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Overview After graduating from their LLB degree, all law students are clueless about what to expect as Candidate Attorneys. The two main hurdles that candidate attorneys face are legal drafting and court appearances.  Although many ca ndidate attorneys survive their practical vocational training, not knowing how to clear these hurdles can bring much uncertainty.  The truth is that it does not have to be a fearful time because you can learn the basics of legal drafting and how to conduct court appearances! Join Adv. Lisa Thomas  where she will make your fears a thing of the past and teach you what you need to know         Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: The need for court documents and court appearances in a legal practice The basics of court documents The basics of court appearances How to build confidence with court documents (drafting, service, and filing) How to build confidence with court appearances How to interact with clients in relation to drafting court documents and court appearances   Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Types of court appearances: adjournments/handing up documents     trial applications (motion court) argument   Types of court documents   pleadings (actions)   affidavits (application)   handling court documents (service & filing)   Basics of court documents (drafting)    rules of court    purpose of templates/precedents    peer-review    purpose of each document (pleading/affidavit)   Court etiquette  rights of appearance  introduction to presiding officer (first appearance for each new presiding officer)  standing up and speaking (terms of address/reason for appearance) Consultations with clients (drafting and preparation for court appearances)   About the presenter: Adv Lisa Thomas is former criminal defence advocate and in-house counsel in Durban, Lisa has seen the law practice from both sides. She graduated with her LLB, completed her pupillage, and was admitted as an advocate in 2008. Her current area of interest is in alternative dispute resolution, specifically mediation. She is a maverick for humanity and ethics within the legal profession in South Africa with a focus on candidate attorneys Her legal experience finds its ultimate expression in her LinkedIn teaching posts, free mentorship platform, and academy. With superpowers such as empathy and authenticity propelling her, she is committed to being a lifelong resource for up and coming legal professionals.   Who this is for? Candidate attorneys (with rights of appearance in the Magistrates’ and/or Regional Magistrates’ Courts) Law students Pupil Advocates Paralegals Young/ Junior legal practitioners Price:   This webinar is complimentary  For those of you who are unable to attend the live webinar, the recording will be made available to you shortly after the event. Additional material By purchasing this webinar you will be provided with: A summarised slide presentation. Reference documents and/or course material where available.

Overview Although Candidate Attorneys receive their rights to appear after serving a period of their articles, they do not know how to conduct themselves in court. Court appearances are daunting because they deal with their principa l attorney’s clients and cannot make mistakes. They are often left in court without knowing what to do, where to go, and what to say. This lack of knowledge can prejudice clients’ matters and inevitably lead to ignorant mistakes. Join Adv. Lisa Thomas as she provides you with the do’s and don'ts of your very first court appearance as a candidate attorney. Learn how prior preparation and good etiquette can make your first court experience memorable for the right reasons!   Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: The importance of communicating with the client and principal attorney before the appearance How to prepare for an emergency at court How to ensure that the client’s file is prepared for the appearance How to ensure that the client is prepared for the appearance What is required of their appearance (outcome)   Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Identifying the courtroom and presiding officer Client’s file (reading & preparing documents for court) Client preparation (if appearing at court) Client’s mandate/principal’s instructions Outcome required Adjournments/emergencies   About the presenter: Lisa Thomas is a former Criminal defence advocate and in-house counsel in Durban, Lisa has seen the law practice from both sides. She graduated with her LLB, completed her pupillage, and was admitted as an advocate in 2008. Her current area of interest is in alternative dispute resolution, specifically mediation. She is a maverick for humanity and ethics within the legal profession in South Africa with a focus on candidate attorneys   Who this is for? Candidate attorneys Law Students Pupil Advocates Paralegals Young/Junior legal practitioners    Price R100 per person Additional material By purchasing this webinar you will be provided with: A summarised slide presentation. Reference documents and/or course material where available.

Overview Actions and applications are the two kinds of legal proceedings in our legal system. There are different processes and papers involved in each kind of proceeding Action matters go ahead to trial and application matters are paper-based pro ceedings. There are also distinct types of applications (on notice, ex parte, and urgent) Candidate attorneys struggle to integrate this knowledge in practice and often find themselves going with the flow lacking in understanding. Join Adv. Lisa Thomas as she breaks down actions and applications for candidates in a way that helps critical thinking and effective integration.   Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: That there are two distinct types of legal proceedings The basic distinction between actions and applications The difference in the papers exchanged Why the papers are exchanged in the sequence that they are   Content The webinar will cover the following topics: How to decide which type of legal proceedings (action or application) apply to a matter The nature of each type of legal proceedings (action or application) The papers involved in each type of legal proceedings (action or application) The sequence of papers in each type of legal proceedings (action or application) The necessity of the papers in each type of legal proceedings (action or application) Close of pleadings/exchange   About the presenter: Lisa Thomas is a former criminal defence advocate and in-house counsel in Durban, Lisa has seen the law practice from both sides. She graduated with her LLB, completed her pupillage, and was admitted as an advocate in 2008. Her current area of interest is in alternative dispute resolution, specifically mediation. She is a maverick for humanity and ethics within the legal profession in South Africa with a focus on candidate attorneys   Who this is for? Candidate Attorneys Law students Pupil Advocates Paralegals Young/ Junior legal practitioners Price R100.00 per person    Additional material By purchasing this webinar you will be provided with: A summarised slide presentation. Reference documents and/or course material where available.

Overview Connecting the dots between the practical and theoretical training received by candidate attorneys in their pre-admission phase is relevant because it will help them view the two aspects as joined.  Often, the two requirements a re viewed as ordeals that they must endure in order to be signed off as fit and proper at the end of their training. Coming to the world of legal practice as still thinking as law students, they are accustomed to compartmentalizing their learning for the purpose of regurgitating it in assessments. They are not taught that practice and legal theory go together - or that practice amplifies legal theory. Most Candidate Attorneys never enjoy their articles and stick it out at the expense of their physical and mental health. Join Adv, Lisa Thomas  where she will teach you to connect all their experiences during qualification that will help gather your thoughts and take yourself seriously as future legal practitioners. Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: How Practical Legal Training (PLT) & Practical Vocational Training (PVT) are connected How legal theory informs legal practice How practice amplifies legal practice How to think like a future legal practitioner instead of a law student or PLT student   Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Practical Vocational Training Practical Legal Training Seeing PVT and PLT as joined Mentality of a student vs mentality of a future legal practitioner   About the presenter Adv. Lisa Thomas is a former criminal defence advocate and in-house counsel in Durban, Lisa has seen the law practice from both sides. She graduated with her LLB, completed her pupillage, and was admitted as an advocate in 2008. Her current area of interest is in alternative dispute resolution, specifically mediation. She is a maverick for humanity and ethics within the legal profession in South Africa with a focus on candidate attorneys.   Who this is for? Candidate Attorneys Law students Pupil Advocates Paralegals Young/ Junior legal practitioners Price R 100.00 per person Additional material By purchasing this webinar you will be provided with: A summarised slide presentation. Reference documents and/or course material where available.

Overview Running a trial is often glamorized on television and appears to be the epitome of lawyering. By the time candidate attorneys are ready to appear in court and represent clients, they do not know the basics about litigation. Although they will not be given the task of conducting a trial on their own, their exposure to trial proceedings is limited, if not lacking. Their knowledge may be a combination of American legal dramas and some theory remembered from university. Join Adv. Lisa Thomas  as she simplifies litigation techniques for candidate attorneys in a way that makes running a trial an approachable challenge. Learning objectives What is expected of a candidate attorney in terms of courtroom conduct Will know the importance of addressing the court at the start and end of the trial Understanding the value of evidence-in-chief and the style of questions permitted UnderstandIing the value of cross-examination and the style of questions permitted Understand the value of re-examination and the style of questions permitted Content The webinar will cover the following topics: What is litigation and when is it necessary? The phases of a trial (civil and criminal) Opening and closing your case (civil and criminal) Types of questions (leading, inductive, deductive, and reparatory) Examination-in-chief Cross-examination Re-examination About the presenter: Adv Lisa Thomas is a former criminal defence advocate and in-house counsel in Durban, Lisa has seen the law practice from both sides. She graduated with her LLB, completed her pupillage, and was admitted as an advocate in 2008. Her current area of interest is in alternative dispute resolution, specifically mediation. She is a maverick for humanity and ethics within the legal profession in South Africa with a focus on candidate attorneys Who this is for? Candidate attorneys (with rights of appearance in the Magistrates’ and/or Regional Magistrates’ Courts) Law students Pupil Advocates Paralegals Young/ Junior legal practitioners Price R 100.00 per person Additional material By purchasing this webinar you will be provided with: A summarised slide presentation. Reference documents and/or course material where available.

Overview The constant requests for templates reveal that candidate attorneys are unable to approach legal drafting from scratch. Legal drafting is the bread and butter of attorneys’ practice and basic skills must be learned. There are immuta ble basics that have remained over time which can be easily learned and understood. The Rules of Court (Magistrates’ Court and Uniform Rules of Court) form the backbone of legal drafting. Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: They will know why and when legal drafting is required They will understand the basic structure and content of court documents (actions and applications) They will understand the basic structure and content of a general letter of demand They will know the importance of drafting in accordance with the Rules of Court They  will understand the role of document template/precedents Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Why do we draft? Letters of demand (general and statutory notices) Letters of demand (general): basic letter structure - receipient’s details at the top, date, mode of delivery, heading (nature of matter & parties’ names), cause of action, demand, time period, bank details (where necessary) legal action warning, signature, firm’s details Letters of demand(statutory notices): structure and content will follow the section of legislation mandating the notice (e.g. Section 129 notice/letter of demand) Structure of pleadings (action): court heading, case number, parties’ names and designation, document name within tramlines, merits of matter, prayer, attorney’s signature and firm details Content of pleadings: facta probanda v facta probantia, necessary and relevant facts, cause of action/defence, attachments/annexures Structure of affidavits (applications): court heading, case number, parties’ names and designations, affidavit type within tramlines, deponent’s evidence, prayer, deponent’s signature, oath, commissioner’s signature Content of affidavits: less formal than pleadings (personal evidence), depends on type of affidavit (founding, opposing/answering, replying, or supporting) Rules of Court (Magistrate’s and Uniform Rules) Templates/precedents

Overview Legal research is not only for Constitutional Court judges’ clerks! Candidate attorneys need to learn the basics of conducting legal research to prepare effectively for clients’ matters. Conducting legal research involves goin g the extra mile to ensure that case law and general legal information is up to date and correctly applied to clients’ matters. There are various sources of legal information with each having a different value in terms of their usage. Candidate attorneys need to know these sources and how to use each source. Join Adv. Lisa Thomas as she opens the realms of legal research to expose candidate attorneys to one the best habits they can practice for their future careers. Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: They will know the basic etiquette relating to first-time and existing clients They will understand the importance in reading the client’s file before the consultation They will understand what needs to be done in each consultation and set the direction They will learn the balance between allowing the client to speak freely and keeping to time The attendee will learn how to prepare questions for first-time clients (especially where those questions and answers will inform their drafting later) Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Who are clients? Consultation ethics First-time or walk-in clients Existing clients Perusing the client’s file Explaining and signing a mandate (first-time clients) Preparing consultation questions The role of supervising attorney/principal attorney Time management in a consultation

Overview Passing and failing exams has been everyone’s universal experience since primary school. Reaching the pinnacle of one’s academic journey by writing professional exams is an achievement. However, most Candidate attorneys are of ten waylaid and stalled at the point of entry. Those who have repeatedly sat for the attorney’s admission exams pile discouragement upon discouragement. Half the battle is lost in the mind without touching the theoretical aspects. Join Adv. Lisa Thomas  as she  teaches you the difference between written and oral exams and provides candidate attorneys with pragmatic approaches to both.   Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: Thet will know how to structure their study time to maximize productivity They will learn to contextualize legal theory for better understanding They will know the importance of rewriting the theory in their own words (summaries) They will understand the difference between preparing for written exams and oral exams They will understand the implications of passing and failing professional exams Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Studying: memorization vs understanding Productive and unproductive study methods Summarization Contextualization of legal theory (scenarios) Written exams v oral exams The reality of passing and failing

Overview Legal research is not only for Constitutional Court judges’ clerks! Candidate attorneys need to learn the basics of conducting legal research to prepare effectively for clients’ matters. Conducting legal research involves goin g the extra mile to ensure that case law and general legal information is up to date and correctly applied to clients’ matters. There are various sources of legal information with each having a different value in terms of their usage. They  need to know these sources and how to use each source. Join Adv. Lisa Thomas as she opens the realms of legal research to expose candidate attorneys to one the best habits they can practice for their future careers Learning objectives By the end of this webinar the attendee should know: The attendee will have a background of all the resources for legal research (free and paid) The attendee will know how to ensure accurate case law research The attendee will understand the research value of difference sources The attendee will understand where and how to use each research source The attendee will learn how efficient research leads to efficient argument/drafting Content The webinar will cover the following topics: Sources of legal research The value of each research source Researching case law:  (lower or higher court/appeal/latest decision on the topic/whether decision overturned or not) Researching legislation (validity/tested by cases/repealed/amendments/unconstitutional) How to use each type of research source effectively Efficient researching and a diligent practiioner