This programme features a recording from Session 3 of the Essential Written Advocacy Course 2025. There are five sessions in total for the course.
Synopsis:
Modern dispute resolution in courts and arbitration places great emphasis on written advocacy. From correspondence to pleadings to affidavits to submissions, a case can be won and lost even before an advocate rises to speak. Writing well requires strong fundamentals, including an understanding of basic principles of good writing; a solid foundation of substantive law; adroit eliciting, portrayal, and management of facts and evidence; and the ability to tailor the balance between objective and persuasive elements of law, fact, and evidence.
Good written advocacy is both an art and a science. There are rules and frameworks to be followed and precedents to have regard to, but there is also the avoidance of the dross and the gloss, and the infusion of that additional element of style that makes the writing readable and effective. With the increased use of Generative AI in legal practice, this series will also tackle head-on the use of Gen AI in written advocacy in all its forms.
Pleadings (including memorials in arbitration) are extremely important as they are the very first documents that judges and arbitrators peruse. Pleadings need to accurately set-up the case and provide the facts to allow the desired outcome to be achieved. Poor pleadings lead to costly applications for further and better particulars and can also curtail a party’s ability to seek discovery subsequently. Even more dangerous (and embarrassing) is the risk that weak pleadings are struck out or amendments are necessitated. Proper pleadings must comply with the rules and show the reader that counsel possesses a mastery of the facts and law that will develop the case. This session will guide participants on how to structure and prioritise facts in a case, and also proffer tips on putting these points across in a succinctly and with impact. The use of Generative AI in the preparation of pleadings will also be discussed, including the ethical limits of the use of Generative AI, and reliance on precedents.
Keywords
Advocacy, Communications, Writing, Case Pleadings, Ethics
