Between 7 and 11 August 2023, SERI partnered with City University of London and the Bertha Foundation to host an advocacy workshop in Johannesburg. The week-long workshop was aimed at equipping candidate attorneys, attorneys, and junior advocates working in the public interest legal sector with practical experience in litigation and advocacy, with a particular focus on witness handling (leading evidence and cross-examining witnesses), trial skills and bail proceedings.
The workshop began with two days of lectures, practical demonstrations and practice sessions focusing on key skills development. On the final day, the trainees were placed into teams and prepared overnight for a fully argued mock trial.
The workshop is a unique and critically important practical skills programme that supplies South African public interest legal practitioners with essential courtroom skills to enable them to provide better legal representation to the very poor and vulnerable people they work with across a wide range of different human rights work. In this way, SERI, the Bertha Foundation and City, University of London hope to contribute to the development and strengthening of well-trained, professional advocates working on public interest law.