Appellate Practice
Jun. 15, 2009
What to Know When You Don't Know
Under the pressures of judicial questioning, lawyers too often fail to stop and think during oral arguments, writes Benjamin G. Shatz.
Benjamin G. Shatz
Partner
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP
Appellate Law (Certified), Litigation
Email: bshatz@manatt.com
Benjamin is a certified specialist in appellate law who co-chairs the Appellate Practice Group at Manatt in the firm's Los Angeles office. Exceptionally Appealing appears the first Tuesday of the month.
The aphorism that the "lawyer well prepared for court never asks a question without already knowing the answer," is supposed to work both ways: The well-prepared lawyer should have an answer to any question asked by a judge or justice in court. But pithy maxims rarely reflect reality. At some point every lawyer will be placed in the uncomfortable position of being asked a question without having a handy answer. How should a lawyer best respond?
Preliminarily, of course, the caref...
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