For trial lawyers, “advocacy in a hurry” — injunctions, bail hearings, requests for orders of protection, emergency custody petitions, or immigration orders — calls for making the most of the limited time you have before the court, even if it's just 15 minutes. Former Illinois Eighth Circuit Court Judge Mark Drummond shares seven valuable tips on compressing your case to fit the time available, how to help the judge quickly understand what’s at issue in the proceeding, and what ethics concerns must remain top of mind for all advocates regardless of whether their time before the court is 10 minutes or 10 weeks.

Topics
3:43  What is emergency advocacy?  
8:00  Circumstances calling for emergency advocacy
16:48  Making the most of the little time you have
17:40  Factors you must prove in your state
18:30  Primacy and recency
21:00  Appeal to the judge
21:47  Written offer of proof
23:15  Persuasive use of numbers
23:53  Offer time limits
27:00  Judges triage
27:39  What judges fear
31:02  Two things to be prepared for
34:11  Your duty of candor to the court
38:06  Signoff questions

Quote
“You’ve spent a lot of time going through law school. You’ve build a practice. Clients will come, clients will go. You built your practice brick by brick on the decisions you’ve made, the judgments you’ve made, and the choices you’ve made. And it takes a lifetime to do that. But you know, sometimes like a child that knocks down their wooden block tower, it only takes one time to tear all that down. And no single client is worth that.” Judge Mark Drummond

Resources
Judge Mark Drummond (bio)
"Death Penalty Cases in a Traffic Court Setting" (article)
"What Judges Want" (article)
Ethical duty of candor to the court (newsletter)