This note will discuss the meaning of advocacy, the meaning of legal ethics, and the scope of the Law of Advocacy and Legal Ethics.
This note will define the meaning of communication, methods of communication, the persons with whom the lawyer communicates, and the principles of communication for lawyers.
In litigation, the lawyer is expected to elicit relevant information from the client and potential witnesses to enable proper representation. Eliciting relevant information requires an interview. This note will discuss the importance of an interview, the essence of the first interview, the prerequisites for a successful interview, and the principles of interviewing clients and witnesses. Subsequent notes will discuss facilitators and inhibitors of communication, the types of clients a lawyer may encounter, and how to deal with vulnerable clients and witnesses.
This note will define facilitators of communication and briefly discuss the factors that facilitate communication. It will also define inhibitors of communication and discuss the factors that inhibit communication.
This note will discuss the categories of clients a lawyer may encounter during an interview. The categories of clients to be discussed are the passive client, the belligerent client, the dogmatic client, the amateur lawyer, the distraught client, and the client’s friend.
This note will discuss the meaning of a vulnerable witness and how to deal with them.
When interviewing clients or witnesses, the lawyer must listen to them. There are various kinds of listening, each with its merits and demerits. This note discusses the various kinds of listening. These kinds are: passive listening, responsive listening, and receptive listening.
There are various types of questions, including leading, open-ended, closed, transition, point-of-reference, yes and no, alternative, and rhetorical questions. This note discusses each of these questioning techniques, together with their advantages, disadvantages, and appropriate uses.
This note will briefly explain who qualifies as a vulnerable client or witness and the principles that must be observed when questioning them.
Communication can be verbal or non-verbal. This note will discuss non-verbal communication in terms of its meaning, essence, and types.
This note will define preconceptions, highlight how they affect us, outline their benefits and dangers, and discuss how to deal with them.
This note will discuss one of the most important characteristics of an advocate: storytelling. In doing so, the note will briefly explain what storytelling is, highlight its essence and the characteristics of good storytelling, and outline the procedural and ethical considerations when telling stories.
This note will discuss the character and qualities that an advocate must cultivate and possess to represent and defend their clients effectively. These include industry, tenacity, courage, judgement, self-control, honesty, presence, language, and humanity.
Trials typically begin with an opening statement from the lawyer. This note discusses the opening speech, covering its essence, purpose, structure and content, and techniques for delivering it effectively.
This note will explain the meaning of examination-in-chief, its essence and aims, the techniques for achieving those aims, and how to prepare for examination-in-chief.