Before you sign up for mooting it is advised that you observe a moot in practice to see what is expected during a moot presentation. Most moots are open to public observation, alternatively you can volunteer as a Judge/Arbitrator’s Associate. However, what you observe in the court room, oral advocacy, is merely half of what is involved in mooting. Mooting is a multifactorial experience, involving as much effort out of court as what you see in court. As a competitor you will be presented with a hypothetical case on which you must prepare a persuasive, thoroughly researched legal argument for your client, submitted through written and oral submissions. Accordingly, your level of preparation will determine your success in the court room.

Adequate preparation will provide you with confidence in the court room by making your position more persuasive and allowing you to flexibly defend your legal argument when you are able to answer questions from the bench calmly and concisely. As a competitor it will be your decision regarding the amount and type of preparation you are willing to devote to mooting, and this personal responsibility will become apparent in the court room, when it becomes evident whether you have prepared a well researched legal argument.

Provided below is a guide to preparing for a moot, this advice is given to you to aid you during your mooting experience. With adequate preparation, you will be able to enter the court room with confidence in your ability to present a persuasive legal argument.

Before you commit yourself, understand that participation in mooting competitions is an accelerated learning experience, which requires dedication and commitment of your time. This should not discourage you, mooting is a valuable and enjoyable experience, but it is also a professional competition with serious expectations of competitors.

Becoming a competitor

Most university mooting competitions are open to all interested law students, or student law society members, so all you have to do is sign up. Interstate and international moots may have a selection process, or require invitation. In these cases, you will be informed about what is necessary to become a competitor. The selection process may include a panel interview, or require you to write a letter asserting why you should be chosen to represent your university.

Your counsel

You will be mooting in a team and cooperation between team members is essential. If you are able to choose your counsel be sure to choose someone who you feel will compliment your researching and oral advocacy style. If you are unfamiliar with your counsel you must get to know them before the competition. Your main submissions will be divided between your team members. You must know the issues your counsel will be addressing so your team can present a simple and structured legal argument.

Reading the competition rules and the moot problem

Be sure to read the rules of the competition, most competitions forbid competitors to seek advice from lecturers, tutors or any other source. The competition rules will also provide you with the competition deadlines, it is essential that you immediately set aside a generous amount of time for mooting preparation. The fact scenario for your moot will be distributed before the date of your court presentation. Your preparation period will be determined by the rules of your particular competition. You must first read the entire moot problem, noting your initial reactions. At this point in the competition teamwork is essential. Your team should brainstorm what you have identified as legal issues and the potential weaknesses of your argument.

Initial research

As a team you should consult basic introductory texts, these will list the elements in the areas of law you have identified and will identify the applicable law. This preliminary research will provide you with a direction for your legal research and ideas for your main arguments.

Identification and delegation of main submissions

In some competitions the moot problem will provide the main submissions and state which team member must address them. In other competitions you will have the task of identifying and delegating your main submissions. The fact scenario you will be given will disclose a number of legal issues. Your task is to provide a main argument (submission) for each issue that advances your argument. The order in which your submissions are presented must reflect a consistent and logical legal argument to enable you to persuade the bench.

Further individual research

Once submissions have been delegated, each team member must individually continue their research focusing on the submission assigned to them. You must clearly identify each submission you will be arguing. Then you must then identify and outline the common law or legislation you will be using to support each submission. The introductory texts you consulted as a team will identify the relevant legislation and common law authorities. Full cases can be found in the authorised reports in the law library or on online databases. Now you must persuade the bench that according the facts of the case and the current interpretation of the law, your submission must be accepted. You must aim to keep your argument as simple as possible. Also, at this point it is essential that you do not draw factual inferences supporting your argument that are not present in the moot problem.

You will have to know the cases you rely upon in detail. However, to keep your argument simple and strong you should focus mainly on the principal authorities. It is essential that you only refer to authorised reports, and make sure that the case or legislation you are relying upon has not been recently overruled or repealed. Also, you must know the full reference for, and submit an authorised hard copy of every case you cite. Moot problems are often based on existing case law, however this does not mean the fate of the case is pre-determined, certain facts will be changed for the competition and it is unwise to assume that your team will win because of a similar previous judgement. Policy arguments should be used sparingly, if at all, because they are vague and suggest you lack a strong legal argument.

Reviewing your submission

Team members can provide useful feedback your submissions by identifying potential weaknesses in your argument. This will allow you to prepare answers for arguments against your submission. This information is not to be included in your written submission, but can be included in your notes and be used to answer questions from the bench that question the merits of your argument. Reviewing your team member’s submissions will ensure everyone is following your original consistent and logical legal argument.

Written submissions

A percentage of your final score is derived from the quality of your written submission so it is essential that it is correctly formatted. Your law school is likely to provide you with a written submission guide. If you have not been provided with a guide you could ask to see a previous competitor’s written submission, find some mooting books in your law library, or use guides available online.

Each competitor must hand in copies of their written submission at a specified time before their appearance in court. When you hand in your written submission you will be given a copy of your opponents’ written submission, which will allow you to see their main submissions and the authorities they will be using. If your opponents’ written submission names a case whose ruling opposes your submission, do not ignore it. Instead, prepare an answer explaining why the facts of that case are different from the moot problem you have been given, distinguishing that case from yours on its facts.

Your notes for in the court room

Senior counsel will need to write a small speech introducing themselves, their junior counsel, and the main submissions their team intend to address.

Allowing one page for each submission will allow you to move around your points and to omit something if it has already been addressed by a question from the bench. Using dot points will facilitate eye contact with the bench, allow flexibility in answering questions, and increase your interaction with the bench. Brief structured notes will allow you to articulate your legal position and will alert you to any problems in the flow of your argument, or any points for which you have not yet obtained supporting authority.

I hope this guide will help you with your preparation for mooting. Good luck!