Last modified: 12 Sep 2024 14:16
What is it?
This is a new, unique online course designed to make you a better legal advocate, wherever you are in the world.
It is intensely practical, taught by two lawyers (one a barrister, the other a tribunal judge and academic) who have 60 years of combined advocacy experience. The expert tutors present the course jointly, in a ‘Bar and Bench’ delivery approach.
What will I learn?
On completion, you are equipped to:
• Understand the aim and nature of legal advocacy
• Frame high quality written legal arguments
• Conduct effective witness questioning
• Develop or hone key practical cross-examination techniques
• Take accurate, concise and informative witness statements
• Deliver effective opening and closing submissions
• Present a persuasive proposal in a negotiation process, to an opponent or your client
• Whether you are starting out your legal advocacy career or you wish to improve your technique, this course will help you. There will be a wealth of hints, tips, techniques and examples to reflect the practical focus of your learning experience.
Who will teach and assess it?
Your course tutors are Mr Ian Whitehurst and Professor Derek P Auchie.
Ian is an English Barrister, arbitrator and lecturer specialising in criminal and regulatory law. He has appeared in hundreds of trials and appeals across a board range of courts and tribunals in his career and has appeared also in offshore jurisdictions and international tribunals.
Derek is a former civil and criminal litigation solicitor, who became and academic and then a tribunal judge now sitting in four jurisdictions. He has represented hundreds of clients in a wide range of judicial settings, and he has chaired over a thousand judicial hearings. Derek is also an arbitrator and mediator. He has taught advocacy technique at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional levels.
How will the course be delivered?
It will be taught purely online across 6 weeks, by a mixture of reading, recorded lectures, interactive online activities and live online tutorials.
Student numbers will be limited for each delivery, to ensure a high quality, small group learning environment.
The course design is flexible, to be available to those with a busy professional life: the estimated weekly time commitment is around 9 hours. With the exception of three 90-minute online live tutorials (one per fortnight), you can complete the weekly work whenever and wherever convenient to you.
Assessment is based on your participation in the online activities and online live tutorials and on a single written reflective piece, due two weeks after the 6-week tuition period.
How much does it cost?
The total course fee is £1500 plus VAT, to include all materials, tuition and assessment. You will not need to purchase any reading materials, as you will have access to the impressive online library at the School of Law while on the course. All essential course materials will be available in electronic format at no additional cost.
Discounts for group course bookings may be available.
| Study Type | Postgraduate | Level | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 0 credits (0 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
|
||
The aim of this course is to improve your legal advocacy skills and techniques. It is jointly taught by two experienced lawyers, one an English barrister and the other a former litigation solicitor and tribunal judge. This allows a unique ‘Bar and Bench’ approach to what is a highly practical subject.
By taking this course, you will improve your professional performance, leading to better results for your clients. You will also be equipped to improve your reputation within the profession, with decision makers and with current (and prospective) clients. This course will make a real, practical difference to how you advocate.
This course will help you whatever part of the world you are in, and whichever legal family you belong to. Whether your advocacy is delivered in a domestic litigation forum or an international forum (such as an international court or arbitral tribunal context) we will help you to develop and improve your technique. You may practise in a regulatory, investigatory or disciplinary arena: this course is for you too.
There will be a wealth of practical hints, tips, examples and stories to bring the subject to life. Students are expected to understand not only what to do but why they are doing it, so that they can apply their knowledge appropriately over and over again.
The nature and purpose of advocacy will be tackled, followed by a concentration on the two main forms of legal advocacy: written and oral.
The main kinds of written work will be considered, such as submissions (argument), motions (requests), witness statements and pleadings. In addition, the specialties of expert reports will be analysed.
On oral advocacy, we will discuss and demonstrate the art of delivering a concise and focussed argument or speech to a judge, tribunal or jury. We will demystify the examination of witnesses (both your own and your opponent’s).
After examining written and oral advocacy, the course turns its attention to the application of advocacy in other contexts: negotiating with your opponent and your client. This involves a combination of traditional advocacy skills (covered earlier) and negotiation skills (negotiation being a form of advocacy).
Assessment on the course is highly practical. Tutors will give feedback on your online work (including in tutorials) so that you can improve as the course unfolds. Your final assessment (a reflective report) will allow you to bring together into one place an understanding of what you have learned, so that you can more readily use that learning to improve your practice.
Come and join us for an interactive, practical and interesting learning experience. You will enjoy it and see the benefits in your confidence and performance
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 30 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Word count: 2,000 Feedback will be provided at the end of each 2-week cycle, allowing students to use that feedback for the next 2-week cycle or (in the case of the third such assessment) for their subsequent reflective report assessment. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the nature, aims, nature and origins of legal advocacy. |
| Procedural | Create | Construct high quality written legal arguments. |
| Reflection | Apply | Deploy advocacy techniques in non-litigious legal environments. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Word count: 3,000 Written feedback and a grade will be provided. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the nature, aims, nature and origins of legal advocacy. |
| Procedural | Apply | Design and deliver effective witness questioning. |
| Procedural | Create | Construct high quality written legal arguments. |
| Reflection | Apply | Deploy advocacy techniques in non-litigious legal environments. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Students to be graded on how well they understood the question, their preparation for the seminar and their performance and participation during it. Feedback will be offered after each seminar for those who wish it or for those for whom tutor concern arises for example around lack of preparation/participation. |
|||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Apply | Design and deliver effective witness questioning. |
| Reflection | Apply | Deploy advocacy techniques in non-litigious legal environments. |
There are no assessments for this course.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
Grade and feedback to be provided within 2 weeks of resit submission deadline. |
Word Count | 4000 | |
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
|
|
||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Understand | Understand the nature, aims, nature and origins of legal advocacy. |
| Procedural | Create | Construct high quality written legal arguments. |
| Procedural | Apply | Design and deliver effective witness questioning. |
| Reflection | Apply | Deploy advocacy techniques in non-litigious legal environments. |
We have detected that you are have compatibility mode enabled or are using an old version of Internet Explorer. You either need to switch off compatibility mode for this site or upgrade your browser.
