Highly-regarded international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna continued its commitment to quality Dispute Resolution training when its Academy convened in Brussels for 2 days at the end of January.

The course was attended by over 46 practitioners who came from places as diverse as Zurich, Kyiv, London, Stuttgart, Hamburg and Rome.

The delegates spent a morning analysing a complex commercial dispute. Then they were introduced to a range of negotiation techniques which they were then encouraged to employ on a series of case studies.

The course, which was very intensive, was led by Professor Peter Lyons and Judge Nancy Vaidik.

One delegate said the course had exceeded his expectations. “”I appreciated the fact that all theoretical issues were then put to the test in a practice session. I now have the tools to be a better lawyer.”

Another delegate said the teaching had been enthusiastic and that she had been given very useful tools.

“There [were] interesting and varied case studies and a good mixture [of] teaching, talking and pro-active participation.”

Preparations for the course were smoothly and efficiently organised by Ilan Hanohov, the CMS Head of Business Development and his team who are based in Frankfurt.

Guy Pendell (pictured), the Head of CMS Practice Area Group said, “CPD Training has delivered another excellent dispute resolution training event for our disputes lawyers across Europe.”

Peter Lyons was invited by the Northern Ireland Law Society’s new Head of Advocacy, Fiona Donnelly, to teach in Belfast in the third week of January.

He delivered a course on “Giving Effective Video Critiques” to a group of committed and enthusiastic practitioners who themselves provide training for Belfast advocacy programmes.

Peter also spent 4 afternoons with Ms Donnelly (pictured) and other teachers giving lessons on Case Analysis, Examination-in Chief and Cross-Examination.

He delivered the main presentations to a class of 126 trainee solicitors for the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen’s University, Belfast.

“It was pretty tough delivering 4 sessions to a group of 126 students in an interactive way. I’m more used to groups of 8,” said Peter, “but Fiona helped me tremendously.”

“It also made it easier that the delegates were as committed and keen to learn as these were.”

“The Northern Ireland programme is much more intensive and educational than advocacy courses for young solicitors at similar levels in England,” he said.

“They really invest a lot of time and effort into teaching their students and it pays off with increased levels of confidence and analytical skills.”

Leading national law firm Thompsons has been developing the advocacy and presentation skills of its members this year.

The firm, which has the largest union client base in the country and over 1,000 employees, engaged CPD Training to run one day courses on Interim Advocacy, Effective Presenting and Delivering Client Seminars.

The courses have taken place in London, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol.

Those attending have described the training as excellent. One delegate in London described his course as “interesting and engaging with lots of useful exercises”.

Another solicitor in Manchester said the course was really well-presented. “The trainer had a different style” she said.

“It was not the normal ‘sit around a table and listen’ approach. It was interactive and engaging.”

Another delegate in Leeds said she found the Interim Advocacy course was “very informative” and “gave her the confidence to practise [her] advocacy”.

CPD Training’s first PSC City Advocacy course got off to a flying start in October.

Delivered at Mayer Brown’s state-of-the art premises in London, the course was an intensive 3 day programme in Communication Skills, Case Analysis, Witness Handling and Trial Advocacy.

One of the many happy delegates described the course as “the best training I have been on during my training contract”.

The course was run for four leading law firms: Berwin Leighton Paisner, Dechert, SJ Berwin and Mayer Brown which are affectionately known as the Quadrant Group.

The style of teaching attracted some warm comments. The trainer was "excellent and very enthusiastic" and "gave constructive criticism but in a really positive way".

CPD Training’s Peter Lyons was invited to attend the annual advocacy programme at the Indiana Law School in October.

Peter was one of 4 team leaders who delivered the course. The others were legendary Indiana advocate Tom Singer, Judge Jane Magnus Stinson and the simple country lawyer, Bob Stein.

The programme, which began on a Sunday afternoon and ended on the following Friday, was attended by 35 delegates and was led by Judge Nancy Vaidik of the Indiana Court of Appeals.

Judge Vaidik delivered her famous lecture on exhibits and told the story of a trial for nuisance against the owners of a particularly offensive chicken farm. As a demonstrative exhibit, Her Honor produced an elegant, 12 inch high and very expensive porcelain chicken.

During the week Peter Lyons was Judge Vaidik's guest at an exclusive cocktail party held for former US Vice President Dan Quayle.

Judge Vaidik and Professor Lyons at the reception for Dan Quayle

Four prestigious City law firms have awarded a substantial slice of their PSC Advocacy training to CPD Training.

SJ Berwin, Mayer Brown, Dechert and Berwin Leighton Paisner clubbed together to hear tenders for the Advocacy and Communication Skills element of the Professional Skills Course.

CPD’s Peter Lyons said he had been told by the firms that CPD’s approach had been tailored to meet their business needs.

“Chris Taylor and I wrote commercial case studies which we will use as a vehicle to teach the important advocacy skills such as Interim Advocacy and Cross-examination.”

“It is a course which builds confidence” he said.

“The City firms have shown a willingness to break away from the big training providers if the product suits their needs.”

The training is due to commence in London this autumn.

CMS Cameron McKenna held an intensive 2 day CPD Training course in Vienna recently to launch its Arbitration Academy.

CMS, which has 54 offices in Central and Western Europe, sent 36 delegates on the 2 day course.

The training team, provided by CPD Training, was led by Peter Lyons. It included two of the most experienced advocacy teachers in America, Judge Nancy Vaidik from Indiana and Bob Stein from New Hampshire as well as Peter Wood, an arbitration partner from Australia’s biggest law firm, Minter Ellison.

The launch of the CMS Arbitration Academy coincided with the publication of an impressive new book edited by Dr Torsten Lörcher and Yannis Mavrogordato entitled The CMS Guide to Arbitration.

The book is a collection of contributions from 30 countries and is intended for use as a practice guide in those places.

The delegates who ranged from partners to associates worked with a complicated arbitration case study about a mine in Romania. The international flavour was enhanced by the fact that delegates came from a variety of countries including Brazil, Austria and Switzerland.

Sergiy Gryshko from CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz, a Ukrainian practitioner said “I was particularly impressed by the level of teachers combining the insights of their professional careers with brilliant teaching skills.”

“The diversity of both national and professional backgrounds (coaches were both from the private sector and the judiciary as well as from different parts of the globe) helped see the examination of a witness not from only the attorney's perspective, but also with the eyes of the arbitration panel.”

He said it was definitely a course to do for anyone who considers himself as an international arbitration professional firmly committed to constant professional development.

Brazilian lawyer Marcelo Cippitelli from CMS Bureau Francis Lefebvre Mercosur in Buenos Aries said he was amazed by the CPD Training group.

"Peter Lyons' teaching proficiency kept the attention of all the lawyers from the beginning to the end of the course, providing confidence to all the participants to improve their skills with direct participation".

CPD-NITA, the joint venture between British and American advocacy training providers, has been launched successfully in London with a course on International Arbitration.

The 3 day programme was hosted by world-renowned law firm Baker Botts and included delegates from 2 other major City firms.

The training was delivered by CPD’s Peter Lyons and NITA’s Pete Day, an arbitration expert from Seattle.

“We concentrated on the skills needed to appear in successful international arbitrations,” said Lyons. “These included cross-examination and the relatively new procedure called hot-tubbing experts. Hot-tubbing, which was invented by an Australian judge, means the experts are dealt with simultaneously. It saves a lot of time and money.”

CPD-NITA was set up to promote advocacy training in International Arbitration. NITA is the most famous and long-established advocacy teaching organization in America. It conducts programmes throughout the world.

CPD Training accredits the training for delegates from England and Wales and NITA awards CLE points for the US attorneys who go on the course. Each US state has its own CLE requirements so NITA simplifies the process for US delegates.

The reaction from those attending the London course was very positive. One of them said, “It was a very valuable experience. I would be delighted if I were given the opportunity to participate in a similar program in the near future.”

CPD has been delivering its structured litigation training to several firms recently.

The one day modules are designed to be presented at intervals and take the delegates from the pre-action stage to trial.

Firms are opting for a flexible approach. This means they are choosing dispute resolution modules to suit their business needs. The firm chooses the time of the modules and the frequency of when they are delivered.

The training covers subjects like Negotiation, Interim Advocacy, Drafting and Mediation. The added benefit is that the law firm can ask the presenter to deliver the firm’s style of approach to dispute resolution as part of the training.

In these recessionary times, law firms are finding that structured training is more efficient and cheaper than other courses on offer.

Matthew Howarth, head of Commercial Litigation at the fast-growing Leeds firm Gordons LLP is a big fan.

“CPD Training has assisted us greatly by providing the firm with economical and structured dispute resolution training,” he says.

“The courses are engaging, educational and highly relevant to our day to day practice. We particularly enjoy the advocacy courses because they build confidence and teach our lawyers how to be more polished and persuasive.”

Delegates from other firms say the courses keep you interested and teach the skills you need to know in your day to day job.

 “They make you think about cases in a different way.”

The SRA has given the green light to CPD’s Advocacy and Communications Skills programme, describing it as “a very well written and designed course which will benefit delegates.”

The 3 day course, which centres on a fascinating commercial dispute about a valuable piece of Assyrian art and an application in the High Court to recover laundered money was said by the SRA assessor to be of a high quality.

“The course materials give a good balance between the procedural framework and the practical skills required in civil and criminal litigation,” the SRA said.

“The trainers are also well qualified and experienced in this field.”

A new CPR Practice Direction on the pre-action conduct of parties is due to come into force on 6 April 2009. Changes from the existing Practice Direction include the requirement in business debt claims for the creditor to provide information about sources of advice to the debtor before issuing proceedings. To read the full text of the new Practice Direction, click here and go to page 32 of the pdf document which opens in the new window. To read about other changes to the CPR coming into effect on 6 April, click here.

The SRA is consulting on how it should regulate solicitors who appear in higher courts proceedings. Its objectives are to:

§   provide the public and clients with confidence in the standard of solicitor higher court advocates;

§   provide assurances that appropriate standards are being met and maintained; and

§   ensure that any regulatory requirements are open, fair, transparent and proportionate.

The consultation paper outlines three options:

1.  Mandatory re-accreditation for all;

2.  Targeted mandatory re-accreditation

3.  No re-accreditation

For more information, click here.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today announced a consultation on a new scheme for overseas lawyers to qualify as English solicitors. The scheme will also extend to other UK lawyers, including solicitors admitted in other parts of the UK and barristers.

The consultation is to run for 12 weeks. Further details can be found here.

For some time, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been considering changes to the rules governing solicitors’ rights to practise advocacy in the Higher Courts.

The SRA has now made its proposals to the Secretary of State, and they have been published on the Law Society's website. See item 8 on this link.

The new Regulations have been designed to:

§               remove the restrictive practices and onerous assessment regime of the existing Regulations;

§               reduce the number of qualifications available (to simply civil and criminal);

§               introduce a single assessment process for each qualification that will concentrate on appropriate advocacy skills and assume that solicitors will have adequate knowledge of relevant rules of procedure and evidence;

§               enable holders of a higher courts qualification granted under previous regulations to 'passport' onto the new scheme, subject to revalidation requirements;

§               introduce a requirement that holders of a higher rights of audience qualification (whether granted under these or previous regulations) will be required revalidate that qualification every 5 years of earlier for current holders;

§               remove the current requirement for experience evidenced by a portfolio; and

§               remove the current mandatory training requirements.

It will take some time for the new Regulations to be approved and implemented. As a result, the existing Higher Rights scheme has now been extended, possibly until 1 January 2010. This is viewed by the SRA as a 'worst case' timetable, so the new scheme may come in sooner.

We will provide further updates on the site as and when further details regarding the new regime and the timetable for its implementation become clearer.