Over the past year and a half, I have participated in many moot appellate arguments for federal and state appeals, including most of the federal circuits, the Supreme Court and state supreme courts. I wanted to pass along some tips that I have learned along the way.

The first is that a good moot session is an essential part of your preparation for an appellate argument. The lawyers who subsequently argued the appeal at the court have told me their job was made much easier because of the moot. Most have said the moot was more difficult than the actual argument. But the moot must be effective to be so valuable.