The move away from adversarial litigation. What judges expect from you and how to effectively assist them. Resolve disputes efficiently and find client satisfaction.

About this course

An intensive 2 sessions that will assist you in developing strategies to obtain better outcomes in litigation and other dispute resolution. The object of dispute resolution is to obtain the best possible outcome for your client; in the shortest possible time. We show you how.

The programme will include:

• Practice Directives: A short discussion on how to comply with practice directives`. Where to find them and which directives are suitable for your practice outside of Gauteng.
• Rule 41A: Purpose of the Rule | How to achieve actual compliance | Notices, how to use and how to reply | The Mediation processes | Costs | There must be actual compliance with the rule. We deal with the new mediation protocols in Gauteng and how to apply for a trial date.
• How to Obtain the Available Facts. When to obtain all the material facts.
• Issues of relevance, admissibility and prospects of success. How to conduct risk assessments. What happens before you commence proceedings? The value of weighing the probabilities at an early stage.
• Understanding the issues: Analysis of pleadings | Pleading a version | How to work out the issues between the parties. What amounts to facta probanda (the material facts as pleaded) and how do you discharge the burden of proof. What do judges expect to find in your pleadings and how to present it in a manner that is persuasive.
• Sequencing: How to sequence facts and documents | How to prepare chronology of documents | How to use chronology documents effectively. Using sequencing to develop each stage of your preparation. How can sequencing the facts assist your witnesses?
• Developing a Case Concept: What is your client’s version of what actually happened? Matching your clients’ facts to the applicable law.  How to match your clients’ facts to the factual theory or concept. How to develop the case concept and how to plan a strategy around it | How to use the case concept to conduct a trial effectively
• The Burden of Proof and Duty to Begin: The strategy on how to manage the onus and duty to begin. Learn how to carry out a proof analysis in order to discharge the burden of proof.
• What to do at Case Conferences: How to conduct a case conference chaired by a Judge | How to conduct case conferences with your opponent | Achieving the purpose of a case conference. How to prepare the agenda. | Reaching agreement on issues, discovery and expert testimony |Discussing and agreeing on the issues. Filing of minutes of pretrial conferences. What to do with an opponent who will not cooperate.
• Agreeing on the Triable Issue/s: What will a trial judge expect? | How to reduce to writing the agreed issues between the parties | How to present this at trial
• Legal Research:  A brief discussion on how to find the appropriate law efficiently | What is the judge looking for? | How to present Law. How to find the Law quickly with the effective use of case annotations. Understanding what judges require of you when presenting the applicable law.
• Discovery (including eDiscovery) and Expert Witnesses: What do the directives require and how to comply | What is “narrow discovery” and how to comply | What is eDiscovery and how to present and prove electronic documentation | How to reach agreement over bundles. The electronic management of discovered documents.
• Witness Preparation: How to test the version, witness analysis and witness briefing. How many witnesses and how to select them? Witness briefing. Knowing when to stop.
• Dealing with the ethics of the hopeless case. How do our courts deal with this?

Presenter
Ismail Hussain SC is a former Judge of the High Court and Competition Appeal Court. He has been a highly popular LEAD trainer for many years. Mr Hussain SC is an expert in commercial drafting, opinion writing, litigation, and case management. He is also a published author. He is a Professor of law at Nelson Mandela University.

What previous attendees said

• This was wonderful training with very relevant information on modern litigation. I also learned about correcting bad habits that I have picked up along the way.
• Great training, worth every cent and more!
• I loved the interesting and amusing examples referred to during the lectures.
• Thoroughly enjoyed this online course. Brilliantly presented!
• The presenter did an excellent job. It was very informative and added value to my practice.
• Really enjoyed it, was clear and interesting. I think the best I have attended.
• This was such an insightful course. The presenter really made an effort to pass on practical skills which I feel is essential in these types of courses.

Date
05 and 06 November 2025 | Duration: 13:00 – 16:00
Closing date for registrations: 04 November 2025
Note: Kindly note that this course might run over the scheduled time. Please do not arrange any other appointments for at least 30 minutes after the scheduled closing time.

Certification
Attendance at both sessions is mandatory to qualify for a certificate.

Who should register?

Practising legal practitioners (attorneys and advocates) and candidate legal practitioners.

Registration

Registration fee categories (including VAT):
Practising legal practitioners and other staff from legal firms: R 1 650 per person.
Non-practising legal practitioners/others: R 2 500 per person.

Kindly note that registrations are done online. For certification purposes, participants should register individually, using their own email address. This will enable the system to generate a unique username and password for each person.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER 

Email: Bettie@LSSALEAD.org.za  | Tel No. 012 4414670

• The LSSA will not accept liability if the fees are not paid into the designated LSSA bank account.
• The course is conducted in English only.
• The course will be delivered through MS TEAMS. Please ensure that you have MS TEAMS installed on your computer prior to the commencement of the course.
• Please note: In accordance with company policy and copyright protection, no recordings or PowerPoint presentations will be shared. Additionally, unauthorized recording or transcription is not permitted, as it may violate LSSA’s organizational or class policies.
• You will receive the material as well as the link to the course via email, +-24 hours before commencement of the course. Test your links as soon as you receive these links.  If you do not receive the said email, look in your junk mail folder. If it is not there, contact Bettie Lubbe on Bettie@LSSALEAD.org.za.
• No cancellations will be accepted after the course material and link have been shared. Participants who do not cancel timeously and/or fail to attend the course will forfeit the amount paid towards this course.
• Should you need to cancel your registration, you need to do so in writing before the course link and material are shared. No cancelation will be accepted after it has been made available and failure to comply with this will result in the full fee being charged.
• LSSA/LEAD shall have the right in its sole discretion to postpone or cancel tuition in any programme initially advertised and offered based on insufficient demand. Should LSSA/LEAD cancel the proposed training, registered delegates will be given reasonable notice of the cancellation and all fees paid by the delegate will be refunded.