[blindLaw] Advice for Oral Arguments

Mon Feb 26 18:15:15 UTC 2024

Hi Helen,

I took an appellate advocacy class last year, and my professor used to
say that there were two types of people who talked to themselves while
walking outside: lawyers preparing for oral arguments and people who,
as she put it, needed some help. Maybe not the most politically
correct thing to say, but she said it to let us know that lawyers
practice their oral arguments anywhere and whenever they could.

I also used a Braille display and made sure I knew my notes file up
and down so that if I needed to look something up, I could do so
without much lag time. I used to use the find command on my Braille
Note a lot, or I would do what Kyra suggested and navigate by
paragraph. Also, anticipating questions will get easier and easier as
you practice.

I would encourage you just to have fun. I am a performer, so maybe I'm
weird, but an oral argument is a performance. It's supposed to be a
chance for you to be convincing, persuasive, and engaging. You need
not be perfect, and truly, they won't care if you are engaging and
know your stuff, even if you take a moment to look up an exact
citation if they ask.

Hope this helps,

Julie

On 2/26/24, Aser Tolentino via BlindLaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Helen,
> I hope you’re enjoying the class. The puzzle pieces approach is invaluable
> when dealing with the fact that you will be interrupted and thrown off.
> Sometimes, the panel won’t want to talk at all about one point and will
> hammer something that is of particular importance to their view of the case
> or a point either good or bad that the opposing counsel has raised.
> Some might disagree with this approach, but I occasionally in preparing
> notes would place the same cites in multiple places to allow for easy
> navigation to what I needed, under different headings to address different
> arguments for example, below my outline. Using quick nav, quick keys, or
> whatever your screen reader of choice calls it can give you great ways of
> categorizing text for easy access: your key points at heading level 1 and
> possible rebuttal arguments at level two for instance, with supporting cites
> at 3 and 4 or some variation to just give you what you need in the moment.
> Prepping the intro and conclusion I think are also key, so you can bring
> attention to and return it to the key points you raise. Other than that, I
> think you just need to practice people asking you questions about the facts
> or a random bit of a case in the brief so you can get used to thinking on
> your feet and saying something responsive. And I want to double down on it
> being vital to keep in mind being okay that your never being perfect,
> because we’re all human, for the time being anyway, and there’ll always be
> room for improvement.
>> On Feb 26, 2024, at 7:51 AM, Maura Kutnyak via BlindLaw
>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Ellen,
>>
>> My advice is based on a few different moot court experiences in law
>> school, a couple courses on the topic of oral argument, and about six
>> months practice as a public defender. So please weigh and measure what I
>> have to say in relation to that background.
>>
>> I have found that notes are mostly useful in preparation for oral
>> argument. They allow an opportunity to organize and structure your
>> arguments, more importantly, to identify the pieces that construct the
>> hole. As you  write your argument, consider making headings for each major
>> point and  minor sub points. Doing this in word, and using JAWS, I’m able
>> to turn on quick keys and jump from heading to heading using the letter H.
>> So on the rare occasion that I have the presence of mind and patience to
>> search for information during argument, I can quickly jump through the
>> major pieces.
>>
>> I think that it’s important to not be too locked into your notes, and the
>> linear path that they demand. If you can think of your argument is more of
>> a puzzle made of pieces, when those questions come along and throw you off
>> track, you can jump to one of the other pieces of your argument , without
>> as much disruption to the flow. This is because the points exist
>> independently of each other in your mind. You just have to be OK with not
>> following the path that the notes layout.
>>
>> I also always strive to practice the argument out loud in as many contexts
>> and in front of as many different people as possible. But also just doing
>> the argument while making dinner, or in the shower really helps the
>> information settle more deeply into your memory. I think there’s a
>> kinesthetic component for me as well, moving around, moving my hands a bit
>> creates a mind-body connection that the information can attach to.
>>
>> Finally, I guess just understanding that your oral arguments will never be
>> perfect because your standards, each of our standards are likely much
>> higher than is realistic. However, your preparation will make it so that
>> things turn out much better than your anxieties may predict.
>>
>> Take good  care! I wish you all the best.
>>
>> Warmly,
>>
>> Maura Kutnyak Esq.
>> 716-563-9882
>>
>>> On Feb 26, 2024, at 9:57 AM, Kyra Sweeney via BlindLaw
>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Ellen,
>>> I participated in moot court in law school. My strategy was to organize
>>> my notes so that I knew exactly what information I could find in each
>>> paragraph. I was reading my notes with a Braille display, and I used the
>>> navigate to next/previous paragraph feature quite a bit. I would also try
>>> to anticipate questions and have responses as close to memorized as
>>> possible.
>>>
>>> Hope this helps. Feel free to contact me off-list at
>>> kyra.sweeney94 at gmail.com.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Kyra
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>> On Feb 26, 2024, at 9:28 AM, Ellen Harper via BlindLaw
>>>>> <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi All,
>>>>
>>>> I am preparing for oral arguments in my legal practice class and was
>>>> wondering if anyone has advice on how to navigate being interrupted with
>>>> questions while not being able to quickly scan notes. Any advice would
>>>> be
>>>> greatly appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Ellen
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>>> BlindLaw:
>>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kyra.sweeney94%40gmail.com
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> BlindLaw mailing list
>>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> BlindLaw:
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/maurakutnyak%40gmail.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> BlindLaw mailing list
>> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> BlindLaw:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/agtolentino%40gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> BlindLaw mailing list
> BlindLaw at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> BlindLaw:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/kaybaycar%40gmail.com
>

-- 
Julie A. Orozco
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
Law, JD Candidate 2023