by Karen Kimmey from Farella Braun + Martell in San Francisco

Karen Kimmey has spoken at our annual Superior Court Boot Camps in San Francisco for more than ten years. Over that time she has provided a number of excellent resources for our attendees. Below is a short list of tips Karen wrote on Oral Argument.

• Always check the tentative and be prepared to address any issues raised.

• Check in with the court room clerk and be on time.

• Treat the courtroom staff well.

• Have a simple outline in front of you with key points and case cites.

• Have brief remarks prepared but focus on answering questions.

• Do not simply repeat arguments from your brief. Approach it in a different way.

• Never address opposing counsel directly.

• Do not interrupt opposing counsel or the judge.

• Speak slowly. Don’t annoy the court reporter.

• Avoid personal attacks or bickering. Judges hate it.

• Know when to be quiet.

• Come prepared with a proposed order.

• Ask clarifying questions if unclear of what the court has ruled.

If you’d like to hear more from Karen, and listen to a program dedicated to motions, discovery and depos, you might be interested in this prior seminar at which she spoke:

9th Annual Superior Court Boot Camp: Discovery, Depos and Motions – Get it Right

You might also be interested in our upcoming 13th Annual CA Superior Court Boot Camp on October 12th, 2018 in Los Angeles and November 8th, 2018 in San Francisco. You can register there, or if you are reading this past those dates, purchase the audio package.

We wanted to share with you some tips and advice from speakers at prior programs that we know you will find helpful! Check out this list of Oral Argument tips, created by Andrew Livingston, who has spoken at many of our Superior Court Boot Camps (and is speaking at our upcoming one this fall, 2018).

Let us know what you think!

Objectives

• Learn how to prepare written materials for oral argument
• Learn how to prepare for the spoken part of oral argument
• Learn orienting devices to help your audience understand where you’re going.
  Learn how to deal with questions:
  • Cold benches, i.e., no questions
  • Hot benches, i.e., lots of questions
  • Answering questions
  • Moving on after a question
  • When to concede a point versus standing your ground
  • What to do when you don’t know the answer
• Learn effective rebuttal

Preparing for the Argument

• You should be developing your outline as you develop your knowledge of the facts and the law.
• Your outline will probably start off very long; use the outlining process to refine your points over the course of multiple drafts.
• Your goal should be to get your outline down to a single page, with single-sentence bullet points which you can reference during argument.
• Consider coming to argument with a folder with:
  • your one-pager on one side; and
  • more detailed notes on the other side
• Your folder is your security blanket; if you’re prepared, you might not need it at all.
• The order of your argument can be just as important as the substance.
• Think about placement, i.e., where within the argument you want to emphasize good facts and law, and where you want to [bury] bad facts and law.
• Is there a bad fact or a bad case you want to get out in your opening so you can distinguish or neutralize?
• Set aside dedicated time to practice your argument by yourself.
• The goal is to get to the point where you won’t need to read from your outline.
• Depending on time, resources, and the argument, you may wish to have a moot court session
• If you do a moot argument, make sure the participants are:
  • familiar enough with the case to ask the right questions; and
  • can offer constructive feedback on your argument style
• If this is your first argument—ever, or before this court—try to visit the court beforehand and watch another argument
• Learn the layout, e.g., will you use a lectern or a table? Where is the countdown clock? Can you raise or lower the lectern? Where’s the water?
• What are the judges’ names and where will they be seated?
• How has the judge(s) ruled on this issue before?

The Argument

• The first thing you need to know about speaking is that listening is at least as important.
• The court will let you know what it’s interested in hearing, which often is not what you’re interested in saying.
• If you’re prepared, you’ll be ready to listen to the court and adjust your argument accordingly.
• Starting off with a concise, precise roadmap will help set up the audience’s expectations
• Quickly state the relief and the reasons why the relief should be granted.
• Use signposts in your argument to orient the audience
• Let the court know when you’re moving to another point, and use that opportunity to once again map out your argument for the court.
• Regarding plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief, the court should deny the motion because….
• Make sure you understand questions asked, and clarify if necessary
• TAKE YOUR TIME before
  • This is one of the hardest skills to learn in oral argument
  • Pause and think before answering
• Resist the urge to fill the silence by saying the first (possibly incorrect) thing that pops into your head

Here’s another “How to” list of tips, from the dos to the don’ts, from one of our favorite (and most loved by attendees) speakers at prior CA Superior Court Boot Camps –  we know you will find these helpful! Let us know what you think!

And don’t miss our upcoming 13th Annual Superior Court Boot Camp set for October 12th, 2018 in Los Angeles and November 8th, 2018 in San Francisco.

Oral Argument Tips, by Karen Kimmey of Farella Braun + Martel, and one of our favorite Superior Court Judges in Los Angeles.

• Always check the tentative and be prepared to address any issues raised.
• Check in with the court room clerk and be on time.
• Treat the courtroom staff well.
• Have a simple outline in front of you with key points and case cites.
• Have brief remarks prepared but focus on answering questions.
• Do not simply repeat arguments from your brief. Approach it in a different way.
• Never address opposing counsel directly.
• Do not interrupt opposing counsel or the judge.
• Speak slowly. Don’t annoy the court reporter.
• Avoid personal attacks or bickering. Judges hate it.
• Know when to be quiet.
• Come prepared with a proposed order.
• Ask clarifying questions if unclear of what the court has ruled.