Do A Trial! 2026

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Program Chairs:
Alexandra Clark, Ministry of the Attorney General
Megan Shortreed, Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP

Members Only! Our Do A Trial! program is exclusively for TAS members. You must be a member of The Advocates' Society to register. Join us today!

Looking for on-your-feet trial practice experience? Need mentoring and advice to elevate your advocacy skills? The Advocates' Society's acclaimed Do a Trial! program offers the unique (and increasingly rare) opportunity to test your trial skills in a real courtroom before a live judge.

You will work with an assigned co-counsel under the guidance of an experienced coach to develop trial strategy, prepare and examine witnesses, and be ready to deliver persuasive opening and closing statements. Judges and leading litigators will provide you invaluable feedback in real time throughout the program.

Stay for the post-program reception.

In our realistic "trial-in-a-day" format, you will learn how to:

Make smart strategic decisions and focus your preparation
Prepare witnesses and lines of questioning with purpose
Conduct an effective examination-in-chief and cross-examination
Deliver powerful opening and closing statements # of topics 1, max 6

Please note that this program requires preparation based on a mock case file, which will be provided to you in advance of the program. Please ensure that you set aside enough time to prepare for the workshop, which will involve approximately a full day depending on your level of experience.

Become a TAS Member. There is no better time to become part of the TAS community and enjoy access to signature programs like Do A Trial!, mentoring programs and signature events. TAS Members also save on all of our CPD programs, and new Junior members can access FREE half-day advocacy skills workshops when they register for the plenary session of an Essential Advocacy Skills Workshop program in the 2026 calendar year. We are committed to our national community of advocates and supporting excellence in advocacy. Click here to join us today for premier access to our programming and preferred pricing!

Faculty Includes:
Judges:
The Hon. Justice Robert Goldstein, Superior Court of Justice for Ontario
The Hon. Justice Michael McKelvey, Superior Court of Justice for Ontario
The Hon. Justice Lucille Shaw, Superior Court of Justice for Ontario
The Hon. Justice Marie-Andrée Vermette, Superior Court of Justice for Ontario

Coaches:
Geoff R. Hall, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Julie Hannaford, J K Hannaford Barristers
Andrew Shaughnessy, Torys LLP
Steve Tenai, Aird & Berlis LLP
Helder Travassos, Shibley Righton LLP
Frank Walwyn, WeirFoulds LLP

The Program Agenda will be made available soon. Please check back for updates.

Here is why past our participants and coaches highly recommend Do A Trial! to advocates like you:

Feel More Confident and Ready for Trial
"I LOVE this program. I attended with three colleagues, and we all came away feeling more confident and ready to run our first trial. We also had an absolute blast (yes! I’m speaking about a CPD program), bonding while preparing and engaging in a bit of friendly competition. I recommend Do A Trial! to all young advocates."
– Claudia Cappuccitti, Dyer Brown LLP, (Past Chair, Young Advocates Standing Committee)

Receive a High Level of Mentorship
"I particularly enjoyed the level of mentorship that was offered throughout the program. Our coach was always available, and was proactive in offering suggestions and feedback during the entire process. The amount of guidance, both through the written material and through coaching, bolstered my understanding of succeeding during a trial."
– John Jeyaratnam, Berkow Youd Lev-Farrell DAS LLP (Past Participant, Do A Trial!)

One of the Best Trial Advocacy Programs for Young Advocates
"This is one of the best trial advocacy programs available for young advocates. We have made it part of our required training for new litigation associates."
– Steve Tenai, Aird & Berlis LLP (Past Coach, Do A Trial!)

Helpful Feedback from a Real Judge
"The program was an opportunity to do a trial from A-Z with a real judge providing feedback. If you make a mistake, you get the feedback you need to get it right when you do a real trial. As a new call, this is so helpful."

Most Realistic Trial Experience
"The best and closest to real world trial experience out there."

Invaluable Coach Support and Mentoring
"I particularly enjoyed the level of mentorship that was offered throughout the program. Our coach was always available, and was proactive in offering suggestions and feedback during the entire process."

Eligible CPD Hours:
This program contains 2.25 Professionalism hours, and is eligible for up to 5.75 Substantive hours.

Law Society Accredited

This organization has been approved as an Accredited Provider of Professionalism Content by the Law Society of Ontario.

For information on CPD requirements and accreditation across Canada, please click here.

The Advocates' Society's acclaimed Do a Trial! program offers the unique opportunity to test your trial skills in a real courtroom before a live judge.

This program is exclusively for TAS members.

Pricing:
TAS Members: Regular: $749.00 + Tax | Discount: $561.75 + Tax* (please see below)

*Sole practitioners, lawyers who practise in firms with fewer than 5 lawyers, and government lawyers (including lawyers who work for legal aid clinics) can take advantage of a 25% discount off the registration fee for this program. If you are eligible for this discount, please enter SSG2026 in the appropriate field at check-out.

Registration includes educational materials, which will be provided prior to the program. Registration also includes access to the live webcast recording for 30 days from the date the link is sent to you.

TAS Members save up to $100 on half-day programs and up to $200 on programs with a skills workshop. Join us today.

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