Chat with Lawyers
Contact & Biography
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Biography
Chat with Lawyers Host John Hollander
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 County of Carleton Law Association (CCLA) (the Ottawa Bar) 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 Advocacy Club Boot Camp on graduation. In Fall 2024, the Advocacy Club merged its CPD and social event programs with the Ottawa Bar. John continues to run the Boot Camps through the Advocacy Club.
Published Work
Substack
John has conducted many interviews with lawyers about topics of interest to law students and litigators through the Chat with Lawyers podcast. In addition, John has published a series of detailed posts on advocacy techniques:
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Prepare for a direct or cross-examination
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Analyze your case on its merits
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Anticipate your opponent's strategy
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Prepare a witness for cross-examination
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Draft and practice your final argument
Consulting
John is available as a consultant to prepare a witness to be cross-examined at trial. From a recent contract, here is the testimonial from a past president of Ontario Trial Lawyers Association (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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Prepare for cross-examination with the expert. Contact John through the form below.
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John is currently completing an advanced Advocacy Club training session, one-on-one with a recent Boot Camp alum. In it, John and the Club member use the pleadings, witness summaries and records from a current case. With John's guidance, the Club member creates the case analysis (theory of the case), breaks the elements into their component scenes, and packages witnesses summaries and records into a format that enables the Club member to plan for direct and cross of each witness, complete with guideposts for what can go wrong for each. Invaluable to prepare for trial, or to draft an opinion, a mediation/pretrial brief.
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Intensive case analysis and trail preparation. Contact John through the form below.