Reflections on Oral Advocacy

CPD 1 hour

PEAT Outcome - Relevant legal knowledge

OBJECTIVES

Advocacy is an important part of the role of any lawyer and yet remains one of the more difficult and nerve-wracking areas of practice. This talk seeks to offer some basics of advocacy that allow for better preparation for and delivery of submissions in court. The talk will cover those preparatory steps, advice for courtroom presentation (including online arguments) and some reflections on common difficulties faced by practitioners in court. It is an ideal session for those at an early stage in their careers or who are seeking to reflect on how they work in court after some initial appearances. The talk will be delivered by Fergus Whyte, an advocate who called to the bar in June 2020. He was previously a New Zealand barrister and solicitor and, for many years, coached mooting at the University of Edinburgh.

PARTICIPANTS

This Zoom webinar is aimed at solicitors, trainee solicitors and other legal professionals.

SPEAKER

Fergus Whyte, Advocate, Arnot Manderson Advocates

Fergus Whyte is an experienced litigator with an interest in commercial & public law disputes, intellectual property, data protection & media law, trust law, and alternative dispute resolution. He has considerable experience in courtroom advocacy as well as experience in conducting complex litigation, dealing with expert evidence and legal research.

Fergus transferred to the Scottish bar in June 2020 having previously been a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand (since 2012) and having completed an LLM at the University of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Advocates’ examinations in Scots Law.

Full details of his professional experience can be found here.