UCLA Moot Court Honors Program

1
UCLAMoot Court Honors Program

• Oral Argument Workshop

2
What to expect

• Be here early first round starts promptly at
  9am.
• Rounds will be held in classrooms and the Moot
  Courtroom

3
Getting to your room

• Get to your assigned room 5 minutes early to
  familiarize yourself with it, ie where you stand,
  where the judges sit.

4
What to bring with you

• A bottle of water (believe us)
• A copy of your brief
• A few pages of notes, and nothing else
• What should be in your notes (in order)
• Concise statement of what youre asking for
• Checklist of your key arguments / counters
• Brief notes on importance of key cases

5
What NOT to bring with you

• The cases
• A pen or anything else you can wave
• Cell phone

6
Etiquette

• Keep your feet on the floor and your hands on the
  podium.
• Practice, practice, practice. Good a mirror.
  Better a friend. Best a videotape.
• Speak s-l-o-w-l-y.
• Smile ?
• Ladies pull back your hair.
• Button your jacket.

7
Pre-argument preparation

• Once youre in the room
• Timekeeper will ask the judges in which order the
  advocates will argue.
• Timekeeper will call the session to order,
  announcing judges names, etc.
• The Chief Justice will prompt the first advocate
  to speak.

8
What to say first

• May it please the court, my name is blank, and
  my co-counsel blank and I represent
  Petitioner or Respondent
• Then you start arguing

9
Starting out strong

• State what you want the Court to do (reverse or
  affirm)
• State that there are number of reasons the
  Court should rule in your favor
• State each reason, in strongest to weakest order,
  in one sentence

10
Preparing for questions

• Be prepared for a question before you finish
  summarizing your arguments
• If youre interrupted, stop talking and listen
  carefully to the question
• Answer the question posed and nothing else
  dont try to evade it
• If unclear about the question, politely ask for
  clarification before answering

11
Take your time before answering

• Make sure you completely understand the question
  before answering
• Taking a moment to gather your thoughts is not a
  sign of weakness

12
Dealing with questions

• Never interrupt the judges, even if they
  interrupt your answers
• Dont battle the judges be persuasive but not
  pushy

13
Interacting with the judges

• Dont fight the hypothetical use it to get
  insight about the judges thoughts
• Minimize the brown-nosing dont tell them they
  just asked a good question

14
Transitioning

• After you finish answering a question, transition
  back to your main point
• Do not stop and wait for another question

15
Concluding

• When youre down to one minute left, or have just
  exceeded your time, ask for a moment to conclude
• State in one sentence what you want the court to
  do and why (briefly)
• If you left out a key point in your argument,
  this is where to mention it briefly

16
Stepping down after glory

• Upon finishing, sit back down calmly
• If youre following another advocate, let him/her
  sit down before you stand up.
• Dont fall asleep.
• No high fives.
• Good Luck!