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case in which Bart was co-counsel for the plaintiffs; Judy Barrasso and Diane MacArthur spoke on the subject of ex- pert witnesses; and Diane gave an interactive presentation on Advocacy and Ethics.
Bernard Taylor, who is a fulltime mediator with JAMS in Atlanta, led a discussion about mediation, which is devel- oping in South Africa but remains underutilized and far
from fully embraced by the advocacy bar. Among the sev- eral “audibles” we called during the program was a decision late in the week to “mediate” our slip and fall case with co-mediators, Bernard and Brent Barriere. This proved to be a good call, with enthusiastic participation.
The presentations to the entire group allowed younger and more senior advocates to discuss their experiences in conducting a trial. This combination of experience levels proved especially valuable during the ethics presentation. The participants considered a hypothetical in which a se- nior advocate makes a knowing misrepresentation to the Court in the junior’s presence. The discussion allowed the advocates to hear from each other about the difficulties created in that situation.
Front row from left: Brent Barriere, Judy Barrasso, Joe Steinfield, Carrie Cinquanto, Bernard Taylor, Diane MacArthur, Bart Dalton
On Thursday, Eddie Hanekom, Director of the University of Pretoria Law School Law Clinic, hosted a luncheon at the University for three members of the ACTL team— Diane MacArthur, Bart Dalton, and Joe Steinfield—and several members of the law school faculty. We then spent the afternoon with 79 fourth year LLB students.
The class was divided into teams assigned to present a par- ticular segment of a defamation case. We devoted the first ninety minutes to short presentations addressing the com- ponent parts of a trial. During the next ninety minutes, the students learned by doing. Students from the Univer- sity’s Drama Department portrayed the witnesses in Os- car-worthy performances. The students were enthusiastic and supportive of each other.
After completing the mediation sessions on Friday, we held a “graduation” ceremony in which each student re- ceived a certificate.
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