Thirty six women were among 85 trainee lawyers who had the opportunity to hone their court advocacy skills in a workshop facilitated by senior Australian barristers recently.
This is the 16th consecutive year for the barristers from the Victorian Bar to conduct a Civil and Criminal Advocacy Workshop at the Legal Training Institute (LTI), giving students insights into how to prepare for court and advocate on behalf of their clients.
LTI Director Pauline Mogish said the involvement of the Victorian Bar had been crucial to developing the court skills of a generation of PNG lawyers.
Senior Victorian barrister Guy Gilbert SC said court advocacy was hard work, but the Victorian Bar contingent possessed a breadth of expertise and experience for LTI students to draw upon in developing their own “advocacy style”.
Australian High Commission Law and Justice Counsellor Gina Wilson said by making trainee lawyers better advocates, the workshop was strengthening the PNG legal system.
Wilson stated that it was particularly gratifying that so many women were embarking on a career in law.
“This means PNG’s legal profession reflects the composition of broader society and is better positioned to provide the services your future clients will need.”
The workshop builds on advocacy tuition training the students have received from LTI staff and senior members of the local PNG Bar, including Justice Les Gavara-Nanu and three other judges of the National and Supreme Courts.
The workshop was supported by the PNG-Australia Partnership.
(The LTI-Victorian Bar Civil and Criminal Advocacy workshop group)