The Ancient Art of Advocacy
The Ancient Art of Advocacy is an information resource on advocacy, aimed at anyone who is interested in the subject!
The old way of studying advocacy was a "stand on the shoulders of giants" approach; advocates learnt advocacy by studying and analysing the speeches of some of the great historical legal advocates and learning about rhetoric, which is the art of persuasion. That approach is replicated here, and you can find lots of examples of great speeches on the website.
The website is broadly divided into 4 key sections, which include:
- An free introductory course on rhetoric by Professor Michael Drout, Professor at Wheaton College
- Comprehensive training courses for pupil barristers, pupil supervisors, and trainee advocates covering all the key topics coverered in the Bar Standards Board Professional Statement
- Free reference resources, and hints and tips from the Ancient rhetoricians and great legal orators on what you are looking to acheive in an opening statement, statement of facts, and legal argument, and the principles you should bear in mind when writing your own. The website also includes hints and tips from some of the greatest advocates in history on how to develop your technique in examination in chief, cross examination and re-examination, with lots of examples from famous cases that you can refer to and learn from. There is also a section on the different rhetorical techniques, with suggestions on the different techniques that you can use in each stage of a legal argument. How to memorise a speech and how to deliver a speech is also covered.
- Free advocacy training resources: a reference section on Advocacy training resources, which includes examples of great speeches by Erskine and Curran in particular.
The Ancient Art of Advocacy aims to have something for everyone. If you are a pupil or transferring lawyer there are plenty of resources here to help you get to grips with advocacy. If you are a more experienced junior you may find it interesting studying classical legal rhetoric. And finally, if you have an interest in legal history there is plenty to be found here, so hopefully there should be something here for everyone!
Pupillage Training Courses and Materials
The Pupil Supervisor Package
The pupil supervisor package includes:
1.A short course on how to teach effectively, plus
2. A bank of approximately 150 lessons, including videos, a course textbook, articles, exercises, role plays and case studies, which focus on the following topics. These resources are matched to the requirements of the Professional Statement of Competences and are designed to be inclusive, and suitable for pupils with a wide range of disabilities, conditions and learning styles. The topics covered by the bank of resources, which you are welcome to give your pupils in any order or way you like, include:
Pupillage Training - Classes and materials
Pupillage Training- Courses and Materials is an in-depth series of classes and materials, which are matched to the Professional Statement of Competences, and should help pupils develop the competences they need to go on to become a practising barrister. They form part of a bank of a resources that pupil supervisors can give their pupils, at their direction. With approximately 150 lessons, in a mixture of structured video presentations, text resources and exercises, these courses and materials should help pupils develop the skills they need to be a practising barrister.
