Have an appellate oral argument coming up? We discuss tips shared by top appellate attorneys how to prepare for and give oral arguments. Some tips include:
🗣️ Anticipate the panel’s questions when you can, but…
🗣️ …be prepared to respond when you don’t know the answer.
🗣️ Be prepared to answer: “What is your rule” for answering the key statutory or legal question.
🗣️ Give direct answers to the panel’s questions.
🗣️ Don’t read your argument. The judges have enough of what you’ve written. Now they want to hear what you say.
🗣️ Give a different spin—don’t just repeat what you said in briefing.
🗣️ Concede weak arguments.
🗣️ Just be a friend of the court: be polite, don’t interrupt, and try to help the court do its job solving the problems in your case.
Kyla Dayton’s biography and LinkedIn profile.
Appellate Specialist Jeff Lewis' biography, LinkedIn profile, and Twitter feed.
Appellate Specialist Tim Kowal's biography, LinkedIn profile, Twitter feed, and YouTube page.
Sign up for Not To Be Published, Tim Kowal’s weekly legal update, or view his blog of recent cases.
The California Appellate Law Podcast thanks Casetext for sponsoring the podcast. Listeners receive a discount on Casetext Basic Research at casetext.com/CALP. The co-hosts, Jeff and Tim, were also invited to try Casetext’s newest technology, CoCounsel, the world’s first AI legal assistant. You can discover CoCounsel for yourself with a demo and free trial at casetext.com/CoCounsel.
Other items discussed in the episode: