the Law School as often as I have a case that is amenable to the program," Foschio said. "My approach is to be as supportive of the Law School as I can without interfering with our duties as magistrate judges. I am already looking at, and discussing with lawyers, cases that could be tried in the new courtroom."

Barbara Howe, a State Supreme Court justice and UB adjunct associate professor of sociology, pointed out that holding court at UB would be "of great symbolic value."

"It will be a reminder to all participants in the process of the academic and intellectual roots of all that we do and the professionalism that should attend it," she said.