I regularly give presentations and workshops to solicitors and barristers on many topics relating to litigation practice, practical matters of commercial law and substantive law.
Please contact me to discuss your specific requirements. Some presentations that I have which are available now are below.
Available now
These presentations are available to book immediately. Please contact me to discuss timing and payment.
The practice, procedure and proof of service of documents (new in November 2023)
This workshop deals with essential aspects of the service of documents, primarily court documents. It answers key questions such as:
- What is service and why is it important?
- What is a process server and how do I use one?
- What is an affidavit of service and how can I make one effectively?
Specific aspects of service addressed include:
- Personal service on individuals
- Service on corporations
- Conduct money and service of subpoenas
- Interstate service under Service and Execution of Process Act 1992 (Cth) (aka SEPA)
- Service by post
- Service by email
- Service of contractual notices
- Service of options under leases
Audience: suitable for a wide audience within a litigation group (lawyers of all levels). The workshop can also be run as a general “beginner” level (graduate, summer clerk etc) introduction as limited prior knowledge is necessary.
Time: 1.5 hours including service and drafting exercises
Requirements: Most room set-ups will work (eg classroom / small group / roundtable). The presentation begins with a short video so video screening facilities are required and internet access.
How not to draft an affidavit: some notes from the field (from July 2023)
The task of using nothing but the words and documents of a witness to fully, accurately and coherently state their account of the facts in written form is fundamental to modern civil litigation.
Doing it properly and avoiding common mistakes is more difficult than it might seem. Such mistakes are considered common for a reason.
This presentation about drafting affidavits begins with the essential topics, including:
- What is an affidavit?
- How is an affidavit used?
- Who is the audience?
- How should an affidavit be structured?
- How can I work most effectively with a barrister to draft or settle an affidavit?
However the real “secret sauce” of this presentation lies in its lessons about what not to do when drafting an affidavit.
Drawing from years of experience, Paul provides practical tips giving dozens of examples of what to say and do in an affidavit and – importantly – what not to say or do.
A practical approach is taken throughout this workshop. Audience participation is utilised to encourage appropriate reflection on written work (viewed from the perspective of the audience not the author) and to highlight missteps that affidavits can well do without.
While no authors are identified in the materials presented, all examples of what not to do are very real and many of them frightening.
Audience: suitable for all litigators
Time: 1.5 hours
Requirements: Most room set-ups will work (eg classroom / small group / roundtable).
Presentations recently given
Some of my recent presentations have included:
• Written Advocacy Workshop, a half-day workshop for the Law Society of New South Wales, 2023 (twice), 2024
• Consumer Protections and Unfair Commercial Dealings: Knowing When to Toe the Line, presentation for The Education Network, 2022
• Masterclass training on pleadings, practical training for a large law firm, 2022
Reviews and “praise phrases” about Paul as a presenter
Reproduced with consent and anonymised:
- Paul’s passion for his topic shines through and his performance was polished and assured.
- What amazing energy – Paul practically didn’t sit down for the whole workshop and made sure everyone was getting attention and listened to.
- Finally a presenter who can take a simple topic and make sure everyone understands more about it when they leave the room than when they entered.
- A great mixture of experience, humour and horror stories which will help me in making decisions and avoiding some bad ones.