The Bar Council's International Malaysia Law Conference 2016 ("IMLC 2016") was held at The Royale Chulan Kuala Lumpur from 21 to 23 Sept 2016.
“It’s a different playing field.”
By Brendan Navin Siva
This session was structured by the Bar Council Advocacy Training Committee (“ATC”) to showcase advocacy skills required in the context of the handling of expert witnesses.
It was a privilege to have The Honourable Mrs Justice Audrey Campbell–Moffat, Judge of the Court of First Instance, Hong Kong, participate in the session. Formerly a leading barrister and currently a senior advocacy trainer, Justice Campbell–Moffat has been involved in advocacy training throughout the common law world.
Justice Campbell–Moffat started by emphasising that the session was merely an “appetizer” as to what is on offer at the actual, substantive advocacy training courses organised by the Bar Council.
She then highlighted the objectives of putting an expert on the stand, and identified how much the counsel needs to understand about the area of expertise of the witness and the level of preparation required of counsel. Substantive practical tips were given by the speaker as to how to prepare for the handling of the expert witness.
Justice Campbell–Moffat also made the very salient point regarding the importance of ensuring the expert witness puts the evidence in a language easily understandable by the tribunal or court. She further related the perspectives from the Bench, and the expectations of Judges when dealing with expert evidence.
The highlight of the session was the live demonstration of three skills that are important when handling expert witnesses. Justice Campbell–Moffat was assisted by three of ATC’s senior trainers — Robert Low, Andrew Chiew Ean Vooi and James Khong Yoon Hong — who demonstrated the “how not to” and “how to” methods of handling experts. The audience were treated to excerpts in relation to the following aspects: (1) how to undermine the expertise of the expert; (2) the language of the expert in court; and (3) how to attack the underlying assumptions, and not the expertise.
All throughout the “show”, Justice Campbell–Moffat explained very succinctly the relevance and importance of these skills, and how to utilise them effectively. The trainers’ demonstration of how not to perform and then how to perform effectively gave the audience a clear contrast, to better appreciate the skills being highlighted.
The audience appeared to have acknowledged the practical and interactive nature of the session, which was followed by a lively, albeit brief, question–and–answer segment.
The session ended with Ira Biswas — the Chairperson of the ATC, who moderated the session — emphasising the value and importance of the intensive two– to three–day advocacy training courses organised by the ATC in honing advocacy skills in simulated courtroom training.
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