Thursday, March 15, 2007

Preparing for English-style Advocacy

On Monday I began my new assignment to Brick Court chambers. I was placed with Mr. Martin Chamberlain, a barrister about my age who largely practices public law. Public lawyers may advocate for or against public entities. If I had been born in England and were a practicing barrister, I would want to practice public law.

I had the good fortune of starting on a day on which Mr. Chamberlain was requested to appear to give evidence before a joint committee of parliament. The subject of this testimony will be addressed in a separate post, but I mention it here just as a comment on how diverse a barrister's workday can be.

Like Quandrant Chambers, Brick Court has three pupils (law students hoping for a tenancy in chambers). On Monday, I was invited to participate alongside the pupils for their monthly advocacy exercise, which is essentially a practice oral argument before a panel of members of chambers, who act as judges. I am now in the midst of preparing a 'skeleton argument' that I will exchange with my counterpart on Monday, the day before the oral argument presentations on Tuesday.

The argument is before a mock committee of three Law Lords. The claimant, one of the three pupils, will request leave to appeal the judgment of the Court of Appeal before the panel. I am the advocate for the respondent, so at least I will have the benefit of hearing the claimant's oral presentation before I begin my ten minutes of argument. Additionally, following our presentations, I will be able to watch the two remaining pupils present their arguments before the panel. The underlying dispute relates to an arguably omitted quantity term in a requirements contract.

It will certainly be an experience to begin an argument with, "Your Lordships."

No comments: