Top Trial Lawyer Teaches Tactics at Indiana Law
Widely recognized as one of the top U.S. trial lawyers prior to his retirement, John F. "Jack"
Kimberling, JD'50, is currently serving as a visiting professor offering his unparalleled
litigation expertise to Indiana Law students.
His class, Trial Tactics, is designed to help beginning lawyers understand the basic elements of trial law and how to present a case to a jury. Kimberling hopes the class will provide students with the confidence to represent their clients against more experienced lawyers. "The class is a 'how-to-do-it' rather than a review of evidence law," he said. "For example, there are simple practices lawyers should use during cross examination. There are particular questions a lawyer should ask as well as questions they should avoid at all costs."
Kimberling previously served as a visiting professor at Indiana Law in 1993, when he taught Professor Alex Tanford's Trial Advocacy course during the litigation specialist's sabbatical leave. Kimberling also returned to IU a few years later to help coach the mock trial team.
"I find teaching very rewarding," he said. "For years afterward, I would receive calls and letters from students telling me that the things we talked about really worked. Other students would call to go over a case they were currently arguing and throw around ideas with me. It's great to see how much they retain, absorb, and use the things we talked about in class or in the mock trials, and they find it beneficial."
The San Diego and Palm Springs, Calif., resident has stayed very busy in his retirement. He is the author of two books, What This Country Needs and How to Try a Jury Case, and is currently working on a third book on political affairs. He has been an active volunteer and philanthropist in California and at IU. He served as a national co-chair for the IU endowment campaign in the 1990s and established the John F. Kimberling Chair in Law to support faculty scholarship.