Five Simple Rules for a Smooth Oral Argument in the Seventh Circuit

• Pages: 10-11
• Date: 01 July 2025
• Published date: 01 July 2025
• Author: Peter Douglas
• Subject Matter: Derecho Público y Administrativo

Appellate Practice

American Bar Association Litigation Section

Summer 2025, Vol. 44 No. 3

© 2025 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be

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Five Simple Rules for a Smooth Oral

Argument in the Seventh Circuit

Peter Douglas

Jun 13, 2025

Courts have their idiosyncrasies and judges, their pet peeves. Knowing those quirks

probably won’t get you a win, but not knowing them can be disastrous, particularly if

you’re blissfully unaware of them until a judge interrupts you at oral argument and says,

“Counsel, before we get to the merits .. .”

Not infrequently, advocates in the Seventh Circuit find themselves in precisely this

situation, derailed by a train they never saw coming and, instead of cogently laying out

their case, fighting to get back on track.

It doesn’t have to be that way if you follow these five simple rules:

1. Make sure the Court has appellate and subject-matter jurisdiction. Advocates

occasionally treat jurisdiction as a secondary concern. Do so at your peril. At oral argument,

the court will be quick to remind you that jurisdiction always comes first. Be ready to argue

justiciability doctrines such as standing and, even more basical ly, make sure you’re

appealing a final judgment or have grounds for an interlocutory appeal.

2. Put the judgment in the appendix. Did you ever read a judgm ent in law school? Probably

not. That’s because a court’s opinion is typically separate from its judgment. Under Federal

Rule of Civil Procedure 58, trial courts generally must enter a judgment as a separate docket

entry that orders relief. And under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 30 (and Seventh

Circuit Rule 30), you must include both the opinion and the judgment in the app endix to

your brief. At oral argument, don’t be caught pointing to an opi nion when the court asks,

“Where’s the judgment?”

3. Pick a readable typeface. The Seventh Circuit Practitioner’s Handbook emphasizes that

the court prefers “typefaces that are designed for books” becaus e they are more readable.

Ignoring this guidance can turn oral argument into a lect ure on typography. Don’t take that