Oral Argument in Civil Appeals: Preparation, the Hot Bench, and the Question Counsel Cannot Dodge

Ismail Amin, Esq., Founder/Partner | TALG, Ltd

Ismail Amin is a Founder/Partner at TALG, Ltd., where his docket includes appellate work before multiple United States Circuit Courts of Appeals and state appellate courts alongside a broader trial and arbitration practice. Over his career, Ismail has tried or arbitrated more than 85 matters spanning complex commercial, securities, and contract disputes, developing the courtroom judgment he carries into appellate argument.

• Education & Credentials

Ismail earned a Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine School of Law after a double major in International Studies and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. He also holds an LLM in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown Law Center, a Master’s degree in Biotechnology, Enterprise, and Entrepreneurship from Johns Hopkins University, and a Graduate Certificate in Genetics and Genomics from Stanford University. He is admitted to the State Bars of California, Nevada, Texas, North Carolina, and New York, and to the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Fifth, Sixth, and Ninth Circuits, as well as the United States Supreme Court.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ismail has been named to Nevada Business Magazine’s Top Rank Attorneys list, recognized by Best Lawyers and by Super Lawyers for the Mountain States region, and included in the Inc. Leadership Forum.

• Professional Involvement

He is active in the Clark County Bar Association, the Dallas Bar Association, the New York Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association, and is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He has contributed the removal-and-remand and trial-practice chapters to the Nevada Civil Practice Manual and authored a Nevada Lawyer article on the legal considerations of autonomous vehicles.

• Experience

Ismail’s appellate work includes securing affirmance on behalf of Rambunctious Ventures LLC before the California Court of Appeal in Rambunctious Ventures LLC, et al. v. J.W. Financial Solutions, Inc., et al. (Case No. G064578), a contract dispute decided under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and securing affirmance on behalf of Abbey Dental Center, Inc. before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Consumer Opinion LLC v. Abbey Dental Center, Inc. (Case No. 18-15596). His broader trial, arbitration, and transactional practice includes representing Michael Studer and Sea Friends Incorporated in a securities class action against Enerkon Solar International Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (Case No. 2:21-cv-01122-JCM-VCF); obtaining a favorable settlement and fee recovery for a client facing more than $20,000,000 in exposure in a trade secret dispute; representing Exotics Racing in an arbitration arising from an employment dispute, resulting in an award for the client; and serving as counsel on mergers and capital markets matters for clients including Custom Flavors, Passport Technology, iConn, Inc., and a $500,000,000 senior secured notes offering.

SESSION 1 – Preparing to Argue a Civil Appeal: Record, Moot Court, and Brief Verification | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

This session equips civil appellate practitioners with a disciplined preparation framework covering three interdependent competencies: record mastery, moot court design, and brief verification. Drawing on Ismail Amin’s experience trying and arbitrating more than 85 matters and arguing before multiple federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and state appellate courts, the session focuses on the preparation disciplines necessary to present complex civil, commercial, securities, and contract appeals with precision and confidence. Attorneys will learn how to build a record-to-argument cross-reference, structure an adversarial moot court, and personally verify every citation and quotation before stepping to the podium. The session will also examine how recent sanctions involving inaccurate or nonexistent authorities reinforce the advocate’s responsibility to know and verify the materials presented to the court.

BREAK | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

SESSION 2 – At the Podium: Hot-Bench Questioning, Concessions That Bind, and Correcting a Wrong Answer | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

This session covers what happens when appellate preparation meets the pressure of the courtroom: managing relentless judicial questioning, responding to difficult hypotheticals, and protecting the client’s position when a judge presses counsel toward a concession. Drawing on Ismail Amin’s extensive experience in trial, arbitration, and appellate advocacy, including arguments before federal Circuit Courts of Appeals and state appellate courts, the session will examine the distinction between waiver and forfeiture when a statement is made at the podium and the qualifying language counsel can use before making a concession. It will also address the professional responsibility implications of an inaccurate statement during oral argument and the use of FRAP 28(j) and Model Rule 3.3 to address post-argument corrections.