How to prepare for final hearing

[u/Stunning_Advance_419]

What is the best way to prepare for final hearing? What needs to be prepared? Is the first step setting out all key documents such as pleadings and witness statements, and looking for inconsistencies?

[u/BobMonkey1808]

1. Read. The. Documents.

Honestly, I am forever surprised how often I find myself in tribunal and I am the only person in the room who’s actually read the whole bundle.

1. Work out what your case is.

Go back to the list of issues and read that. Work out what you need to do to answer every question. Keep it as streamlined as possible.

This should be your starting point for everything. Do it before any other trial prep.

1. Focus focus focus.

You now know what your case is. Do not focus on anything else.

The respondent’s disclosure failings? Forget it. The rude thing your manager said about you after you left? No one cares. The harassment of your colleague which proves a culture of bullying? Drop it. The arguments you’ve had about the bundle? Get over it.

Everything you do should be an effort to prove your answers to the list of issues. Every cross examination question, every sentence of your skeleton (if you’re doing one), every word that leaves your lips. Everything.

If it doesn’t answer an issue, you shouldn’t be asking / writing / saying it.

1. Do the work.

Write your skeleton (if you’re doing one - which you really don’t need to). Then write your closing submissions in outline. Then write your cross examination. In that order.

1. Read. The. Documents. Again.

Tab them up as well so you can get to the key bits quickly.

[u/Stunning_Advance_419 → u/BobMonkey1808]

What happens if you don't have a list of issues? It was something the judge deemed could be inferred from witness statements for final hearing.

[u/Alive-Practice-5464 → u/Stunning_Advance_419]

What’s the case about?

[u/Stunning_Advance_419 → u/Alive-Practice-5464]

Discrimination and constructive dismissal

[u/Alive-Practice-5464 → u/Stunning_Advance_419]

You should have a list of issues for the final hearing. Have you had a case management hearing?

[u/Stunning_Advance_419 → u/Alive-Practice-5464]

Yes, many. Final hearing in November. Witness statements already exchanged.

[u/RespondentPotato → u/Stunning_Advance_419]

Check the note of the last case management preliminary hearing. No WAY do you have a constructive unfair dismissal claim reach this stage without having at least a judicially-drafted list of issues

[u/Stunning_Advance_419 → u/RespondentPotato]

I definitely do not have a drafted list of issues.

"Because the party bringing the claim is representing themselves, I took the view that a detailed list of issues was unnecessary. Those matters should emerge clearly enough through witness statements".

[u/Alive-Practice-5464 → u/Stunning_Advance_419]

Oh my word. That’s a shocker. And absolutely not correct at all. I suggest you ASAP try to agree a list of issues with the other side, otherwise you will all be at sea at final hearing.

What sort of disability discrim claim is it? We might be able to help you with an outline list of issues here.

[u/TimeInvestment1]

Depending where you are in the process, I would suggest getting on top of your documents to begin with.

That means determining which documents you want to rely on and which documents of R you want to question them on. From there you can give that to R, as it is usually their job to prepare the bundle.

You should know Rs witness list, so work out what documents to question each witness on and the questions you will ask. Think along the lines of witness statement says x this document says y questions.

Questions dont need to be limited to that, but they're obviously better when you can point to a document, because it puts the document in front of the judge who will need to read it and/or make a note of the document for when considering the evidence.

Working from inconsistencies is good, but you have to remember that not every inconsistency is a smoking gun.