Effective Appellate Advocacy: Advice from the Bench (Seventh Circuit Day, Part 2)

7th Court
Professor Anne Berleman Kearney (left) moderates a question-and-answer session for students with Seventh Circuit Judges Michael Brennan, Diane Sykes, Frank Easterbrook, and Michael Scudder in Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center on Sept. 25, 2025.

What constitutes effective appellate advocacy? As part of Seventh Circuit Day in Eckstein Hall on September 25, 2025, Marquette Law School students heard answers firsthand from a group of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. These were Chief Judge Diane S. Sykes and Judges Frank H. Easterbrook, Michael B. Brennan, and Michael Y. Scudder. (Judge Brennan became chief judge a few days later, on October 1, upon Judge Sykes’s taking senior status.) Earlier in the day, students attended oral arguments before the court in the Law School’s Lubar Center, as described by Dean Kearney in the first of this series of blog posts. Those attending the midafternoon Q&A session, moderated by Professor Anne Berleman Kearney, were primarily upper-level students taking Appellate Writing and Advocacy.

Chief Judge Sykes started the discussion by stating that briefs are 95 percent of persuasive advocacy on appeal. Oral argument then amplifies, tests, and probes the strengths and weaknesses of the parties’ arguments. First, regarding the factual history in a brief: tell the facts in a story form. Make the factual narrative efficient, readable, and quickly understandable. Judges are generalists who need to ramp up quickly on the facts and procedural history. The facts should read like a good magazine article. Second, regarding the argument: select issues carefully. Pick the most salient issues. Present a well-organized package for pivot points that may be decisive. Help a court understand why the rule advocated for is the right one.

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Seventh Circuit Day, Part 1: The Cases and Arguments

Judges at the bench
Seventh Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook, Chief Judge Diane Sykes, and Judge Michael Brennan, in Marquette Law School’s Lubar Center on Sept. 25, 2025.

We would have welcomed the unusual opportunity for Eckstein Hall to serve for a day as a venue for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in any circumstances. That the particular occasion—September 25, 2025—was during the final days of the tenure of the Hon. Diane S. Sykes, L’84, as the court’s chief judge, made Seventh Circuit Day “extra special” for the Marquette Law School community.

The memorable day this semester had multiple components, as we will seek to capture in a series of blog posts during the next couple of weeks. The main event was the six oral arguments that the court held, all in cases on appeal from a federal district court in Wisconsin. The panel consisted of Chief Judge Sykes, who presided; the Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, a judge of the court since 1985; and the Hon. Michael B. Brennan, who joined the court in 2018. Without rivaling Chief Judge Sykes’s claim on us (or ours on her), the latter two judges are familiar to (and with) Marquette Law School: to give only one example for each of their connections, Judge Easterbrook spoke at the groundbreaking for Eckstein Hall in 2008, and Judge Brennan taught here as an adjunct faculty member in the 1990s.

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A Shout-Out to Marquette Members of the Annual AALS Pro Bono Honor Roll

The Association of American Law Schools (AALS), through its Pro Bono & Access to Justice Section, will soon release its fourth annual Pro Bono Honor Roll. This national recognition celebrates law students, staff, and faculty for their outstanding contributions to pro bono legal services.

This year, Marquette University Law School is proud to recognize Karli Ring, a second-year law student, Mindy Schroeder, program assistant to the Marquette Volunteer Legal Clinics (MVLC), and Bruce Boyden, associate professor of law. A word of two about their pro bono efforts will help illustrate the broader efforts of the Marquette Law School community.

Karli Ring, a second-year law student, is a reliable presence at the MVLC, often stepping in at the last minute when other students have been unable to cover a shift. This fall, she committed to a standing weekly  shift at the United Community Center, where she helps lead operations. Karli takes on a wide range of responsibilities—setting up clinic space, prescreening clients, identifying legal issues, matching clients with volunteer teams, and making referrals as needed. A U.S. Army veteran (she served as a paratrooper), Karli brings discipline and a deep commitment to public service. She is inclined toward litigation after law school. In the meantime, she remains an essential member of the MVLC team.

Mindy Schroeder is at the heart of the United Community Center branch of the MVLC, one of the busiest clinic sites. Each week, this two-hour clinic serves dozens of clients, nearly half of whom are monolingual Spanish-speakers, and offers help with immigration matters as well as family and civil issues. Mindy oversees the entire operation—coordinating volunteers, managing client flow, and ensuring that every person who walks through the door feels welcome and supported. Her bilingual skills allow her to connect directly with Spanish-speaking clients, while her care for both clients and volunteers creates a positive, professional, and highly efficient environment. Thanks to Mindy’s steady leadership and top-notch style, this fast-paced clinic runs smoothly and remains a trusted resource for the community.

Bruce Boyden has championed the pro bono involvement of both lawyers and law students through his work on the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee. As part of this effort, law students assist the committee by reviewing Section 1983 cases, filed by incarcerated individuals, that the court has designated as cases that would especially benefit from the assistance of an attorney. Students review pleadings and discovery and then draft memos summarizing the cases. This work helps committee members evaluate cases as they seek to secure pro bono representation for each such plaintiff.

We extend our sincere congratulations and gratitude to Karli Ring, Mindy Schroeder, and Professor Boyden, along with all members of the Marquette community who seek to “Be The Difference” through pro bono efforts.

Read about past awardees here (2022), here (2023), and here (2024).

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