The Introduction - First Appellant or First Respondent

Beginning your Introduction

The introduction is particularly important for the individuals opening the arguments on each side.
The introduction allows you to focus the judges on what you feel are the salient aspects of a
case. An introduction (as the first person speaking) generally contains the following points:

A greeting

Your name and your counsel's name

Who you represent

Example: "Good Afternoon Justices (yes, this is a Canadian Term, I tend to hear "Your Justice" in
American terms);

My name is Fariya Walji, and along with my co-counsel Jane Doe, I represent the
Appellant/Respondent in this matter."

The introduction (when you are the first person speaking) is often followed by a brief policy
argument. A policy argument is something that reminds the court who the case impacts, and
how. Its about the societal interest in the case. Why does this case matter? How the case will
affect people? etc. A policy argument is not mandatory. Don't feel obligated to include one. If
you choose to include one, keep is short, and to the point.

Example: This case is not about whether individuals choose to marry, or not to marry. This case,
is about recognizing all family units as equal under the law, and deserving of the same rights
and protections, regardless of their marital status".

Detailing Your Side's Arguments in Brief

The first counsel should then proceed with a brief overview of the entire side's arguments, and
clarification of who will be covering each argument. For example:

The Appellant will be making 2 submissions today. I will be addressing the first submission, and
my co-counsel will be addressing the second submission.

The first submission is: Office B engaged in an unreasonable search and seizure, contrary to
section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The second submission is: The evidence obtained as a result of this unreasonable search should
be excluded pursuant to section 24(4) of the Charter.

Submissions should be short, straight-forward and to the point. Avoid double negatives, long-
winded statements, and submissions that don't touch at the overall heart of your argument. In
this brief overview, the simpler your submissions are, the better.

Detailing Your Arguments - The Focus of Your Submissions

Once your overall Appellant/Respondent position is outlined, go into your own submission, and
outline your submissions, that you alone will be covering. For example:
In support of the Appellant's position that a section 8 violation occurred, I will be making three
submissions [you can add a broad paragraph reference here, such as: These submissions can be
found at paragraphs 5 to 29 of the Appellant/Respondent factum]:

1. First, The Accused had a subjective expectation of privacy

2. Second, The subjective expectation of privacy was objectively reasonable

3. Third or Lastly, the arresting office engaged in a search that was both egregious and a
flagrant disregard of the accused's Charter rights.

Again, keep these submissions as short and simple as possible. The more straightforward and
clear they are, the more persuasive the arguments will be.

Paragraph references should be reserved when you actually want the judges to go to, and look
at that paragraph. As a result, I tend to suggest to students that when they actually move to
their submission after their opening, they direct judges to the factum. For example, after
explaining your third submission:

Beginning with my first submission, found at paragraph 5. The accused had a subjective
expectation of privacy in his home. According to....

When you send the judges to a point in your factum, wait for them to turn to that page. Look at
the judges, wait until they move to the relevant point in your argument, and then proceed with
your oral submissions.
Some Moot Court Tips

In terms of the substance of the argument:

a) Were the arguments developed persuasively and coherently?

b) Were facts and legal argument integrated effectively?

c) Were the best authorities used and properly analysed?

d) Was any contrary authority distinguished effectively?

e) Was the candidate articulate and persuasive in presentation and defence of his/her
argument?

The Order

Students will be heard in the following order:

1st advocate on behalf of the Applicant (A1)

1st advocate on behalf of the Respondent (R1)

2nd advocate on behalf of the Applicant (A2)

2nd advocate on behalf of the Respondent (R2) …and so on.

There will be no opportunity for rebuttal or su-rebuttal (i.e no right of reply).

Timing

Each student will be permitted to address the court for no longer than 5 minutes. Time will be
strictly observed with a time-warning given at 4 minutes and 5 minutes.

Time taken up by the judges’ interventions and by students in dealing with such interventions
will not count towards the time allowed.

Researching your Submission

Read through the moot problem carefully and familiarise yourself with the facts and the issues
involved.

Research thoroughly, distinguishing the relevant from the irrelevant material and noting the
authority/status of the material you choose to use.

As you are preparing your submission, consider the arguments opposing counsel will be likely to
submit. In particular, try to distinguish cases that are against you.

When writing your submission try to be conversational. Make your sentences short and concise.
Edit carefully, avoiding last minute changes.

Structuring/Writing your Submission

Start with a brief summary of your argument.

Give the Court an idea of what you plan to discuss and in what order.

Make it clear to the Court in a very conversational way what issues are before the Court.

Make positive statements about the law and/or policy in your favour.

Do not attempt to rely on too many cases or authorities. Stick with the most important
authorities and those that are most relevant/directly applicable.

Sum up your argument briefly before concluding.

Preparing your Submission

Keep your notes tidy. Handwriting can be difficult to read so make sure your writing is neat or
your notes are typed.

Make sure you include full citations and references for any material relied upon. An index card
with a list of key authorities and a summary of cases/articles is also useful.

Practice your oral argument several times before the moot.

Presenting Your Submission

Speak slowly and carefully. Try to engage the court by varying the tone of your voice and
making eye contact with the judges where possible.

Bear in mind that this is an exercise in communication.

Remember also that you are presenting a legal submission on the facts of the moot problem and
the court is only interested in the law and policy reasons why they should find in favour of your
client. It is not interested in your personal opinion about your client’s circumstances. Be careful
to detach yourself from the facts while also representing your client.

· Begin your submission with the following statement:

“May it please the Court, my name is ________ and I appear on behalf of ______. My
submission will address…”

Conclude with one of the following statements:

“That concludes my submission. May I be of any further assistance to the Court?”

or

“Unless the Court has any further questions, that concludes my submission (on behalf of)…”

Other useful phrases include:

‘I will show that’. . . rather than ‘I will argue that . . . ‘

‘In my respectful submission . . .’

‘My opponent’s (or opposing counsel’s) argument overlooks that . . .”

‘The court should’ . . .rather than ‘the court must . . .’

Answering Questions

When asked a question, answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and then explain your answer.

It is appropriate to pause (briefly) before answering a question from the bench.

If you are unclear or uncertain about a question posed by the court, some of the following
phrases may be useful:

“I would be obliged if the Court would clarify the question.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand the Court’s point.”

“I accept the Court’s point, however, it is my submission that…” [or] “I would submit that…”

Avoid phrases like “I think”. “I believe”, “I feel”. Speak about your submission in formal terms -
‘we submit’, ‘it is our submission’ or ‘it is submitted’. While you are presenting an ‘argument’ to
the court, you are not arguing with it. Avoid saying ‘we argue’ or ‘it is our argument’.

You address the judges individually as ‘judge or ‘the Court’.

Listen to the bench and to your colleagues to gauge what points are of particular concern to the
court.

Never interrupt a judge. If a judge interrupts you – stop speaking and listen carefully to the
judge’s question or comment.

Always be deferential to the Court. Observing etiquette is an important part of advocacy and
moot court.

How to write a Moot Court brief

If law school isn't competitive enough for you, add moot court to your life! Instead of the
traditional mock trial competitions, moot court is appellate advocacy at its finest. Here, we'll
discuss how to write the brief side of moot court for both classes and competitions.

Instructions

1. First, read the problem carefully. The facts and procedural posture of the case will become
very important as you hone in on your research. For instance, was the case disposed of at
summary judgment? did it get to a jury? are there evidentiary issues? whose burden was it to
challenge the adverse ruling?

2. Begin the research. There are two ways to start. If the problem lists cases or shows some
legal analysis in the fact pattern, then start researching by looking at the cited cases. If the
problem does not cite legal analysis, then skip to step 3.
3. After you've completed step 2, the real research begins. The best way is to start broadly and
progressively get smaller. Start with law review articles or treatises (AmJur and ALR are the big
ones, and each state has different, more specific versions like CalJur or Witkin).

4. With a broad understanding of what the law is in various jurisdictions through the treatises
and law review articles, you can now start looking at individual cases. Keep an eye out for cases
that have similar fact patterns to your own, the analysis may be very persuasive to a judge when
you write your brief.

5. Make sure you keep a log of your research so that you don't have to duplicate your steps. I
keep mine in a legal pad, though notebooks work just as well. Loose leaf paper tends to get lost,
so avoid distracting problems like that.

6. When you finalize your research, outline your thoughts, with particular emphasis on including
case names and page citations to save time once you start writing. The outline should form the
basis for your actual writing, and the headings for the outline should give a good idea of what
your argument will be in each section.

7. Start writing. Everyone has their own style, so find yours. One way to write each section is
using IRAC, which stands for Issue, Rule (statutory or judicial), Analysis, Conclusion. Make sure
your arguments address both sides of the point, with far more emphasis on your own argument
of course!

8. Ask someone else to peer edit your work. Whether it's a fellow student, TA, or instructor, a
fresh set of eyes will always help in shoring up loose arguments and loose language.

Memorial

Customary pages:

Front page (Model format attached)

Table of Contents

List of Citations

List of Abbreviations

Brief Facts

Issues

Arguments on Issues

Prayer/relief

Bibliography

Court Manners
Customary form of Address to a Judge of an Indian High Court: My Lord when addressing a
single judge; Your Lordships when addressing more than one judges collectively.

Hand in your Memorial before you go to present your case. Bow before you submit and bow
before u go to present ur case.

Begin by saying "May it please your lordship"

Then ask permission to present the facts or if you think that the Court is already apprised of the
facts then jump to the issues by saying some thing like this "If the court is well aware of the
facts may I proceed to the issues:

Ask permission to state the issues if not previously asked

Ask permission to place the arguments

Ask permission to place the prayer

Always express gratitude for permissions granted, for being corrected when wrong, when
complimented.

Answer all questions as courteously as possible.

Plead Ignorance when answer not known and then you may ask for an opportunity to make a
calculated guess

Never point finger(s)/hand(s) towards the Court. NO hand gestures while speaking