The Faculty of Law of the University of Pretoria in cooperation with Continuing Education at UP, the judiciary and the Pretoria Bar yet again presented a successful booked to the brim Trial Advocacy Course for final year LLB students during the winter recess from 13 to 17 July 2015.

The annual course was coordinated by Willem Gravett, a lecturer in the Department Procedural Law.  Gravett expressed his appreciation for the continued support by the judiciary and Pretoria Bar.  “Without the judiciary and the members of the Pretoria Bar, this learning (from the greatest legal minds in the country)-by-doing course would be impossible.’

The panel of instructors included:

• Judge Willie Hartzenberg and Judge Willem van der Merwe as roaming observers;
• Judge Francis Legodi and Judge Sulet Potterill;
• Senior advocates John Mullins, Piet van Niekerk, Thami Ncongwane, Marius Oosthuizen, Norman Davis, Julian du Plessis; and
• Advocates Gerhard Naudé, Marius Snyman, Riani Ferreira, John Holland-Müter, Rob Foden, Marinda Veldsman, Etienne Botha, Delene Gianni, Stephen Farrell, Gina Kyriazis and Sonika Mentz.

Trial advocacy is the branch of knowledge concerned with making attorneys and other advocates more effective and skilled in trial proceedings.  The course covered opening statements, direct examination, cross examination, closing arguments, persuasion techniques, a mock trial, basic trial strategy and advanced trial strategy.