Oral argument may not be the tipping point in every case, but it can be absolutely critical, according to a panel of expert jurists who spoke at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlantic City earlier this month.

“Can minds be changed? Definitely. Argument has changed my mind in the past,” said U.S. Third Circuit Court Judge Michael Chagares at the seminar “Effective Oral Argument in the Appellate and Trial Courts.”