Why Are You Telling Me This? Written Advocacy from the Judge's Perspective + E-Book

John I. Laskin was an advocate for 23 years and a judge on the Court of Appeal for Ontario for 24 years. He has taught advocacy, both written and oral, in many writing programs for Canadian lawyers. He was co-chair of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice seminar on judgment writing, and co-chair of the National Judicial Institute/CIAJ advanced judgment writing seminar, called Mastering the Skill of Judgment Writing. He has also taught decision writing in programs for judges and courts across Canada, and for most Ontario administrative tribunals. His international experience includes teaching judges and advocates in Hong Kong, Albania, The Hague, Tanzania, Scotland, the People’s Republic of China, the United States, Barbados, Jamaica, Ukraine, and Singapore. He has written many articles on legal writing, including Forget the Wind-Up and Make the Pitch: Some Suggestions for Writing More Persuasive Factums, What Persuades (or What’s Going on Inside the Judge’s Mind), and How to Make Your Pitch: Persuasive Written Advocacy on Appeal.

Caroline J. Mandell is an expert in legal writing with a particular interest in the science and psychology of how we process information and execute tasks. For 10 years before starting her legal communication practice, Caroline served as a judicial research lawyer at the Court of Appeal for Ontario. Since then, she has taught at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and at Osgoode Hall Law School, and at programs through the National Judicial Institute, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, the Canadian Bar Association, and the National Academy of Arbitrators. She designs and delivers custom programs for law firms, tribunals, regulators, and courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. She is also a private writing coach and a litigation consultant.