Writing and Drafting

A competent advocate will be able to:

1. Adapt their writing skills according to the type of document and the intended audience.

2. Comply with any formalities or requirements imposed by court procedural rules or Codes of Conduct of professional bodies.

3. Comply with any confidentiality or privacy requirements in terms of the documentation.

4. Use simple, clear, precise and concise language, particularly in court documents and letters to the client and avoid ‘legalese’.

5. Select appropriate precedents or form templates to assist with drafting court documents.

6. Draft documents from scratch where precedents and form templates are not available or appropriate to use.

7. Observe court etiquette.