Conference Skills

1. Conference Skills Bar Vocational Course Lisa Down (Subject Tutor) l.down@unn.ac.uk Room 311 Ext.3817

2. Conference Team • Andrew Hutchinson • Ross Fletcher • Kevin Crawley • Lisa Down

3. Reading? • A Practical Guide to Lawyering Skills • Published by: Cavendish Authors: Fiona Boyle Deveral Capps Philip Plowden Clare Sandford

4. What is a conference? A conference is a meeting between you and your lay client.

5. Lay Client This is the member of the public you are representing Professional Client This is the person who instructed you – the solicitor? Important Terminology

6. Who will be present at a conference? In reality there should always be :~ You, the barrister The lay client The professional client

7. Conference Skills At Northumbria conferences will take place between: ~ You, the barrister; and The lay client (played by a BPTC student) Imaginary professional client

8. Where can conferences occur? A conference can occur anywhere! They might occur :~ In Chambers In Prison In Court

9. What is the purpose of a conference? A conference is an opportunity for you as a barrister to :~ meet your client hear your client’s version of events advise your client take instructions

10. Will you always have a conference with a client? The simple answer is no. You may deal with a client only on paper Your solicitor may answer any questions that you have.

11. How should a conference be structured? When you are in practice, you will adopt your own style of conferences. However, at Northumbria we will show you a standard method of conducting a conference.

12. How should a conference be structured? A conference can be broken up into various separate parts. This is just like any law essay.

13. Conference Structure You should have therefore :~ 1. An introduction; 2. A main body; and 3. A conclusion

14. Introduction (Preliminaries) -Name / Role -Confidentiality -Purpose of Conference -Agenda -Questions at end -10mins to get through everything

15. Agenda/ Timetable for Conference Q. Why have an agenda? A. 1. Professionalism 2. So that the client knows what is going to happen and when.

16. Your agenda should include :~ • Purpose of the conference • Question and answer section about the case • Advice for the client • Answer session for any queries that the client might have. • Taking instructions • Next steps

17. The Main body What do you do in the main body? • The facts of the problem at hand. • Overview of the case

18. Conclusion What would you do in the conclusion? Give advice • Check understanding • Take instructions • Confirm instructions

19. Farewell • Advise on next steps • Put the client at ease • Tell the client that they can contact you through the solicitor should they wish to • Say goodbye

20. Teaching Structure? INITIALLY no group divisions. All students will have the same papers. First session split into 2 groups-remain in same group for subsequent sessions. In each session you will be given some questions to put to the barrister when playing the client. THEREAFTER-You will be divided into X students and Y students. (Pink / yellow- Variation of client details/ questions). This is so that when one person is playing the role of the barrister (X) the other person (Y) will play the role of the client.

21. SPSs Start next week- SUITS 4 x SPSs and 1 x Mock You will receive feedback on all performances. You will receive detailed feedback on 3 complete performances- DVD

22. SELF ASSESSMENT • Self Assessment forms • Feedback sheets • Peer Review forms • ELP

23. Assessment • You will get one conference assessment • This is worth 7.5% of you final mark • This is a seen assessment • For the purposes of the assessment your client will be played by an actor/actress

24. Assessment Criteria ELP Very important Skills assessed using this criteria

25. Conference skills Assessment Criteria • Preparation • Conduct • Interpersonal skills • Questioning • Advice • Knowledge and comprehension • Professional conduct

26. In order to be graded competent or above you must show your ability to: 1. Preparation(10%). In order to satisfy this criterion you should: Show an understanding of the objectives of the conference. Illustrate your knowledge of the facts of the case. (case analysis) Illustrate your knowledge of the legal issues that are relevant to the case. (legal research) Your plan will be used to determine the extent that you have fulfilled this criterion

27. Plans Very important- Will be looked at in your assessment No longer than 4 sides of A4 (rest discarded) Possible score of 10 before even enter conference!

28. What is a plan? No standard layout Personal style – Start now Not a script!!

29. Your plan should include Introduction -Preliminaries Main Body-Dealing with the matter Research of offence / sentence / procedure Conclusion – Conclude conference and advise on next steps. Any procedural issues?

30. Why do a plan? Nerves Do not finish Demonstrate knowledge / research

31. QUERIES • Any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me or; • Conference Tutor • I look forward to meeting some of you next week and hope that you enjoy the conference course.