Lawyering Skills and the Legal Process bridges the gap between academic and practical law for students undertaking skills-based and clinical legal education courses at university. It develops oral and written communication, group working, problem solving and conflict resolution skills in a range of legal contexts: client interviewing, drafting, managing cases, legal negotiation and advocacy. The book is designed specifically to help students to practise and develop skills that will be essential in a range of occupations; develop a deeper understanding of the English legal process and the lawyer's role in that process; enhance their understanding of the relationship between legal skills and ethics; and understand how they learn and how they can make their learning more effective. This book provides a stimulating, accessible and challenging approach to understanding the problems and uncertainties of practising law that goes beyond the standard approaches to lawyers' skills.
Preface; Table of cases and legislation; Introduction; 1. Descent into the swamp; 2. Learning to live in the swamp; 3. Law talk and lay talk: lawyers as communicators; 4. You'll never work alone: group learning and group skills; 5. Interviewing: building the relationship and gaining participation; 6. The 'Good Lawyer': ethics and values in legal work; 7. Clarifying language: making sense of writing; 8. Manipulating language: drafting legal documents; 9. Handling conflict: negotiation; 10. Advocacy: case management and preparation; 11. Into court: the deepest swamp?; Further reading.
