At the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta we have embarked upon a process to assist our students in the Master of Advocacy degree course to acquire hands-on basic skills which, in the past, have not been taught to law students. These skills are various.
Communication skills: advocates have to deal on an ongoing basis with clients, courts, tribunals, government officers, etc. Hence they need a strong grounding in communication skills.
Interviewing skills: clients and witnesses need to be interviewed not only in formal court proceedings but even before tribunals or at an advocate’s office. Developing listening skills is thus important to assess the facts at issue.
Counselling skills: it does sometimes happen that the client has approached the wrong professional or that a second or other professionals might be needed by the client to provide assistance such as a social worker, marriage councillor, psychologist, etc.
Legal drafting skills and legal writing skills: although advocates require to file judicial acts and written pleadings in court, advocates are called upon to draft various documents, not only judicial ones, but even correspondence with foreign courts, tribunals, public administrations, etc. and students need to be trained for the job.
Negotiating skills: as advocates are called upon to attend mediation sessions, conciliation meetings and other forms of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, students need to know how to switch off from litigation mode to negotiation mode for, in both instances, the legal skills to be employed are different, not to say antagonistic, from each other.
Problem solving skills: sometimes solving a client’s problem might not simply entail writing a judicial letter or some or judicial act but investigating with an entity of the public administration how to go about solving their clients’ problems. For instance, a solution could be arrived at through the filing of a particular form or carrying out some administrative procedure of which the client was totally oblivious.
A more well-tuned degree programme that will serve the legal profession in this current day and age
Interpersonal and organisational skills: not only do legal professionals need to know how to handle clients and communicating with the members of their legal office but they must know how to run a legal office, that is, legal office management skills.
Reflective practice skills: students will be trained to reflect and self-criticise the solutions afforded to legal problems, how they can improve upon advice given, what are their strengths and weaknesses in tackling a particular legal quandary, and how they could have done a better job or provided better legal advice.
Pro bono skills: students will be encouraged, under the tutelage of their co-supervisor in the field, to give advice to clients so that they can start thinking how to apply the law to particular facts and how to go about in providing the best advice to a client. Students learn how rewarding it is to offer community service on a pro bono basis, bearing in mind that legal aid services may be offered by the legal profession free of charge. At the moment, pro-bono skills are already practiced at the Cottonera Resource Centre with the assistance of the Chamber of Advocates.
Research methods skills: law, as other subjects of human knowledge has developed over time and a survey of the research methods taught by foreign Faculties of Laws indicated that they do not simply reply on a textual analysis of a provision but apply new research tools not hitherto applied to law. These tools are now being taught to law students, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Accountancy skills: as advocates are invariably called upon in the commercial field to advise company directors and board members of various parastatal corporations, including matters related to financial management, it is of the utmost importance that law students know what is and how to read a balance sheet, a profit and loss account, etc.
Of course this academic year is the first year that the above skills will be taught apart from the pro bono skills at the University’s Cottonera Resource Centre. However, there has been a lot of preparation taking place during the last six years, both within faculty, University and stakeholders.
I am sure that following feedback both from University academics and current students there will be teething problems which will need tweaking. We will be taking on board these suggestions and make the necessary changes to ensure as much as possible a more well-tuned degree programme that will serve the legal profession in this current day and age.
Kevin Aquilina is the Dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta.