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
Applications for the 2025 edition of the course are now closed. If you would like to apply for the next edition of the course, we will offer an early bird special rate of EUR 550 excl. VAT., and EUR 80 excl. VAT., for the publication add-on (you can only enrol on this additional module if you are taking one of the written advocacy courses), until 15 December 2025 and thereafter 2026 rates will apply. Places are limited.
Delos full Members receive a 20% discount on all course fees. See below for further information on VAT and special needs situations.
APPLY
ADDITIONAL NOTES
If you consider that you have a special needs situation, you can raise this with Delos confidentially by writing to wawa@delosdr.org and apply for a discount or sponsorship. Please note that, once payment has been made, no refund will be processed; but the registration can be transferred to another participant with Delos's agreement.
About VAT: the WAWA courses are subject to the VAT rules applicable in the UK. The rate is 20%. This gets applied if you are (i) based in the UK or (ii) paying for the course yourself, in your individual capacity, wherever you may be – as opposed to doing so through or on behalf of a non-UK law firm or other business. If you are paying for the course through or on behalf of a non-UK law firm or non-UK business, we may ask you to provide us with your EU VAT number or, if you are outside of the EU, your law firm or company registration number, or to demonstrate through other means that you are a business.
SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS
We are grateful for the support of the following organisations in offering this course:
