From Trial Lawyer to Law Professor: Bill Price Brings Courtroom Experience to the Classroom
Written by Jay M. Kelley III in Firm News on August 28, 2026
At Elk + Elk, our attorneys’ work extends far beyond the walls of the courtroom. While our trial attorneys advocate for injured individuals and families across Ohio, some of them are also dedicated to educating future leaders of the legal community.
Teaching law is not simply an extracurricular activity or a side project for our attorneys. It allows them to sharpen their courtroom skills, break down complex legal theories, and bridge the gap between academic textbooks and real-world trial strategies.
By stepping into local law school classrooms, our attorneys can share practical insight and firsthand experience with students preparing to enter the legal profession.
This semester, Elk + Elk Attorney Bill Price continues his longstanding role at the University of Akron School of Law.
Mastering the Rules of Evidence with Attorney Bill Price at Akron Law
For Attorney Bill Price, returning to the classroom at the University of Akron School of Law is part of an ongoing commitment to legal education. While some might view adjunct teaching as a seasonal obligation, Bill approaches it as a continuous journey.
“I teach year-round,” Price notes. “I enjoy that I am helping students with their journey toward their license.”
Having taught paralegal programs and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs for years prior to joining the faculty at Akron Law, Price brings decades of experience to his Evidence course. The course is widely considered a crucial foundational subject for aspiring litigators, as it dictates what information may be presented and considered in court.
Price’s curriculum centers on moving past pure theory to focus on real-world execution. His primary goal is to help law students understand how to apply the rules of evidence both on the NextGen Bar Examination and in dynamic courtroom environments.
The Rhythm of the Courtroom: Unlearning Common Misconceptions
When law students step into a real courtroom for the first time, they often carry assumptions shaped by television dramas or moot court exercises. According to Price, overcoming these misconceptions early on is essential to developing authentic advocacy skills.
“There is a rhythm or cadence inside the courtroom that you have to learn,” Price explains. Trial work is rarely about theatrical outbursts. Instead, it relies on reading the room, responding to evidentiary objections, and understanding the flow of testimony and judicial control.
This insight stems directly from Price’s work handling complex personal injury, product liability, and catastrophic crash cases. When asked how trying personal injury cases influences his approach to teaching legal theory, Price points to experience: “Trial and error. I’ve learned from the mistakes I have made over the years.”
By sharing those hard-earned lessons with his students, Price helps demystify the litigation process. He frequently incorporates high-profile trials, such as the O.J. Simpson trial and the recent Johnny Depp trial, alongside everyday personal injury scenarios to demonstrate how evidentiary strategies play out in real cases.
Sharpening Skills and Guiding Future Advocates
The relationship between teaching and practicing law can be mutually beneficial. Standing in front of a classroom of future lawyers gives an attorney an opportunity to re-evaluate standard practices and stay ahead of changes in procedural rules. 
“I recognize evidence issues quicker than I did before teaching,” Price reflects.
The daily exercise of explaining technical rules to students reinforces his own recognition of objections and evidentiary nuances during complex depositions and trials.
For graduating law students who aspire to sit at the counsel table as effective trial attorneys, Price offers a straightforward imperative: “Get in the courtroom.”
He reminds his students that confidence is built through exposure, persistence, and resilience. “You will make mistakes, and you must never take them personally,” Price advises. “We all started off in their shoes.”
Ultimately, Price hopes his impact at Akron Law leaves a lasting impression on his students long after they pass the bar exam. Five or ten years down the road, when his former students are building legal careers of their own, he hopes they remember one core truth: “That I was a good teacher.”
Bridging the Gap Between the Classroom and the Courtroom
The involvement of a trial lawyer in legal education does more than benefit law students, it gives students an opportunity to see how the concepts they study are applied in practice.
As Price notes, active engagement with universities like The University of Akron School of Law helps “bridge the information gap between academia and practice.” By bringing his experience as a practicing trial attorney into the classroom, Price gives students insight into how legal theory and the rules of evidence are applied in real cases.
For Price, teaching provides an opportunity to share lessons learned through years of practicing law while continuing to sharpen his own skills as a trial attorney. His work at Akron Law reflects the connection between legal education and courtroom experience, and the value practicing attorneys can bring to the next generation of lawyers.
Jay M. Kelley III - Managing Partner
Meet Jay M. Kelley III, a top medical malpractice and catastrophic personal injury attorney in Ohio with over 30 years of experience and a proven track record of securing millions in verdicts and settlements. He leads Elk + Elk’s comprehensive litigation strategy across state, federal, and appellate courts, drawing on a unique background as a former felony prosecutor and hospital defense lawyer. Jay focuses on high-stakes, complex cases, including birth injuries and wrongful death, and is widely recognized by Best Lawyers and ranked among the Super Lawyers Top 10 in Ohio.
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