Bar Manual: Advocacy (Bar Manuals)

Given the importance of advocacy to the legal practitioner, the Inns of Court School of Law felt it necessary to produce a Manual devoted entirely to the subject. In order to succeed as an advocate, one must master a number of skills. This Manual looks at the advocacy skills which areconsidered essential for the junior practitioner and presents them in a practical and accessible manner. Lawyers generally will also find the Manual of use to them. The Manual is divided into several sections. The early chapters look at the most basic skills which any advocate needs and will assistthe beginner in understanding what to look for when they see advocacy in court. Any junior practitioner will benefit from the chapters on preparing and presenting legal submissions. The Manual then covers the important tasks of making opening and closing speeches. There are several chapters on theexamination and cross-examination of witnesses. Finally, there are many chapters showing the junior practitioner how to do it, reviewing practice and procedure in a wide variety of applications that might be made to a court or tribunal. The Manual has been written by experienced trainers andpractitioners who are well aware of the pitfalls that face practitioners old or new. Their guidance on dos and donts provides a remarkable insight into the criteria by which an advocates performance might be judged.