Yudistra Darma Dorai
Advocate & Solicitor at Raj, Ong & Yudistra

My tips to be good in court (not seriously good, just good):

1. Guys: always shave. 
2. Ladies: real men don’t shave. 
3. Get a good night’s sleep before a trial. 
4. Forget sleep. Get up early and get to court on time. 
5. But, no really, get a good night’s sleep. 
6. Preparation is the best form of advocacy. 
8. Sometimes, leaving a blank space is good advocacy. (Think about this one). 
9. Listen to music before a hearing. Here’s some of my court songs:

• He’s a pirate (theme from Pirates of the Carribean). 
• Authority Song, John Mellencamp.
• Beethoven’s 7th symphony, 4th movement. 
• I fought the law, The Clash. 
• Dvorak’s 9th symphony, 4th movement. 
• Trouble, Elvis (Presley, that is). 

10. Not pissing off the judge usually helps. 
11. Be nice to your opponent. It’s your client’s fight, not yours. 
12. Listen – to the judge, to the witness, to your opponent. 
13. Watch U. Sashiraj in court whenever you can (that’s the Raj in Raj, Ong & Yudistra by the way). This may also help with the sleeping bit.