I’ve gotten a few nice compliments about my periodic posts about the experience of being a judicial clerk. The other day a current law clerk asked me when I was going to post something else about clerking and I confessed I’m running out of material (and, of course, time is always in short supply). I asked if she had some observations that she would offer up. Yes, she said: ‘tell the lawyers that it’s not a good idea to have your secretary call a law clerk and then put the attorney on the line only after the law clerk is on the phone.’ Hmmm, that’s kind of obvious isn’t it?
Another tip that came up was the suggestion that, if you are going to attach deposition testimony as an exhibit in support of a motion, don’t attach the whole deposition. Attach only the parts that support your argument; law clerks are busy and aren’t likely to want to read the whole deposition. One of the attorneys in my office who used to clerk told me that she highlights the key passages that she is relying on (and, of course, she also puts highlighting in the service copies that she sends to counsel of record, not just on the judge’s copy).
Anyway, I’m sure there are a thousand law clerk tips out there. So if any of you current or former clerks want to send them in to me I’ll be happy to share them with the rest of the blawgoshpere. Just be sure to let me know if you want credit for you work or whether you want to remain anonymous.
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