2026 Civil Litigation Skills for Early Career Lawyers

This bespoke program, developed by Chris Zelestis KC, comprises three sessions exploring legal analysis, problem solving, legal writing and ethics for early-career lawyers. Mr Zelestis KC will present with the assistance of Tessa Hermann and Chris Mofflin, both Barristers at Francis Burt Chambers.

Bringing together senior members of the Bar and emerging advocates, the series is tailored for early-career lawyers stepping into litigation practice - but remains broadly relevant to all recent admittees seeking to refine their legal thinking and professional judgment.

All sessions come with seminar materials and short summaries. Attendees will be invited to provide examples of their work to receive feedback in advance of each session, such as a pleading or outline of submission if you wish.

Session 1 (20 October 2026) will provide an introduction to legal analysis and legal writing, particularly drafting statements of claim. Attendees will work collaboratively through 3 problems to discuss and solve, relating to precontractual representations, an informal agreement and an ethical issue, and two examples of statements of claim will be provided, one in negligence and the other in contract.

Session 2 (3 November 2026) will have 3 more difficult problems to consider, relating to an agreement to lease, negligence and another ethical issue. The presenters will explain how to prepare an outline of submissions and show model examples of a pleading and an outline of submissions.

Session 3 (17 November 2026) will involve 3 more problems, relating to caveats and conditional interests in land, statutory construction and directors’ fiduciary duties. The presenters will explain how to prepare written advice and a sample of such an advice will be provided.

Sessions will be hosted at Curtin Law School, 57 Murray Street Perth (Room 207: Jeanette Hacket Moot Court), and attendees will be eligible for two CPD points at each session across CA2 Professional Skills (0.5), CA3 Ethics (0.5) and CA4 Substantive Law (1). 

Curtin Law School

Curtin Law School offers a transformative legal education. Our courses are professionally focused, incorporating contemporary global perspectives with an emphasis on ethical standards and a deep understanding of the Rule of Law.

The Piddington Society

The Piddington Society is a leading provider of legal education for the profession, grounded in ethics, collegiality and a pursuit of access to justice.

Your attendance at this, and at all Piddington events, go toward our access to justice projects. These include the Piddington Justice Fund for community legal centres; the Piddington PLT Fund for the CLCs that host Piddington PLT grads to complete their hours required for admission; and a First Nations legal education fund. We also fund the Christine Wheeler Scholarship and John Chaney Award for new law graduates and law students.

Cancellations:
For cancellation and refund details, please see our Cancellation and Refund Policy.

Like all Piddington events, your attendance, engagement and support goes toward supporting funding Piddington's access to justice projects. These are: the Piddington PLT Fund, which supports the community legal centres (CLCs) that host Piddington PLT graduates to complete their hours required for admission; the Piddington Justice Fund for CLCs, to cover costs that they otherwise cannot meet; and, Kaartdijin, our First Nations Legal Education Fund. We also fund the Christine Wheeler PLT Scholarship and John Chaney Award for new law graduates and law students. 

Note re CPD points: 

This program is delivered by The Piddington Society, an accredited CPD Provider approved by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia. CPD schemes in other Australian jurisdictions do not accredit or pre-approve providers or courses. As a result, practitioners outside Western Australia must self-assess this activity against the CPD rules in their home jurisdiction and determine whether it meets their professional development obligations. Certificates of completion are issued to assist with record-keeping, but the final decision as to compliance rests with the individual practitioner and their local regulator. Participants should also note that some jurisdictions impose caps on certain delivery modes (e.g. South Australia limits 5 units per CPD year for web-based/recorded programs).

Practitioner ID numbers are issued by the Legal Practice Board of Western Australia. Information from the Board is available here. We require these to issue CPD certificates. If you do not provide us with one then we may contact you following the event.

Curtin Law School, 57 Murray Street Perth.
Perth WA 6000

Contact Details

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