by Sean McManus
Staff Writer
In an effort to encourage cross-cultural exchange and give Florida lawyers a chance to trade in panama hats for powdered wigs, The Florida Bar has teamed with Jacksonville attorney Mike Tanner to send two students to Oxford University every summer to study the trial techniques of British barristers.
The intensive five-day workshop on trial advocacy held at Oxford’s Keeble College is now in its 10th year and operates in conjunction with an American program developed 20 years ago when members of The London Bar spend a week in Gainesville, working with American lawyers on developing strategic arguments and courtroom magniloquence.
Attorneys throughout Florida who have been practicing for at least a few years are encouraged to apply for scholarships for the summer workshop. Tanner was one of two American instructors this year and will be returning next year to join the 30 British barristers and judges who develop mock trial topics and critique student’s trial procedures. Miami State Attorney Michael Vonzamft was the other American instructor.
The workshop is designed around the principles of the National Institute of Trail Advocacy, which Tanner, a lawyer at Holland & Knight, said are similar to the principles of the British system — essentially the power of persuasion. These are also principles that Tanner, who in addition to running his civil practice, teaches as an adjunct professor at the Florida Coastal School of Law. And these are principles, he said, that have been developing in England for hundreds of years.
“Oxford is an absolutely wonderful academic environment,” said Tanner, who went to Davidson College and University of Florida for law school. “We have lunch at those long tables like in Harry Potter. It’s a lot of fun.”
In England, aspiring attorneys only attend a one-year law course after their four years as an undergraduate — as opposed to the three years required in American law schools. But unlike here, England has an apprenticeship system where graduates work directly under an attorney for a number of years before they are sent out solo.
And whereas in America the legal system is what the British refer to as “fused,” meaning the same lawyers who handle paperwork in the office also litigate, in England the two are separate.
“In England, there are solicitors and there are barristers,” explained Tanner. “Only after a solicitor has determined that a case needs to go to court will a barrister be called in to handle courtroom matters.” And barristers (or QC for Queen’s Council), Tanner said, only go to court.
And while Tanner said the system is slowly becoming less rigid — some solicitors are now legally allowed in court — the British system still operates much as it did before The Florida Bar ever existed.
“The complete independence of the barristers is touted as supreme in terms of fairness,” said Tanner. “Because every barrister is his own entity, they have no allegiance to a specific firm.”
Tanner said the five-day program starts with a critique of opening statements, a class on ethics and a review of methods of cross-examination. Then the four-day mock trial begins.
In the past, topics for the mock trial have ranged from the criminal personal injury cases in which someone broke their neck at a company picnic and sued the company and the doctor, to civil cases revolving around intellectual property rights.
“An accomplished barrister is just so much fun to listen to,” said Tanner, who also raved about the weather in Oxford. “There is something about the lack of visuals and television screens in the British courtroom that let you focus more on the eloquence of speech. It’s not just the accent, there’s a style that’s wonderful.”
Tanner said British barristers rely on advocacy of speech more than American lawyers and the precision of their words.
“But no matter where you are, advocacy has three main tenants,” said Tanner. “You have to have a theme. You have to organize it in a logical structure. And you have to tell it in an interesting way.”
None of which, Tanner said, are necessarily that easy.
“Sure, you might have to be more technical if you’re arguing for a high court judge than if you’re arguing in front of a jury,” he said. “But essentially the concepts are the same.”
Tanner said the group always breaks promptly at 4 p.m. for tea and that just walking around Keeble College is a treat.
“And then I get on a train to Gatwick [Airport] and I’m back,” said Tanner. “And looking forward to next year.”