Boot Camp Formats
Advocacy Club Boot Camp for Junior Litigators
Five Two-Hour Sessions
The Advocacy Club Boot Camp offers junior litigators a unique educational experience. Here, participants learn by doing.
These are the basic skills litigators should master to succeed. Best of all, participants develop a sense of collegiality with their co-participants. This peer-to-peer contact continues well beyond the Boot Camp. If you are interested in this or a future session, contact John Hollander. Cost $250 for students and $370 for lawyers, both plus HST.
The Boot Camp qualifies (for lawyers in Ontario, at least) as 8.5 hours substantive CPD, plus 1.5 hours professional of which 1.0 is EDI. Due to the small size of the participating groups, we cannot offer refunds, so we ask you to pay a week before the first session.
To sign up, contact John Hollander through the "Contact" page, and pay through the "Store" page. Please provide the name of your firm/organization and your year of Call, or if articling or a paralegal.
Boot camps are customizable! If your department, organization or firm has four or more litigators who need this kind of training, contact us to discuss your requirements and to receive a fee quotation. For details, see our page on Custom Training here.
The graduates of all Boot Camps become Club Members. These constitute a pool of highly talented litigators. Many of them have gone on to train others in advocacy techniques, both in the Club and at the Bar (CCLA, OBA, AGEFO, uOttawa Law). Several have received recognition for their excellence as advocates, for their community service and some through election to the CCLA Board of Trustees. Some are now partners in their firms and leaders in the legal community.
Read what they say (in anonymous 2021-2022 QA surveys):
As a lawyer in Toronto, I had never heard of the Advocacy Club before. I feel fortunate that I was introduced to the Club and was able to participate in the Advocacy Boot Camp over Zoom. This is an incredible program for lawyers at all stages in their career, and in my opinion should be essential learning. I love how the Boot Camp was participating based and the takeaways were easy to remember and apply to my practice.
I understand why the course is called a boot camp; participants work hard and are challenged! As a junior lawyer, this format worked as it allows me to establish what areas I needed to improve and work on those skills. I am significantly more confident in my advocacy skills after going through this program.
It is one thing to know what evidence you need for your case to succeed, it is another to know how to extract it from a witness in a persuasive manner. The Advocacy Bootcamp excels at teaching trial advocacy skills that lay the foundation for junior lawyers to grow and develop.
The bootcamp makes you get out of your comfort zone and practice in real-time in front of your peers, yet in a safe environment; also good as an advocacy skills refresher.
I highly recommend this Boot Camp to any young lawyer or paralegal before their examinations, cross-examinations or trials. This is not something that I learned in law school and I appreciated the opportunity to get on my feet and learn in a safe environment.
- We begin the Boot Camp with introductory exercises that teach questioning techniques, using whether for use in interviews or in examinations.
- Participants work with witness statements to develop skills to follow up where witnesses lead.
- They learn to analyze the case to develop themes.
- They learn how to create effective outlines for any examination.
- They learn and practice direct and cross-examination techniques.
- For EDI content, the Advocacy Club uses video, discussion and an exercise to present issues in communication to raise awareness of unconscious bias, and how that interferes with understanding, the lifeblood of advocacy.
- The Boot Camp closes with a brief tutorial on the formula for a persuasive closing argument.
These are the basic skills litigators should master to succeed. Best of all, participants develop a sense of collegiality with their co-participants. This peer-to-peer contact continues well beyond the Boot Camp. If you are interested in this or a future session, contact John Hollander. Cost $250 for students and $370 for lawyers, both plus HST.
The Boot Camp qualifies (for lawyers in Ontario, at least) as 8.5 hours substantive CPD, plus 1.5 hours professional of which 1.0 is EDI. Due to the small size of the participating groups, we cannot offer refunds, so we ask you to pay a week before the first session.
To sign up, contact John Hollander through the "Contact" page, and pay through the "Store" page. Please provide the name of your firm/organization and your year of Call, or if articling or a paralegal.
Boot camps are customizable! If your department, organization or firm has four or more litigators who need this kind of training, contact us to discuss your requirements and to receive a fee quotation. For details, see our page on Custom Training here.
The graduates of all Boot Camps become Club Members. These constitute a pool of highly talented litigators. Many of them have gone on to train others in advocacy techniques, both in the Club and at the Bar (CCLA, OBA, AGEFO, uOttawa Law). Several have received recognition for their excellence as advocates, for their community service and some through election to the CCLA Board of Trustees. Some are now partners in their firms and leaders in the legal community.
Read what they say (in anonymous 2021-2022 QA surveys):
As a lawyer in Toronto, I had never heard of the Advocacy Club before. I feel fortunate that I was introduced to the Club and was able to participate in the Advocacy Boot Camp over Zoom. This is an incredible program for lawyers at all stages in their career, and in my opinion should be essential learning. I love how the Boot Camp was participating based and the takeaways were easy to remember and apply to my practice.
I understand why the course is called a boot camp; participants work hard and are challenged! As a junior lawyer, this format worked as it allows me to establish what areas I needed to improve and work on those skills. I am significantly more confident in my advocacy skills after going through this program.
It is one thing to know what evidence you need for your case to succeed, it is another to know how to extract it from a witness in a persuasive manner. The Advocacy Bootcamp excels at teaching trial advocacy skills that lay the foundation for junior lawyers to grow and develop.
The bootcamp makes you get out of your comfort zone and practice in real-time in front of your peers, yet in a safe environment; also good as an advocacy skills refresher.
I highly recommend this Boot Camp to any young lawyer or paralegal before their examinations, cross-examinations or trials. This is not something that I learned in law school and I appreciated the opportunity to get on my feet and learn in a safe environment.
Advocacy Club @ Law School - Boot Camp for Law Students - only offered online
Nine x 90-minute Sessions
October 3 - November 28, 2023 from 7:00-8:30.
Students in law schools across Canada can also benefit from the Boot Camp. A mix of plenary sessions to present and demonstrate the techniques and small group breakouts led by Advocacy Club member lawyers. More focused on the correlation between case analysis and execution (how to think of a case and use that thinking in interviews, examinations and argument). Gather the information, figure out what you want to accomplish, then get it done. This program improves the performance of students in all their courses.
Why sign up?
Read what the Winter 2023 class had to say:
“I just wanted to thank you for running the advocacy club! As a 1L student, learning about interviewing techniques, direct/cross examinations, and public speaking at the beginning of my law school journey was extremely useful. I’ve already been able to apply what I learned to several school assignments, and I feel well-equipped and excited to tackle my mock trial in 2L! The opportunity to network with other lawyers was also invaluable.”
Alexandra Bula, 1L, Lakehead
“This course is an incredible opportunity to extend your legal education beyond the classroom. Whether you pursue a career in litigation or not, this course teaches you fundamental skills that will serve you in every area of practice. Through this course, I became a more confident public speaker, learned how to think clearly under pressure/on the spot, and learned (most importantly) how to get to the point. The Club is also an incredible opportunity to interact with practicing lawyers who are happy to provide invaluable advice and guidance. I would recommend this Club to anyone”.
Alexandra Weir, 1L, uOttawa
“The advocacy club training was undoubtedly a remarkable experience for me. I had the opportunity to learn from experienced lawyers and engage in practical exercises that enabled me to refine my skills. Especially the formula-based direct and cross-examination skills. I am confident that the knowledge I gained will help me greatly in my future practice as a litigator.”
Rui Zhang, 1L, uOttawa
Why sign up?
- Learn the methods of case analysis that apply to all areas of law.
- Practice advocacy techniques with feedback in a risk-free setting.
- Establish a network of like-minded students and lawyers.
- Learn a comprehensive approach to advocacy.
- Get a strategic advantage over your non-member peers.
- Gain access to the Advocacy Club as a full member.
- The Boot Camp will take place over two months, with homework (reading, podcasts, exercises).
- For more information and to reserve your space, contact Chelsea Sexton or Matthew Benson.
- Cost: None.
- Here is a link to a PDF promo sheet.
Read what the Winter 2023 class had to say:
“I just wanted to thank you for running the advocacy club! As a 1L student, learning about interviewing techniques, direct/cross examinations, and public speaking at the beginning of my law school journey was extremely useful. I’ve already been able to apply what I learned to several school assignments, and I feel well-equipped and excited to tackle my mock trial in 2L! The opportunity to network with other lawyers was also invaluable.”
Alexandra Bula, 1L, Lakehead
“This course is an incredible opportunity to extend your legal education beyond the classroom. Whether you pursue a career in litigation or not, this course teaches you fundamental skills that will serve you in every area of practice. Through this course, I became a more confident public speaker, learned how to think clearly under pressure/on the spot, and learned (most importantly) how to get to the point. The Club is also an incredible opportunity to interact with practicing lawyers who are happy to provide invaluable advice and guidance. I would recommend this Club to anyone”.
Alexandra Weir, 1L, uOttawa
“The advocacy club training was undoubtedly a remarkable experience for me. I had the opportunity to learn from experienced lawyers and engage in practical exercises that enabled me to refine my skills. Especially the formula-based direct and cross-examination skills. I am confident that the knowledge I gained will help me greatly in my future practice as a litigator.”
Rui Zhang, 1L, uOttawa