A GUIDE TO MOOTING

Welcome to Durham University Mooting Society. The following information

aims to give you a brief outline of what mooting is all about. I have included
several links and references for you if you are interested in finding out a little
more about mooting.
Enjoy!
Helen Dennis
President/Mistress of Moots

STRUCTURE
Mooting is done with two teams of two people competing, one person from
each team taking a leading/senior role and the other being the junior. There
will also be a judge and someone timing you.
Usually a mooting competition would require you to research the area of law
in question and bring a prepared case to the competition. However, for the
purpose of the workshops here at DMS we will be practising the art of mooting
using speed moots. This means that we (the exec) will provide you with an
outline of your arguments/submissions, allowing you simply to attend and
moot straight away without having to do any preparation.
Usually a moot would follow the structure below:
Leading Appellant: 20 minute speech
Leading Respondent: 20 minute speech
Junior Appellant: 12-15 minute speech
Junior Respondent: 12-15 minute speech
Judges comments.
However, the nature of speed mooting means we will be shortening the length
of speeches to 8 minutes each for leading counsel and 5 minutes each for
junior counsel.

THE LINGO
Submission your arguments (each counsel usually makes two one legal
and one based on public policy grounds)
Ground of appeal basic legal point you are arguing (you usually have two
of these per side)
My learned junior/senior how you refer to your team mate
My learned friend how you refer to you opponent

ETIQUETTE
Mooting isnt like debating. You must always be polite and respectful to both
the judge and the other participants, much like an actual trial in court.
When the judge walks in at the beginning of the moot, participants all stand
and bow as he/she comes in, sitting only after him/her. The same is done in
reverse as the judge leaves.
You must always refer to the judge as My Lord/Lady (instead of their name)
and Your Lord/Ladyship (instead of you). Also ensure you cite cases fully.
If you disagree at any time, you must say that you respectfully submit..
Also, try to avoid speaking in the first person. Either say we submit or it is
submitted
You can be much more emotive when explaining your policy argument. It is
good to say things like: we implore Your Lordship not to allow such an
injustice to be done
Below is a rough outline of what each counsel might say in a moot.
Leading Appellant:
May it please Your Lordship, my name is Mr/Miss and I appear as senior
counsel, representing the appellant. My learned friend Mr/Miss will be
junior council for the appellant.
Across the way Mr/Miss will appear as senior counsel for the respondent
and Mr/Miss will represent the respondent as junior counsel.
My Lord, there are two grounds of appeal in the instant case. I will deal with
the first and will deal with the second. They are .
Would Your Lordship find a brief summary of the facts of the instant case
helpful?

If Your Lordship has no further questions on the facts of the case, I shall
proceed to my submissions.
My Lord, I have two submissions to make:
1..
2..
If it pleases Your Lordship I will begin with my first submission
If Your Lordship has no further questions I will now move to my second
submission (policy)
My Lord, it is for these reasons and also those given by my junior counsel that
I urge you to allow the appeal. If Your Lordship has no further questions, that
concludes my submissions.
Junior Appellant:
My Lord, as has already been stated, my name is. And I appear as junior
counsel for the appellant.
My Lord, I have two submissions to make:
1..
2..
If it pleases Your Lordship I will begin with my first submission
If Your Lordship has no further questions I will now move to my second
submission (policy)
My Lord, it is for these reasons and also those given by my senior counsel
that I would urge you to allow the appeal. If Your Lordship has no further
questions, that concludes the case for the appellant.

Leading Respondent:
My Lord, as has already been stated, my name is. And I appear as senior
counsel for the respondent. My learned friend Mr/Miss will be junior council
for the respondent.
My Lord, we argue two grounds in response to the appellant in the instant
case. I will deal with the first and will deal with the second. They are .
My Lord, I have two submissions to make:
1..
2..

If it pleases Your Lordship I will begin with my first submission

If Your Lordship has no further questions I will now move to my second
submission (policy)
My Lord, it is for these reasons and also those given by my junior counsel that
I urge you to disallow the appeal. If Your Lordship has no further questions,
that concludes my submissions.
Junior Respondent:
My Lord, as has already been stated, my name is. And I appear as junior
counsel for the respondent.
My Lord, I have two submissions to make:
1..
2..
If it pleases Your Lordship I will begin with my first submission
If Your Lordship has no further questions I will now move to my second
submission (policy)
My Lord, it is for these reasons and also those given by my senior counsel
that I would urge you not to allow the appeal. If Your Lordship has no further
questions, that concludes the case for the respondent.

INTERRUPTIONS
Once you get used to mooting, we will be introducing interruptions to your
speeches, as this is what a judge would do in an inter-varsity competition.
Dont get flustered by questions. Take a moment to think and answer politely.
We will discuss this issue at a later workshop.
Examples of good things to say:
I would thank Your Lordship for having raised that point and if Your Lordship
will permit me, I shall endeavour to answer it by moving on to my second
submission on public policy.
My Lord, may I have a moment to consult my notes? (If you are not sure of
the answer)
If you really have no idea how to answer a question just apologise and admit
it. Dont let this throw you though. Take a breath and continue as before.
The judge will usually only keep pushing the issue if he/she thinks they can
talk you round to the answer.

FURTHER INFORMATION
You can find much more information both on our website:
http://www.dur.ac.uk/mooting.society/
and also at:
http://mooting.net/
where there are further book lists and handy links to other sites as well as tips
and advice on mooting.
You will find a helpful chapter on mooting in your Legal Skills book too:
Emily Finch and Stefan Fafinski Legal Skills (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2007)
And finally
please dont hesitate to ask questions to any of the exec, either at workshops
or via email (mooting.society@durham.ac.uk).
Happy Mooting!