Subjects:

Legal Manuals

Contents:

1. Introduction and overview

2. General principles

3. The client

4. Meeting the client conducting the conference

5. Case preparation

6. Questioning techniques

7. Advice

8. Concluding the conference

9. Specific ethical problems

10. Specific client needs

11. Cross-cultural communication

12. How to judge an effective conference

13. Practitioners' perspective

14. Sample Exercise

Further Reading

A conference with a client can be one of the most daunting but rewarding experiences for a junior practitioner. This manual teaches the good conference techniques that will guarantee confidence in every situation, providing students with a thorough and practical grounding in the numerous skills which will ensure a conference is successful.

Conference Skills addresses every aspect of the interview with a client step by step, from the preparatory stages to the conclusion of the conference. The management of legal issues, conference preparation, and the professional interpersonal skills needed to deal successfully with clients are all discussed in detail. A student needs to learn how to gain maximum benefit from a conference, whether in terms of gathering information or giving advice, so the skills of questioning, listening and advising are given special attention.

This manual focuses on the possible professional conduct problems of conferencing, and on the variety of clients that either the civil or criminal practitioner can expect to meet. It is designed to be used again and again throughout professional life, and so every chapter is set out to aid quick reference and includes how-to-do-it guides and summaries.

Although aimed primarily at students on the Bar Vocational Course or in their early years of practice, lawyers and other professionals who advise clients in the justice system will find it an invaluable aid.