In late May 2019, Peter Lyons was fortunate enough to meet the granddaughter of Norman Birkett. Victoria Cliff Hodges remembered her grandfather as being incredibly kind but always busy. “There were loads of boxes and documents in his study and it was quite a job for me to coax him outside into the garden”, she said.
Her grandparents gave up their home in Surrey to accommodate returning RAF pilots in the war. They even paid for the weddings when the pilots got married.
Lord Birkett features prominently in Peter’s book Advocacy: A Practical Guide. Victoria was kind enough to allow him to quote freely from her grandfather’s speeches and writings.
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Several candidates from Dentons passed the Higher Rights assessment in May 2019 and Peter Lyons coached an international City law firm who were conducting the advocacy in a large overseas arbitration. He also delivered our Advanced Advocacy training for Carpmaels & Ransford in London. Chris Taylor taught the Basic Litigation Skills course to Potter Clarkson in Nottingham and Appleyard Lees in Leeds.
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In June 2019, Chris Taylor taught D Young & Co in Southampton and Peter’s book Advocacy: A Practical Guide was launched at Wildy’s book shop at Star Yard in London.
Guests included Guy Pendell from CMS, Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho from 39 Essex Chambers, Andrew Cook from Kennedys in Singapore, solicitor Lorraine Richardson and Andrew Riddoch, the publisher and his team. After the launch, Simon Brown QC and Peter went to a splendid restaurant in Farringdon called the Bleeding Heart.
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Peter Lyons delivered 3 advocacy and Higher Rights courses in June for Skadden Arps, Mayer Brown and the Wolverhampton City Council. In July, CMS sent some more delegates on Higher Rights and Chris Taylor went to Bristol to teach litigation skills for Haseltine Lake.
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In August, Peter Lyons delivered tailored advocacy training to an international law firm in Vienna.
Retired judges Peter Dixon (Tasmania) and Mark Drummond (Illinois) and his wife, communications expert Carol Sowers, visited CPD Training in York. Peter Dixon went to the York races and the Ashes Test at Headingley; and Mark and Carol accompanied Peter Lyons to the Nunthorpe Stakes race day at the Knavesmire.
The three then flew to Belfast for the 20th anniversary of the Northern Ireland NITA programme run by Fiona Donnelly. She received a video tribute from faculty of the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, which was greatly enjoyed by the guests at the graduation dinner. It is a huge undertaking to run the course each year but Fiona carries it off with panache.
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In September Chris Taylor taught litigation skills for Mewburn Ellis in Cambridge and ran a public course in London at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Feedback included: “Chris was clear and an excellent teacher. He really knew his stuff”. Another delegate said: “I found it genuinely interesting and useful. Chris was very clear and helpful and deserves particular praise.”
Peter taught a public Higher Rights course then flew to Düsseldorf in Germany to teach Cohausz & Florack.
In an 11-day teaching stint he taught advocacy to 22 patent attorneys and lawyers then returned straight to London to teach advocacy and Higher Rights as well as conducting private advocacy coaching for 2 senior lawyers from central America.
He then taught a cross-examination course to Dentons’ planning lawyers. The course was well-received. One delegate said the course contained a “great mix of teaching and lots of opportunities to get on one’s feet and present.”
From a 12-year qualified Scottish lawyer came this: “It is a difficult topic to teach and it was set out in a way that meant everyone participated and came away with individual critiques and tips or techniques to work on.”
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Ruairi Gillen joined the CPD team for a second time in October 2019 and has agreed to become a member of our faculty. He is a young Northern Irish lawyer with a lot of experience in court and a real aptitude for teaching advocacy. We are very pleased to welcome him to the team.
Ruairi and Peter taught a PSC advocacy course in Liverpool together. One student wrote that the trainers were “patient and enthusiastic throughout the whole 3-day course. They were very encouraging which was helpful; especially for those who were more nervous.” Another student said she “loved the anecdotes, jokes and experiences. I was engaged and learnt a lot. The teaching and feedback boosted my confidence.”
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Chris Taylor achieved a personal milestone in October 2019 when he completed the Wainwrights: the 214 peaks of the Lake District. Here is his account, which he was invited to write for the Wainwright Society.