FOREWORD (page 3)

Sponsored links

One of the most useful parts of this work is the section containing advice on techniques of argument before higher courts and on the use of plain language and good style in drafting documents and expressing written arguments. This is a subject that is much examined in the United States, taught at law schools, and written about by knowledgeable authors.⁸ In some quarters there is a disdain for the ‘plain language’ movement. This is sheer snobbery. By adopting a few simple rules (like the frequent use of full stops and avoidance of the passive voice), we can all learn to write more clearly and engagingly.

In multi-member courts and tribunals, lawyers face the problem of persuading a body whose members may have diametrically opposed interests and legal values. For example, the use of international human rights law in resolving difficult contests is as controversial in Australia⁹ as it has proved in the United States.¹⁰ Upon such issues, the lawyer and the researcher must proffer a submission that will engage one judge without raising undue hostility on the part of the others. It is a big ask. It demands subtlety, imagination, and courage.

Such are the talents that Troy Simpson displayed when he worked as principal researcher for the Oxford Companion to the High Court of Australia.¹¹ That publication was a triumph of accuracy, taxonomy, and readability, to which he contributed greatly. I do not doubt that Win More Cases will earn him more admirers and that he will be constantly updating the work as legal practice changes, expectations alter, and empirical research improves.

Even if unique genetic gifts play a great part in the reasons why some lawyers enjoy greater success than others, there is no doubt that all of us can be helped to express ourselves more simply and effectively. That is the basic object of this work. For every lawyer who wins a case there should be a grateful client. For every lawyer who deserves to win, the cause of justice and the rule of law will be advanced. And that will almost always be for the betterment of society and the world.

⁸ See, for example, Joseph Kimble, Lifting the Fog of Legalese: Essays on Plain Language (2006) reviewed (2006) 80 Australian Law Journal 623.

⁹Al-Kateb v Godwin (2004) 219 CLR 562, 589 [62]; compare 617 [152].

¹⁰ Lawrence v Texas 539 US 558, 576, 586 (2003); compare Michael Kirby, ‘International Law—The Impact on National Constitutions’ (2006) 21 American University International Law Review 327, 356.

¹¹ Now available online through Oxford Reference Online (www.oxfordreference.com).