Commercial Litigation Diploma

Diploma in Commercial Litigation – lectures will be webcast

Start Date:  20 April 2010
Exam Date:  02 October 2010
Venue: Tuesday evenings 6.00pm to 8.30pm, Education Centre, Blackhall Place* all lectures will be webcast. Students can watch the lectures live from their PCs from the office or home. Attendance onsite is required for workshops. See dates below.
CPD Hours: Satisfies the full CPD general requirement (in addition to 3 hours of Management & Professional Development provided relevant sessions attended)
Fee:   €2,160

Download an application form here.

View a copy of the draft timetable here.

Course Objectives
The objective of this course is to provide practitioners with comprehensive knowledge of certain aspects
of large-scale commercial litigation to include an examination of the Commercial Court, rules of discovery,
evidence, injunctions, judicial review and the rules of the superior courts.  A session will also focus on
mediation and its increasing impact on litigation practice.  The latter part of the course will aim to
examine discrete areas of commercial litigation and highlight recent developments and case law.
This course has overall appeal to anyone in practice who comes in contact with commercial litigation.

Delivery Method: Blended learning via webcasting resource
All lectures will take place in the Education Centre in Blackhall Place. However to facilitate those students
unable to attend Dublin on a weekly basis, lectures will also be webcast ‘live’ on our secure internet site. 
This means that students can decide to attend the onsite lecture or, alternatively, to access the lecture
online via the course website. In addition, lectures will be archived within the course website for the duration
of the course and can be viewed at a later date on demand by all students.

If you intend to sign up for this course and rely on the webcasting resource we would ask that at this stage prior
to application that you ensure that your home/office PC is compatible with the relevant software. This requires
a very straightforward test, go to: http://diplomalaw.learnonline.ie/course/view.php?id=68

Username is 'testwebcast'
Password is 'testwebcast'

If you cannot view the webcast follow the instructions provided. There may be local factors such as 'firewalls' and
we suggest that at first instance you check with your IT provider.

Students are obliged to attend onsite for the following workshop sessions and we also strongly recommend that
you attend onsite for the introductory session on the 20 April:

Saturday 29 May, 11.30am – 3.00pm
Saturday 03 July, 11.30am – 3.00pm
Saturday 11 September, 11.30am – 3.00pm

Workshops are an important element of the diploma courses. The workshops are hands-on sessions conducted
in smaller groups that will consolidate the learning process and promote a deeper understanding of the course
materials. All compulsory onsite sessions will start at 11.30am to facilitate those travelling from outside Dublin.

Topics on the course will include the following:
· Rules of the superior courts, Order 63A
· Rules of evidence, discovery and disclosure
· Litigation tools and procedures, injunctions
· Assessment of damages in commercial litigation
· Alternative dispute resolution
· Judicial review
· The Masters Court
· Commercial Court; practice and procedure
· Legal costs, structured costs orders
· Case management, mediation and pre-trial conferences
· Family law in the context of the family business in the Commercial Court
· An overview of intellectual property litigation, recent developments and case law
· An overview of construction litigation, recent developments and case law
· Cross border litigation
· Jury trials in defamation cases
· Insolvency and commercial litigation

Who Should Attend
The calibre of lecturers and the comprehensive course syllabus has ensured that this course is well recognised
amongst the commercial litigation profession. Many of the lecturers are senior practitioners whose experience
and depth of knowledge adds greatly to the value students receive from attending this course.  The course proved
popular with a cross section of the profession including solicitors from large commercial firms to small general
practices and also to a number of barristers.  This course will be of interest to seasoned litigators in addition to
those with a limited exposure to litigation practice who are keen to get a comprehensive and up-to-date overview
of commercial litigation practice and procedure in this jurisdiction.  This diploma is open to solicitors, barristers
and trainees only.

Lecturers

 Previous lecturers have included the following: