​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 prominent senior 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 (now former) law school dean, the creator of the Syrian Refugee Sponsorship program and a sightless law student, now practicing lawyer, all of whom have had a major impact on our legal scene. The current series features former court clerks. Who knows where it goes next?
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.
The AdvocacyClub.Substack.com now presents all our techniques with far more detail than the Boot Camp with well over 60 posts on techniques about:
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framing questions
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case analysis
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applying case analysis to the events in a case (Scenes)
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preparing for direct and cross-examinations
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conducting direct examinations
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issues in cross-examinations
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final argument
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preparing yourself & your client for discovery examinations
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dealing with issues that arise during examinations for discovery
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two posts about public speaking
These episodes get deeply into the weeds and show how the sausage is made (choose your metaphor). I am currently posting podcast episodes in which I have interviewed leading and engaging lawyers on subjects of interest to junior lawyers and law students. You just can't learn these techniques anywhere else, much less on your own time. If you want access, check it out here.
Consulting Services
Although retired from practice, consider retaining John as a consultant if you are preparing for trial and need help to:
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prepare for a direct or cross-examination.
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create case analysis to inform your mediation, pretrial or trial strategy.
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anticipate your opponent's strategy.
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prepare a witness for cross-examination.
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draft and practice your final argument.
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From a recent contract, here is the testimonial from a past president of OTLA, Laurie Tucker, founding partner of Burn Tucker Lachaine LLP:
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We retained John to conduct a mock/practice cross-examination of our client in preparation for trial. It gave our client the experience of being cross-examined by someone who is not part of the regular trial team, and it was, therefore, similar to what she might experience at trial. We made the right decision to ask John to do this. He spent time reviewing the file, and as an experienced litigator, he came prepared and had a good understanding of the issues. His cross-examination of our client was excellent, and the exercise made her feel much more prepared for trial. We would not hesitate to use John’s services again for future trial prep.