“IN VIEW OF THE LAMENTABLE WAY IN WHICH BOTH THESE APPLICATIONS HAVE BEEN PREPARED, I DISALLOW ALL COSTS OF TODAY”: JUDGE CRITICAL OF SKELETON ARGUMENTS AND WITNESS STATEMENTS
In Ahmed & Anor v Ahmed [2021] EWHC 1021 (Ch) Mr David Halpern QC (sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge) had much to say in relation to manner in which an application was brought before the court. The skeleton…
DIVIDING FACTS FROM COMMENTS AND SUBMISSIONS: WHY IT MATTERS AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOUR CASE
The judgment is Scottow -v- Crown Prosecution Service [2020] EWHC 3421 (Admin) is of interest for many reasons. This, however, is a blog about procedure. It is worthwhile looking at the comments that the Divisional Court made about the way…
TEN MORE PIECES OF ADVICE FOR THE YOUNG LAWYER: “INCIVILITY IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE”: “BE BRIEF”; “DON’T CRUMBLE”
I am using this week to look back a previous series where guidance was given, primarily by judges, to young advocates. There are links here to the original posts, and sources for the posts. Here we look at the second…
THE COLLECTIVE NAME FOR HAND UPS: A “BLIZZARD”OR “HARASSMENT”? WHY IS IT JUDGES LIKE BREVITY SO MUCH?
In his speech to the Peter Taylor memorial lecture “Complexity and Obscurity in the Law, and how we might mitigate them.” Lord Justice Irwin observed “there is a special ring in hell for the advocate who stands up at 10:31…
COVID REPEATS 19: THOSE ADVOCATES WHO ARE GOING TO HELL (AND NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATES)
Some advocates are going to hell. This may seem obvious, but the details were fleshed out by Lord Justice Irwin when giving a talk to the Professional Negligence Bar Association on the 17th April 2018 . It is possible to…
COVID REPEATS 12: THINGS LAWYERS DO TO ANNOY JUDGES: “EVERY PIECE OF PAPER THAT LEAVES YOUR OFFICE IS AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR YOU AND YOUR LAW FIRM”
Here we are looking again at the advice given by the Canadian judge Mr Justice Joseph W. Quinn A Judge’s View: Things Lawyers Do to Annoy Judges; Things They Do to Impress Judges“.* This whole talk is worth reading, for…
ADVOCATES, ROAD MAPS AND DEPARTING FROM THE STRUCTURE OF WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS
There is an interesting passage in the judgment of Turner J in Court Enforcement Services Ltd v Burlington Credit Ltd [2019] EWHC 1920 (QB) relating to written submissions and advocacy. “… there appears to me to be a growing trend…
HOW TO DRAFT A SKELETON ARGUMENT: GUIDANCE AND LINKS REVISITED
A simple search term arrived on the blog today “How do I draft a skeleton argument?” I wondered what level of practitioner would google this, however someone pointed out this has all the flavour of a desperate litigant in person…
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…
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…
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…
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 THE JUDGE’S VIEW: SERIES 2 PART 8: EFFECTIVE WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS: “FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT” & THE “CHUNKIFICATION” OF ARGUMENTS
This series certainly takes us around the globe. Here I am looking at a paper written by Justice Susan Glazebrook, a judge of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Her paper on “Effective written submissions” written in 2014. As always…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW, SERIES 2 PART 7: HOW TO WIN YOUR CASE: GUIDANCE FROM SCOTLAND
This series looks at guidance on advocacy given by judges. We have looked at advice given from judges around the globe. Today we go to Scotland. The Lord President’s address to the Faculty of Advocates in an event to mark…
THE SHORTER TRIAL SCHEME: PROCEDURAL WRANGLING AND PROBLEMATIC EXPERT EVIDENCE: IT CAN’T BE BRUSHED ASIDE
In the judgment today in L’Oréal Société Anonyme RN Ventures Ltd [2018] EWHC 173 (Pat) Mr Justice Henry Carr set out his concerns on aspects of the procedure and expert evidence before the court. The judgment contains some lessons for litigators…
HAS THE WITNESS FOR THE OTHER SIDE WRITTEN A BOOK? THAT IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION: RESEARCHING AN EXPERT BEFORE THEY GIVE EVIDENCE
I have lost track of the number of interlocutory judgments there have been in the case of Kimathi & Ors v Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The latest judgment being at [2017] EWHC 3054 (QB). This judgment deals with the issue…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW, SERIES 2 PART 3: SKELETON ARGUMENTS, PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION: AN ABSOLUTE GOLDMINE
This blog has many posts that record cases where judges have been critical of the contents (and usually length) of skeleton arguments. A remedy for most of these issues has been available since 2004. Gray’s Inn prepared a paper “Skeleton…
ADVOCACY – THE JUDGE’S VIEW: SERIES 2, PART 2: BEING PERSUASIVE: “CONVOLUTED ARGUMENTS ARE SLEEPING PILLS ON PAPER”
The second post in this series takes us to Washington. A detailed article by Judge Stephen J. Dwyer, Leonard J. Feldman & Ryan P. McBridet called “How to Write, Edit, and Review Persuasive Briefs: Seven Guidelines from One Judge and Two…
THIS IS A LOT OF MATERIAL FOLKS: ALL THIS INDUSTRY MAY NOT BE TO POINT: SEEING THE WOOD FOR THE TREES
In Miley v Friends Life Ltd [2017] EWHC 2415 (QB) Mr Justice Turner made some observations in relation to the volume of documentation and the subsequent judgment. It is important, he said, for a judge to keep sight of the wood…