WRITTEN ADVOCACY COURSES

"Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge. Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words when short are best of all." — Winston Churchill

In the context of contemporary international arbitration practice, the above could be restated thus: advocacy is the art of simplifying; the clearer and more concise the advocacy, the more persuasive and memorable it is, all the more so given that arbitrators are faced with a sea of written materials; and words have meaning and history, which can be marshalled into telling our side's story.

The written advocacy course unpacks what it takes to be a persuasive advocate by requiring participants to prepare written samples relevant to counsel practice at different stages of a proceeding, and receive feedback from international faculty of seasoned counsel who also sit as arbitrators. The course further considers the impact of AI on legal writing.

Participants may choose to complete their learning experience by preparing a blog post for the Kluwer Arbitration Blog.

COURSE STRUCTURE & CONTENTS

The written advocacy course will take place over 4 months from March to June 2025 and comprises five modules. Each module focuses on a specific aspect of writing, and involves a writing exercise and relatedly additional drafting learning outcomes, which are all discussed at a teaching session at the start of the module. Modules conclude with group discussions of the writing samples produced by the participants. The topics of the modules are as follows: 

1.    Narration  >  Drafting the factual background of a Statement of Claim
2.   Getting to the point  >  Drafting a document production request
3.   Structuring  >  Drafting a skeleton argument without AI
4.   Positioning  >  Addressing tribunal questions in a post-hearing submission
5.   Pleading with AI  >  Drafting a skeleton argument with AI

A running theme throughout the course is to help participants improve their writing in terms of concision, clarity, and pitch of tone.

The teaching sessions will typically cover ET and CET time zones or CET and SGT time zones, depending on the location of the faculty, and last 60mn. 

At the end of each course, participants and faculty gather with a leading practitioner for a fireside chat on war stories relating to advocacy, and an online social event.

Finally, for participants who wish to take the experience of the courses further, we have arranged a partnership with the Kluwer Arbitration Blog: following orientation sessions, including as to suitable topics for publication, participants can prepare and submit an article in their own time; the Kluwer Arbitration Blog editorial team will look forward to receiving your piece, although there is obviously no guarantee of publication.

COURSE FEES

The course fees are EUR 550 excl. VAT. The course fees for the publication add-on are EUR 80 excl. VAT. You can only enrol on this additional module if you are taking one of the written advocacy courses. 

You can benefit from an early bird rate of EUR 450 excl. VAT on the course fees if you register by 19 December 2024. Once accepted, payment must be made by 31 December 2024. Please note that early bird rates do not apply to the publication add-on module.

Delos full Members receive a 20% discount on all course fees. See below for further information on VAT and special needs situations.

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