Substance of Argument Greet the court and, if necessary,
Introduce yourself
Make eye contact with the presiding judge and begin your presentation with whatever formulary introduction is customary in the court before which you’re appearing. Typically it is “May it please the court.” In the Supreme Court of the United States, it is “Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court.”
If the court has called you forward by name, proceed at once to your argument. If the court has merely said something like “Counsel for the appellant may proceed,” begin by introducing yourself:
“I am John Smith, representing the appellant, Paul Jones.” Don’t waste time describing your client unless you have reason to believe that the court has not read the briefs. In the latter event, state briefly the business or office of your natural-person client if that is relevant to the case (“Mr. Jones is the sheriff of Maricopa County, New Mexico”) or the state of incorporation and business of your corporate client (“Ajax is a Delaware corporation that manufactures paper clips”).
