On September 4, 2020, a seminar was held at the Odessa Regional Bar Association entitled “The Art of Court Oratory,” featuring as speakers Joseph Bronz, Chairman of the Odessa Regional Bar Association, and Ilya Novikov, partner and attorney at Barristers, J.L.C. 

During the seminar, attendees had the opportunity to learn how to properly prepare for courtroom debates, how to effectively justify their legal position, and how to “refute” their opponents’ arguments, and they received detailed answers to their questions. Denis Ponomarenko, Partner and Attorney at Barristers JSC, served as the seminar moderator. 

Iosif Bronz, Chairman of the Odessa Regional Bar Association:

The most important factor for a lawyer’s successful courtroom argument is preparation, which involves thoroughly familiarizing oneself with the case materials and participating in the court investigation. A courtroom argument reflects the quality of that preparation.

It is also very important to plan the examination of witnesses and understand what kind of people they are in order to determine the best questioning techniques. It is necessary to prepare questions in advance, including references, and to anticipate possible answers. Try to turn the opposing party’s witness into your own witness, and remember: it’s better not to ask a question than to ask one to which you don’t know the answer. Questions should be asked concisely so that the witness doesn’t have time to come up with a false answer.

Practice shows that when preparing court arguments, you should write them down—this way, you can select the most effective wording and organize your presentation.

The introduction is a very important part of the speech; you need to briefly outline your position and not overtax the audience’s attention.

During your presentation, it’s important not to tire your audience. To do this, you need to work on the text of your speech: determine what to cut and which arguments to present first—preferably the strongest ones—to capture the audience’s attention.

Ilya Novikov, Partner at Barristers, LLC

A lawyer’s courtroom speech is not limited to the closing arguments at the end of a hearing; it encompasses all forms of communication. If you focus solely on the closing arguments, there will be a stylistic disconnect from your previous statements—the court will realize that you were insincere.

There is a stereotype that the purpose of a lawyer’s speech is to persuade the court. In most cases, this is true, but there are situations where the court’s decision is known in advance. In such a situation, you need to shift the purpose of your speech: focus on the appeal, on the public—specifically, on the people standing outside the courthouse windows. With this audience, it’s important not to overuse legal jargon—you’re more likely to be understood correctly.

Whether or not to write out a speech is a matter of personal preference; the main thing is not to read from it during the hearing. I never write down the most important points—the next steps in the case—so they don’t fall into the wrong hands. It’s helpful to have an outline of your courtroom speech that you can give to the judge after the hearing, but don’t announce this at the beginning, as the court will lose interest in your speech.

Techniques for a lawyer’s courtroom speech can be drawn from history or from colleagues. You can also draw on techniques from classical texts.

Cross-examination of a witness should take the form of a lively conversation, and ideally, each question should flow naturally from the previous one. At the same time, you should stand in such a way that you look the person in the eye. The spontaneity of the conversation increases the chances that the person will slip up.

If you have a strong, strictly legal argument that isn’t tied to the evidence, it’s best to state it in a single sentence without spelling it out—judges don’t like having legal principles explained to them.

A major advantage of a jury is that they don’t have a “clouded” perspective and can view the case exactly as you present it to them. However, in their eyes, they will dismiss anyone who doesn’t know how to speak in public.

You can watch the recording of the online broadcast via the link.

The event was organized by the Odessa Regional Bar Council, the “Barristers” Law Firm, and the Ukrainian Bar Association!