Mario G. ConteDistinguished Practitioner
J.D. University of Connecticut [cum laude]
M.S. New York Medical College [physiology]
B.A. St. Michael's College [English]
Courses Taught: Advanced Trial Practice,
Evidence Advocacy, Trial Practice Lecture, LL.M. Trial Skills Program
Before law school, Mario Conte served in the United States Air Force as a pilot and did two tours of duty in Southeast Asia. After law school he clerked for United States District Court Judge Robert C. Zampano and then went to Federal Defenders of San Diego as a trial attorney. He became the Chief Trial Attorney in 1984 and then the Executive Director in 1991 until he came to California Western School of Law in 2005. While at Federal Defenders, he tried over 100 felony jury trials, argued more than 30 cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and assisted in writing two briefs for which certiorari had been granted in the United States Supreme Court.
Conte teaches trial advocacy in programs throughout the United States while also continuing to try his own cases. He was an adjunct professor at California Western for over fifteen years, teaching Trial Skills and Evidence Advocacy. He co-created the LL.M. program in Federal Trial Advocacy and teaches courses in that as well. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at California Western, he is the Special Administrative Assistant to the Dean and faculty advisor to the Moot Court Honors Board.
Class Webpages
mconte@cwsl.edu
619-515-1510
225 Cedar Street
San Diego, CA 92101