Supreme Judicial Court Rules  Section 4.4: Appeals Court (Effective August 1, 2026)

A student practitioner may appear before the Appeals Court provided that, at any time and no later than fourteen (14) days prior to oral argument, the student practitioner and supervising attorney file in each case in which the student practitioner intends to appear the notice of appearance required by Section 4.1, including attestations that:

• (i) the student is familiar with the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure; and
• (ii) the supervising attorney will be present at any oral argument and be prepared to answer any questions the student practitioner cannot.

Notwithstanding other provisions of this rule, an attorney with a matter pending before the Appeals Court may seek leave of the Appeals Court to allow a law student who is currently enrolled in or graduated from an accredited law school to argue before the Appeals Court for that particular matter. For purposes of this section, a student who has graduated from an accredited law school may argue only if that graduate is scheduled to sit for, is awaiting the results of, or has passed the bar exam in the first attempt. Such a request must be made no later than fourteen (14) days prior to oral argument, and the law student or graduate and supervising attorney shall file a motion for leave to appear in the case. The motion shall include the information required by Section 4.1(a)(i)-(ii) and (v) and parts (a)(i) and (ii) of this section and any other information the law student or graduate believes supports the motion for leave to appear.