From staying at the same Hartford, Connecticut, hotel the night before oral arguments, to hitting the sack by 10, and even playing “Never Surrender” on the way to court, attorneys who argue before the state Supreme Court say they have tried-and-true rituals they don't dare disrupt in order to win their case.

The Connecticut Law Tribune spoke Wednesday to six attorneys with varied experiences before the state's high court. Here are the rituals from attorneys such as Kelly Reardon, who has made one oral argument, to Wesley Horton, who holds the record by active Connecticut attorneys in private practice for appearing before the high court—130 times since 1973.

“Playing 'Never Surrender' gets me going. It gets me in a fighting mood. I will play the song over and over and over again.” — Kelly Reardon

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The Night Before

Wesley Horton

For many attorneys, the ritual the night before the big appearance is the most important, because it gets them ready for the task of speaking before the justices the next day.

Michael Cacace of Stamford's Cacace Tusch & Santagata always stays at Hartford's Goodwin Hotel the night before. Cacace, who has appeared before the state's high court seven times and won six of the cases, said he stays at the hotel because “it's close to the court, quiet and there are no distractions. It's not a noisy place and there are never any events going on there. It allows me to focus.”

Proloy Das

For Proloy Das of Hartford's Murtha Cullina, fish is always on the menu the night before. Being that he has appeared before the Supreme Court more than 20 times in his career, he's eaten a lot of fish. And it does not matter what type of fish, as long as it's fish.

“My father always described fish as brain food growing up,” Das said Wednesday. “And, so, it's become a superstition to have fish, whether in a restaurant or at home.”

For Horton, a partner with Hartford's Horton, Dowd, Bartschi & Levesque, his secret is never preparing after 5 p.m. the night before, and to get plenty of sleep—at least eight hours. Horton is rarely up past 10 p.m. the night before. Other attorneys differed with that approach, saying they spend much of the night before prepping.

“It's essential to have a good night sleep before oral arguments because your mind has to react quickly to unexpected questions,” Horton said. “You just can't do that if you are tired.”

In addition, Horton said, “A good meal is a must. I mean a real good meal. You do not want to go to bed without having a good meal.”

While Horton is well rested the night before, Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder's Alinor Sterling is not.