Effective Appellate Oral Argument: From Preparation to Performance [Webinar] (Watch Live or via OnDemand Streaming)

Agenda

Agenda

Thursday, July 16, 2026
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Central Time
1:00 p.m.– 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

What Is the Goal of Oral Argument?

• What judges are actually looking for—and how that shapes your argument
• Your role as the advocate and what you need to accomplish
• When oral argument truly makes a difference (and when it doesn’t)

Preparing for Oral Argument

• What to focus on—and what to ignore—in your preparation
• What to bring and how to be ready for anything
• Anticipating the toughest questions before you walk in
• Using moot courts and practice sessions effectively
• Leveraging notices of new authority and supplemental briefing

Presenting Yourself at Oral Argument

• Establishing credibility immediately
• Communicating clearly, confidently, and persuasively

Types of Questions You Will Face

• Hard questions, easy questions, and unexpected ones
• Handling hypotheticals without losing your footing

Pivoting Without Ducking

• Answering difficult questions directly—without conceding your case
• Staying credible while still advancing your position

Arguing Public Policy

• When policy arguments help—and when they hurt
• Differences between intermediate and final courts
• Using legislative intent and broader context effectively
• Framing arguments when the law is unclear or evolving
• Addressing real-world consequences for courts, clients, and society

Dividing Argument

• Coordinating with co-counsel and multiple parties
• The role of amici
• When dividing argument helps—and when it doesn’t

Tentatives and Focus Letters

• Understanding tentative rulings
• Using focus letters to sharpen your argument

Supplemental Briefing

• When it’s appropriate
• How to use it strategically to your advantage

Arguing Remotely

• Adjusting your approach for remote hearings
• Avoiding common pitfalls and technical missteps

Date/Time/Location

📅 Live Webinar

Date:

• Thursday, July 16, 2026

🕐  Times:

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Central Time
1:00 p.m.– 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time

You’ll receive your login instructions and program materials approximately one week before the seminar. Be sure to check your inbox (and spam folder), and add info@pincusproed.com to your contacts to ensure delivery.

Testimonials

This is a new stand alone program focused only on Oral Argument. Once this seminar is held, we will update this tab with the evaluations from the program.

However, both of our speakers at this program have taught this topic and other appellate topics in the past to rave reviews. Michael Colantuono has spoken at no less than 15 of our seminars over the past decade and Chris Bellows has spoken at six of our appellate seminars over the past decade as well.

They are two of our most popular speakers.

Just a small sample of comments on their past presentations are below:

Michael Colantuono, Esq.:

• My favorite speaker from the day.
• All of his suggestions were good.
• Gave practical tips and examples, which I appreciated.
• Michael gets the award as this year’s most brilliant speaker. He was just excellent and I was most impressed by his extremely helpful and well-spoken contributions to this year’s program. This is a particularly special award to give Michael because he was amongst some very distinguished panelists over the past two days!
• Michael made excellent use of his very extensive experience & practical knowledge.
• I learned way more about “staging” for an oral argument than I ever thought I’d need to know, but it was all very important and valuable information.  Thanks for thinking through the details, Michael!
• He was excellent.
• Very useful and practical information.
• Very thorough and very thoughtful.  Obviously well prepared.
• Michael provided insight into many of the details of remote argument that others have skipped or just missed entirely.  Valuable, thoughtful presentation.
• Always a standout hit.
• Super-knowledgeable about technical aspects of remote presentation.
• He was great, gave lots of substantive info, He clearly had lots of great experience.
• Very good presentation with practical recommendations – spoke clearly and slides were useful.
• Very pragmatic advice.
• Excellent use of real-world examples. I also appreciated the on-the-fly options for remote setup for those who can’t set up a studio.
• Very helpful presentation with lots of specific examples.
• Incredibly helpful tips and things I had not even thought of.
• All the information provided was very helpful..
• Always interesting and practical presentations.
• This was my favorite session.
• Stellar material as always, thoughtful, impeccably organized and well-presented.
• Excellent organization and anecdotes.
• He demonstrated a true command of the material and specific source authority.  I liked that he took initiative to answer questions in the chat so that all questions were answered, but not necessarily out loud which might have impeded the pacing of the program.
• Very knowledgeable and practical
• This was a very interesting topic that Michael and Justice Banke both did an excellent job covering. They were thorough, engaging, and easy to follow.
• Very knowledgeable, and obviously quite prepared.

Chris Bellows, Esq.:

• I enjoyed Christopher and Matthew’s banter, and their real-world practical advice.
• This was my favorite part of the entire webinar. I thought both speakers gave excellent advice especially since my first argument is in a month. There was a lot of good information I hadn’t thought of at all.
• Great information from someone with experience.
• Great tips.
• He had good energy as a presenter, and I appreciated his emphasis on how it is a privilege to practice law.
• I loved his tips for OA practice.
• I liked to hear his opinions, from a practitioner’s perspective.
• Very insightful regarding making sure issues raised in post-verdict motions are preserved for appeal.
• Very informative, to the point, and interesting to listen to.
• This speaker and all the others were very knowledgeable and well prepared.
• The time and effort he put into this is greatly appreciated.
• Incredibly effective presentation skills that seemed to ”wake us up” with nice practical questions as well as fascinating real world stories from appellate practice.

Faculty

Christopher N. Bellows, Esq.
Partner
Holland & Knight LLP

Christopher N. Bellows is an appellate attorney who has handled complex civil appeals in the Supreme Court of Florida, all Florida District Courts of Appeal and the federal appellate courts.

Mr. Bellows also has significant experience in complex commercial litigation, including areas of contract law, Uniform Commercial Code, business torts, foreclosures, receiverships, replevins, construction disputes, landlord-tenant litigation, product liability, personal injury, first amendment, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, environmental law, professional malpractice, antitrust, securities fraud and shareholder disputes.

Michael G. Colantuono, Esq.
Partner, Certified Legal Specialist in Appellate Law
Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC

Michael G. Colantuono is a shareholder in Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, a municipal law firm with offices in Pasadena and Grass Valley. Chief Justice Ronald M. George presented him with the 2010 Public Lawyer of the Year award on behalf of the California State Bar Association. The Los Angeles Daily Journal named him one of “California’s Top Municipal Lawyers” every year since its list began in 2011. The Supreme Court appointed him the first Chair of the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of California; he was previously President of the Bar. The State Bar has certified him as an Appellate Specialist and he is a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, a prestigious association of fewer than 100 of California’s most distinguished appellate advocates.

Michael is one of California’s leading experts on municipal revenues and has appeared in all six Courts of Appeal in California. In addition, he has argued nine public finance cases in the California Supreme Court since 2004 and briefed two others.

Michael is City Attorney of Auburn and Grass Valley and general counsel of a number of LAFCOs and special districts and previously served six other cities and many special districts. He serves as special counsel to counties, cities and special districts around California.

Michael served as President of the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities in 2003–2004 and established its first Ethics Committee.

He served on the Commission on Local Governance in the 21st Century, the recommendations of which led to substantial revisions of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act. Michael is General Counsel of the Calaveras and San Diego LAFCOs and serves as outside counsel to several other LAFCOs.

Michael graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Government and received his law degree from the Boalt Hall School of Law of the University of California at Berkeley.

He frequently posts comments on local government and municipal finance topics to Twitter ( @MColantuono ) and LinkedIn ( Michael Colantuono ).

Fees

Fees & Format Options – Live Two-Part Webinar

🎯 Early Bird Rate Deadline: Save $20 through June 1, 2026
Discount applied automatically at checkout.

🎓 Registration Fees (Per Person)

💼 Standard Individual Registration

• Standard Rate: $259
• Early Bird Rate: $239*

👥 Group Rate (2+ from same firm/agency)

• Standard Group Rate: $249 per person
• Early Bird Group Rate: $229 per person*
  All attendees must pre-register together.

🏛️ Government / Legal Aid Attorneys**

• Standard Rate: $239
• Early Bird Rate: $219*

📚 Law Students / Paralegals*

• Standard Rate: $229
• Early Bird Rate: $209*

📦 Pre-Order the Recording (Attendee-Only Special)

When registering for the live webinar, you can pre-order the Recorded Package (Download or OnDemand) for just $99.

This special rate is only available to registered attendees for their own use.

📩 Program Materials & Access

• A PDF copy of the seminar handbook will be emailed to you a few days before the program.
• We’ll also send your login instructions and any exercises approximately one week prior.
• Please check your spam folder and add info@pincusproed.com to your contacts.

💼 Group Access & Licensing (Live or OnDemand)

Discounted rates are available for 3–4 attorneys from the same organization.

Licenses are also available for firms or agencies with 5+ attorneys who wish to attend live or access the OnDemand recording.

To inquire or purchase group access:
📧 info@pincusproed.com | ☎ (877) 858-3848

⚠️ *Important Notes

• Registration fees are per person, unless a group license is purchased.
• Law Student Rate is for currently enrolled law students only. Please be prepared to provide student ID after registering via email.
• Legal Aid Rate applies only to attorneys employed full-time by legal aid or nonprofit organizations.
  

  It does not apply to private firm attorneys volunteering time, taking pro bono cases, or serving on nonprofit boards.

🎓 Scholarships for Legal Aid Attorneys

Full or partial scholarships may be available for a limited number of legal aid attorneys.

Please contact us to inquire:
📧 info@pincusproed.com | ☎ (877) 858-3848

CLE Credits

🎓 CLE Credit Information

California:
General CLE: Approved for 1.5 General CLE credits.
Certified Legal Specialist Units in Appellate Law: Approved for 1.5 Certified Legal Specialist Units in Appellate Law.

Florida:
Pending CLE credit in Florida. 

New York:
This program is eligible for 1.5 General CLE credits under New York’s Approved Jurisdiction policy.
Pincus Professional Education is a California Accredited Provider, and California is an approved jurisdiction under Section 6 of the New York State CLE Board Regulations and Guidelines.

🌎 Other States

CLE credit is officially approved in the states listed above.
If you practice in a different state, we’re happy to help—upon request, we will provide the materials and information you need to apply for CLE credit on your own. Many of our past attendees have successfully obtained credit in other jurisdictions.

To request assistance:
📧 info@pincusproed.com | ☎ (877) 858-3848