BASIC LITIGATION SKILLS COURSE PROVES VERY POPULAR
The Basic Litigation Skills course for patent attorneys continues to attract significant interest.
The 4-day programme is highly interactive and includes a number of challenging but enjoyable exercises in subjects such as Case Management, Costing and Negotiation.
The beauty of the course is that we bring it to you. As a firm, you can choose how the 4 days of training is arranged.
Some have run the course in a single week from Monday to Thursday. Others prefer to spread the training over a longer period.
You are trained and assessed in oral advocacy. You are required to sit a 2-hour written examination on a date that is convenient so long as it is not too far away from the final training day.
If you are an individual practitioner, work in-house or your firm only needs to send a few people on the course, we may be able to arrange for you to attend another firm’s course. There are also regular public programmes which you could join.
On the most recent programme which was held for D Young & Co LLP, a practitioner remarked that the course was “fundamentally well-run; interesting and useful.”
Chris Taylor, our Head of Litigation Training, has received high praise for his teaching. A practitioner’s verdict was that “the quality of the training and the trainer’s knowledge was exceptional. Many skills learned were of general applicability outside the litigation scenario.”
Chris has also been commended for organising the training and assessments so as to minimise the hassle for the HR people in the firms.
Karen Genuardi of AA Thornton said, “CPD were very helpful in suggesting ways we might run the course in-house so our busy attorneys would get the most from attending and at the same time enjoy the learning. All the joining instructions and course information was sent out by CPD in advance, which was handled very efficiently.
“Some of the course places were filled by external candidates; this was a first for us, and it worked extremely well with the mix of participants bringing an added dimension to the group discussions.”
“CPD exceeded our expectations and we look forward to working with Chris again.”
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HIGHER RIGHTS TRAINING SHORTENED
In a bid to save valuable fee-earning time for busy practitioners, CPD Training has reduced its Higher Rights training programme from 3 days to 2.
The lead trainer, Professor Peter Lyons, said there will be no reduction in the subjects covered or the quality of the training.
“It was becoming increasingly clear that most practitioners were ready to start preparing for the assessment by the end of day 2. It’s just a question of lengthening days 1 and 2 and giving the delegates more practice in the skills,” he said.
“We will continue to meet the high standards set by the SRA in our assessment. The independent assessors are highly-trained and very experienced. Of course, anyone who wishes to be trained for a longer period only has to ask,” he said.
In the past few months we have been very busy running or assisting with Higher Rights training and assessments for Dentons, CMS, K&L Gates and Herbert Smith Freehills.
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PATENT ATTORNEYS AND ADVOCACY TRAINING
There has been a noticeable demand for advocacy training among some of the top patent attorney firms in the UK. Over the past few months 3 large firms have taken a 2 day course, some on multiple occasions.
The training is important for giving those who appear in court and before panels a thorough grounding in presentation skills, structuring and delivering submissions and learning how to persuade the decision maker. There is also some practice in handling an opponent at a hearing.
Most who have done the course said it has increased their confidence.
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AUSTRALIA
In May, Peter Lyons made his annual pilgrimage to Australia to teach advocacy for the Legal Practice Course in Hobart.
He was assisted on the 3-day course by Leigh Sealy SC and retired Magistrate Peter Dixon.
Whilst in Hobart, he addressed the teaching faculty of the Law School at the University of Tasmania and spent a few hours coaching mooting students.
Lyons also delivered a 2 day training course for the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Office of the Solicitor General.
SCOTLAND
As a Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde, Peter Lyons travelled to Glasgow in early July to deliver a training course for Trainees and Newly Qualified practitioners (TANQ) at the home of the Royal Faculty of Procurators.
He came at the invitation of legendary Glasgow lawyer Charles Hennessy. Over 100 people attended the evening session. The feedback was very positive. Here is a sample of the comments:
“This training was stunning, would recommend a slightly longer session if could be accommodated.
There may be a need to extend some seminars beyond one hour, especially for workshops.
Great seminar.
Practice examples & exercises very helpful.
Seminars offered are always very informative and interesting.
One of the most informative and interesting seminars, excellent presenters.
Great seminar. Useful, practical skills.”
To Peter’s delight, Charles Hennessy described Lyons as “the consummate warm-up man.”