Preparing for Oral Arguments

When a party makes a motion to a court, it is possible that the court will ask the parties, or their attorneys if they are represented by counsel, to participate in oral arguments about the relief being sought.  Oral arguments can take place in person or virtually, and different judges have variety of different formats for asking questions or permitting each side to present points related to a motion.  Regardless of the format, preparing for oral arguments can be simple if parties keep a few things in mind during their preparation process.

Documents Available

It is important when preparing for oral arguments that parties print and prepare to have important documents available to them during arguments.  This often includes the briefs and other submissions each party filed with the court.  This is because a judge may reference such papers during oral arguments and a party may need to refer to authority that is cited in such papers when buttressing arguments they make during oral arguments.

Depending on the case, parties may wish to print and compile other documents when preparing for oral arguments.  In a breach of contract matter, for instance, it may be important to have the contract at issue in a case available in case reference needs to be made to the document.  Moreover, if pictures or other exhibits are important to the arguments made by a party, it may be important to have those materials as well.  It is generally best to overprepare when compiling materials that may be useful during oral arguments so that a party is ready for any eventuality that might arise during the arguments.

Review the Materials

Another important part of preparing for oral arguments is reviewing the materials associated with the motion.  Individuals participating in oral arguments should carefully read all of the briefs they and their adversaries submitted in connection with the motion.  Judges may ask about arguments advanced in the papers, so it is important to be well-versed in the points made in the brief and other papers in a motion cycle.  Moreover, it is also important that parties read all of the evidence that is used to support a motion.  It is not uncommon for judges to ask questions about exhibits that were not even discussed in the brief and other submissions before a court so an advocate needs to be prepared to discuss the exhibits to a motion in detail.

Research Judges

It is not uncommon when preparing for oral arguments to conduct research on the judge to whom arguments are presented.  Different judges react differently to various arguments.  For instance, some judges might be more compelled by novel legal arguments while other judges may be moved more from the facts of a case.  In addition, ideological leanings of a judge can also have an impact on a judge’s decision on a particular case.

There are numerous resources that litigants and their attorneys can consult when conducting research on judges.  Perhaps the best resource is to ask other lawyers and litigants who might have appeared before a given judge.  Colleagues can discuss from their experiences how a judge acts at oral argument and what type of arguments might be most convincing.  Moreover, online directories are available for counsel to rank judges and provide comments about them.  People need to take such online directories with a grain a salt because there is usually a losing party to every action by a judge and people may be disgruntled by a judge’s decision.  However, in the aggregate, such forums can provide useful information about judges.  Moreover, it sometimes makes sense to read prior opinions of a judge so that litigants or their attorneys can discover how a judge forms an argument and how advocates can present arguments to be most persuasive to judges.

Take Notes

Another important part of preparing oral arguments is to take notes about what the other side is saying during oral arguments and what you will say during your remarks.  During oral arguments, the movant generally is allowed to make a brief statement conveying their points and then the nonmovant is entitled to similarly make their arguments to the court.  It is important to listen carefully to the statements made by an adversary because this can have a substantial impact on an advocate’s own oral arguments.  Moreover, judges often ask long questions that may have multiple parts.  It is important for an advocate to write down their response in case they forget what they meant to say.  It goes without saying that every litigant should have paper and something to write with whenever they are ready to present oral arguments at either the trial or appellate level.  If something sounds even remotely important to an advocate’s argument, it is usually best to write it down so this can be recalled when it is time for the advocate to present oral arguments.

The Rothman Law Firm is skilled at presenting oral arguments at both the trial and appellate levels before one or multiple judges. We also have substantial experience drafting papers associated with oral arguments.  If you are looking for an experienced New York and New Jersey attorney to handle your oral arguments, please feel free to reach out to The Rothman Law Firm to request a free consultation.