Welcome back to Ahead of the Curve. I’m Karen Sloan, legal education editor at Law.com, and I’ll be your host for this weekly look at innovation and notable developments in legal education.

This week, I’m checking in with friends of slain Florida State law professor Dan Markel to see whether they believe justice was served during the recent trial of two of his alleged killers. Next up is a look at why so many people stage appellate mock trials centered on Shylock from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice—who will go to court yet again later this month at UC Irvine.