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John Hollander

John Hollander Professional.jpg

A civil litigator in Ottawa from 1978 to 2021, John founded the Advocacy Club in 2007 to train civil litigators and law students in the arts of trial advocacy. In 2019, the Ottawa Bar (CCLA) awarded John its prestigious Carleton Medal, awarded once annually to legal professionals "for great diligence, high ideals and outstanding leadership in the practice of law throughout their career. Those who will receive the medal will have made a significant contribution to the profession of law, whether as a solicitor in effectively performing services in that position, as a barrister in attaining an excellent reputation in the courts, as an academic, or for a single act of notable distinction that advances the ideals of the profession."

John earned his advocacy spurs during many civil trials (including jury trials and admin law hearings) over 42 years of active practice. The Advocacy Club now has more than 800 members across Canada, many of whom are leaders in the legal community. With Zoom, programs are available to lawyers, articling students, paralegals and law school students across Canada. The training programs are ongoing, both in person and via Zoom.
 
For 10 years (until 2022), John taught trial advocacy techniques at the University of Ottawa's School of Common Law, an experiential course applying the Advocacy Club's methods to train upper-year law students to become litigators. Many students went on to take the Boot Camp on graduation.

In Fall 2024, the Advocacy Club merged its CPD and social event programs with the CCLA (the Ottawa Bar). John continues to run the Boot Camps through the Advocacy Club.

Through Irwin Law, John has published eight handbooks for lawyers on the subjects of interview skills, legal writing, discovery techniques, courtroom skills, mediation, case analysis and examination skills.  John has also produced five self-published handbooks. Introduction to Trial Advocacy, Outlining Examinations, Estate Litigation, Authenticity: Public Speaking for Professionals and Think! Write! Speak!: Persuasive Speechwriting for Professionals. For details on all handbooks, visit Published Handbooks on the Advocacy Club website at advocacyclub.ca.

John has conducted many interviews with lawyers about topics of interest to law students and litigators at Chat With Lawyers and has published a series of detailed posts on advocacy techniques on his Substack page at advocacyclub.substack.com.

  • Prepare for a direct or cross-examination.

  • Analyze your case on its merits.

  • Anticipate your opponent's strategy.

  • Prepare a witness for cross-examination.

  • Draft and practice your final argument.

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From a recent contract, here is the testimonial from a past president of OTLA, Laurie Tucker, founding partner of Burn Tucker Lachaine LLP:

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We retained John to conduct a mock/practice cross-examination of our client in preparation for trial. It gave our client the experience of being cross-examined by someone who is not part of the regular trial team, and it was, therefore, similar to what she might experience at trial. We made the right decision to ask John to do this. He spent time reviewing the file, and as an experienced litigator, he came prepared and had a good understanding of the issues. His cross-examination of our client was excellent, and the exercise made her feel much more prepared for trial. We would not hesitate to use John’s services again for future trial prep.

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