30-01-2012 @ 15:38

Opinion Writing ARRRRGHHH!!!

As you are a law student or a BPTC student or a LPC student... you must have an opinion on practically everything!!

I had a teacher who once said, as you are all students of law you will begin to see an "argument" in a different light. In addition your family members will begin to hate you once you start picking apart their arguments and their view points on topics in everyday discussions.

So you would think that writing an opinion would be a student's dream come true! You have the licence to give your own view point without having someone to argue back!! Incorrect!!

I wrote an opinion on evidence in a Civil case. The background facts are:

Claimants wanting to sue a Holiday Company for damages when they contracted Salmonella poisoning whilst on the holiday. 

I was provided with witness statements, expert reports (from the doctor) and other bits of information. 

I thought I had compiled quite a decent opinion, I managed to establish the inconsistent parts of evidence, gaps to be filled and made requests for further information. But my tutor, bless her she's good, picked apart my "masterpiece!"

She showed me how I could have been more critical when analysing the evidence. For example: I established a gap in the evidence, I suggested why this gap is important to be filled, and I left it at that. I should have suggested, what is the case now without this evidence, and how the case would be made stronger/weaker with further evidence found.

It's a great learning curve. The thing to remember from this piece of work is to think... how can I put my client's case to court and pursuade the judge to think MORE in favour of my client than the opposition.

I think that if I had given an oral argument then I would have been more persuasive than on paper. So I need to transfer what I would have said into something I should have written!

Lesson learnt. I shall remember this for next time!!

All the best with giving your opinion guys and girls!!

Until next time,

AnitaVeer