The Gazette 1991

NOVEMBER 1991

GAZETTE

Solicitors Learn on Their Feet

Its 12.30p.m. on an early Autumn afternoon and Suzanne Hill is before Judge Dona! Kearney in the District Court and about to commence her examination-in- chief. The cameras roll. A few minutes later she sits down, the camera stops and a voice calls out "Well, how do you think you did?" " I don't know, I think I was a bit halting" she proffers. "No, That's not a problem. You re- covered yourself and went on to ask some good questions" says the voice. "The important thing when that happens is not to panic. Just take a moment to collect your thoughts." The "voice" is not that of a film director but belongs to Bill James one of the tutors on the advo- cacy module of the Advanced Course in the Society's Law School. Every student attending the Law Society's Advanced Course now gets three days' practical training on advocacy in the District Court. The emphasis is on learning by doing. The students are divided up into teams, plaintiff and defendant or prosecution and defence. After a day of making bail applications and pleas in mitigation the students conduct a series of cases, criminal and civil before a judge and their performance is videoed. Each student has a minimun of two sessions before the camera, conducting an examination in chief, cross-examination or re-exami- nation. After each session they receive a short, constructive commentary (the critique) on their performance - an exercise from which the whole group benefits - before leaving the "courtroom" to watch their performance being played back. The playback gives the oppo r t un i ty for a more extensive critique by a course tutor. While Suzanne is on her feet, students Joseph O'Sullivan and Michael O'Connor are in the play-

A s t u d e nt b e i ng v i d e o ed o n t h e A d v o c a cy Training Co u r se

back room watching their perfor- mances with tutor Jim Dennison. Jim hits the pause button every now and then to make a point about their presentation or demeanour. "The great advantage is that the students are learning by doing" says Jim Dennison. "Video is also an advantage for the tutors. So much is going on when the tutor is watching the live performance, that it can be impossible to jot down all the points you want to pick up on." Jim Dennison says the improve- ment in the students' performance over the t wo days is very noticeable. What do the students think? Suzanne Hill says: " I t 's very bene- ficial because it helps you to see your mistakes. It's nerve wracking being in front of the cameras, but I think it will definitely stand to me to have been in this situation". Joseph O'Sullivan feels it is the most practical aspect of the ad- vanced course: "Put it this way, no one is going to give you these tips when you are out there practising and doing it for real". After the students have had their turn they are treated to a live role

play from the tutors who act out the same case, and students get an opportunity to turn the tables by critically evaluating their mentors' performance! Practical advocacy training started in the Spring of 1981 and was an early feature of the Advanced Course. It is administered by Pro- fessor Laurence Sweeney, Director of Training. The approach, he says, is influenced by the NITA (National Institute/Training Advocacy) system. " I t 's a building block approach. The emphasis is on preparing, doing, critiquing and repeating the process". The course consultants receive comprehensive guidelines based on the NITA system. They are asked to emphasise what the students have done well, as well as picking out one - or at most two - points about what was wrong with the student's performance explaining why and demonstrating - very briefly - how to do it better. The demonstration is the key element of the critique and the feature from which the students perhaps learn most. Formal lecturing is kept to a minimum. The focus throughout is 353