Peter Lyons book Advocacy - A Practical Guide ... Reviewed by Paul Hardman ... Helping judges come to the right decision ... Loved by Lord Pannick ... Techniques from the leading lights ... Presentation skills ... Preparation ... From the author of the best-selling Not One Jot
Today, there is a lot of available reading on advocacy but it strikes me that it focusses on the subject itself rather than what we really need which is "how to do it".
Now comes a little blue book by Peter Lyons called Advocacy - A Practical Guide. It is not only entertaining and educational but is long overdue.
Lyons is an Australian barrister based in England, who has been teaching advocacy for 25 years. He has trained advocates, young and old, in over 20 countries.
The theme of the book is "help the judge come to the decision you want". It is aimed at barristers, solicitors, arbitration lawyers, patent attorneys and anyone who makes a living presenting cases and trying to persuade.
Lyons also demonstrates the power and effectiveness of plain and simple language, not "legalese". He recalls an occasion when he saw a lawyer appearing before Mr Justice Underwood in a property dispute. The lawyer's question to the witness was:
Lawyer: 'On which particular occasion did you form the requisite intention to dispose of the agricultural holding which is the subject matter of the present litigation?'
Witness: 'Huh?'
Judge: 'When did you decide to sell the farm?'
Lyons doesn't preach. He gives you techniques in oral and written advocacy but he also draws on the skills of successful advocates over the years, such as Tom Hughes, Murray Gleeson, Garfield Barwick, Norman Birkett and Edward Carson - and not only the great legal advocates but great persuaders of all persuasions, from Churchill to Thatcher, from Reagan to Obama.
The chapter on presentation skills will be of interest to anyone wishing to hone their public speaking and persuasion.
Lyon's book traverses all of the topics that you would expect to see: preparing witnesses, examination and cross-examination, case analysis, preparing written submissions and addresses.
What you don't expect is the way that Lyons delivers it. It is enjoyably informative, lightly written and at times very funny. One of the things I liked most is that each chapter ends with a checklist summarising the key points, and no point more than a sentence.
I liked it so much that I gave it to my team to read ... In short, it's a page turner.
The book, as is so often the case, suffers from an inadequate index. Birkett and Barwick are not mentioned but Tony Blair is-under "T." Perhaps that could be rectified in future editions.
The highest praise comes from the lawyer of the moment in Britain, the man who won the two big Brexit cases in the Supreme Court, David Pannick QC.
Lord Pannick, wrote the foreword and said:
"I have read no better guide to the practicalities of good advocacy than Peter Lyons' book."
If it's good enough for him ...
Reviewed by Paul Hardman, partner at K&L Gates, Brisbane