Writing Better Judgments III, April/May 2025

This program is designed for those judicial officers who have undertaken earlier judgment writing programs but want to take their judicial writing skills to an advanced level. The program features a series of sessions delivered by highly experienced judicial officers, accompanied by intensive, small-group exercises, along with individualised and targeted feedback.

As judges gain more experience they usually find they have to deal with cases of greater complexity and difficulty – cases in which there is a multitude of issues.

The program rationale and corresponding core design of this program has been created by experienced judicial officers who will lead you through  experiential learning sessions that address the skills and techniques required by senior judicial officers who preside over long trials and who prepare, manage, decide and produce large and complex judgments and/or have specific audience needs.

This program is open to those judicial officers who have previously completed Writing Better Judgments I and/or Writing Better Judgments II or have been on a court and writing judgments for at least five years.

This program will challenge the erroneous premise that a long case must always result in a long judgment.

The objective of timeliness remains both fundamental to the judicial function and to societal expectations and public confidence in the courts. When they are necessary, large and complex judgments must be written to optimise the understanding of the litigants and the public.  Effective judgment architecture serves to enhance both accessibility and comprehension of judicial reasoning.

By the end of this Program, participants will know and understand:

• the various methods for dealing with complex cases
• that issues-based judgment writing is enhanced by point first writing
• the benefits to the reader and writer of identifying the point before giving the detail
• reader understanding is optimised by editing in stages
• the use of targeted court-craft, combined with use of technology, can dramatically assist in writing large and complex judgments
• employing case management and writing strategies can be consciously chosen and managed to ease the demands of judgment writing in lengthy cases
• where appropriate a media summary can assist the understanding of the reasons and that there are special skills needed to produce a useful summary

Participants will explore the following essential questions:

1. What techniques can I use to structure my judgment apt to its context, purpose and audience?
2. What editing techniques can I deploy to improve my judgment writing?
3. What court-craft strategies and tools of technology are available to assist my judgment writing?
4. What strategies can I use to ease the demands of judgment writing in a lengthy case?

This program is residential due to the intensive nature of sessions and corresponding workshops. Registration fee includes accommodation, catering and dinners.

Travel costs are not included.

Meet your Program Planning Committee