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.
For more information, watch the Advocacy Club's promotional video here.
Advocacy Club Boot Camp Schedule - in-person January 2 & 3, 2023, and on Zoom, January 15 & 17. All sessions from 12:30-5:00
- The next Advocacy Club Boot Camp will be offered only live, in-person at the facilities of our sponsor, KPMG Forensic Services, 150 - Elgin Street #1800, Ottawa. January 2 and 3, 2023 from 12:30-5:00 both days. Led by Juliet Knapton.
- We are also offering a Zoom-only Boot Camp January 17 and 19, 2023 from 12:30-5:00 both days. Led by John Hollander.
- Participants will qualify for 7.5 hours of substantive CPD and 1.5 hours of professional CPD, of which 1.0 hours are EDI.
- Cost is $370 for lawyers and $250 for students and paralegals, all plus HST, payable in advance and not refundable.
Please contact John Hollander to express your interest in this or a future session.
Recent Feedback:
"I'm amazed by how much I learned in such a short time. I gained practical knowledge and tools to be a better advocate for clients. This Advocacy Club Bootcamp is definitely a worthwhile investment."
"The Advocacy Bootcamp challenged me and allowed me to learn much about how I currently conduct my legal practice and how it can be improved. The instructors pushed us and helped us reflect on our advocacy skills and how to improve them. I highly recommend taking this course."
"Outstanding!"
Advocacy Club Holiday Social - December 14 @ 6:30 - It's Party Time!
The Advocacy Club is pleased to invite you to our upcoming Holiday Social!
WHEN: Wednesday, December 14th, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
WHERE: Rabbit Hole, 208 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1P 5C1
WHAT: An informal opportunity to socialize, network, and introduce law students, articling students, and new calls to the outstanding members of the Club and the Ottawa Bar. Appetizers and holiday cocktails will be served. We encourage junior and senior lawyers/paralegals and law students to attend.
ATTIRE: Holiday cocktail attire and/or ugly holiday sweaters are encouraged. The choice is yours!
SPONSOR: Our sponsor for this event is Mann Lawyers, a full-service law firm in Ottawa and Perth, ON. Their Director of Practice Management, Scott McLean, will be on hand to meet-and-greet. BTW, Scott ran a Boot Camp with Advocacy Club member Stephanie Lewis.
Details: Tickets are $35.40 ($40 incl. HST). Price includes your entry, hors-d'œuvres, pizza, and one drink ticket, which can be used for an alcoholic (house brands) or non-alcoholic beverage. Contact anyone on the Social Committee: Kelli-Anne Day, Victoria Boddy, Ainsley Shannon, or Mona Mikhael, or you can sign up at the AC Store here on this website.
View the Promotional PDF here.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
WHEN: Wednesday, December 14th, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
WHERE: Rabbit Hole, 208 Sparks St., Ottawa, ON K1P 5C1
WHAT: An informal opportunity to socialize, network, and introduce law students, articling students, and new calls to the outstanding members of the Club and the Ottawa Bar. Appetizers and holiday cocktails will be served. We encourage junior and senior lawyers/paralegals and law students to attend.
ATTIRE: Holiday cocktail attire and/or ugly holiday sweaters are encouraged. The choice is yours!
SPONSOR: Our sponsor for this event is Mann Lawyers, a full-service law firm in Ottawa and Perth, ON. Their Director of Practice Management, Scott McLean, will be on hand to meet-and-greet. BTW, Scott ran a Boot Camp with Advocacy Club member Stephanie Lewis.
Details: Tickets are $35.40 ($40 incl. HST). Price includes your entry, hors-d'œuvres, pizza, and one drink ticket, which can be used for an alcoholic (house brands) or non-alcoholic beverage. Contact anyone on the Social Committee: Kelli-Anne Day, Victoria Boddy, Ainsley Shannon, or Mona Mikhael, or you can sign up at the AC Store here on this website.
View the Promotional PDF here.
We look forward to seeing you all there!
Announcing the Advocacy Club Guide to Business Development - January 25 from 5:00-7:00
Led by lawyers, Advocacy Club members and entrepreneurs, Dean Blachford and Katie Black, this workshop provides practical guidance for building a sustainable book of business in the legal marketplace. The ticket price of $17.40 ($20 incl HST) includes admission to the workshop and light refreshments during the networking social thereafter. Open to lawyers, articling students, paralegals and law students, this program takes place at the facilities of our sponsor KPMG Forensic Services, 150 Elgin #1800, Ottawa.
View the Promotional PDF here.
Sign up at the AC Store, here.
View the Promotional PDF here.
Sign up at the AC Store, here.
Advocacy Club @ Law School Coming Soon on Zoom - Jan 31, 2023, to March 28, 2023
The sixth iteration of this successful course is offered to Canadian law school students. Students from all law schools, any year, are invited to learn advocacy skills from an experienced litigator and trainer, John Hollander, each Tuesday evening for 90-minutes. The first 30 minutes of each session is a presentation of the day's technique by the founder of the Advocacy Club. The remaining 60 minutes are break-out sessions led by civil litigators - all Club members - to allow participants to practice the technique taught in the session.
The curriculum is similar to the semester-long trial advocacy course John has taught at uOttawa for several years. Completion qualifies for membership in the Advocacy Club. Although a Zoom event, the networking opportunity is valuable. An unexpected benefit is how much the course will improve participants' ability in their other courses, whether advocacy-oriented or not. Another benefit is how impressive the course completion looks on your resumé. Some homework is involved, less than 60 minutes per week, but the payout is huge.
Read the PDF promo here. There is no charge for this course. The Advocacy Club organizer for these sessions is Matthew Benson (Club 20), here.
If you work in a law firm or for an employer who hires summer interns/articling students, you would be well-served to solicit talent among these motivated advocates-in-waiting. Please let us know here, and we can share your position details with the participants.
How about this for a testimonial? Several of the 9 eligible AC@LS 1Ls from uOttawa Common Law participated in the prestigious and competitive Nelligan Moot Court Competition. Of these, 3 made the semi-finals, and two made the finals, and one won outright! One of last year's winners, now a 2L, took part in this AC@LS, too. Makes one wonder about cause and effect.
Detailed testimonials can be found here.
The curriculum is similar to the semester-long trial advocacy course John has taught at uOttawa for several years. Completion qualifies for membership in the Advocacy Club. Although a Zoom event, the networking opportunity is valuable. An unexpected benefit is how much the course will improve participants' ability in their other courses, whether advocacy-oriented or not. Another benefit is how impressive the course completion looks on your resumé. Some homework is involved, less than 60 minutes per week, but the payout is huge.
Read the PDF promo here. There is no charge for this course. The Advocacy Club organizer for these sessions is Matthew Benson (Club 20), here.
If you work in a law firm or for an employer who hires summer interns/articling students, you would be well-served to solicit talent among these motivated advocates-in-waiting. Please let us know here, and we can share your position details with the participants.
How about this for a testimonial? Several of the 9 eligible AC@LS 1Ls from uOttawa Common Law participated in the prestigious and competitive Nelligan Moot Court Competition. Of these, 3 made the semi-finals, and two made the finals, and one won outright! One of last year's winners, now a 2L, took part in this AC@LS, too. Makes one wonder about cause and effect.
Detailed testimonials can be found here.
Advocacy Club Streaming Video Series
Available from the commercial companion website, AdvocacyClub.co, you can watch nine videos that make up the techniques presented in the Boot Camp on your own time. Each video (total 4.6 hours) features two presentations by John Hollander followed by exercises demonstrated - unrehearsed - by Club members.
Proceeds from the streaming video series will support the Advocacy Club Scholarship at the Emily Murphy Non-profit Housing Corp.
Proceeds from the streaming video series will support the Advocacy Club Scholarship at the Emily Murphy Non-profit Housing Corp.
Advocacy Club Newsletter
Communication is a significant issue. Emails? We all get too many; worse, bulk emails are vulnerable to phishing. And who reads them, anyway? LinkedIn? We have an active LinkedIn User Group (members are invited to ask for an invite - or check their inbox for the invite they have ignored), but despite "likes" and "shares", there is a very haphazard response to these. CCLA newsletter? Many Club members, especially outside Ottawa, don't read these.
So, we started to publish the AC Newsletter in March 2022. We send it to Club 20, 21 and 22 members, AC@LS members, past team leaders, and anyone else who asks to be added to the list. If you get one and don't want it, let us know, and we will remove your name. If you want it sent to your private email, let us know. Many members have changed firms/addresses or have left the law without letting us know, so please keep us advised of changes.
The technology foundation for the AC Newsletter is Weebly/Square, which is not very robust. You may not have opted-in, and we don't know it. We apologize if you receive unwanted emails because of that and undertake to correct any problems as soon as you let us know.
You can get access to the most recent Newsletter and add your name to the distribution list on request via email.
So, we started to publish the AC Newsletter in March 2022. We send it to Club 20, 21 and 22 members, AC@LS members, past team leaders, and anyone else who asks to be added to the list. If you get one and don't want it, let us know, and we will remove your name. If you want it sent to your private email, let us know. Many members have changed firms/addresses or have left the law without letting us know, so please keep us advised of changes.
The technology foundation for the AC Newsletter is Weebly/Square, which is not very robust. You may not have opted-in, and we don't know it. We apologize if you receive unwanted emails because of that and undertake to correct any problems as soon as you let us know.
You can get access to the most recent Newsletter and add your name to the distribution list on request via email.
Creative Writing - The Advocacy Club Novels Series
John Hollander has authored a novel, Murphy's Law, and several short stories that feature (primarily) junior lawyers trying to get through their day. You can find these creative works on Amazon and Kobo. Details on the www.advocacyclub.co website here.
The Advocacy Club now partners with the Emily Murphy Non-profit Housing Corp.
The Emily Murphy Non-profit Housing Corp is the first affordable supportive housing option for single parents in Ontario. It provides single parents and their children with affordable, quality housing while encouraging them to thrive in the broader community. Its mission is to provide stable housing and empower families to lead healthy, independent lives. It values the dignity and uniqueness of each individual living at EM, strives to uphold equity and recognize diversity within the EM community, and supports single parents and children to become stronger and more confident in controlling their own lives and recognizing their own rights.
Each Advanced Club will raise funds for this deserving non-profit. Contact Club member and EMNH Board Chair Victoria Boddy for more information.
Each Advanced Club will raise funds for this deserving non-profit. Contact Club member and EMNH Board Chair Victoria Boddy for more information.
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:
Advocacy Club Handbooks
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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, let him know via email. |
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.