Short Courses

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As part of the Faculty's commitment to continuing professional development, we offer non-award short courses to the profession, business and industry in many areas. Current short courses include:

• Advocacy and Evidence
• Advice Writing Skills
• Plain Writing Skills for the legal profession
• Negotiation and Mediation Skills Training
• Contract Law for Non-lawyers
• Trainee Solicitor Program

Who are these courses for

Currently, with the exception of Contract Law for Non-lawyers, our QUT short courses are for continuing professional development and are offered in-house for a client to a group of employees, but not for individual participants. Please do not hesitate to ask if you are looking for a course in an area that is not listed above. Should you require further information relating to these short courses, please contact Cathy O'Keeffe c.okeeffe@qut.edu.au.

For a full list of staff areas of expertise (PDF).

Advocacy and Evidence Skills

A 4 day course combining both theory and practice.

Evidence Skills Module

Evidence is delivered as a series of lectures, covering topics such as: basics of evidence; tendering exhibits; evidence relating to prior identification; hostile/adverse witnesses; confessions; excluding otherwise admissible evidence; character, hearsay, similar fact, opinion evidence; competence and compellability; corroboration; collateral fact rule; prior consistent and inconsistent statements. In addition, a series of workshops providing practical experience will complement the formal lectures.

Advocacy Skills Module

The aim of the training for Advocacy is to equip trainees with the theoretical understanding and practical skills required of a prosecutor in a criminal trial in a higher court. This is done by providing various briefings on the principles of trial advocacy and allowing trainees to apply that knowledge in a simulated trial conducted in a moot court. Emphasis is placed on the key stages of a criminal trial including opening address, examination-in-chief, cross-examination, re-examination and closing address. In addition, there are sessions covering specific issues such as preparation of witnesses, expert witnesses, child witnesses, exhibits, jury selection and judge’s directions.

Advice Writing Skills

A three hour course that aims to provide participants with the theory behind professional advice/letter writing, and enable application of that theory in a practical sense. The session is broken up into three phases. The first phase involves a briefing explaining the substantive and formal requirements of an advice/letter. It emphasizes the golden rules of good drafting and highlights the numerous pitfalls that should be avoided. A number of practical examples are used to illustrate points. The second phase involves the participation, either individually or collectively, in workshop mode. Participants are given copies of a number of sample advices and are asked to identify and correct drafting faults. The third phase involves a de-briefing during which there is a group discussion about the drafting faults identified and the corrections made.

Plain English Writing

Training sessions of 1 hour, 2 hours or 3 hours in length covering the topics:

• General Principles
• Letter Writing
• Document Drafting.

One or more of these topics may be selected, but the preferred option is to include General Principles plus either one or both of Letter Writing and Drafting. Participants are invited to submit examples of their work a few days before the two or three hour training sessions for individual critique after the session. Where appropriate, each course incorporates aspects of the client’s style guide to ensure relevance of the course to the firm’s specific requirements.

Negotiation and Mediation Training

The Mediation Skills Training Certificate (3 day course) will address:

• The practical skills of mediation
• Theoretical aspects of mediation including confidentiality, the pros and cons of mediation, and enforceability of mediation agreements
• Forums where mediation is used in Australia.

Participants can expect to acquire an understanding of the theoretical and practical skills underpinning mediation and an awareness of the use of mediation in an Australian context.

Negotiation Training (2 day) course. The Program includes the development of practical negotiation skills, an analysis of negotiation theory and an examination of various impasses to successful negotiation outcomes. The interactive format includes presentations, discussions, simulated role plays, case studies, videos, and skills feedback sessions.

Contract Law for Non-Lawyers

Contract Law for Non-Lawyers 2 day short course is for those who come into contact with contracts or who are involved in contract making in the course of their work, a basic knowledge of contract law can help avoid legal problems down the track or provide and early alert to seek specialised legal advice. This two day workshop is designed for provide a foundation understanding of contract law for non-lawyers. Utilising a format that includes hands-on problem solving and ample opportunity for questions, this workshop explains difficult concepts in easy to understand terms.

NEXT COURSE: Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 November 2011