THE LAWYER’S PART

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XX, Issue 240, 29 September 1930, Page 6

THE LAWYER’S PART

LECTURE TO STUDENTS.

Changes — economic, social, and constitutional —in the life of law students within the next twenty-five years were predicted by Mr. H. F. Johnston, K.C., in the course of a lecture to the Law Faculty Club at Victoria University College, Wellington.

He dealt with all phases of the legal profession, and especially stressed the need for all students to realise that thev were entering a profession which held a high place in the prestige of the community. One aspect of the life of the advocate touched upon bv the lecturer was the frequency with which the lawyer came into contact with the newspapers. He referred to the happy relations existing between the men who spoke and the men who wrote. Out of the maze of argument the reporter had adopted the habit of seeking to record a clear view of the lawyer’s import, and in most cases succeeded very well. Mr. Johnston said the last great revolutionary change in English law was the Judicature Act. 1873, ami he felt that the time had nearly arrived for further changes of the utmost importance. A noted economist had told him that within the next thirty years there would be great social and economic changes, and it was clear that some such legal change would arise.

He referred to the founding of the law school at Bologna in the Middle Ages, and said it had brought about a new literature, and had had important cultural effects. Mr. Johnston stressed the importance of lawyers in the world. He considered that more time should be given to the study of the history of English law, which would make the students more interested in it, ami gave an insight into the principles of English law. Among the professions, the lawyer was most important. In all the political and constitutional movemeijjs of the past the profession had been concerned, and it would be the same in the future.

Mr. Johnston proceeded to give some practical advice on various legal points. He stressed the necessity for adopting one’s own natural style in Court work, and said that that was especially desirable in cross-ex-amination. He quoted Sir Charles Russell’s cross-examination of Piggot during the “Times’s” Commission as an outstanding example of Perfect cross-examination. He advised all students not to confine themselves to the mere reading of books. Poise, which he defined as mental equipment and mental certainty, was obtained only by a combination of academic ami practicale knowledge, together with knowledge of one's fellow men Emphasis was placed on the desirability of studying the class of people one was addressing. Successful advocacy, in many cases, depended on the ability of the advocate to suit his style to the audience and the environment.

In the course of his remarks the lecturer mentioned that when at Oxford he was privileged to study his profession under such world-famous jurists as Sir William Anson and Professor Dicey.