Welcome to the Advocacy Club
The Advocacy Club was founded in 2007 to train articling students and junior lawyers in the arts of civil advocacy. Since then, it has expanded to include hundreds of participants from many law firms and governmental organizations. The Club's sessions are based on these principles:
- Trainees learn more by doing than by listening to lectures.
- Junior advocates benefit greatly from networking with other like-minded professionals.
- Collegiality, professionalism and competence are interrelated and form the foundation for a successful career in law.
Club News and Events
Advocacy Club Boot Camp
Join the Advocacy Club! The only way is by taking the Boot Camp. A comprehensive training program that covers the basics of civil trial advocacy: interview skills, case analysis, outlining examinations, discovery, direct and cross-examination techniques and legal argument. All in 9.0 hours of mixed presentations, drills and exercises. A practical, formula-based program that arms junior litigators with the essentials to survive and succeed in today's civil courtrooms.
Details of the Boot Camp can be found here. The next session will be in January 2019 - the 24th and 25th from 8:30 to 1:00 . Hosted and sponsored by Club supporter, Kelly Santini LLP at its offices at 160 Elgin #2401, Ottawa.
Contact John Hollander to reserve your spot for this next session.
- CPD: Sessions qualify as 7.5 hours substantive and 1.5 hours professional CPD, of which 1.0 hour qualifies as the EDI component each lawyer requires annually.
- Cost: $370 for lawyers and $250 for paralegals, articling and summer students, plus HST.
- Payment via credit card or PayPal, can be arranged here for lawyers and here for students, etc.
Join the Advocacy Club! The only way is by taking the Boot Camp. A comprehensive training program that covers the basics of civil trial advocacy: interview skills, case analysis, outlining examinations, discovery, direct and cross-examination techniques and legal argument. All in 9.0 hours of mixed presentations, drills and exercises. A practical, formula-based program that arms junior litigators with the essentials to survive and succeed in today's civil courtrooms.
Details of the Boot Camp can be found here. The next session will be in January 2019 - the 24th and 25th from 8:30 to 1:00 . Hosted and sponsored by Club supporter, Kelly Santini LLP at its offices at 160 Elgin #2401, Ottawa.
Contact John Hollander to reserve your spot for this next session.
- CPD: Sessions qualify as 7.5 hours substantive and 1.5 hours professional CPD, of which 1.0 hour qualifies as the EDI component each lawyer requires annually.
- Cost: $370 for lawyers and $250 for paralegals, articling and summer students, plus HST.
- Payment via credit card or PayPal, can be arranged here for lawyers and here for students, etc.
Advocacy Club's Compensation Survey is Completed and Reported
The Advocacy Club's Third Annual Compensation Survey has collected a meaningful amount of data about compensation for junior lawyers and articling students. This data arms Club members to negotiate their comp package based on comparables. The survey reports have gone to all Club members. The reports do not include details about collateral benefits. If you are interested in knowing the details of this, there is a link to a report available to Club members and supporting firms. Please contact John.Hollander2@gmail.com.
Announcing the Empathy Skills Course for CPD/EDI Credits
The Advocacy Club incorporates the Empathy Toy (tm) in its Boot Camp to teach communications and empathy skills to junior advocates. Watch the video from the creators, Twenty One Toys, here.
Now this amazing and effective session is available for small groups (between 4 and 8) of lawyers of all levels of seniority. The session has the collateral benefit of team-building. Qualifies as 60 minutes of the Equality, Diversity and Equity component of professional hours of CPD by the law Society of Ontario.
"Communications by a lawyer are a crucial element of the position – whether it be with clients, fellow lawyers or the public in general. It is essential that we understand how to communicate with all individuals regardless of race or gender. John’s seminar provides guidance in doing all that and is useful for all lawyers regardless of experience or background. I recently participated in a session with several other senior lawyers. We all benefitted from the experience." Roger Ramonat, Call 1984
Soon to be available through the Advocacy Club and through the County of Carleton Law Association, contact John Hollander for more details.
Now this amazing and effective session is available for small groups (between 4 and 8) of lawyers of all levels of seniority. The session has the collateral benefit of team-building. Qualifies as 60 minutes of the Equality, Diversity and Equity component of professional hours of CPD by the law Society of Ontario.
"Communications by a lawyer are a crucial element of the position – whether it be with clients, fellow lawyers or the public in general. It is essential that we understand how to communicate with all individuals regardless of race or gender. John’s seminar provides guidance in doing all that and is useful for all lawyers regardless of experience or background. I recently participated in a session with several other senior lawyers. We all benefitted from the experience." Roger Ramonat, Call 1984
Soon to be available through the Advocacy Club and through the County of Carleton Law Association, contact John Hollander for more details.
The Advocacy Club wishes to thank the firms that have sponsored events over the past 12 months:
Kelly Santini
KPMG Forensic Services
Brazeau Seller/Yegendorf
Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh
Macera & Jarzyna/Moffatt
University of Ottawa Law School (PPD)
KPMG Forensic Services
Brazeau Seller/Yegendorf
Smart & Biggar/Fetherstonhaugh
Macera & Jarzyna/Moffatt
University of Ottawa Law School (PPD)
Chat with Lawyers Podcast Series
John Hollander interviews lawyers to present an entertaining discussion of their careers and techniques. Each podcast runs less than an hour. All of the episodes feature discussions with senior lawyers about issues faced by junior lawyers when dealing with professional choices. The accomplished guests present tips and guidance with respect to an area of law (e.g. Construction, Family, Personal Injury/Insurance Defence), a component of litigation practice (e.g. Discovery, Trial Preparation, Mediation, Factum Writing) or a subject related to career development (e.g. Promotion, Partnership, Professionalism, Starting a Law Practice, Work-life Balance and Maternity Leave). An impressive group of counsel has participated in these one-on-one and one-on-two interviews. All the lawyers with 10 years or less at the Bar are members of the Advocacy Club.
Next up is community activist Emelie Taman chatting with host John Hollander about how she maintains a work-life balance and her advice for the junior professional. The hour-long podcast is available here.
All episodes can be found at: www.chatwithlawyers.ca.
Next up is community activist Emelie Taman chatting with host John Hollander about how she maintains a work-life balance and her advice for the junior professional. The hour-long podcast is available here.
All episodes can be found at: www.chatwithlawyers.ca.
From Novice Lawyer to Skilled Advocate...
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Founded by John Hollander in 2009 in Ottawa, the Advocacy Club trains novice lawyers to become skilled advocates. It has two focuses:
Our training methods emphasize practical exercise sessions without lectures. The initial training (the Boot Camp) consists of two half days of four hours each. The first half day focuses on interview skills, case analysis and outlining techniques. The second applies the lessons of the first session to examinations and closing arguments. Boot Camp enrolment is limited so that participants get the most out of each session. |
By the end of the Boot Camp, junior advocates have learned to apply the techniques to most of the situations they encounter in their practice. After this initial training, Club members participate in advanced sessions that take place throughout the year. To date these sessions have included training in:
John has written several handbooks presenting the Advocacy Club techniques. They are available through Irwin Law Publishers and on the Store page of this website.
In January 2014, John Hollander Professional Corporation was approved as an Accredited Provider of Professionalism Content by the Law Society of Upper Canada. This accreditation applies to all Advocacy Club Programs to which professionalism content is applicable.
If you have any questions for John, or are interested in Advocacy Club training sessions, go to the Contact page.
- focused cross examination techniques
- focused direct examination techniques
- presentation skills (led by professional actress and coach, Kristina Watt)
- discovery techniques (adapted for use by AJEFO)
- advanced discovery techniques - dealing with poor questions and non-responsive answers
- advanced discovery - dealing with aggressive counsel and witnesses
- negotiation tactics (adapted for use by AJEFO)
- mediation
- case analysis
- objections (adapted for use by AJEFO)
- openings and closings
- motions advocacy
- expert witnesses (several separate sessions with accountants, occupational therapists and psychologists)
- impeachment of witnesses
John has written several handbooks presenting the Advocacy Club techniques. They are available through Irwin Law Publishers and on the Store page of this website.
In January 2014, John Hollander Professional Corporation was approved as an Accredited Provider of Professionalism Content by the Law Society of Upper Canada. This accreditation applies to all Advocacy Club Programs to which professionalism content is applicable.
If you have any questions for John, or are interested in Advocacy Club training sessions, go to the Contact page.