Preparing a court argument: 7 tips for advocates

When preparing a courtroom speech, it is best to begin by formulating the decision the advocate is asking the court to render. Next, the structure of the speech should be built around this outcome, strong arguments should be selected, and weak points should be addressed.

This was discussed during the webinar «The art of court advocacy: tactics for persuasive speeches and an advocate’s public speaking skills», hosted by the UNBA NextGen in the Kharkiv region. The event was moderated by the Committee’s regional representative Kateryna Dyoma. The speaker was advocate Lidiya Klymkiv, who offered advocates several practical tips.

1. Start with the desired outcome. Before preparing a speech, L. Klymkiv suggests writing down exactly what decision is desired and formulating its content in advance. After that, the entire argument can be structured around the final result. It is necessary to tell the court as clearly as possible what decision the party is seeking.

2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the legal position. The advocate should highlight their side’s strong arguments, its weaknesses, and the opponent’s compelling arguments. In some cases, it is worth addressing a problematic circumstance yourself and immediately explaining why it does not refute your position, rather than letting the other side exploit it unexpectedly.

3. Review adverse case law. The speaker advises comparing decisions that do not support the client’s position with the specific case at hand and looking for differences in the circumstances. If the advocate decides to mention such case law themselves, this can be done at the beginning of the relevant section, immediately explaining its irrelevance and moving on to the strong arguments.

4. Formulate headings as substantive statements. In a written brief, it is advisable to formulate section headings as brief statements about who did what, rather than as abstract titles of legal issues. At the beginning of the document, you can briefly outline the main arguments, and conclude each section with an interim conclusion. This way, the judge or law clerk can understand the position simply from the document’s structure.

5. Structure arguments using the IRAC framework (Issue — Rule — Application/Analysis — Conclusion). This framework consists of four elements: the issue, the applicable rule, an analysis of how it applies to the circumstances, and a conclusion. It can be used for individual arguments and sub-arguments.

6. Divide your presentation into key sections. You can boil your position down to a few key events or legal issues and clearly inform the court that the case rests on, for example, three elements. Use the words «first», «second», «third» along with pauses and changes in intonation, to transition between them.

7. Speak from an outline, rather than reading from a text. Instead of a full text, you can prepare a brief outline and rehearse the speech aloud several times. This allows you to maintain eye contact, use pauses, and respond to the flow of the hearing. A thorough understanding of the case allows you to adjust the structure of your speech, but when speaking off the cuff, you should not assert anything that you do not know for certain.