The Isle of Man Law Society has held its second advocacy training course, one of a series of career development programmes it offers to help raise professional standards and expose advocates to specialist legal expertise.
The week-long course was led by Bernard Richmond QC, a specialist in criminal defence work who was counsel for the defendant Steven Barker in the Baby P case. Mr Richmond was joined by retired QC Adrian Whitfield, a specialist in clinical negligence and healthcare law and former head of advocacy at Middle Temple. Together they deliver advocacy training in jurisdictions worldwide.
Mr Richmond said advocacy was about ‘painting a picture with words’, spoken and written. He explained that with advocacy, ‘there’s no such thing as a wasted word’ and that ‘elegance, economy and understatement’ were essential to establish credibility with a judge and express complex matters in a way everyone in the courtroom could understand.
He continued: ‘Administration of justice is about communication. Justice can’t be seen to be being done if people can’t understand what’s being done; we disempower people if [in court] things are too complex.’
Mr Whitfield added: ‘Advocacy training is about increasing lawyers’ confidence; we see this even over the week as they begin to develop their communication skills as they progress through the course.’
‘When people are in trouble,’ said Mr Whitfield, ‘it’s up to the lawyers to tell their story. It’s a privilege – and a responsibility - to be able to do this, just as it is for doctors to be treating their patients.’
That ‘story’ must be told using what he described as a process of ‘clinical and intellectual dissection.’
Fundamental to effective advocacy was anticipating responses, understanding how language worked, harnessing the power of language and recognising the importance of presentation and preparation because, explained Mr Richmond, ‘trials are strategic.’
He likened the course to a journey, one that covered written and oral advocacy skills, challenging and contesting the ‘story’ and dealing with expert and vulnerable witnesses.
Among the course members was recently qualified advocate Rachel Bradley of Callin Wild who said: ‘The advocacy course is really helpful. It makes you think and teaches things that otherwise may not have occurred to you. As a newly qualified advocate the courtroom experience can be nerve wracking. This course gives you greater confidence because it breaks down the different elements of advocacy and emphasises how important it is to be prepared.’
Mr Richmond continued: ‘The Bar is collegiate in that its members encourage professional standards through training their own people. And right now there’s a huge interest in advocacy. In the UK there’s much more emphasis on time saving and “looking after” judges better and there’s far less tolerance of lawyers who aren’t focused.
‘I’ve been doing advocacy training for 20 years and it’s changed my whole career because through advocacy you acquire the ability to self-diagnose.’
Isle of Man Law Society chief executive officer Jane O’Rourke said: ‘We were pleased to welcome Bernard back to the Island to deliver this advocacy course. The society is always keen to expand the pool of expertise on which it can draw to help raise professional standards. Sessions such as these bring a welcome fresh pair of eyes to the work required of advocates.’
As an eminent QC who had acted in numerous high-profile cases Mr Richmond did, however, concede that although advocacy was about using simple language and ‘stripping out the emotion’, there would always be some courtroom situations requiring what he termed ‘silky brilliance’.
For more information about the Isle of Man Law Society visit www.iomlawsociety.co.im.
