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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1988
Training in Advocacy
how it works
by
Dudley Potter, Sol ici tor
Joint Course Co-Ordinator
The third residential Advocacy
Course run as part of the Society's
Co n t i n u i ng Legal Educa t i onal
Programme will be held from the
23rd to 25 th September, 1 988, at
Bellinter House, Navan. Like the
first held in January, 1987, the
second course held in September,
1987, was enthusiastically received
by the participants whose number
increased to 33 from the 24 on the
first course.
The teaching team for the third
course will be:-
Former High Court Judge Herbert
McWilliam
Former District Justice Wm. A.
Tormey
Barry Donoghue
Robert J. Egar
Michael E. Hanahoe
John Hay
Garrett Sheehan and
Michael Stains, solicitors, while
Professor John Sonsteng of the
National Institute of Trial Advocacy
in the U.S. will be a guest con-
sultant.
The essential component of the
approach adopted are:-
LEARNING BY DOING
INDIVIDUALISED CRITIQUE
VIDEO REVIEW AND CRITIQUE
TEAM TEACHING
LEARNING BY OBSERVING
THE "BUILDING BLOCK"
APPROACH
There is little or no lecturing as
such. Each phase of the training
course is preceded by a five or, at
most, ten minutes introduction to
a video-taped demonstration of the
aspect or technique to be taught,
whether it be a bail application, a
plea in litigation, examination-in-
chief, cross-examination, sub-
mission or a complete case. For
most of their time participants are
engaged, in groups of twelve, in
c a r r y i ng out each of t hese
functions in role-playing situations
with three consultants contributing
to the diagnosis of their perfor-
mances and enhancement of their
skills. As each participant finishes
his role-play — which for most of
the course will last only a very f ew
minutes at a time — he is given an
objective critique of his perfor-
mance by the teaching team. In
that way every member of the
group present gets the benefit of
the critique w i th its component of
a demonstration by the consultant
of how to do it better. The effect
is one of rapid and manifest
improvement as the participants
have the opportunity for repeated
attempts at performance of the
different elements that constitute
the course. In the later stages the
different "building blocks" are put
t oge t her and the participants
conduct complete cases.
Throughout the course each
performance is recorded on video
by a trained cameraman and there
are several opportunities for each
participant to see himself in action
and to receive a private critique of
his performance by one of the
consultants. Most participants find
this feature particularly helpful and
indeed it is difficult for even the
most gifted critic to match the
impact of seeing oneself in action.
These sessions are also reinforced
in t hat pa r t i c i pan ts can see
themselves improving as the course
progresses.
The E f f e ct
A post-course review of how
things worked out in practice,
carried out after the September,
1987 course, brought responses
from two-thirds of the participants.
To a question " A re you performing
better in the District Cou r t" over
8 0% gave a confidential " Y e s "
and the balance "about the same".
In accompanying comment an
increase in confidence featured
most often. Examples include: " I
am not afraid to do District Court
w o r k " . " I feel confident about
tackling anything — I have the
basics now — it is just a question
of p r ac t i ce ".
A s k ed
wh e t h er
t he ir
performance in civil cases had
improved as a result of attending
the course almost all answered
positively. Comments included:
" I t could only improve as I never
had the courage to run a civil case
before the cou r se "; " A sense of
confidence and having a definite
plan of action to approach cases";
Yes — I have won my first full civil
case "; "Cr oss examination no
longer terrifies me " ; " M y skills in
court have increased and improved
eno rmous l y ".
It is now clear that the perceived
benefits of training in advocacy
transfer effectively to the actual
arena. Perhaps it is not surprising
that four out of five say they have
already recommended the course
to their colleagues.
These results will make pleasant
reading for the consultants pre-
paring for the next residential
course to be held in September and
should encourage practitioners not
to miss this training opportunity,
available only once annually.
Te c hno l ogy Comm i t t ee
News
The Technology Committee will
be known to you as the Committee
wh i ch in recent years has:
(a) brought to you an Annual
Exhibition to provide you w i th
the opportunity of seeing at
first hand the latest techno-
logical developments;
(b) provided you wi th a Hand Book
to assist you in the purchase of
your own Computer System;
(c) arranged for you, more recently,
the purchase of a FAX Machine
at £ 1 , 0 0 0 . 00 less than the
then current market price.
The Comm i t t ee unde r t a k es
many other projects on your behalf.
In recent times it attempted to
evolve a small project for the third
level Institutions in order to get
them thinking about technology in
the legal world and how it can
advance the solicitors office and
the State offices (Courts, Registry
of Deeds, etc.) that solicitors deal
with. We have regular contacts
w i t h these State offices, the
results of wh i ch will become
known to the profession when
c hanges c ome a b o u t. These
changes may be relatively small
and invaluable such as the change
in document presentation now
permitted in the Registry of Deeds
and Pr oba te O f f i c e s. Ot her
developments may have much
more profound significance such as
the discussions going on at present
w i th the Land Registry to assist
t hem in advancing themselves
t owa r ds full computerisation to
enable,
inter alia,
solicitors to get
direct on-line access to the Land
Registry in a similar fashion to that
p r e s en t ly
ava i l ab le
in
t he
Company's Office.
You will be hearing from us
shortly in relation to the offer of a
P.O. w i th Printer at, what we hope
will appear to you, an exceptionally
good price!
Fred Binchy.
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