Book excerpt: This volume analyses the key skills that a lawyer needs to handle a case effectively. In addition to covering skills in dealing with a client, writing legal documents, and presenting a case in court, the text demonstrates how to use law effectively, how to develop a case, and how to present persuasive arguments. Following the Woolf reforms and other changes in procedure and evidence rules, lawyers operate in an increasingly complex environment. The text addresses legal skills within this rapidly changing context.