Bronwyn Naidoo attended the LPC-accredited Advanced trial advocacy course and used her competency certificate to convert from attorney to advocate.
About Bronwyn
"My job title is; Director: Legislative Development and Legal Support. I have been with the Department of Water and Sanitation since 2014, in various roles and capacities but only three years in my current role."
Background
"I completed both my LLB and LLM at the University of Pretoria. I was privileged to be selected and to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Insolvency Law and Practice with the Association for Insolvency Practitioners Southern Africa, prior to completing my LLB. I was further privileged later on to have completed the Senior Executive Program with Harvard University and the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Recently, I completed the Chartered Secretarial Board exams with the Chartered Institute of Governance Southern Africa."
On enrolling in the trial advocacy course at the Gawie le Roux Institute of Law
"On my very first day as a law student, during the induction lesson, I was asked by the professor what route I’d be following on completion of my legal studies. I very enthusiastically answered that I would like to be an advocate.
That is not quite how my professional life unfolded. Twenty years postgraduate, an admitted attorney with right of appearance for almost 19, a thrilling and adventurous professional journey, meandering through numerous compliance and regulatory roles and zero regrets, my passion to become an advocate was reignited."
"This course not only refreshed my skills and upskilled me, but it also created the enabling ground for me to meet the requirements to finally pursue this career goal and realise my dream."
On the practical nature of the course
"The course provided me with captivating lessons from a highly skilled expert litigator with a wealth of knowledge on the subject matter. Theory was easily translated into practice. Every analogy was so befitting, unlike the glove in the OJ Simpson trial. I personally felt that the practical nature of the course inspired confidence and forced me to think on my feet. The interactive nature of the course certainly keeps the learner focused and engrossed. I certainly left the course feeling like a virtuoso in cross-examination with my enhanced skills and techniques."
Key takeaways
- "The first rule of thumb to effective trial advocacy: preparation, preparation, preparation, and even more preparation – it's the key to success in any trial.
- A trial attorney/advocate’s objective is winning the trial and winning a trial is not centred on being an excellent orator, it is in fact about being persuasive and telling the most persuasive story. The fact-finder is a person like any other and is likely to understand the facts in a story form. Make sure you’re telling the more persuasive of the two stories being told.
- The art of persuasion – enabling the fact-finder to find in your client’s favour – is achieved through a variety of techniques like the use of plain language and evocation (word choice), primacy and recency, looping, and short, succinct questions put to witnesses (being in control of the witness). Start with your closing argument – begin with the end in mind, only ask W and H questions in examination in chief and short, to-the-point leading questions in cross-examination. Opening statements set the pace for your case – persuade through evocation, don’t argue. Last but not least, from an ethical standpoint – remind your witnesses to above all, speak the truth, according to their best memory."