As a lawyer, I created Loquitur because I believe that people giving evidence in court should have the best opportunities to preparefor and understand this process.

Having practised extensively abroad, I had seen how other jurisdictions have advanced, comprehensive and thorough training courses for all types of witnesses in all different types of proceedings.

Not only did these courses allow witnesses to better prepare for court, it also gave them the confidence to better deliver their evidence, and to better understand what to expect.

These courses also helped the legal teams prepare their witnesses. Trial preparation is a hectic and difficult period, with packed schedules and heavy workloads, and court deadlines all pressing the already limited capacity of the legal team. This training allowed an additional level of training which the legal team were often unable to provide due to time constraints. Furthermore, this training was of such a nature that the legal team were generally unable to undertake such training due to strict and rigorous ethical requirements arising from their proximity to the case. Rather, this training by independent, dedicated organisations on unrelated materials complemented and streamlined the actual proofing and preparation of witnesses the legal teams would conduct on the evidence itself, and allowed a greater degree and level of training that the legal team were themselves able to provide because of their
knowledge of the cases.

Such training also allowed expert witnesses to better understand their obligations and duties, and the nature of their evidence at a very early stage, and well before they could be called to give evidence. It led to improved quality of expert engagements, from the initial expert engagement, during the report writing process, in trial preparation and during cross examination. They would also offer enhanced Continuing Professional Development and ethical training to experts as part of their ongoing professional development.

These courses were also greatly beneficial to professional witnesses who would often be called to give evidence as part of their job – for example police officers, civil servants, medical staff and emergency responders. These individuals often represented their department or organisation at hearings, sometimes as a factual witness, sometimes as an expert, and sometimes as combination of both. This training gave those people the confidence to take the stand and justify and defend themselves and their professional actions, and it gave their employers the reassurance that their organisation would present in the best way possible.

Most importantly, perhaps, this training provided great public benefits. It made for a more open judicial system, and enhanced the public’s perception and understanding of the courts and judicial process. Further, by providing witnesses who were much better prepared for the evidential process, the court was itself able to obtain better evidence.

However, this very useful and beneficial training was sorely lacking in Australia. This meant that Australian witnesses, legal teams, professionals and courts did not have access to this valuable service and understanding. It was this deficiency that we sought to remedy in a simple, ethical and practical way.

Maya has over 25 years’ experience at the commercial bar appearing in applications, directions and trials in jurisdictions from VCAT to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
She enjoys a broad based commercial practice including contract disputes, equities, trusts, partnerships, mortgages and other securities as well as property disputes, building and construction. Maya also has a specialised practice in Wills and Estates disputes.

We seek to provide all Australian witnesses with the many and varied benefits of this training, as well as improve outcomes for the judicial and legal system, and the general public.

In this way we allow Australian witnesses to best deliver their own evidence. The clue is in our name: “loquitur” is the Latin word for “he speaks”.