Know Your Judge!

This page gives you guidance about that all important feature of a moot - the judge. Thanks to Vicky Ailes and Ben Wood for this lively piece.

Intro

The judge is the most important unknown quantity in any moot. Find out as much about him as you can before the day. Is he a lecturer, a postgraduate student, a practising barrister or solicitor, or a real judge?

When the moot starts, see how the judge interacts with the mooters. Is he asking questions? Does he know the area of law well? Is he giving any clues about which of your opponents' arguments he thinks have most merit?

Ideally, you should be able to adapt your speech to suit the judge. Spend extra time explaining the basic legal principles if the judge doesn't seem familiar with them or if you know that the mooting problem is not in his area of expertise. On the other hand, only cover them briefly if it has become clear from judicial interventions in earlier speeches that he knows this part of the law well. You should also try to spend more time dealing with arguments which he thinks are particularly strong, whether for or against you.

Judges vary enormously and it is much harder to do a good moot before a bad judge. Below are some strategies you can adopt with difficult judges.

The Quiet Judge

Seems to be paying attention but asks no questions, or may ask each mooter a single question at the end of their speech.

This sort of judge is often welcomed by beginners who have written out their speech longhand and would prefer to read it out and sit down as quickly as possible. However, experienced mooters will hope for frequent judicial interventions during their speeches. It is much easier to argue your point effectively if you can pick up clues from questions about what the judge is thinking. Moreover, mooters of every standard tend to speak more naturally and effectively when answering questions than in prepared speeches.

Try to encourage the judge to intervene. You can involve him in your speech by asking him quite detailed questions: "Is your lordship familiar with the dissenting judgment in this case?"; "Would your lordship like to hear [further] argument on this question?". Even if the judge does not take the hint and ask you more questions in return - and some judges don't think it's fair to interrupt one mooter more than the others - you have showed that you are prepared to adapt your speech to his answers.