Essential guide to advocacy
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Essential guide to advocacy
To present a strong, persuasive case you need to sharpen several core advocacy skills.
From case analysis and cross-examination to drafting and oral submissions. These skills, coupled with court etiquette, will enable you to advocate for your clients with conviction.
This bundle will build your capabilities across four essential – and practical – modules. You’ll learn:
- Court etiquette, protocol and procedure - 2 CPD units
- The intricacies of cross-examination and re-examination - 2 CPD units
- How to effectively apply the rules of evidence - 2 CPD units
- An in-depth guide into evidence-in-chief - 2 CPD units
You may be an early-career lawyer wanting to build foundational knowledge. Or perhaps you’re a senior lawyer looking to test and sharpen your expertise.
Either way, you’ll walk away with practical skills to advocate on behalf of your clients more confidently and effectively.
Each bundle is delivered with jurisdictional-specific content. A sample of the NSW bundle content is below. Please choose your preferred jurisdiction when adding this bundle to your cart.
INCLUDED COURSES
Our NSW, VIC, QLD and SA courses have been updated in 2025, to bring you current, practical knowledge to support confident and compliant practice.
Advocating for your client in court can be intimidating.
Doing it effectively requires a range of abilities: from case analysis and making oral submissions, to cross-examining witnesses in criminal trials, and being able to put forward a strong and persuasive case.
You also need to have mastered the use of court etiquette in your jurisdiction.
This course will help you advocate more confidently and effectively by:
- Giving you a better understanding of court procedure
- Gaining an appreciation of your role in the different stages of proceedings
- Teaching you how to follow the principles of court etiquette
At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Analyse the lawyer’s role as an advocate
- Explain court procedure
- Carry out crucial steps at different stages of a proceeding
- Advise on the ‘dos and don’ts’ of court etiquette
The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD categories of Professional Skills and Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
Course Structure
- Introduction to advocacy
- Court procedure
- Lawyer’s role at different stages of the proceedings
- Court etiquette
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD categories of Professional Skills and Ethics and Professional Responsibility.
Practitioners holding WA practising certificates are not eligible to earn CPD points for this course.
Our NSW, QLD, VIC and SA courses have been updated in 2025, to bring you current, practical knowledge to support confident and compliant practice.
Being able to cross-examine and re-examine a witness is an important skill for an advocate. Whether you’re trying to elicit new evidence favourable to your client’s case or discredit your opponent’s evidence, your ability to do it effectively will have a significant impact on the outcome of your client’s case.
In this course, you'll learn the essential skills for effective cross-examination and re-examination.
At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Prepare for cross-examination and re-examination
- Explain effective cross-examination and re-examination techniques
- Carry out cross-examination and re-examination of a witness
- Advise on the dos and don’ts of cross-examination and re-examination
You’ll gain the skills you need to better advocate on behalf of your client in court.
The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
Course Structure
- Getting started – knowing the basics
- Cross-examination on credibility issues
- Cross-examination on credit issues
- Cross-examination on documents
- Dos and don’ts of cross-examination
- Re-examination
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
Practitioners holding WA practising certificates are not eligible to earn CPD points for this course.
Understanding the law of evidence is key to constructing a robust case for your client.
In a criminal proceeding, the rules of evidence govern what is admissible or inadmissible in a trial and the procedures that must be followed in obtaining evidence, including:
- how suspects are interviewed
- the way searches are conducted, and
- how forensic evidence is stored and analysed.
The rules also cover how witnesses are questioned during examination-in-chief and cross-examination.
In this course, you’ll learn about hearsay, opinion evidence, relevance, privilege and more.
At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Apply the proof-making model to a set of facts
- Distinguish between the three types of burden of proof
- Identify admissible and inadmissible evidence
- Summarise the circumstances in which an exclusionary rule may apply
The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
Course Structure
- Principles of evidence
- The burden of proof
- Rules of evidence
- Testing of evidence in court
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
Practitioners holding WA practising certificates are not eligible to earn CPD points for this course.
Evidence-in-chief (when a witness is being questioned in court by the party that called them to appear) is key to building a strong foundation for your case. Whether you’re the defence or prosecution, you need to approach the questioning of your witnesses strategically.
In this course, you’ll focus on two important aspects of advocacy:
- preparing and conducting examination-in-chief for a trial, and
- the nature and use of exhibits (an important evidentiary aspect in a case) in court.
At the end of this course, you’ll be able to:
- Summarise the critical features of a case theory
- Develop a witness examination strategic plan
- Compose appropriate witness questions
- Summarise the process for introducing an exhibit to the court
The course contains content that falls within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
Course Structure
- Developing a case theory
- Constructing a witness strategy plan
- Presentation techniques for evidence in-chief
- Exhibits explained
Complete this course to earn 2 CPD units within the mandatory CPD category of Professional Skills.
Practitioners holding WA practising certificates are not eligible to earn CPD points for this course.
Very interactive. Very interesting. Hard to find beginner-level practical CLEs.
On-demand CPD Learner
I love the flexibility and also I like that I can repeat the sections and attempt again what I got wrong.
On-demand CPD Learner
RELATED COURSES
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Advocacy, court etiquette and protocol: Practice guide
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Drafting Wills: Practice Guide
Enforcing judgment debts: Step-by-step guide
Evidence-in-chief: Practice guide
Preparing a brief to counsel: Skills series
Rules of Evidence: Practice guide
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
With our online on-demand interactive courses, you can learn when and where it suits you.
We’ve designed each course to provide both education and enjoyment.
Each course offers a mix of engaging exercises, where you’ll gain access to:
- Interactive activities to challenge your understanding and put your knowledge to the test. You’ll also enjoy engaging exercises, such as flip cards, quizzes and drafting activities
- Clearly identified outcomes so you know precisely what you’ll learn – and the skills you’ll gain. You’ll also be able to track your development and focus on key improvement areas.
- Extended course access so you can reference the material as you need – or revisit it if life ever gets in the way
- Feedback and template answers so you can refine your skills, grow your knowledge and gain fresh insights
All bundles and most single courses are not included in the CPD Digital Subscription, but are a great addition to a subscription and let you go in-depth in a particular area.
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Simply download the Canvas Student app (that hosts College of Law learning portal).
In the app, search College of Law in ‘Find my school’ and sign in with your given COLPass details. You will then be able to access all your College of Law courses via the mobile app.
Our suite of over 100+ exclusive single courses enable you to target a core skill or knowledge area.
Each course is an in-depth learning resource, available in the following formats:
Single courses are an affordable way for you to target a core skill or knowledge area.
Course formats include:
- Step-by-step guides: Explore the procedure or processes involved in a certain area of law
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You can browse the full course list at any time.
Each bundle includes four in-depth resources, providing you with eight hours of self-paced and interactive learning, which you can access for 12-months from the date of purchase.
Strengthen your essential knowledge in a specific practice area. You can expand your expertise in areas such as:
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- PLUS you can build your own bundle with any 4 single courses. Use code: BUNDLE40 at the check-out.
You can browse our bundle packages at any time. Still short of CPD points? You can add a Digital Subscription and save.
If the Digital Subscription is about variety, the bundle courses are about focus. Each on-demand bundle contains four in-depth learning resources, so you can boost your essential knowledge and skills across a particular practice area more affordably.
With a bundle, you’ll earn eight CPD points, while saving 40% on the single courses.
Go in-depth as you comprehensively explore a specific practice area. Learn interactively across engaging formats like step-by-step guides, practice guides and skill series. And gain helpful learning resources you can reference when you encounter similar situations in practice.
You can now build your own bundle with any four single courses. Simply add the four courses to your shopping cart using the BUNDLE40 discount code for the bundle price to be applied.
This bundle will benefit:
- Lawyers wanting to build practical foundational knowledge and skills
- Established lawyers looking to move into this area of law or who do occasional work in this area
- Senior lawyers looking to confirm their knowledge and stay up to date
- Paralegals, clerks and administrative staff wanting to upskill
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We’re constantly expanding our catalogue of subscription modules. Currently, you can access over 140 hours of content across areas like:
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You can browse our full subscription inclusion list at any time.
Please note that bundle courses and most single courses are not available within the subscription. You will need to add bundles or single courses to your subscription for in-depth learning in a particular area.
In today’s dynamic legal landscape, you need to stay informed about what’s happening now – and be prepared for what’s next.
With a CPD Digital Subscription, you’ll unlock our diverse and dynamic library of short-form content for only $499/year.
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Subscribe today to:
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When it comes to subscription pricing options firms can access our subscription pricing options designed to accommodate varying team sizes:
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Does this educational activity extend your knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to your practice needs or professional development?
If so, and you’re not a WA practitioner, you should claim 1 unit for each hour of participation, not including breaks.
Please check your local CPD rules for any caps on activity types, such as the private study of non-interactive audio/visual materials. You are responsible for keeping your own CPD records and complying with your local CPD rules.
Western Australian practitioners who complete our on-demand courses are currently unable to claim CPD points. However, you may earn CPD points by attending select live CPD events or by completing select CPD interactive modules.
Important Information: As of 1 April 2021, accredited providers of CPD to the legal profession in Western Australia are required to provide compliance information to the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia about individual legal practitioners. By enrolling in a College of Law course, you consent to us providing this information (including but not limited to personal information such as your name, WA Practitioner ID, contact details and course attendance/completion data) to the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia.
Please be advised of the following if you are a WA practitioner and wish to claim CPD points for attending/completing a College of Law course:
- You must check on the course registration page whether Western Australian practitioners are eligible to earn CPD points for that course.
- You must provide your Practitioner ID number to the College of Law. If you have not already done so, please provide your practitioner ID by email to cpd@collaw.edu.au
- Your attendance/completion of the course will be electronically monitored and you will be strictly required to remain present for the full duration in order to earn the CPD points attributed to the event. In the case of virtual offerings, you are responsible for maintaining a stable internet connection and taking account of time zones. No refunds will be issued for technical or other failures outside our control that result in you being unable to earn CPD points.
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While certificates are not issued for these courses, your learning journey is still captured within the platform.
At the end of each course, your grades and completion results are displayed on screen, giving you the opportunity to take a quick screenshot for your records. This provides clear evidentiary support for your self-assessment obligations under the CPD scheme.
CPD requirements generally begin from the first full CPD year after your admission as a practising lawyer. This means that if you’ve recently completed your Practical Legal Training (PLT) and been admitted, you typically won’t need to start earning CPD points until the next CPD cycle.
However, requirements can vary by jurisdiction, so it’s best to check with your local law society.
