The “Five Ps” – punctuality, preparation, presentation, professionalism and precision – are essential to appearances, especially in the hectic, high-volume Magistrates Court.
Deputy Chief Magistrate Anthony Gett offered this advice to early career lawyers at the Queensland Law Society’s Acing Advocacy event at the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.
He was joined by Magistrate Belinda Merrin, Magistrate Andrew Moloney and barrister Saul Holt at the session moderated by Emma Kearney, criminal lawyer and QLS Future Leaders Committee member.
The event was created to help law clerks and emerging practitioners develop the skills and knowledge to appear successfully at callovers.
“Callovers, from an administration point of view, they are the lifeblood to the survivability of the court,” Deputy Chief Magistrate Gett offered said.
“Callovers are where we filter all of our matters. If callovers fail or are not progressing matters, there won’t be trials, there won’t be hearings, there won’t be applications.
“Callovers are very important. They determine how much work is going through the system.
“Callovers can be taxing for magistrates, mentally, so being efficient, concise and precise is really highly valued.”
Deputy Chief Magistrate Gett also encouraged lawyers to have a good working knowledge of Practice Directions, and an awareness of court calendars.
Magistrate Merrin said knowing the Magistrates Court jurisdiction was critical.
“Don’t come to the court with problems all the time without thinking about a solution. What can you do to progress the matter?” she said.
“I’ve said in court sometimes ‘this is not a help desk’. Don’t come to me with all these problems. My brain is solution motivated.
“If you’re doing your job, you might have thought about some of the solutions yourself.”
Magistrate Merrin said practitioners should also aim to set realistic time frames, and make use of electronic adjournments.
Magistrate Moloney offered tips for those working in child protection and youth justice, including practical tips for announcing an appearance and always remaining seated.
He encouraged dialogue with other parties in a bid to avoid time in the courtroom.
“The child protection jurisdiction is a very emotional one,” she said.
“Many (clients) have suffered trauma, have disadvantaged backgrounds, have suffered domestic violence at the hand of the other parties or have been through the child protection system themselves as kids, or all of those things.
“The fewer minutes and the less stress inside the court, the better for everyone.”
As a former firm owner, Magistrate Moloney pointed to how preparedness helped a firm’s profitability.
“Avoid delays that suck up resources, and have no gain for anyone,” he said.
“An efficient resolution makes your bosses happy, and it helps you reach your budget.
“You can build trust with your clients your boss, your co-workers, your colleagues, your opponents, and the court – preparation and efficiency have a cumulative effect.”
He also urged practitioners to own mistakes.
“Never say to me ‘it’s not my file’ or ‘I don’t have carriage of the matter’,” he said.
“You do if you are standing in front of me and you are talking about it.
“To use a sporting analogy: if you are taking the field, everyone is right to assume you are match fit.
“If you’re not sure about something, stand it down…”
Mr Holt pointed out that more matters were dealt with in the Magistrates Court in one day than in the Supreme Court in one year.
“There’s an incredible responsibility and privilege that comes with being a practitioner who appears in this court because you are being watched by people who are engaged with the system possibly for the only times in their life, or unfortunately, for some of them much more regularly than that,” he said.
He said he was often gobsmacked at the informality shown in the gallery and the bar table, saying “it’s not okay”.
“The idea of courtesy and formality applies whether you’re in the High Court of Australia, whether you’re in the Magistrates Court, whether you’re in QCAT, it doesn’t matter – it’s the same level of courtesy, it’s the same approach to the institution or the bench you’re appearing before.
“I think if you take that mindset in, that it’s an incredible privilege to appear, you’ll actually have solved half the problems that you’ve got because you will know that you need to be prepared.”
The video recording of Acing Advocacy can be viewed here.
Share this article