Legal Drafting and Advocacy Skills
Core concepts
Drafting requires clarity, structure, and precision: parties, recitals, operative clauses, and remedies. Advocacy covers written submissions, oral argument, and examination of witnesses. Know how to frame issues, marshal facts, and apply law to facts.
Traps
Examiners test whether a clause is ambiguous; ambiguity is construed against the drafter. Another trap is confusing a submission of fact with a submission of law. Watch for pleadings that fail to state a cause of action.
Worked example
A contract clause says 'reasonable notice' without a period. The analysis turns on construction and context, not on a fixed statutory rule. Rule of thumb: draft with defined terms and explicit time periods to avoid construction disputes.
Exam strategy
Structure written answers as issue, rule, application, conclusion, and keep facts and law separate.