Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy: Brief Notes and Materials Elias N. Stebek St. Mary’s University College Sponsored by Justice and Legal System Research Institute Addis Ababa, Ethiopia February 2009 Preface This teaching material is a modest attempt to avail readings to Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy. Students embark onto this skills-focused course after having taken various pre-requisite courses on substantive and procedural laws. The initial readings of this material introduce the areas of competence in effective lawyering and show the significance of skills-focused courses that enhance the competence of students in blending knowledge and analytic skills with practice. Most of the learning outcomes of this course envisage learning through direct observation followed by hands-on-practice through written assignments, pair activities, group activities and classroom simulations. The readings extracted from various sources coupled with the introductory notes and the exercises are meant to facilitate the learning-teaching process which is expected to be flexible and innovative depending upon the setting and circumstances that surround course delivery. The phases of litigation planning, investigation (factual and legal), pretrial negotiation and settlement, preparation of pleadings and trial simulations involve tasks and activities that require splitting large classes into smaller class size as envisaged in the course syllabus. The real challenge in lawyering lies in relating the law with different fact situations to resolve legal issues. This material thus focuses on these skills at the pretrial and trial phases of lawyering. These skills are not “taught, as such” but rather practiced, and students are expected to carefully and diligently observe, do and simulate the skills involved in the process. ________________________________________________________ Acknowledgment I am grateful to the encouragement I received from Ato Temesgen Tessema who had started to develop this material with me, but couldn’t pursue owing to other responsibilities. My thanks also go to Ato Filipos Aynalem and Ato Tekalign Fanta for the feedback and comments they gave me as assessors of this teaching material. And, I am particularly grateful to Trial and Appellate Advocacy students at SMUC Faculty of Law (last year and this year) and to Lawyering Process II students at AAU Faculty of Law (2006/2007) because their active participation and diligence have indeed facilitated the embryonic development of the readings included herein. Contents Page Contents ........................................................................................................................iii General Introduction...................................................................................................1 Part I- Pretrial Skills Unit 1- Profile of Effective Lawyers Unit Introduction .....................................................................................................4 Section 1- Competency profile of LL.B graduates................................................5 Reading 1- Graduate profile expected upon LL.B graduation.................5 Section 2- Sample benchmark for LL.B graduates................................................7 Reading 2- Subject benchmark statement: Law ........................................8 Reading 3- Levels and areas of performance ...........................................10 Reading 4- Competencies of the Bachelor of Law Programme ............14 Section 3- The Legal Method: Research, Analysis and Communication .......16 Reading 5- The legal method and role of a lawyer .................................17 Unit 2- Litigation Planning Unit Introduction ...................................................................................................19 Section 1- Pretrial legal service observations .....................................................20 Sample pretrial observations .........................................................................20 Pretrial Observation Report I .....................................................................20 Pretrial Observation Report II ....................................................................21 Section 2- Reading on litigation planning ..........................................................23 Organizing litigation planning ..................................................................23 a) Establish the terms of the attorney –client relationship b) Determine the client’s needs and priorities c) Determine the elements of potential claims, remedies, defenses and counterclaims d) Identify likely sources of proof. Contents iii e) Determine what informal fact investigation is necessary f) Determine what formal discovery is necessary (N.B- inapplicable in Ethiopia) g) Identify solutions h) Develop a litigation strategy i) Make litigation cost and timetable estimates j) Use a litigation file system. Review Exercises ....................................................................................................32 Supplementary reading Supplementary Reading I ...................................................................35 Supplementary Reading II ..................................................................43 Unit 3- Fact investigation Unit Introduction ...................................................................................................45 Section 1- Structuring fact investigation .............................................................46 Reading 1 ...............................................................................................47 Section 2- Client interviews ..................................................................................52 Reading 2 ...............................................................................................53 Section 3- Acquisition of material evidence .......................................................61 Reading 3 ...............................................................................................62 Section 4- Witness interviews and expert review ..............................................65 Reading 4 ...............................................................................................66 Reading 5 ...............................................................................................72 Reading 5 (The Small Case) ................................................................74 Review Exercises ....................................................................................................75 Unit 4- Legal investigation, Case Evaluation and Litigation Strategy Unit Introduction ...................................................................................................77 Section 1- Primary and secondary sources .........................................................79 Reading 1 ...............................................................................................79 Reading 2 ...............................................................................................81 Section 2- Determining claims, remedies and defences and counterclaims ..83 Section 3- Interpretation and legal analysis .......................................................87 3.1- Sample principles of interpretation.........................................................87 3.2- Breaking down a rule into its parts.........................................................89 iv Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy: Brief Notes and Materials, February 2009 Reading 3 ...............................................................................................90 3.3- Legal reasoning..........................................................................................91 Reading 4 ...............................................................................................93 Section 4- Parties in litigation, jurisdiction and venue .....................................97 4.1- Parties that can be plaintiff and defendant ...........................................97 4.2- Jurisdiction and venue..............................................................................98 Section 5- Reading on Case evaluation and litigation strategy......................100 Reading 5 .............................................................................................100 a) Taking the case................................................................................100 b) Establishing the terms of the client-lawyer agreement.............101 c) Declining representation................................................................102 d) Planning the litigation...................................................................102 d) Pre-filing requirements..................................................................102 Unit 5- Pre-trial negotiation and settlement Unit Introduction .................................................................................................103 Section 1-Reading on negotiation and settlement ...........................................105 Section 2- Skills for conducting a conflict resolution process.........................109 a) Interests and positions ..................................................................109 b) Separating interest from position ................................................110 c) Principles of negotiation ...............................................................110 d) Principles of a win-win strategy ..................................................113 e) Don’t bargain over positions ........................................................114 g) A role for (hypothetical cases) .....................................................115 h) Exercise on conflict analysis .........................................................117 Review Exercises ..................................................................................................118 Unit 6- Pleadings Unit Introduction .................................................................................................119 Section 1- Initial steps in the preparation of pleadings ..................................120 Section 2- Statement of claim and statement of defence..................................124 Section 3- The criminal charge............................................................................127 * * Contents v Part II Trial Advocacy Unit 7- The Adjudication Process: An overview Unit Introduction .................................................................................................131 Section 1- Reading of the adjudication process in civil cases: Roadmap .....132 Section 2- Adjudication without trial in civil cases..........................................134 a) First hearing and judgment on admissions ................................134 b) Preliminary objections ..................................................................134 c) Framing of issues ...........................................................................135 d) Adjudication without trial............................................................136 Section 3- Synopsis of the criminal justice process ..........................................137 a) Setting criminal justice in motion until preliminary inquiry...137 b) Reading on the judicial process in criminal cases......................139 Review Exercises ..................................................................................................142 Unit 8- Witness Examination Unit Introduction .................................................................................................143 Section 1-Factual Propositions ...........................................................................144 Section 2-Reading of trial and production of evidence ..................................147 Section 3- Reading on examination-in-chief (Direct Examination) ...............153 The role of direct examination .........................................................153 The law of direct examination...........................................................154 Planning direct examination .............................................................157 Questioning technique ......................................................................168 Adverse and hostile witnesses .........................................................173 Section 4- Reading on Cross Examination ........................................................175 Should you cross-examine? ..............................................................175 Purposes and order of cross-examination ......................................177 Elements of cross-examinations .......................................................177 Section 5- Reading on Redirect Examination ...................................................187 Review Exercises ..................................................................................................190 Unit 9- Trial Simulations Unit Introduction .................................................................................................191 Section 1- Reading on the final phases of trial preparation............................192 Section 2- Opening statements, objections and closing arguments ..............199 Section 3- Trial court simulations: Exercises and Activities ..........................205 Annex I Trial Lawyer’s Self-Evaluation Guide...............................................209 Annex II Major Sources of Extracts: Books.......................................................211 vi Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy: Brief Notes and Materials, February 2009 General Introduction 1 The course material introduces the skills necessary for pretrial (in Part I) and trial lawyering (in Part II). The first four units deal with areas of performance in lawyering, litigation planning, fact investigation, legal investigation and case evaluation. The topics addressed in these units include legal problems and issues communicated by clients, identification of client needs, priorities, potential claims, remedies and sources of proof, and examination of potential defenses and counter- claims of the other party. Units 5 and 6 briefly highlight negotiation and pleadings. The second part of the course material titled “Trial Advocacy” is designed to assist the learning process of students with a view to enabling them to participate in simulated courtroom situations followed by feedback and recommendations for improvement. The materials included in Part II will serve as inputs in the efforts of students to present persuasive opening statements and conduct forceful direct and cross examination of fact witnesses and experts, and to successfully introduce evidence. The course material will emphasize practical solutions to typical problems that litigators encounter in the presentation of a case. The material does not, however, cover details which fall under courses on procedure and evidence. General Objectives At the end of the course, students are expected to: - identify pretrial and trial phases of litigation in civil and criminal cases; - explain the technical, ethical, evidentiary, procedural and substantive aspects of pretrial and trial lawyering; - apply pretrial tasks; - simulate tasks of a lawyer in trial of criminal cases; - simulate tasks of a lawyer in trial of civil cases. 1 The General Introduction and Specific Learning Outcomes are mainly taken from the course description of the syllabus with adjustments 1 Specific student learning outcomes At the end of Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy, students should be able to: a) explain the graduate profile of an LL.B graduate and relate it to pretrial and trial tasks of a lawyer; b) discuss the legal method and relate its elements with pretrial and trial tasks of a lawyer; c) define the concept of pretrial skills; d) organize litigation planning; e) structure fact investigations; f) conduct client and witness interviews; g) undertake legal investigation with regard to substantive and procedural laws; h) explain case evaluation and strategy; i) explain and simulate pre-trial negotiation and settlement j) describe and illustrate pleadings and motions; k) explain tasks involved in trial lawyering; l) identify phases of the trial process in civil and criminal cases; m) research, analyze and apply material facts, legal issues and relevant legal provisions; n) write a persuasive analysis of legal issue that adheres to trial practice; o) conduct direct examination, reexamination and cross-examination of witnesses; p) orally present a client’s position in a manner that conforms with trial practice. __________ 2 Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy: Brief Notes and Materials, February 2009 Part I- Pretrial Skills The first part of this course material includes six units. The first unit aims at laying down a foundation by highlighting the areas of performance that call for fundamental lawyering skills that are indispensable in the legal profession including the tasks involved in pretrial and trial lawyering. Pretrial lawyering refers to various tasks that are required to be accomplished before litigation. It involves litigation planning (Unit 2), fact and legal investigation followed by case evaluation and designing litigation strategy (Units 3 and 4). The words ‘lawyer’ and ‘litigator’ are not synonyms because the former includes tasks far wider than litigation. Pretrial lawyering thus involves efforts to amicably settle the case (Unit 5) through alternative dispute settlement mechanisms such as negotiation. In case such efforts fail to come to fruition, however, lawyers resort to their ultimate option of drafting pleadings (Unit 6) which will then lead to litigation. Part I includes the following units: Unit 1- Profile of Effective Lawyers Unit 2- Litigation Planning Unit 3- Fact investigation Unit 4- Legal investigation, case evaluation and litigation strategy Unit 5- Pre-trial negotiation and settlement Unit 6- Pleadings __________ Unit 1- Profile of Effective Lawyers 3 Unit 1- Profile of effective lawyers Unit Introduction Lawyers render services as attorneys, legal advisors, judges, public prosecutors, etc. in addition to which they may provide administrative services in the public or private sector. They may also be engaged in academic endeavours such as teaching. These services require subject knowledge, various skills and integrity. Lawyers who represent clients undertake pretrial and trial activities which require skills that need to be introduced in law schools and be further enhanced through services in the legal profession. These areas of competence are briefly discussed in the sections below. The competency profile highlighted in this unit includes: a) knowledge and understanding (of the laws, legal institutions and processes) upon LL.B graduation; b) Ability towards identification, analysis, evaluation and synthesis of legal issues, relevant laws and relevant facts; c) Ability towards subject application and problem solving; d) Ability to identify and use primary and secondary legal sources and conduct research; e) Ability to independent learning, research, analysis, opinions, reflections and conclusion; f) Language proficiency and effective (oral & written ) communication; and g) Other Key skills: comprehension and usage of numerical or statistical forms, word-procession, using the internet and email, electronic information retrieval systems, and team work. __________ 4 Pretrial Skills and Trial Advocacy: Brief Notes and Materials, February 2009
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