Dear 1L: Oral Argument Tips Part 1
Dear 1L,
Here are tips to help you prepare for oral argument—Part 1 of 3. Use these now, and save them for your future, lawyer-self.
The tips are a synthesis of:
▫️ several dozen comments on my original post;
▫️ an excellent article by Heidi Brown;
▫️ a power-packed podcast by Jonah Perlin; and
▫️ an interview with Chief Justice John Roberts, as reported by Bryan Garner in The Scribes Journal of Legal Writing (vol. 13, 2010).
Heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all contributors.
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TIP 1: PREPARE
I know you feel inexperienced. You also may shy from public speaking. Neither matters if you’re the most prepared person in the room. Know your case—the facts and the law—inside and out.
Preparation is an equalizer. Of both advocates and nerves. And preparation is something you control. Make the most of it.
TIP 2: KEEP IT SIMPLE
“I don’t care how complicated your case is; it usually reduces to [a few] major points, in no particular order.” (Garner, supra, at 23.)
🔹 Distill your argument into 2-4 primary points. Know them by heart. Make them a recurring refrain you can keep coming back to.
✏️ With your main points, though, don’t be wed to a particular order of presentation. If you have A, B, and C, get comfortable transitioning from B to A, C to B, etc., so you’re not caught off guard. (For more thorough discussion on this last point, see Garner, supra, at 23-24.)
TIP 3: CONSIDER YOUR JUDGES’ POSITION.
When preparing, remember the judges’ perspective.
🔹 Judges see oral argument as an opportunity—to help them write an opinion. They want to get that opinion right.
✏️ To that end, be prepared to articulate the legal test you’d apply and how future cases would fare under that test. This focus is particularly key on appeal, where decisions bind future litigants.
🔹 Judges also see oral argument as a means of education. They want to understand and probe the reach of your position. Judges often do so through hypothetical questions. Prepare for these.
✏️ During prep, really think through the ramifications of your position as applied to new fact patterns. Be ready to engage with the judges about the outer bounds of your position.
🔹 Know how the judges have ruled on issues relevant to your case, and use that knowledge to your advantage. (To be continued…)
* * *
Part 2 will continue these pre-argument preparation tips.
Part 3 will offer suggestions for what to do on argument day.
Please let me know if you need 2 and 3 today, and I will forward draft posts directly to you.
Fondly,
Amanda
P.S. Follow —> #Dear1L (898 followers) to receive future letters.
P.P.S. If you would like to review peoples’ comments in full form, or to listen to Perlin or read Brown, I will link the original thread in the comments.
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