Successful bespoke seminar provided to social workers

Catherine Mason and Louise Hill hosted the first of a number of training sessions for social workers introducing primarily newly qualified social workers to the court system.

The session was run as part of Park Square Barristers’ contract to supply advocacy, advice and training to a number of local authorities and was well attended by social workers from across the region.

A case study was prepared with a mini court bundle provided to delegates to give a realistic impression of what might face them when it came time to give evidence in their own cases. Attendees were assisted in identifying the main issues in the case and discussed where the strengths and weaknesses of the application were. After initial reluctance a couple of the braver delegates subjected themselves to a mock cross examination. All said that the session was helpful in demystifying the court process and many were reassured that the experience need not be the ordeal that they had feared it would be. The feedback was good with many saying that the course material had been presented in a friendly yet professional manner.

This session focussed on cross examination at the request of the local authorities but Park Square Barristers has a broad spectrum of experience and can tailor training and seminar sessions to suit individual requirements and different levels of expertise. Details of our seminar programme can be found here.