Having practiced litigation for more than 20 years, I have undoubtedly lost count of how many oral arguments I have delivered throughout my professional career. Like an actor preparing for a play or a surgeon preparing for an operation, I have my own preparation “ritual.”
Usually, I clear my schedule the day before so I can devote myself to studying and outlining the oral argument. Yes, I write a large part of my argument and bring it printed or, depending on the case, stored on my tablet. I also rehearse and time the argument so that I can be assertive, objective, and clear. Finally, on the day of the hearing, I go over it once more in the morning, try to arrive at the Panel/Chamber at least one hour early, and fast, as I believe this heightens my ability to concentrate.
Notably, some cases leave a greater mark than others and, although the preparation is the same, the importance of the subject, the legal thesis, and the people involved can have an impact in many different ways. And here is the point: usually, this impact is not limited to the financial and economic aspects of the dispute itself!
Last Tuesday, October 13, 2026, I delivered an oral argument before the 21st Private Law Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the State of Rio de Janeiro that, without a doubt, will remain etched in my professional and personal memory!
Let me explain, and to do so, I will go back to March 2021.
I remember it was a weekend, still during the Covid-19 pandemic, when I received the news that the son of a very dear couple from the church I attend had been in an accident and, as a result, had passed away! It was extremely sad and painful to see the death of that 21-year-old so young! Perhaps even more so was seeing those parents, friends with whom we had close ties, walk through the valley of the shadow of death, as David writes in Psalm 23.
After some time, that couple, although lawyers themselves, came to me and asked whether I could analyze the viability of, and if appropriate file, a lawsuit against the notorious hotel, which had shown no duty of care toward its guests, especially the couple's son, who lost his balance on an 80 cm (about 31 inches) high wall and fell down an embankment of more than 10 meters (about 33 feet)!
I gathered part of my team at the time and we looked into the case. The issue here was not financial. Nor was it about reparation, since, after all, nothing could repair the loss of a child! It was about justice! So, together with the firm's strategic civil litigation team, we studied the case and, yes, we accepted the challenge of filing a lawsuit against that hotel.
The lawsuit was filed in 2022 and decided at the first instance at the end of 2025. All of our claims were upheld and, yes, the hotel's civil liability for the accident that befell that young man was recognised.
Now let us return to last Tuesday! As usual, I asked for the hearing to be held in person! No virtual sessions, especially for a case of this magnitude!
For the first time, my client and friend made a point of attending the hearing in person. Normally, the client does not attend, only the lawyers! But, as I said at the beginning, this case was unique!
Once the session began, our case was third on the docket. The hotel's lawyer and I came forward to deliver our oral arguments. By legal order, the appellant, in this case the hotel, would begin its argument, with a limit of 15 minutes. The lawyer, showing a certain respect for the case, since it concerned the death of a 21-year-old, sought to argue the so-called sole fault of the victim and thereby exempt the hotel from liability. When she finished, I went to the lectern but, before I began to speak, the Reporting Judge interrupted me and, apologizing, said that it would not be necessary for me to argue, because he would not accept the hotel's thesis!
In other words: the standard of justice was upheld and, yes, the hotel remained liable for the complete lack of safety that culminated in that young man's death!
My client and friend and I left the courthouse reflecting on the judgment. We did not leave celebrating anything! In fact, we would not even have wanted to be in that place! But a minimum sense of justice, yes, that was achieved last Tuesday!
Ricardo Petereit
Founding Partner of Petereit Advogados Associados
19 October 2026
