Don’t agree mindlessly

Tribunals will often ask you whether you agree with a particular formulation of a point, as a way of checking they understand the issue.

For example, a Judge may ask:

Mr Reed, as I understand this you accept that there was no breach of the statutory dismissal procedures, but say that the hearing was procedurally unfair. Is that right?

This is often a good thing. It allows the tribunal to check that they understand you and you know that they have understood. Also, particularly if you are not a lawyer, the tribunal may well be able to provide a legal formulation for your point better than you can.

The risk, however, is that you will get pressured into agreeing to something that you don’t actually mean. Sometimes this happens because a frustrated judge will put the question rather testily, flustering you. But often the pressurised nature of tribunal procedings will lead you into something that chess players call an unforced error. The Judge asks something that sounds sort of right and you say ‘yes’ without fully understanding what you’re doing.

There are two things you should do to avoid this. Firstly, know your case as well as you can. The better grip you have on the facts and law, the less likely you are to make this sort of mistake.

Secondly, when you are asked a question think about the answer. Take a deep breath and one second to reflect. Then answer. If you don’t understand, say so and ask the Judge to clarify the question.