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Book Description
The importance of oral advocacy is not in dispute, but is on the wane. We still fondly believe that our great oral tradition is what sways the court. Not a bit of it. Increasingly judges form pre-trial opinions of the likely outcome, and these they derive from written material. The application, or trial or appeal then becomes a process to measure the judge's pre-formed view, however strong that may be. Since the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules access to justice is predicated on the assumption that as much as possible is settled before court hearings and decided through careful reading of skeleton arguments.
Written advocacy is an under-taught and insufficiently-valued skill. This book seeks to put that right - honing the reader's skeleton arguments and teaching skills in drafting pre-action correspondence and Part 36 Offers to overwhelm and deflate your opponent before ever arriving at court.
Invaluable to the practising lawyer, this book will also be compelling reading for anyone with an interest in using the legal process - from litigant in person to the largest insurance company.
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Contents
Part 1 - Skeleton Arguments and Written Submissions
1. What the Court expects
2. What judges actually want
Part 2 - Developing Written Advocacy skills
3. Introduction
4. Creating a style for written advocacy
5. Literary techniques for the advocate
6. The technique of persuasion in writing
7. The art of precis for lawyers
8. Tasks before lodging
Part 3 - What Successful Advocates Provide: Worked Examples
9. Introduction
Examples
A - Queen's Bench Trial - Personal Injuries - Quantum only - Plaintiff's skeleton opening
B - Queen's Bench Trial - Clinical Negligence - Quantum only Claimant's skeleton opening
C - Queen's Bench Trial - Employer's duties - Defendant's skeleton opening
D - Chancery Division Trial of Preliminary Issue - Limitation - Defendant's skeleton argument
E - Chancery Division Trial - Defendant's skeleton argument
F - Queen's Bench application to strike out claim as disclosing no cause of action -
Applicant's skeleton
G - County Court application - Wasted Costs - Preliminary issues - Skeleton argument of
the Non-party
H - Queen's Bench Trial - Personal Injuries - Plaintiff's skeleton argument - Plaintiff's
closing submissions
I - Queen's Bench Trial - Clinical Negligence - Claimant's closing submissions
J - Court of Appeal - Appellant Defendant's skeleton opening
K - Court of Appeal - Respondent's skeleton argument
L - Court of Appeal - Respondent's skeleton
M - House of Lords - Case for the Appellant
N - House of Lords - Respondent's Case
O - Judicial Committee of the Privy Council - Petition for leave to appeal - Skeleton
argument of the Respondents
10. Conclusion: 15 key points to writing a successful skeleton
Part 4 Written advocacy outside the Courts
11. Inter-partes correspondence - the 'Dear Judge' letter
12. Pre-action protocol letters of claim
13. Part 36 offers
14. Introduction to Worked Examples
Examples
P - Letter of claim under Pre-action Protocol
Q - Post-issue letter of claim under Pre-action Protocol
R - Letter in reply to a Pre-action Protocol
S - Reply to a threat of injunction
T - Part 36 offer
15. Conclusion
Select Bibliography
Index
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Author Details
Andrew Goodman, LL.B., MBA, FCI.Arb., FInst CPD of the Inner Temple, Barrister Professor of Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution Studies, Reshmore University
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