New York Trial Guide

Seymour H. Moskowitz is an Emeritus Professor of Law at the Valparaiso University School of Law, where he has served as director of clinical programs. From 1981-84, he was Associate Professor of Law at the Touro College School of Law (Fuchsberg Law Center) in Huntington, Long Island, where he again taught during the 1990 summer session. He has been a practitioner and legal educator for almost 25 years. He received his B.A. from Columbia University (1963) and his J.D. from the Harvard Law School (1966).

Professor Moskowitz began his legal career as a Legal Services attorney (O.E.O.). In the private sector, he has had New York litigation experience in a wide variety of subject areas, including construction project cases and professional malpractice. His practice has included cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Professor Moskowitz’s bar admissions include New York, Indiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and federal courts in those states. He is a member of the bar of the United States Supreme Court. Professor Moskowitz has written numerous articles for law journals and other periodicals, and has authored or co-authored several books on practice and procedure. He is a frequent lecturer at Continuing Legal Education programs, and has contributed written materials for such attorney training courses.

Linda D. Moskowitz received her B.A. from The New School (New York, New York) in 1965, and her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1967. In past years, she has taught at the DePaul Law School in Chicago, Illinois, and at the Touro College School of Law (Fuchsberg Law Center) in Huntington, Long Island. Her bar admissions include New York, Indiana, Connecticut, and federal district courts in those states. She has had more than 20 years of private practice experience, and has special expertise in the fields of employment and health care law, as well as litigation experience in corporate and contract cases. She has authored or co-authored several books on practice and procedure, written numerous articles, and is a frequent lecturer to professional groups throughout the country.

Earl Johnson, Jr. is a Justice of the California Court of Appeal and is the principal author of California Trial Guide, the prototype for New York Trial Guide. Justice Johnson is a former trial attorney who conceived of the major Trial Guide innovations while a Professor of Law teaching evidence and supervising the clinical program at the University of Southern California Law Center. He also serves as editorial consultant for the Texas Civil Trial Guide, Federal Trial Guide, Florida Trial Guide, and Illinois Trial Guide. In 2003, the Consumer Attorneys of California named him "Appellate Judge of the Year."

Justice Johnson received his B.A. with honors in economics from Northwestern University (1955), where he was student body president. After three years as a naval officer, he earned his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (1960), where he was a law review editor, and his L.L.M. in Criminal Law from Northwestern University (1961). He is a member of the bars of California, Illinois, the District of Columbia, and the United States Supreme Court.

Justice Johnson began his legal career as a Federal prosecutor with the Organized Crime Section of the U.S. Department of Justice trying cases in various parts of the country and ultimately headed the Section’s field office in Las Vegas (1961-64). He then became Deputy Director of a local ten-office legal services organization providing representation in civil cases in Washington, D.C. (1964-65). He next served as Deputy Director (8 months), then Director (2 years) of the Legal Services Program of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1965-68). Later he joined the faculty of the University of Southern California as a Professor of Law where he taught evidence, trial practice and professional responsibility (1969-82). During this time, he designed the USC Clinical Semester for which he received the Justin Dart Award for Academic Innovation (1971). He was appointed to the Court of Appeal in 1982.

In addition to the Trial Guide publications, Justice Johnson has authored or co-authored five books and over forty articles and book chapters. He is a member of the Order of the Coif and received the first annual Loren Miller Legal Services Award from the California State Bar (1977). In January 1989, the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association named him "Appellate Justice of the Year."

In 2004, Justice Johnson received the "Benjamin Aranda III Access to Justice Award," which honors a trial judge or an appellate justice whose activities demonstrate a long-term commitment to improving access to the courts for low- and moderate-income Californians. The Judicial Council, the State Bar, and the California Judges Association, in association with the California Commission on Access to Justice, co-sponsor the award. He also was named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Lawyers in California” by the Daily Journal in 2004.