Services / For advocates
For advocates
When the judge stops listening, it is rarely because of the argument.
Years of experience do not protect you from it. The judge presses you, your breathing changes, and the court hears doubt that is not really there.
In court
What we work on is not the argument. It is what happens to your voice in one of these moments.
- A hearing
- Cross-examination
- The closing, on day three
- A mediation
- A client going through a very hard time
- The difficult conversation with a client
- A family law team
In a hearing. The judge interrupts, you answer faster, your voice goes up and you sound less certain than your case is. Afterwards you will be told the point did not land.
In cross-examination. You start chasing the witness, your questions get longer and begin to sound like requests, and the court watches you lose control.
Over a long hearing. By day three your voice is tired, and it gets thinner in the last ten minutes, exactly when it matters most.
How it is trained
With your real material, counting back from the date of the hearing. I play the court.
- First session
You bring the real thing
A submission, an opening, a closing or a line of cross-examination. We look at who will be on the bench, where they will press you and what absolutely has to land.
- Rehearsal sessions
I play the court
I interrupt you mid-sentence, ask the question from the bench you are hoping not to get, and let the silence run on. I stop you at the point where the court would stop listening, and you go again until it comes out right.
- The morning of the hearing
Your routine
What to do with your breath before you go in, how to say your first sentence, and how to keep your voice going if the hearing runs over several days.
- The day
The hearing
You have already lived it. The judge who cuts you off, the question you did not want: you have already faced both, with me.
This is not advocacy training. The argument is yours; I work on how it sounds when you deliver it.
seats, no microphone and no second chance. The same as in court.
Ten years singing opera across EuropeWhat you take away
- Your submission or your questions, rehearsed with me playing the court: breath, pace, pauses and a voice that lasts.
- A recording of your opening at the start and at the end, so you can hear the difference.
- A short written note after each session with what to keep and what to watch.
- A routine for the morning of the hearing, and how to keep your voice going over several days.
What this is not
- Advocacy training.Advocacy training works on the case: how you structure a submission, the argument, the questions. I work on what happens to your voice when the judge interrupts.
- Writing your submission or reworking your argument.The argument is yours. I work on how it sounds when you deliver it.
Who I work with
Barristers and solicitor advocates, individually, preparing for the hearing they have coming up. And family law teams, who need to support a client going through a very hard time without their voice cracking, and keep their authority without sounding cold.
Recent work includes a session with the family law team at Dawson Cornwell. In December 2026 I am speaking at the House of Lords, at the AIJUDEFA international family law seminar.
Format and price
Preparing your hearing
Several sessions with your real submission or questions, the last one as close to the date as possible.
- One to one
- Online, or in person in London and Madrid
- Written proposal with a fixed price
Diagnostic session
£150one hour
You bring your submission, your questions or a recording and leave knowing where the court stops listening, with one correction you can use from that day.
- With a real situation or a recording
- Online or in person
- No obligation to continue
For a family law team or a firm, here are the workshops. If your firm is paying, here is how to put it to them. Travel outside London or Madrid is charged at cost.
“It’s incredible how dealing with clients or the courtroom can be like the art of opera. Julio’s insights into listening, both to the music and the silences, were invaluable. We left not only with practical tools but with a renewed sense of purpose and inspiration for our work.”
Isidro Niñerola Torres, Senior Associate, Dawson Cornwell LLP
Questions
Is this advocacy training?
No, and the difference matters. Advocacy training works on the case: how you structure a submission, the argument, the questions. I work on what happens to your voice when the judge interrupts halfway through, when cross-examination gets difficult or on day three of a hearing: breath, pace, pauses and a voice that lasts. We rehearse with your real submission or questions, with me playing the court. The argument is yours; I work on how it sounds when you deliver it.
What material do we work with?
Yours. A submission, an opening, a closing or a line of cross-examination. No generic exercises: we rehearse what you are going to say in court.
What if the hearing is only a few days away?
Email me anyway, with the date in the subject line. With a few days to go, we concentrate it into a four-hour intensive, only on what you are going to say. The intensive is £1,000, whoever pays for it.
Do you work with teams or only one to one?
Both. One to one, with barristers and solicitor advocates. And with family law teams, in workshops for the firm, where you need to support a client going through a very hard time without your voice cracking.
Online or in person?
Both. Online works just as well for rehearsing. In person, in London or Madrid. In English or Spanish.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the hearing and on how much time there is. Email me with the date and I send you a written proposal with a fixed price. The diagnostic session, one hour, is £150.
It might be a board meeting, a hearing, an investor pitch, a promotion panel or a team that is not getting its message across. Just send me an email, there is no form. I reply within 24 hours and, if it makes sense, we have a 20-minute call. If your date is less than a week away, put it in the subject line. Or start with a free voice read: send me two minutes of you in a real meeting and I will tell you what I hear.