Photo by Kyle Bushnell on Unsplash

Why you don’t listen to older lawyers (no, really don’t)

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. 
  7. Sometimes, leaving a blank space is good advocacy. (Think about this one). 
  8. 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). 
  1. Not pissing off the judge usually helps. 
  2. Be nice to your opponent. It’s your client’s fight, not yours. 
  3. Listen – to the judge, to the witness, to your opponent. 
  4. 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.

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