Advocacy improves through reps, not insight. These five drills take fifteen minutes each and require nothing more than a quiet room and a willingness to hear yourself.
011. The one-question rule
Pick a witness statement. Write a cross-examination using only one fact per question. The discipline of breaking compound questions apart is the foundation of every good cross.
022. Read aloud, slowly
Take any judgment and read it aloud at half your normal pace. Notice where you instinctively pause. That rhythm is what authority sounds like in court.
033. The 60-second submission
Argue any point — bail, costs, an interim application — in sixty seconds. No notes. Then do it again in forty-five. Compression forces structure.
044. Mirror your hands
Record yourself making submissions and watch with the sound off. Hands tell the truth about confidence. Train them to be still until they have something to say.
055. Steal a phrase a week
Listen to a Supreme Court hearing. Borrow one phrase — 'the short point is', 'in my respectful submission', 'taking that at its highest' — and use it until it feels natural.
- 1Reps over reading.
- 2Compression and pace are trainable.
- 3Watch yourself with the sound off at least once.
The Lexstery Team
Lexstery editorial
