Lawyers Can Read: Argue With (Some) Notes!

• Pages: 27-28
• Date: 01 October 2022
• Author: Kyle R. Kroll,Steven E. Vogel
• Subject Matter: Civil Law

By Kyle R. Kroll and Steven E. Vogel, Litigation Section Members , Guest Contributors

n “Judges Can Read: Argue Without Your Notes!,”

Judge Drummond is correct; when asking someone out

on a date, you should probably not use notes—if you

want the date. But personal settings contrast with pro-

fessional ones: “When you visit your physician, do you

want her to rely on her memory for what her ndings were

last visit?,” questions Joel Cohen in In Defense of Lawyers

Taking Notes. Oral advocacy is more nuanced than the latest

pickup lines.

Judge Drummond aptly emphasizes that lawyers should

Lawyers Can Read: Argue With

(Some) Notes!

not overly read from notes. Although legal wunderkinds can

deliver 22 transcript pages of impromptu oratory, the benets

of memorization are limited, whereas the risks are substantial.

In fact, most successful lawyers use notes of some kind. This

article builds on Judge Drummond’s suggestions and offers

tips to utilize notes effectively.

Your Brain Needs Not es, and Your Clients D o, Too

Why might notes be necessary? Biology. Every lawyer’s

capacity for memorization peaked before passing the bar.

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FALL 2022 • VOL. 4 8 NO. 1

27 | ABA LITIGATION SECTIO N

Published in Litigation News Volume 48, Number 1, Fall 2022 . © 2022 by the American B ar Association. Repr oduced with permis sion. All rights rese rved. This informa tion or any portion th ereof may not be cop ied or disseminated in any for m

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