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26 Summer 2015 The Mississippi Lawyer The Balboa Method Preparation for Oral Argument The capstone of any lawyers career is presenting an argument before our appel- late courts. A good argument can put one last jolt into a position before the Court rules. A bad argument can doom it. A galaxy of books articles CLEs and moti- vational speakers can tell you how to best present oral argument. All of it is utterly worthless if you are not prepared when you step to the podium. Oral argument does not start with knowing how to smoothly transition between questions and responses or con- tinuing to hammer on your theme or respectfully and completely answering the questions from your Benchall essential when you are at the podium. As Mickey would tell Rocky you can know all day long how to throw a punch but if you are too tired or too weak it does not matter. Only through building muscles through preparation can you successfully present argument for a client. Over the years I have developed the following methods to prepare for argu- ment. 1. Mickeys Rule plan to spend one hour of preparation per minute you will spend at the podium. Boxers might need to train 1000 min- utes per minute in the ring but lawyers cannot spend ten hours a day on the same case for ten weeks. Yet we must still heav- ily prioritize oral argument. An attainable goal is spending one hours preparation per minute that you expect to spend at the podium. My personal schedule begins two weeks before oral argument. If I am at the Mississippi Supreme Court or Court of Appeals there will normally be 30 min- utes allowed for argumentalthough at times the Court allows that time to extend much longer. This means that it will take me at least 30 hours to get ready. Budget two to three hours per day over the two- week period to prepare. Put it on your schedule and respect it. 2. Chasing chickens know exactly what you are doing when you are pre- paring and balance time accordingly. Rocky did not understand why Mickey had him chasing chickens in an alley. It was meant his trainer said to get his speed up to accelerate his reaction time. As a lawyer there are a few points that will be assumed two weeks out from argu- ment. First you will be ice-cold on the case. Briefing will have concluded at least 100 days before the argument if you are in state court. Spend the first eight or so hours re-reading the briefs reviewing and absorbing the case law. This work is most- ly solitary and should be reflective. There is no such thing as wasteful repetition studying the case law will never make you weaker. Failing to do this necessary strength building will only lead you to feeling like a Kentucky fried idiot at the podium as Mickey would have said it. Secondly after this core-building your focus needs to shift to a moot court. Work with a team of three people in reviewing flaws honing strengths and toughening yourself against probable questions. This work must be done in a team environment or you will not learn as much. Only a real team of coaches will push you to perform better for your client. Once you get a team set three to four practices with them of about an hour each. This provides enough time to go through at least one mock argument and to debrief. or a 45 minute fight you gotta train hard for 45000 min- utes45000 Thats ten weeks thats ten hours a day ya lis- tenin And you aint even trained one Mickey Goldmill to Rocky Balboa in Rocky 2F By David N. McCarty Past Chair of the Mississippi Bar Appellate Law Section