1. Be timely – say what needs to be said concisely and clearly then sit down. Take as long as you need but do not take any longer. As for time estaimates, make sure you do not exceed the estimate given. If you said you would take 15 minutes, take 15 minutes.
2. Focus on the important stuff. Judges and Masters are very busy and will stop listening if they think you are just treading water. And whatever you do, don’t oversell the importance of a point. If it is a central issue that will set new precedent say so, but if it’s a motion for undertakings just say that and go to the disputed issues.
3. Begin with a summary. Even if your motion will take three days you can explain the central focus in a moment or two. If you cannot explain it that quickly, then you don’t know your case well enough. Imagine you are in line buying a coffee in the courthouse coffee shop and you see a classmate from law school who says “what are you on today?”. You could tell your chum the essence of the case in 30 seconds – do that for the Judge or Master when you start.
4. Ask, does your position make sense? Not in terms of some odd decision of the Privy Council from 1932 but in terms of the way the Courts work today. If your position makes no sense it wont find favor with the Court. So you should rethink your position or try to see how you can make it make sense.
5. Don’t use Privy Council cases from 1932. Use recent current local cases or, better yet, use the Rules or a Statute. Old caselaw can bolster your argument but it should never never never underpin it. If a point has not been made or repeated for 80 years there’s probably a reason why.
6. If a Judge or Master asks a question answer it. But never ever answer by saying “you have it wrong”. Don’t tell the Court they misunderstood something – first because they probably did not and second because you want the Court to rule for you and insulting the Court is a bad idea. If the Court really has the wrong end of the stick say “perhaps I did not explain the issue as clear as I ought to have” and then explain it.
1 comment:
why do these tips apply only for young lawyers???? What about new lawyers (not the same as young) or even experienced ones that just don't know this stuff? ;)
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