Ashurst Trial Advocacy Seminar
Advanced skills
Aoning Li – Solicitor
Carmen Grobbelaar – Competitions VP
[email protected]
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Outline of seminar
• Throughout, we will be workshopping the sample question:
• State of Western Australia v Moore
• As an advanced seminar, there is some assumed knowledge
• Focus of the majority of the seminar will be working through the
preparation and presentation of the question as if you were competing
with it
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Assumed knowledge
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Competition basics and procedure
Trial advocacy basics
Court etiquette
Objection basics
• As well as a read-through of WA v Moore
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Preparing WA v Moore
• Read through
• How do you approach preparation?
• Read through x2 x3
• Case theory
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Closing
Opening
Cross
Chief
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Case theory
• Two types of case theory
• Broad case theory
• Can you explain the case in 2 or 3 lines?
• Detailed case theory
• Can you explain every single bit of the evidence and how to relates to your
case?
• Literally every single bit of evidence
• Preparing the above is why the question needs to be repeatedly read
through
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Closing statement
• Prepare the closing first – few exceptions to this
• Closing should be nothing like an opening
• Go straight into the factual discussions – no point repeating anything that
was said in the opening
• Explain why
• Talk about the evidence generally – and what inferences the court should
draw from the evidence
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Opening statement
• Easier to prepare once you know what the closing statement looks like
• Your opening should answer the question “what is this trial about?”
without saying anything that the other side would disagree with
• It is important that nothing said is controversial in terms of what might be
a disputed issue
• Set out the law and anything else so that the closing statement is “clean”
in terms of discussing the issues
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Cross examination
• Cross examination needs to be consistent with the case theory
• This seems obvious but seems to be rarely done effectively
• Important to both criticise the evidence that hurts your case, but also to
highlight the evidence that supports your case
• Again, the latter is rarely done as part of a complete cross examination
presentation
• Remember Browne v Dunn if applicable as defence counsel
• Advanced skills – “closing the pen” on a line of questioning
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Examination in chief
• I generally advocate learning to do this “on the fly” rather than scripted
preparation
• What is important is to be following the witness statement as the
evidence is being given – which makes it hard to triple-task by listening,
following the script AND following the statement at the same time.
• Advanced skill – pacing the questions so that the important bits of
evidence are highlighted with a slower pace
• Time constraints means that this is the part that should be prepared last if
at all.
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Questions?
• Questions, queries
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Contacts
Carmen Grobbelaar
Competitions Vice President
[email protected]
Week 1 - Introduction to Social and Welfare
Law
11