THINGS TO THINK ABOUT IN THE NEW YEAR: DOES DRESSING FOR COURT MATTER?
One of the primary tasks of an advocate (indeed the primary task) is to persuade judges. That is why so much time is spend on this blog looking at guidance given by judges. The beginning of the year is a good…
ADVOCACY THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 4: PART 1: THE DEADLY SINS OF ORAL ADVOCATES: DON’T BE CONFUSING OR BORING (PLUS A RECAP OF THE PREVIOUS SERIES)
After a break of eight months I am starting a new series featuring the guidance the judges give to advocates. Here I am encouraging you to read The deadly sins of oral advocates: Part One, in the Lawyers Weekly. A…
CIVIL PROCEDURE BACK TO BASICS 43: CROSS EXAMINING EXPERTS: USEFUL GUIDES AND LINKS
Cross-examining experts is possibly one of the most daunting aspects of advocacy. If an advocate gets into a “debate” with an expert then the advocate normally loses. If the advocate is too brutal the cross-examination can backfire, too supine and…
LITIGATORS AND THE ART OF PERSUASION: USEFUL GUIDES (1): MUNKMAN ON THE TECHNIQUE OF ADVOCACY
Every litigator is, involved in the art of persuasion. Litigation is fundamentally about the art of persuasion. Persuasion is a litigator’s daily task: in correspondence, on the phone, with opponents. It is wrong to confine the consideration of this essential skill…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW: SERIES 3: PART 9: “DON’T BITCHSLAP YOUR OPPONENT”: GUIDANCE FROM A CRANKY JUDGE
Here we are going to the USA and looking at guidance given by Federal Judge Richard G Kopf in his blog Hercules and the Umpire. As every the aim here is to get you to read the original (follow the…
ADVOCACY THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3: PART 8: BREVITY
In this post I am encouraging you to read the speech of Lady Justice Rafferty to the Criminal Law Review Conference earlier this month. Much of the speech concerns issues in criminal law. However one passage is, in essence, about…
DOES WHAT YOU WEAR MATTER? GUIDANCE FOR ADVOCATES AND LITIGANTS
Does how you dress affect how you are perceived? A recent tweet (from the USA) contained a complaint from a lawyer that a judge had upbraided them in court for not wearing a tie. The lawyer asserted that there were…
SKELETON ARGUMENTS: A ROUND UP: GUIDANCE ON DRAFTING: JUDICIAL COMPLAINTS (& THERE ARE PLENTY): EXAMPLES ONLINE & SANCTIONS FOR LATE SERVICE
Recent online discussions about skeleton arguments started with a search term that led to this blog “how long should a skeleton argument be?” This was probably a good time to provide a review highlighting all the posts about skeleton arguments…
ADVOCACY THE JUDGE’S VIEW: SERIES 3 PART 7: LADY JUSTICE MACUR: NOT DIVERTING FROM A SCRIPT AND STATEMENTS OF PRINCIPLE THAT POSE AS QUESTIONS
In this post I am recommending you read an interview with Lady Justice Macur by the Law Society “the art of good advocacy”. This is an interview following a seminar with the same name given in April 2016. Remember these…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3 PART 6: MAY IT PLEASE YOU, MADAM: STORIES THAT EVERY LITIGATOR NEEDS TO KNOW…
In the sixth in this series we a looking at “May it please you Madam” by retired District Judge Neil Hickman. This is not designed as a guide for advocates, indeed the subtitle is “A little book of legal whimsy”. …
FIFTH BIRTHDAY REVIEW 5: THE JUDGE’S GUIDE TO ADVOCACY SERIES: TWO AND A HALF DONE
There are two completed series on judge’s guide to advocacy – and we are part way through the third. There is still plenty of material available and I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a fourth series. Advice has been…
JUDGES CANNOT MAGICALLY ACQUIRE INFORMATION BY OSMOSIS: THE DUTY ON PARTIES TO ENCAPSULATE LONG-RUNNING LITIGATION
In SC BTA Bank v Ablyazov & Anor [2018] EWHC 1368 (Comm) Patrica Robertson QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) reminded practitioners that judges have no magical powers. When a long-running case on a “grand scale” comes before the court…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3 PART 5: LAW AND THE WHIRLIGIG OF TIME: LEARNING TO LOSE A CASE WELL
It is difficult to review a book like Stephen Sedley’s Law and the Whirligig of Time. A wide ranging series of essays that covers everything from the “role of the judge ” to Bob Dylan and Under Milk Wood. It…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3: PART 4: A VIEW FROM THE CLERK’S BENCH: MANNERS MAKETH THE ADVOCATE
In this post I am recommending you read “The Art of Advocacy: Twenty Tips for your First Court Appearance” a post on the “Survive Law” blog. Unlike the other posts in these series this is written by Jennifer who was a…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3: PART 3: THERE IS NO MIRACULOUS OSMOTIC PROCESS BY WHICH YOUR TRIBUNAL WILL ABSORB EVERYTHING YOU HAVE PUT BEFORE IT
Today I am recommending you read the work of Judge Swami Raghaven in the Law Society Advocacy Section “Top tips for tribunal advocacy”. It is aimed at solicitors who conduct cases before tribunals. The article contains much of interest to…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3: PART 2: MAXIMISING YOUR IMPACT AS AN ADVOCATE: REPUTATION IS ALL
In the second of this series we are going to Australia. More accurately to Queensland to look at the advice given by Fleur Kingham, President of the Land Court of Queensland. The lecture was given in the QLS Modern Advocate…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 3: PART 1: THERE IS A SPECIAL RING IN HELL FOR A CERTAIN TYPE OF ADVOCATE (& YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE)
I had no plans for a further series on judge’s advice advocacy. However my hand was forced. I had to share the talk given by Lord Justice Irwin given to the Professional Negligence Bar Association on the 17th April. It…
ADVOCACY: THE JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 2 PART 10: EDITED HIGHLIGHTS: AROUND THE WORLD IN 147 DAYS
I never planned to write a second series on advice from judges on advocacy. It started with an article from Master Cook and developed from there.This led us to garner advice from judges around the world. Here are the edited…
ADVOCACY A JUDGE’S VIEW SERIES 2 PART 9: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO ADVOCACY: “ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING IN ADVOCACY
Here we look at guidance given in 1998 to lawyers in Canada. Mr Justice Ian Binnie, a judge of the Supreme Court in Canada, was giving the first John Sopinka Advocacy Lecture. As ever the aim is to encourage you…
NO “GRANDSTANDING” PLEASE: THE COURT IS NOT ASSISTED BY RHETORICAL POINTS
It has been a week for the courts commenting on advocates. Earlier we had complaints of advocates interrupting each other. Today we have complaints of “grandstanding”. Reminding advocates that their task is to deal with the legal issues at hand…
