Negotiation 101:
How to Settle Disputes without a Mediator
Junior counsel cannot seem to settle their cases without an adult in the room, a mediator, a pretrial master or judge. This 2.0-hour session arms participants with actionable techniques to do just that. Small Claims Court judges and experienced mediators present specific techniques to break through the barriers, to reach consensus. And participants get to settle two cases, in small teams under the watchful eye of senior negotiation experts.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for both 1.5 substantive hours and 0.5 professional hours.
Feedback from participant Karen Kernisant published May 17, 2019 on LinkedIn:
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for both 1.5 substantive hours and 0.5 professional hours.
Feedback from participant Karen Kernisant published May 17, 2019 on LinkedIn:
Today, I attended a fantastic workshop organized by the hashtag#AdvocacyClub ... Thank you John Hollander for your hard work and mentorship. A few important takeaways for me were the following:
1) it's important to build a strong lawyer-client relationship before mediation. If the client won't take the lawyer's advice or doesn't trust the lawyer, it makes it that more difficult to resolve.
2) Emotional, political, financial and psychological challenges should not be ignored. Clients don't always take unreasonable decisions because they misunderstand the law. Sometimes, something else is at play and the lawyer needs to find out what it is. This may also have to be communited to the mediator to have a more productive negotiation.
3) Mediation is a great tool to solve disputes but it's not for everyone. For clients who are interested in playing the blame game, mediation should probably be avoided.
1) it's important to build a strong lawyer-client relationship before mediation. If the client won't take the lawyer's advice or doesn't trust the lawyer, it makes it that more difficult to resolve.
2) Emotional, political, financial and psychological challenges should not be ignored. Clients don't always take unreasonable decisions because they misunderstand the law. Sometimes, something else is at play and the lawyer needs to find out what it is. This may also have to be communited to the mediator to have a more productive negotiation.
3) Mediation is a great tool to solve disputes but it's not for everyone. For clients who are interested in playing the blame game, mediation should probably be avoided.
Discovery Techniques 1:
Undertakings/Refusals, Bad Questions, Bad Answers and Judgment Calls
In this popular 2-hour session, participants learn how to engage in good techniques and avoid bad ones. They learn to identify and make judgment calls that often arise in discovery. Examples include the negative question, the ambivalent answer, the compound question and the vague undertaking. Exercises demonstrate tactics, proper etiquette and professionalism in objections, undertakings and refusals.
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Discovery Techniques: A Practical Guide to the Discovery Process in Civil Actions, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper or e-formats here.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for 2.0 substantive hours.
Feedback: "Very helpful to have something practical presented and discussed with experts on that topic!"
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Discovery Techniques: A Practical Guide to the Discovery Process in Civil Actions, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper or e-formats here.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for 2.0 substantive hours.
Feedback: "Very helpful to have something practical presented and discussed with experts on that topic!"
Discovery Techniques 2:
Dealing with Aggressive Counsel - Learn to Play Offence and Defence
Following on the Discovery Techniques 1 session, this 2.0-hour presents the techniques of offence (without offending, of course) in which litigation counsel present the techniques to get the information – all the information - and to overcome evasive action by witnesses and resistance from opposing counsel. As part of the session, participants also learn techniques to prepare their witnesses to be examined. And, as a bonus, to defend against aggressive tactics of opposing counsel. All within ethical bounds.
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Discovery Techniques: A Practical Guide to the Discovery Process in Civil Actions, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper or e-formats here.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for both 1.5 substantive hours and 0.5 professional hours.
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Discovery Techniques: A Practical Guide to the Discovery Process in Civil Actions, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper or e-formats here.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for both 1.5 substantive hours and 0.5 professional hours.
Motions Advocacy
This two-hour clinic presents techniques and issues that face civil litigators as they prepare for and argue motions.
A 45-minute plenary presentation by litigation counsel is followed by a 75-minute practical session, in which the participants work in small groups. During the plenary session, participants learn actionable techniques for effective presentation of motions. During the practical session, participants practise what the presenters have preached.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for 2.0 substantive hours.
Feedback: "I found the program good as a refresher for what was discussed at the advocacy club bootcamp and I appreciated the on the spot giving oral argument."
A 45-minute plenary presentation by litigation counsel is followed by a 75-minute practical session, in which the participants work in small groups. During the plenary session, participants learn actionable techniques for effective presentation of motions. During the practical session, participants practise what the presenters have preached.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for 2.0 substantive hours.
Feedback: "I found the program good as a refresher for what was discussed at the advocacy club bootcamp and I appreciated the on the spot giving oral argument."
Presentation Skills for Advocates
Kristina Watt
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Actress and coach Kristina Watt and senior litigator John Hollander present Presentation Techniques for Lawyers and Presentation Techniques for Professionals. To persuade, presenters must first communicate effectively. In this session, participants will learn the basic lessons of rhetoric and apply them to reach their target audience - whether clients in an office setting, attendants at a conference or decision-makers in the court/tribunal room.
Hear Kristina discuss the presentation in this 90-second audio podcast, here. |
Each session consists of a 2.5-hour session to learn and practice the techniques. This seminar uses Advocacy Club methods of active learning through doing, with actionable techniques.
CPD (Lawyers) |
Participants are entitled to claim 1.5 hour substantive and 1.0 hour professional credits for the session. |
Enrolment |
Limited to 8 participants for optimal experience. |
Cost |
$250 per participant. |
Contact for Registration |
Use of Transcripts in Cross-Examination
Transcripts are a cross-examiner's best friend. The words on the page won't change. They can be relied on as the testimony of the witness. When the witness goes off-script, they can form the basis of a triumphant impeachment. There is a formula to using transcripts in impeachment, one that inexperienced lawyers stumble over. And counsel can use transcripts for far more than just to impeach. And counsel can use other documents as a stand-in for transcripts, too. This session will present the techniques for the effective use of transcripts and other records during cross.
CPD: Participants are entitled to substantive CPD credits (120 minutes).
CPD: Participants are entitled to substantive CPD credits (120 minutes).
Focused Direct and Cross-examinations
This Advanced Club Sessions presents the 5 actionable techniques (each) for effective directs and crosses. In these sessions, participants conduct examinations using witness statements. The first 2-hour session will practice directs, and the second 2-hour session will practice crosses.
"Do this. Don't do this." In breakouts right after the presentation, participants examine the witness. During each examination, participants receive feedback focused on their use of the 5 actionable techniques. Practice immediately what we preach!
Participants each receive a copy of John Hollander's handbook, Examinations in Civil Trials, published by Irwin Law (a $30 value).
CPD: Participants are entitled to substantive CPD credits (2 hours per session).
"Do this. Don't do this." In breakouts right after the presentation, participants examine the witness. During each examination, participants receive feedback focused on their use of the 5 actionable techniques. Practice immediately what we preach!
Participants each receive a copy of John Hollander's handbook, Examinations in Civil Trials, published by Irwin Law (a $30 value).
CPD: Participants are entitled to substantive CPD credits (2 hours per session).
Expert Witnesses:
The Full-Day Workshop
Learn and practice the techniques of dealing with expert witnesses:
- Prepare an expert to be examined.
- Direct that expert.
- Cross another expert in the same case study.
- Qualifies for 6 hours substantive, 60 minutes professional.
- One expert for every two lawyer participants.
- Experts can be: forensic accountants, actuaries, economists, occupational therapists, or psychologists, depending on the program
- Participants each receive a copy of John Hollander's handbook, Expert Witnesses in Civil Litigation, published by Irwin Law.
CPD: Participants are entitled to substantive CPD credits (7 hours).
Objections During Examinations
This clinic presents techniques and issues that arise from making, answering and even considering objections. It is comprised of a 30-minute presentation by litigation counsel, followed by 60 minutes of exercises to implement the techniques presented. The clinic qualifies as 1.5 substantive hours of CPD.
Openings and Closings
This half-day course begins with the lessons learned in the Case Analysis session. Participants implement the skills in the context of opening addresses and closing arguments. What are the differences? What are the constraints? How far can advocates go?
Case Analysis
Case analysis separates the wheat from the chaff. The analyst focuses on the question, “What is the case about?” This session features exercises that enable participants to learn and to practise how to sift through the myriad inputs, to eliminate the distractions, and to express the key elements of a case to their audience compellingly and persuasively. During the exercises, participants review the statements of two witnesses and identify the core concepts, which they use in their preparation to examine the witnesses.
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Case Analysis: The Critical Path to Persuasion, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper of e-formats here.
Each program focuses on a factual situation from a different area of law:
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Case Analysis: The Critical Path to Persuasion, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper of e-formats here.
Each program focuses on a factual situation from a different area of law:
- Construction
- Personal injury/tort
- Estate litigation
- Family law
- Commercial
- Real estate
- Administrative law
Cases can be customized to resonate with participants in their own areas of practice.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development substantive hours only.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development substantive hours only.
Mediation
After a case analysis session, participants can opt to take their “case” to mediation. They prepare short mediation briefs and attend mediation for each of the cases that they analyzed. They work with experienced mediators and articling students, who pose as clients. Following the mediation, all participants, including students, attend a general session with the mediators to discuss issues common to mediations.
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Mediation for Civil Litigators, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper of e-formats here.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for both substantive hours and professional hours.
The session is an application of the techniques presented in the handbook, Mediation for Civil Litigators, published by Irwin Law and available for purchase in paper of e-formats here.
This program is accepted by the Law Society of Upper Canada for continuing professional development for both substantive hours and professional hours.
General Feedback
"The Advocacy Club fills an important niche, teaching practical and hands-on advocacy skills and adopting a learning by doing approach."