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.
The First Advocacy Club Social Event
Advocacy Club members attended the first Advocacy Club social night, duking it out for bragging rights on Zoom. Congrats to organizers Victoria Boddy and Priya Chopra for a successful event, as proved by survey replies. Our winners were Tatyana Loeffler-Vulpe, Antonio Giamberardino, Ryan Parry and Colin Baxter (Ryan and Colin are 2Ls at Queen's and Lakehead, respectively). Tatyana said: “The Advocacy Club virtual trivia night was a great opportunity to network and have fun with colleagues when we can’t gather in person.”
If you have an idea or would help organize the next AC Networking event, let us know by emailing Victoria or Priya.
If you have an idea or would help organize the next AC Networking event, let us know by emailing Victoria or Priya.
Announcing the new AC Masterclass Video Series
The Advocacy Club is going online! To give you more options to learn and practice the techniques of civil trial advocacy. Coming soon, you can take the courses via streaming video, starting with the Boot Camp, planned to be available soon. The Boot Camp is broken into two components to appeal to different audiences. The Boot Camp for Law Students contains Questioning Techniques and Case Analysis, both essential skills to succeed in Law School. The Boot Camp for Lawyers and Articling Students contains both of those plus modules on Direct Examinations, Cross-examination and Final Argument.
Who should take the AC Masterclass Boot Camp?
What are the modules?
You can access the Masterclass Series via the AC Masterclass tab on this website, or visit www.acmasterclass.ca when the system is up and running soon.
Who should take the AC Masterclass Boot Camp?
- Law students looking for a leg up on their colleagues.
- Articling students and junior lawyers looking for the techniques that form the foundation of civil trial advocacy.
- More senior lawyers looking for a framework to prepare for examinations, cross-examinations and argument, or just a few different techniques that serve as alternatives to their defaults.
What are the modules?
- Each module is approximately 90 minutes long. Except for Final Argument, each consists of two episodes.
- Each episode starts with a presentation of the techniques. It then concludes with exercises conducted by two unrehearsed Advocacy Club members to demonstrate how to practice and apply the techniques.
- Participants are encouraged to pause the streaming video at this stage, and to practice the techniques themselves.
You can access the Masterclass Series via the AC Masterclass tab on this website, or visit www.acmasterclass.ca when the system is up and running soon.
Zoom-Based Advocacy Club Boot Camp - available Canada-wide!
The only way to join the Advocacy Club is by taking the Boot Camp. Details here. Due to the COVID 19 crisis, sessions will run via using Zoom (c) technology.
The next Zoom Boot Camp is scheduled for January 26 and 28, afternoons from 1:00-5:00. This will be the 5th such session. If you are interested in this, or in a future session, contact John Hollander. Cost $250 for students and $370 for lawyers, both plus HST.
"As a new member of the profession, the Advocacy Club boot camp helped provide a comprehensive review of key skills, while teaching me how to strategize and think critically about a case. The program was engaging and challenging, providing the perfect mix of theoretical techniques and practical application. Having a safe and welcoming online space allowed me to venture outside of my comfort zone, and receive valuable feedback from supportive colleagues and instructors." Alice Mihaelescu
"The Advocacy Club provides practical strategies that are immediately applicable to the practice of law. I learned skills that I always wanted, but did not know where to find. It has changed my approach to case analysis and how to more effectively conduct direct and cross-examinations." Monick Grenier
"All new lawyers ought to join the Advocacy Club. Day to day practice can be overwhelming, especially as a first-year lawyer. The training has helped me think critically about identifying strengths and weaknesses when structuring arguments. The instructors provide constructive feedback to participants and are highly organized. I look forward to the next program!" Alana Guy
"Excellent how to do it workshop on interviewing, case preparation, examination and cross, argument and closing statements. The best advocacy professional learning program involving information, application of information, practice opportunities and constructive feedback. This course answers your advocacy needs on how to prepare a case, question a witness, organize your evidence and make final arguments." Hugh Connelly
Contact us here to let us know you are interested in attending an online session. When we can arrange for 6 or more to participate, we will set it up! We can customize the Boot Camp for the needs of a group of lawyers with a single employer or area of law. We have already done this twice, with excellent results for two groups of over 15 lawyers, students and paralegals.
The next Zoom Boot Camp is scheduled for January 26 and 28, afternoons from 1:00-5:00. This will be the 5th such session. If you are interested in this, or in a future session, contact John Hollander. Cost $250 for students and $370 for lawyers, both plus HST.
"As a new member of the profession, the Advocacy Club boot camp helped provide a comprehensive review of key skills, while teaching me how to strategize and think critically about a case. The program was engaging and challenging, providing the perfect mix of theoretical techniques and practical application. Having a safe and welcoming online space allowed me to venture outside of my comfort zone, and receive valuable feedback from supportive colleagues and instructors." Alice Mihaelescu
"The Advocacy Club provides practical strategies that are immediately applicable to the practice of law. I learned skills that I always wanted, but did not know where to find. It has changed my approach to case analysis and how to more effectively conduct direct and cross-examinations." Monick Grenier
"All new lawyers ought to join the Advocacy Club. Day to day practice can be overwhelming, especially as a first-year lawyer. The training has helped me think critically about identifying strengths and weaknesses when structuring arguments. The instructors provide constructive feedback to participants and are highly organized. I look forward to the next program!" Alana Guy
"Excellent how to do it workshop on interviewing, case preparation, examination and cross, argument and closing statements. The best advocacy professional learning program involving information, application of information, practice opportunities and constructive feedback. This course answers your advocacy needs on how to prepare a case, question a witness, organize your evidence and make final arguments." Hugh Connelly
Contact us here to let us know you are interested in attending an online session. When we can arrange for 6 or more to participate, we will set it up! We can customize the Boot Camp for the needs of a group of lawyers with a single employer or area of law. We have already done this twice, with excellent results for two groups of over 15 lawyers, students and paralegals.
June 2020 COVID Survey Results!
In May 2020, the Advocacy Club conducted a survey, mainly (but not only) among its members. Over 100 lawyers and articling students participated, giving a decent cross-section of the experience of junior lawyer in the Ottawa Region. Here is a link to the Survey Results. Read the stats about how these lawyers and their firms have coped with the pandemic.
From Novice Lawyer to Skilled Advocate
Founded by John Hollander in 2007 in Ottawa, the Advocacy Club trains novice lawyers to become skilled advocates. It has two focuses:
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:
- To teach the art of advocacy through preparation, interview and examination
- To promote collegiality among advocacy peers.
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:
- Focused cross examination techniques
- Focused direct examination techniques
- Presentation skills (led by professional actress and coach, Kristina Watt)
- Discovery techniques
- Advanced discovery techniques - dealing with poor questions and non-responsive answers
- Advanced discovery - dealing with aggressive counsel and witnesses
- Negotiation tactics
- Mediation and settlement conferences
- Case analysis
- Objections
- Openings and closings
- Motions advocacy
- Expert witnesses (several separate sessions with accountants, occupational therapists and psychologists)
- Impeachment of witnesses
- Public speaking
- Communications skills (qualifies as EDI and professionalsim hours)
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For detailed course descriptions, go to: Courses
John has written several handbooks presenting the Advocacy Club techniques. They are available through Irwin Law Publishers and on Amazon.com at John's Author Page here. In January 2014, John Hollander Professional Corporation was approved as an Accredited Provider of Professionalism Content by the Law Society of Ontario. 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. |
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.
There are themes to the series. The early podcasts featured senior prominent lawyers discussing specific techniques in civil litigation. The series expanded to include professional issues, such as parental leave, partnership and promotion. The series took a detour to interview Great Canadians, a retired Supreme Court justice, a law school dean, the creator of the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship program and a sightless law student, all of whom have had a major impact on our legal scene.
The series currently presents Advocacy Club members discussing their experiences in trials and contested hearings. All podcasts present tips and techniques for junior lawyers to improve their practices.
All episodes can be found at: www.chatwithlawyers.ca.
There are themes to the series. The early podcasts featured senior prominent lawyers discussing specific techniques in civil litigation. The series expanded to include professional issues, such as parental leave, partnership and promotion. The series took a detour to interview Great Canadians, a retired Supreme Court justice, a law school dean, the creator of the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship program and a sightless law student, all of whom have had a major impact on our legal scene.
The series currently presents Advocacy Club members discussing their experiences in trials and contested hearings. All podcasts present tips and techniques for junior lawyers to improve their practices.
All episodes can be found at: www.chatwithlawyers.ca.