March 24, 2011-Students at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law will put their legal education and training to the test in lifelike, high-intensity terror attack situations involving legal and ethical dilemmas. The counter-terrorism simulation will take place on Friday, April 1, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time (6:00 p.m. GMT) at the U of U campus.

In its continuing effort to offer broad access through the Internet, the public is invited to attend the event remotely via the law school’s online dashboard. People are urged to submit questions and chat about the event with participating experts. The live broadcast will be streamed in its entirety at simulation.law.utah.edu and Facebook.com/uofulaw.

Students enrolled in Professor Amos Guiora’s class will be tested for eight full hours in the episodic exercise simulating multiple terrorism-related scenarios in the U.S. and abroad. They will assume critical decision-making roles while acting as President of the United States, U.S. Secretary of Defense, ambassadors, elected officials and other decision makers requiring strong leadership and collaboration skills as well as the ability to make quick decisions with imperfect information.

“This exercise addresses many of the issues confronting leaders worldwide today,” Guiora said. “The list of scenarios is long, filled with extraordinary uncertainty. World leaders are confronting a natural disaster in Japan resulting in impending nuclear disaster, dramatic and tumultuous events in the Middle East, continued financial uncertainty, and the constant threat of national and international terrorism. The events of the world require decision makers to keep their eyes on multiple balls simultaneously.”

The simulation will include experts in technology, security, education and law who will lead discussions and answer viewer questions at the top of each hour. “Viewers will learn how decision makers seek to resolve conflict, crisis and dilemmas while balancing legitimate civil and political rights with equally legitimate national security rights and obligations,” Guiora said. Adding to the intensity and realism, a press corps of communications students will act as journalists, asking tough questions of the leaders at regular press conferences.

For more information about the simulation, please visit: http://simulation.law.utah.edu/about.