LU4: Communication And Litigation Skills Flashcards
Non-verbal communication
- sending messages without words
- body language, attitude, clothes, facial expressions
The importance of non-verbal communication for a lawyer
- legal practice is based on persuasion and credibility
- give credibility in court while arguing a matter
- route to success
- 35% of message transmitted verbally, while 65% is through non-verbal communication
- feelings, emotions and attitude
Examples of non-verbal communication
- clothes: appearance sends messages to the world about us. Wear formal clothes as lawyer. Only black and white under bib as advocate
- body language: must complement professionalism. Act with confidence. Professional posture, no chewing gum
- eye contact: look judge in the eye during submissions. Do not fidget with papers while speaking, look accused or witness in the eye when asking questions
- facial expressions: be careful what face shows, do not look bored, use face to advantage, show sympathy and interest
- tone of voice: vary tone, speak loud in court, speak louder to emphasize something and softer to create atmosphere, repeat words to stress a point
Functions of an interview
- establish the interpersonal dimensions of the lawyer-client relationship
- identity issues and obtain sufficient detail info to advance the matter
- determine clients objectives, and advise accordingly
- prepare the way for further action on behalf of the client
Preparing for interviews
- know the info you will need for file
- research applicable law
- jot down relevant facts to case
- write down relevant questions for information you want to obtain from the person
- think of possible questions that your opponent might ask your client
The beginning of the interview
- show interest in client
- do not rush to main issue, allow them to relax
- enquirer about their name (Mr _ or first name)
- talk about general things like hobbies
- if interviewing witness, tell him who you are acting for
- reassure witness about confidentiality of interview
Important part of interview
- ask client to give short outline of what happened
- take notes
- stop witness if talks too fast if for clarification
- then ask to start story from beginning
- check inconsistencies or deviations
- remain focused on facts of story
- ensure client gives all relevant information
What is a good listener
- empathetic
- keeps eye contact and responds accordingly
- listen with eyes, facial expressions
- participates in interaction by active body language
- encourage speaker that I am interested by using both receptive language and non-verbal clues
- seeks clarification when there is a misunderstanding
- pays full attention
- shows interest and commitment to interaction
- open-minded to new ideas
Ways of listening
- listening for facts: listen to what is being said and analyze facts
- listening while taking cognizance of feelings: listen for what is being felt
Logic and legal arguments
- once you have studied the law, you must have the sense and skill to use that knowledge to get the required results and achieve set objectives
- ability to argue effectively depends on how logically your ideas are organized with reference to sequence, combination and reaching acceptable conclusions
What is logic?
- ability to solve problems by argumentation
- tries to provide answers on what is involved when a point is argued and what good argumentation entails
- logic is the study if rational thinking and is concerned with the structure of valid arguments
- argument: network of statements in which one statement is made on the strength of the rest
- relationship between premise and conclusion
Deductive reasoning
- conclusion follows directly and fully from the premise
- all humans are mortal/ Socrates is human/ Socrates is mortal
- premise forces conclusion on us
(i) form and content: P1+P2>=C (determines validity of argument)
(ii) truth: premise must be true from which a valid conclusion can be deduced
(iii) meaning: form gives clarity and meaning
Inductive reasoning
- form is same an deduction
- conclusion contains something new, that goes beyond premise
(i) argument from a law: argue on basis of laws, then show that a particular instance is covered by that law, or the opposite
(ii) connectedness or correlation: no assumed that there is a law, but there is a correlation between two occurrences, because ‘a therefore b’
(iii) causality: strongest form of correlation between two events, must be some form of necessity in their interconnection - inductive conclusions always more vulnerable (does not follow from premise, but relies on them for support)
General remarks
(i)The nature of premises: can be perceived as facts or assumptions from worldviews, about history or science or they can be meanings of words or expressions. Can be conclusions of an earlier argument, everything should be relevant
-common forms of irrelevance
:argumentum ad hominem (personal attack) attacking argued instead of argument
:argue from authority; argued introduces a name in an attempt to strengthen his argument
(ii) beware or arguing in circles: conclusion is introduced as a premise, results in an unacceptable argument
(iii) criticism: focus on premise or conclusion, see whether is is true and valid
(iv) non sequitur: are convulsions that do not go,low the premise that they are supposed to be derived from. rules of logic should be thoroughly mastered to ensure logical sequence leads to sensible results
Litigation and advocating in the court of law
- appearing in court is big part of lawyers life
- acquire what is needed with practice
