Prioritising
and
Tuning out
All the Advocacy lecturers are saying different things
PLEASE HELP ME!
This was a huge problem I encountered throughout the year.
My Advocacy lecturer would comment on my style of cross-
examination (“Let the witness feel comfortable so he’ll let his
guard down before you attack his testimony.”) but other
lecturers would say “Don’t make him feel comfortable; attack
immediately”. Over time I realised that for the exams, it really
did not matter whether I followed my assessor’s style. The only
feedback that mattered was the ones that were consistent
across all the groups i.e. don’t read from a script, don’t speak
too fast, you need to question the witness on these particular
issues.
Finally, learn to enjoy the course! Let yourself feel happy when
your lecturer comments on how much your advocacy has
improved and give your all in all the work that you do! Before
you know it, one academic year will have flown by just like that
so learn to treasure any achievements you’re going to
accomplish along the way.
I look forward to seeing some of you at the Malaysian Bar!