Trial Advocacy is a student-run, faculty-supervised program that provides opportunities for students to develop and refine skills used in the preparation and trial of civil and criminal cases. Students are "on their feet" during most class sessions, practicing the arts of voir dire, opening statement, direct and cross examination, introduction of exhibits, use of expert testimony, and closing argument. The course culminates with a full-scale trial—from the filing of pre-trial motions to the rendering of a jury verdict—conducted by student co-counsel before a visiting Iowa judge and jury of lay people. Students receive extensive criticism on the effectiveness of their classroom and final performances, and all class sessions are videotaped for review and critiqued by instructors and fellow students. Trial advocacy classes are usually taught by adjunct professors, themselves practicing trial attorneys, and a board of third-year students provides administrative and critical aid. Demand for the class has grown to the point that, in addition to offerings during the academic semesters, an intense six-day version of the course has been developed for interim sessions, so that approximately 110 students may enroll in trial advocacy classes each year. Inclusion is determined by lottery.

Iowa's Trial Advocacy program also organizes and hosts the Stephenson Competition.