California Court of Appeal Justice Martha Gooding shares her career journey from litigator, arbitrator, and bar leader to the trial and then the appellate court bench. She also shares some tips on effective advocacy, the role of a collegial legal community in fostering an enjoyable practice, and the importance of running your own race and not comparing your progress to others.

Welcome to the best of The Portia Project. This is the second of three episodes that have been curated and focused on particular topics that lawyers might be interested in. In particular, in improving their skills. Our first compilation episode focused on brief writing. This one focuses on oral argument. Many of the judicial guests on The Portia Project podcast have shared their tips for oral arguments. And here, we compile many of them into a short compilation of those tips. Judges provide insights into arguing at particular levels of the court system, whether it’s intermediate appellate courts or supreme courts, the art of responding to judges’ questions, and elements of persuasion, as well as discussing the mindset that judges are in when they are on the bench listening to oral arguments. So again, this is another treasure trove of information to level up your practice. The best of The Portia Project, Judges’ Top Tips for Oral Arguments. Enjoy.

Justice Elena J. Duarte is an Associate Justice on the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, in Sacramento. She shares her journey from the U.S. Attorney's office to two separate trial court appointments in Los Angeles and Sacramento, and then to the Court of Appeal. She also provides tips on oral arguments, brief writing, and applying to the bench.