The following is courtesy of guest contributor, Tonya Oaks Smith, director of communications for the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law.

Thirty-seven years ago, the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law set the bar for law schools across the country – requiring legal skills classes for all students. The American Bar Association is only now requiring these classes be offered.

Bowen, however, is quickly moving into the next wave of legal-education innovation. The school is outfitted in video-capture cameras in its larger classrooms, providing students and professors the opportunity to view the class and any media used in the class. The captures are made available – with professor permission – online, so students can review difficult concepts and check their notes in preparation for final exams.

One large courtroom at Bowen was not outfitted with the latest and the greatest, however. The Friday Courtroom – the school’s most frequently used room for external continuing legal education (CLE) courses and events – did not have video-capture capabilities. Though it served as a hybrid classroom-lecture hall, it served none of its purposes to the fullest.

A $200,000 donation from the Friday, Eldredge, and Clark Law Firm remedied that problem. Construction began on the renovation in December 2010, and a reception Monday allowed visitors to see the transformation.

During the event, Dean John DiPippa unveiled a new technology framework for the courtroom, which was named in honor of the late Herschel Friday.

The facility now has video-capture and -conferencing capabilities. Its bench and new jury box are outfitted with monitors so that judges and juries can see the materials presented by attorneys in their arguments.

Television monitors lining the sides of the courtroom allow each observer the same access to justice information that those who sit closest to the front of the room have.

Students can now engage in moot court and trial competitions in the state-of-the-art room, and they will leave knowing they are truly prepared for the real courtroom. CLE event and guest speakers can now be streamed over the Internet or posted on the school’s website.