Nuggets of wisdom for smashing the BPTC - Brian Mondoh guest post

Dear Students,

I am delighted to present to you a guest post from a first time Very Competent BPTC student, Brian Mondoh. Brian was called to the Bar just last month after successfully completing the BPTC. 

Brian wanted to reach out to you to share his tips and tricks for "Smashing the BPTC". His approach is excellent, because it encompasses time management, study skills and active learning. He recognised the need for using more than one technique and approach to covering the material and revising. He used different techniques depending on the subject matter and its inherent complexity or technicality.

What is most interesting is that Brian used self-testing to improve his recall. It is a proven technique, but one students are scared of using. Students often don't want to test themselves, as they are frightened of not knowing all the answers. Brian realised that the act of rehearsing the information frequently, helped it stick.

I will leave you to read his practical, achievable and superb advice. If you follow his advice, I am sure you will make it through. And you will know that you have Brian to thank. If you wish to follow Brian on Twitter, you will find him at @dvjmobi.

I would like to offer my most sincere and deep thanks to Brian for this fantastic guest blog post.

  

“Nuggets of Wisdom for Smashing your BPTC”

The Bar Professional Training Course (‘BPTC’) is undeniably the most difficult postgraduate course ever designed in England and Wales. It requires sound advocacy skills, memorising copious amounts of information and being expected to know loads of things before your tutors teach you. During interactions with practitioners and tutors, you will come to see that they share your concerns, but it might take several years before a more effective system of Bar assessment is designed. 

BPTC students undoubtedly experience high levels of stress and anxiety, to some extent depression and often feel overwhelmed, sad, lonely and lost. Trust me, no one outside the Bar profession will ever understand this feeling (emphasis). In light of this, at some point in or about November last year, I quit trying to explain my experiences on the BPTC to my friends and relatives because no sort of explanation or illustration would get them to understand my frustrations and so trying to get them to apprehend just got me overly irritated and upset. It is, for these reasons that I am writing this article to share my techniques for ‘smashing the bar’ on a first sitting! Some precautionary comments, my advice focuses on the three Central Exam Board (‘CEB’) papers i.e. Ethics, Civil Litigation and Criminal Litigation. Please do not take my advice word for word as some techniques may vary individually.

ETHICS

At the time of writing, you will be some two or three months away from the Ethics assessment. For a BPTC student, that is frighteningly soon! If you are keen about goings-on on the BPTC, you ought to have conducted your research and established that the Ethics assessment in 2016/17 had serious clerical errors and consequently, it had to be re-checked. Unfortunately, the re-check had little or no effect on the unexpectedly high fail rate across all BPTC providers. The Ethics assessment is the most dynamic paper and needs a proper grasp. It is the easiest to pass if you get to grips with the syllabus but at the same time the easiest to fail if you underestimate it. My approach to the Ethics paper was based more on exam technique than knowledge. Nevertheless, you will need to know the Bar Standards Board (‘BSB’) handbook, the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the Farquharson guidelines backwards. The examiner will challenge your brain with technical points and nuances. To scoop marks you will be required to recite Core Duties (‘CDs’) verbatim, Conduct Rules (‘RCs’), Guidance to core duties (‘GCs’) and Outcomes (‘OCs’) amongst other things all in the space of two hours. In addition, the examiner will be marking you on grammar and legible handwriting, as the new syllabus consists of six Short Answer Questions (SAQs).

One may find it helpful to use multiple memory aids and learning techniques in preparation for the Ethics assessment. For instance, I had the ten CDs set as wallpapers on my phone and iPad. I made it a habit to skim through the CDs whenever I accessed my gadgets and kept reciting them in a bid to commit them to memory. Alongside this, I created storyboards in my head during my commute to and from school. For example, each bus stop on my route had a CD and relevant RCs, GCs and OCs attached to it. As a result, I could picture a bus stop and a floodgate of information would stream out. In the weeks running up to the exam, I drew mind maps and flow charts to illustrate my ‘bus commute’. I also kept discussing the revision material with my mates and as a result we ended up teaching each other. Two weeks before the exam and thanks to making friends from other providers, I was doing past papers and SGS questions from other providers under ‘exam-strict’ timed conditions. Please note principles in the Ethics assessment do not change. The ‘Cab Rank Rule’, for example, will forever be the same, the trick is in the application of your knowledge to various problem questions. In my view, if, Ethics was a three-hour exam, it would possibly be the easiest exam on the BPTC but the examiner knows that. Therefore, strictly time yourself while revising and be flexible in applying the ethical principles. In conclusion, you cannot 'question spot' the Ethics paper. It needs precision and sound judgment to enable you understand the question, weigh out the correct number of CDs, RCs, GCs and OCs etc. to apply to an SAQ without waffling and/or wasting time.

CIVIL LITIGATION AND CRIMINAL LITIGATION

These two assessments can easily be termed as the most dreaded on the BPTC. Firstly, because of the 50 examinable topics on the syllabus split between the two i.e. 22 in Civil litigation and 28 in Criminal litigation. Secondly, the volume of pinpointed reading and long inundating text of the practitioner texts. Thirdly, the nightmare of answering 75 'Single Best Answer' questions in each assessment. For starters, if you have not yet developed a working relationship with the White Book Civil Procedure (‘the Whitebook’) and Blackstones Criminal Procedure (‘Blackstones’), you had better start the relationship sooner than later. As a precaution, past students or those who pass the assessments on first sitting will 'blag' about how they made it without using the practitioner texts. My advice; do not buy into the lies. In my year, the BSB set questions word for word based on White Book and Blackstones commentary. For instance, you will not find Norwich Pharmacal Orders anywhere else other than in the White Book's commentary or thorough case explanation for Criminal legal principles if not in Blackstones. The assessments are designed to test aspiring practitioners and as a result, it is an obvious fact that the syllabus and/or indicative reading will be based on the two. You just have to eat it, live it and love it! Detailed supplements can be Stuart Sime's 'A Practical Approach to Civil Procedure' and City Law School's Criminal Litigation Manual.

I stuck by these books for the majority of the year. However, as a quick and cheeky memory fix, I used some reputable revision books to commit the voluminous information to memory. To reduce last minute drag and excessive anxiety, try to have your notes well ready before the Christmas break. Spend quality time revising the syllabuses and creating memory aids before the exam window. For Civil and Criminal litigation, I studied in different rooms everyday, I color coded my notes and recorded voice notes. I also made flow charts and discussed with my tutors and law students outside of the BPTC. I was fuelled by fear!!! Simply put, do whatever that works for you! Unlike on the LLB or GDL, you cannot cover the Bar syllabus two weeks prior to exams! Please note; Civil Procedure Rules (‘CPR’) tie in with your Opinion Writing (‘OPW’), Drafting, Resolution of Disputes Out of Court (‘RDOC’) and Civil Advocacy. Maximise your class prep and do your own work!!! Criminal Procedure Rules (‘CrimPR’) especially on dreaded topics like 'Bad Character evidence and Hearsay evidence' tie in with your Conference and Criminal Advocacy. Do your level best to get the fuller picture of procedure earlier on in the course. Similar to Ethics, do as many past papers and SGS questions as you can. Do not ‘question spot’ as all topics are interlinked. In conclusion, be on the lookout for BPTC syllabus updates. In my year, we had a December 2016 and February 2017 update and the Civil Appeal's regime was also updated in or about October 2016.

TIME MANAGEMENT

Few BPTC students will need this reminder. The BPTC is pressure filled and one lazy day is likely to spill over and affect at least two weeks of your workload. As an aspiring Barrister, you have to keep your eye on the ball and work far into the night to get the job done. I would say to every BPTC student, get the ‘Pomodoro/Apple timer’. It literally changed my life!!! I got this advice from a Barrister and law tutor that I follow on twitter and it was the best gift ever. The Pomodoro timer keeps you focused by completely shutting out distractions and breaking study time into short and productive intervals of 25 minutes with five minute breaks and a long 25 minute break after one hour of study. It enables you to do more and maximize on dead time and/or constrained time frames. I started off in February 2017 at 16 Pomodoro's a day, that's an equivalent of eight study hours a day. When starting off it’s a bit of a strain but you quickly get the hang of it. Come March 2017, I was doing 20 Pomodoro's a day i.e.10 study hours a day, seven days a week!!! I cannot fully express the benefits of the Pomodoro as I am still using it in my post BPTC work.

CONCLUSION

It is hardly necessary to emphasise the importance of teamwork and camaraderie on the BPTC. Your previous qualification, be it LLM, LLB or GDL and your previous university has little or no bearing on your BPTC performance. It takes nothing away from you to have humility and to be nice to others in your cohort. Also, it may be easier said than done, always be positive, look after your health and avoid burn out!!! Finally, the BPTC is not all gloom and doom. Not only will you gain an invaluable set of skills, you will become an individual with a switched on mindset and exceptional professional conduct.

Brian Sanya Mondoh

Grade: Very Competent

Called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, 2017

Resits - your step by step plan to pass

Getting the news that you have not passed a course and face the prospect of a re-sit can be a terrible shock. Your hopes and dreams feel more distant, perhaps out of reach. Your planned career trajectory seems off course. But to linger on these thoughts and feelings would be a mistake. What you need to do is re-group, review, and get ready to make a plan for making it next time. 

You will have had a few weeks to get over the shock of getting disappointing results, so now is a good time to begin the planning for your next sitting. 

1. Don't feel ashamed or angry with yourself. Forgive yourself. Not passing an assessment doesn't make you a failure. It just means you didn't get there this time. You can and will make it through next round if you are prepared to put these results behind you and take active steps to pass next time. 

2. If you missed out by a narrow margin, don't beat yourself up about the "missed marks". You can choose to feel bad about missing out, which will achieve nothing (nobody can add the marks to your score, so this is nothing but wasted mental energy). The other choice is to see the positive side of the situation. You have very little ground to make up next time; it shows you how possible your future success is!

3. If you need help and support, ask for it. Whether that means advice from either a tutor or a fellow student, ask away. The BPTC is tough and many students don't pass first time. There is no shame in not making it through. If you need a friendly ear, lean on your friends and family, as you may need help to deal with the emotional impact of disappointing results. If you think you need tutoring or to start working with other people in the same situation as you, don't be shy. Don't leave it late to seek support or assistance; you diminish your chances. Work out when your next attempts are and start now. 

4. If you failed a skill, think about what feedback you have been given both on the assessment in question and on the course. Do the same things come up from time to time? How can you address these persistent issues? Work on understanding what you need to put right next time. If you need to go back to the manuals, do that straight away. There's no harm in re-acquainting yourself. You may also find that your experience gives you a fresh perspective to your re-reading.

5. Be honest about the level of preparation you put into the assessment you failed. Was your revision too shallow? Too rushed? Limited to reading and re-reading? Did you leave yourself enough time? Was your time management a problem? Please note - I am not asking you to be hard on yourself or to find reasons to be angry with yourself. I am asking that you carry out genuine reflection of your preparation and revision - the time spent, the effectiveness, the level of knowledge and understanding you attained. Self-knowledge and self-assessment is going to be extremely valuable in helping you identify what needs to change for the next attempt.

6. Be honest about the effectiveness of your revision methods. I have written a lot about different revision and note taking techniques on my blog, but here is the post which discusses revision skills in the greatest detail: http://snigsclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/revising-how-to-get-more-bang-for-your.html

7. Get the up to date syllabus for any knowledge subject you have to re-sit. Make sure you know what is expected, and begin the process of checking you have notes on everything. Do not rely on the textbook or lecture notes alone; always be guided by the syllabus document. Begin by ensuring you understand a topic before beginning the task of trying to remember. 

8. Remember that resits should not be a repeat of what has been. As a result of the self reflection I recommend above you should know what your new priorities need to be. Do not fall back into your old habits if you know they have let you down. Be brave enough to try new methods and form new habits. Revision and frequent self testing during the revision period (not just at the end) is proven to be more effective.

9. Remember that you are not your results. You are much more than a "grade". You are a whole person, with so many other skills and attributes. You are valued and valuable, by your friends, family, fellow students and tutors.

If I can share a old picture from my instagram feed, failing an exam is like a bad hair day; you can do much better tomorrow. 

Good luck with your resit preparations!

Cross examination - a guest post by Dan Hoadley

I am thrilled to host this guest post from Barrister and law reporter Dan Hoadley. Dan works for the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting (ICLR) on Chancery Lane. The ICLR are responsible for the official and authoritative law reports used by students, academics and all of the nation's solicitors and barristers every day.

Dan lists his interests as Legal technology, open law and data science. Dan used to write a law blog, alongside his legal writing, but has interests in product development, software design, architecture, music and politics. As he so rightly says "It's good to be interested in lots of different things!" If you want to follow Dan on Twitter, you will find him at: https://twitter.com/DanHLawReporter

Dan was a former City Law School student whose advocacy tutor tells me "he was the most natural advocate I've ever taught" and "his cross examination was the best I've ever seen; he just got it, from the beginning".  Dan is a legal magician, and it is a pleasure to host his practical, perceptive and astute tips on effective cross examination. 

Dan's tips differ from those you find in the typical texts on advocacy, because he gets under the skin of courtroom tactics. Also, he advocates consciously altering your style to avoid predictability. He recognises that the advocate must not only take, but crucially, keep the lead.

Over to you, Dan!


My number one tip for an effective cross-examination is to take your time and resist the urge to rush through it. Taking your time opens up a world of possibilities that you will be deprived of if you rush.

At a basic level, slowing things down gives you more time to listen to the witness and observe their demeanour. You'll have more time to construct your next question and plan your line of questioning in response to what you're hearing and seeing. You'll have more time to check your note and the witness statement.

But at a more advanced level, taking your time gives you the scope to really explore and test the evidence. Cross-examination shouldn't always be a mechanical exchange (although, sometimes tactically it may need to be). You'll know, from thorough preparation, what you expect to achieve with any given witness. But, you can never really know exactly how things are going to pan out in advance.

The devil is in the detail. Give yourself time to deal with it.

A second tip, which worked for me, is to continually monitor and control the rhythm of the exchange with the witness. Break long exchanges of leading closed questions with non-leading questions where it is safe to do so. Changes in rhythm of your questioning can really help maintain your control over the witness and, if necessary, unbalance them if they're sticking in and acclimatising to your style of questioning.

My thanks to Dan for these tips which are the techniques used by high level advocates. He has not covered basics of preparation and questioning here, which would be the bedrock to be built upon before trying these advanced methods. Don't forget that case theory, case analysis and detailed planning of cross examination (including a calculated plan of the risks inherent in your cross examination) must form the basis of your preparation. 

Evidence in chief - tips from former BPTC students

Evidence in chief is the process by which the barrister questions one of his/her own witnesses. The questioning is designed to help the witness tell the story of the relevant events, in a structured, logical way, bringing out detail when necessary. It is primarily used in criminal cases where all of the evidence is oral. In most civil cases, witness statements stand as the evidence in chief and there is only supplementary questioning. 

On the surface, it appears a simple task. However, it is a deceptively difficult skill to perform well. The evidence should come from the witness, which is why the advocate should not ask leading questions on disputed issues. The barrister needs to carry out case analysis and detailed planning of the evidence in chief beforehand. During the evidence in chief the barrister not only has to ask the questions, but carefully listen to the answers, control the witness and ensure that all the relevant evidence comes before the court, deftly avoiding anything inadmissible. 

You can read all about the theory of evidence in chief in the Advocacy manual (definitely worth reading), but what about the realities as a BPTC student? I asked my former BPTC students if they could help. 

Preparation – legal knowledge and research, case preparation and planning

Farooq Sher gave astute advice on the best starting point for any endeavour as a barrister; a full knowledge of the law.

“Know when not to lead! Know your rules of court, know your civil evidence act, enhance the positive elements of your case through the evidence of your witness. Breathe. Take your time. Speak clearly and follow a logical format.

Elicit the objective and subjective evidence according to the legal tests. Don't forget the burdens and standards of proof in a civil case.”

As set out above, you should not ask leading questions on disputed matters, so making lists of disputed matters as part of your preparation will help you. Knowledge of procedure and rules of evidence might not immediately seem relevant, but you must know what you can and cannot adduce and what the court requires.

Elizabeth Salmon emphasised the need for meticulous preparation. Knowledge of the case as a whole was paramount to her: 

“Snigdha, my advice would be prepare, prepare, prepare. Know what evidence you need your client to give in order to make your case and ask questions that will allow for that information to flow.”

The importance of background knowledge and thorough preparation cannot be overstated - too many students think all that is required of them is to ask questions based on the witness' statement, with no greater awareness of the legal framework or the law of evidence. 

Practical advice on how to prepare came from Prashant Sabharwal:

“Know your brief, read it several times and mark down any detail. Then, prepare the broad outlines of questioning your witness. Understand that your witness is human. If necessary, drill down the details through several targeted questions in quick succession. Most importantly, make your witness comfortable and willing to trust you.”

Preparation of an effective kind is key, and I wholly endorse Prashant’s approach. The elements of the offence, the events, the descriptions, the placing of people in the situation - the advocate must be on top of it all. Another highly significant element of Prashant’s advice is the need to “drill down” on details. The possible need for asking many questions to elicit a single piece of information is something many students do not appreciate. Students often wrongly think that if they ask "What did he look like?" they will get everything - face, clothes, shoes, hair colour.

Whilst full preparation is important, the plan you put together must be a flexible one. Something which is too rigid will not work when dealing with a witness. Witnesses are people, so you can expect a degree of unpredictability.

Mark Joseph warns about having too rigid a plan, stating:

“My view is 'don't over prepare it'! Focus on the facts you're trying to prove rather than listing a volume of questions. Add some natural flair!”

Sharid Sarwardhi has this advice on preparation: 

“My advise is try to memorise the whole chief in your mind and ask questions based on a pattern, which you can form earlier, then just keep on listening to the answers and keep on asking questions. I am not suggesting blindly memorising all the questions for the chief, because you could easily lose your track in the middle of the chief. I am just saying that you should remember your facts in such a way so that when you ask any question you will know what will be your next question after getting the answer from the witness.”

Travis Ritch brings together all of these ideas with his mature reflection based on his own practical experience: 

“Admittedly, I found this difficult on the course. But I think now it was put so early in the [skills] assessments (possibly first) because, however well you prepare (and prepare you must), your meta-skills of case analysis, fact management, and helping the finder of fact to find the facts you need to establish your case in law and win the day, take a leap forwards when you do this assessment. For that reason, those areas are perhaps the starting point. What has my client told me has happened, what am I trying to achieve for my client, what do I need my client to say in order to achieve that for him/her, and then, how do I plan to bring this information out without leading. 

Undisputed facts are particularly helpful, because you can state them yourself and use them to signpost. In practice, cases will range from those where all of the facts seem to be in dispute to those where all of them are undisputed and the judge has to decide a single question of law. The course won't give you either of those extreme scenarios; you will need your witness to establish some or most of the facts but not all of them. So, use the undisputed facts to full advantage, and then plan (but don't fully script) how and when you will ask the witness to say the rest of what you need. As a student, I did not trust my brain to think of the next logical question or to find another way of asking the same question while on my feet if I knew the finder of fact had still not heard from the witness what I needed them to hear. I wish I had now.”

Travis’ perceptive observations and searing honesty should guide you towards being an excellent advocate. His description of the relationship between case analysis and questioning is essential reading for students.

Questioning – avoiding leading

Mark Lafferty had this to say:

“I’ve just seen your request for advice on evidence in chief and the following snippet from a Rudyard Kipling poem sprung to mind. I think it's quite useful in a daft sort of way!

I keep six honest serving-men

(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who.

(Unfortunately, I think the rest of the poem is utterly irrelevant!)”

In response, I would say Mark’s advice is anything but daft. It is enormously helpful. Leading questions are only permissible on undisputed matters. So, learning how to carry out non-leading questioning is very important. Using the open question words set out in Kipling’s poem will help. You will need to practice this over and over again, because normal conversation doesn’t work this way; we nudge each other in conversations, using interruptions, leading questions, and other ways of pushing a story or conversation on.

Hannah Thomas warns against obsessing about leading and non-leading questions, as this can distract you from the point of the exercise:  

“The thing I personally found important to note, is not to overthink it. What you're essentially asking is normal, basic information, and it becomes overcomplicated by people trying to ask non-leading questions. Think of it like a fact-finding exercise- when you're asking anyone information you don't know you ask every question in a non-leading way and I think the pressure of tutors drumming 'non-leading' into your mind makes you forget that it is literally just normal question and answer like you would do with your friends.”

To an extent, you should endeavour to avoid leading, but if searching for non-leading questions is slowing up the witness handling, or the questions are becoming too vague and unspecific, then Hannah’s advice will help you refocus on what is important; the narrative and the facts to be adduced before the court. 

Practice makes perfect

Dana Munnings underlines that skills can only be learned through practice:

“All I can say is practice, practice, practice, and record yourself while doing so. You are your best critic. Play it over and over and see where you can improve. Project your voice, keep eye contact and PRACTICE!“

Practice always makes perfect. Any person who has learned any kind of skill, whether sporting, music, dance, art, craft (etc.), will know the importance of practice to both the building or maintenance of one’s skills level. But thoughtful practice is the most important things to engage in - with review and reflection in between. Watching your performances back and assessing yourself will be hugely valuable.

Prav Chandra has a very simple, achievable tip for all students: 

“Practise with someone who doesn't know anything about Bar studies. That way, you ask questions which are easily understood by the witness without trying to be too legal sounding. At the same time, you get answers that aren't ‘template-like’.”

I have often worried about students practicing with the same people too often. Fellow BPTC students will tend to try to be too helpful. They give far too much information in answer to a question, in a way which is not realistic. Go to court and you will see what I mean. Working with the same people will tend to mean your skill will evolve to suit those people being your witness. As a result, the whole exercise becomes "template sounding”. Once we fall into that template mode, we stop really listening to the answers and determining which facts have and have not been established. Get out of your comfort zone and learn to stretch yourself.

Listen. The importance of paying attention to the witness.

Komal Joshi raised the often ignored point that the witness should be heard, not just by the court, but by the advocate: 

“Don’t over prepare the questions - listen to the witness and let them tell their story. It not only makes it (the evidence) flow better, but also more key evidence can be drawn from them; going from set questions may make you pass over the comments that they make that may be key in the case theory! It also makes it more natural and convincing!”

Komal recognises that follow up questions are often necessary to bring out detail. You cannot hope to use this technique when you are not listening to the witness with great care. 

Small hints, little nuggets of fact can come out, which will need development. But only if you hear them!

Eloise Turnnidge supports Komal’s view with these brief, sharp and incisive points:

“1. Write a list of facts you seek, not questions to ask.

2. Make it conversational. Don’t be a robot.

3. Actually listen to the witness’ response and, if appropriate, adapt your questioning.”

A list of facts is better than a list of questions because you can use your pen to quickly cross out facts you have adduced, giving you an instant reminder of what you have left to adduce. A list of questions is risky, as the temptation is to read the list of questions, without keeping track of the actual evidence adduced by the witness. Adapting of the questioning to pick up the facts which are left on your plan will help you get all of the necessary facts out, allowing the court to decide on the basis of the best possible evidence. 

Be human. Remember the witness is human.

Eloise’s point about being conversational and avoiding being “robotic” set out above is part of a more general point about the need to be professional, yet human and recognising the witness is human too. 

Hesh Kumar takes this point up in his advice: 

“One piece of advice, which helped me a lot in the first few weeks: never forget that in XIC, it’s your witness. You’re on their side and they’re on yours. Be friendly, ease them into it. Students are always keen at the start of advocacy training to get into a witness and do what they’ve seen on minis/on TV/any other experience they may have, but in chief, a smile never hurts.”

Never forget that you only get to examine in chief the witnesses which support your case. Why would you want to give them a hard time? Remembering how stressful it is for a non-lawyer just to be in court, let alone giving evidence and getting grilled! A bit of politeness, kindness and charm is always more likely to get co-operation and helpfulness back. I couldn't agree more.

Jack Horlock reminds us that focussing on questioning technique often happens at the expense of being polite, natural and courteous to the witness. 

“I found it helpful to just think of it as having a chat with a friend about the particular topic. The formalities and other things for the exam etc. are easy to learn and commit to memory. However,  your manner with your witness comes naturally and if it's forced it's obvious!”

Oliver Bee is blunt, direct but astute:

“Just chill, Winston, or whatever your name is. If you sound like a clipped privileged twit barking your commands to the lower orders or a robotic staccato fartgun, that never plays well. Be conversational, you're eliciting a story, a credible narrative for the entertainment of the court.”

As barristers-to-be, you have the advantage of a good education, usually far in excess of that of your clients and witnesses. They are already intimidated by you, and your profession. There’s no need to ensure they know how intelligent and well educated you are. Help them do their job, and they will help you do yours. Oliver explains further “remember that you aren't just asking questions or proving a case, but dealing with another human being is very important. This is a communication based skill.” What we do and say in court has far reaching consequences. We would do well to remember that!

Marshall Harkins has this highly effective tip, which is genius:

“Asking how the witness felt or thought about important moments can be insightful and efficient.”

Advocates often focus on their own performance, forgetting that just watching back a video is only half the story. The witness is the vital other half; a living, breathing, thinking human who can tell you whether they were helped in telling the story by your questions. They can help you identify questions which are vague, unfocussed, unhelpful to ensure you avoid them in future. Sit down with the person you questioned and ask them for feedback. 

Chee Wan Yee brings all of these ideas together with her advice:

“I feel like the most important thing to remember in XIC is that you are dealing with an actual person who may be afraid of being at the stand. The witness' feelings are so important and many students fail to ask questions regarding how the witness felt at the time of the incident. It is also useful to imagine that you are in the scene when the incident occurred so that you have a clearer idea of what is going on. Do not bombard the witness with tough questions and properly read the brief before forming questions because students tend to ask irrelevant questions by thinking that more questions equals more points. Also, it is crucial to prepare the witness for XX!! Better to ask the questions early and let the witness explain themselves than to get caught out later on!”

Tom Jones puts things back into perspective. The star of the show should be the witness, not the advocate. Your time to shine will be in the closing speech of the trial. 

“I received an outstanding in my final assessment for XIC. My strategy was to let the witness do the talking. I think that you should trust your preparation; read the entire bundle carefully (and not just the WS of the person being “chiefed”) and practice asking the questions before hand. There's no shame in memorising your prepared questions so that you can maximise eye contact with the witness on the day.”

Conclusion

Planning is vital; know your law, rules of evidence, the elements of the offence, and all of the papers thoroughly. Plan using a fact led approach and don’t script your questions. 

Avoid leading, but don’t be obsessive. Try to get the story to flow.

Listen to the witness. Watch out for little clues and hints which could be followed up with further questioning. 

Practice frequently, with a wide variety of people. Watch yourself and be self-critical. Get feedback from the witness.

Don’t forget to be courteous. Remember your witness is on your side and is only human.

Finally

Deepti Bismohun has this final word:

“Snigdha. Just tell them to listen to your advice. It works trust me, I am a lawyer!!”