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Just make sure to say crazy shit during voir dire to not get picked.MonsterTRM wrote:I deferred jury duty during the school year, and I got a new assignment right in the middle of my summer associate position. The state won't let me defer again. I'll let the law firm know. Any thoughts of anything else I can do?
Devlin wrote:Just make sure to say crazy shit during voir dire to not get picked.MonsterTRM wrote:I deferred jury duty during the school year, and I got a new assignment right in the middle of my summer associate position. The state won't let me defer again. I'll let the law firm know. Any thoughts of anything else I can do?
I really don't think the Firm would dock you your pay as an SA for jury duty. From my experience, firms are reluctant to take away your salary for days-missed even when you have to miss a day. As in, they "reserve the right to" but they also want you to say "yes" when and if they give you that offer.Dafaq wrote:Curious, is there no one you can take your case to? You’re a LS with a mountain of tuition debt and cannot afford to lose $600 a day. Perhaps an attorney at your SA firm can pull some strings...maybe?
Dafaq wrote:Curious, is there no one you can take your case to? You’re a LS with a mountain of tuition debt and cannot afford to lose $600 a day. Perhaps an attorney at your SA firm can pull some strings...maybe?
Actually, not a bad idea. My 10 week SA turned into 12 weeks. As far as docking, that’s likely on a firm-to-firm basis. I know a couple SAs at big law firms who weren’t paid for holidays that fell in the middle of the week and some firms do not offer paid sick days (again, speaking of some large firms). Also, SAs experiences greatly differ, some SAs are staffed on cases and some aren’t. Your SA mileage may vary…tonidee wrote:For missing the days, you can always offer to stay a few extra days.
This. Many firms will let you if they have work (which they almost always do -- if they don't, that's a bit of a red flag anyway).tonidee wrote:For missing the days, you can always offer to stay a few extra days.
I think this is what I'll do. I have a final tomorrow, so after that, I'll write the recruiter and let them know. This thread has been very helpful, thank you all!TTRansfer wrote:This. Many firms will let you if they have work (which they almost always do -- if they don't, that's a bit of a red flag anyway).tonidee wrote:For missing the days, you can always offer to stay a few extra days.
This statement is false for both firms I summered at while in law school. (These were both V20 firms.) One of the firms didn't have all that much work for the summers to do, but that wasn't a sign that the firm was slow—quite the opposite. Everyone was so slammed that they didn't have time to make work for the summers. You might do some substantive work here and there as a SA—it's possible to add value once in awhile—but overall you're just a time suck for the associates and partners. It's part of the cost of recruiting for the firm.TTRansfer wrote:This. Many firms will let you if they have work (which they almost always do -- if they don't, that's a bit of a red flag anyway).tonidee wrote:For missing the days, you can always offer to stay a few extra days.
You can be more subtle about it. Crazy shit does not equal being an ass. Very fine threshold OP needs to cross.MonsterTRM wrote:Devlin wrote:Just make sure to say crazy shit during voir dire to not get picked.MonsterTRM wrote:I deferred jury duty during the school year, and I got a new assignment right in the middle of my summer associate position. The state won't let me defer again. I'll let the law firm know. Any thoughts of anything else I can do?
Lol, I hope you're kidding. I watched a judge chew out a potential juror who was a lawyer as well for saying crazy shit. The judge called his law firm, and he had to do community service for the duration of the trial. Moral of the story is, if you're an attorney or law student, don't be an ass during voir dire.
alternatively, how much you loved learning about jury nullificationjdmonkey wrote:You should appear very enthusiastic about being called for the case. You can say oh torts was my favorite subject and I'd love to be a part of a real lawsuit. Or if it is criminal you can talk about how you have friends that are police officers, and you are in awe of what they do to keep you safe. Appearing to have an interest in the case or some kind of strong position about law enforcement are the quickest ways to be dismissed. Remember serving on this jury would be the highlight of your life and police officers are your heroes
That would do the trick but there's no need to be so dramatic about it. They'll ask some question (including whether you are a lawyer, whether you have family members in law enforcement, etc.), you go up and chat about it at the bench, and no matter what you say, even if it's just, "my uncle was a police officer," or, "my girlfriend's house was burglarized once," they will ask you whether it will affect your ability to be impartial. Say, "yes, I'm afraid it would." There's really nothing they can do at that point. You won't get seated.jdmonkey wrote:You should appear very enthusiastic about being called for the case. You can say oh torts was my favorite subject and I'd love to be a part of a real lawsuit. Or if it is criminal you can talk about how you have friends that are police officers, and you are in awe of what they do to keep you safe. Appearing to have an interest in the case or some kind of strong position about law enforcement are the quickest ways to be dismissed. Remember serving on this jury would be the highlight of your life and police officers are your heroes
Great use of anon. Hey mods--can we out those who are giving advice about how to avoid jury duty? Or at least relegate the topic to the dregs of the lounge? It's pretty embarrassing that a group of lawyers and prospective lawyers is talking about how to lie to officers of the court in order to avoid jury service.Anonymous User wrote:That would do the trick but there's no need to be so dramatic about it. They'll ask some question (including whether you are a lawyer, whether you have family members in law enforcement, etc.), you go up and chat about it at the bench, and no matter what you say, even if it's just, "my uncle was a police officer," or, "my girlfriend's house was burglarized once," they will ask you whether it will affect your ability to be impartial. Say, "yes, I'm afraid it would." There's really nothing they can do at that point. You won't get seated.jdmonkey wrote:You should appear very enthusiastic about being called for the case. You can say oh torts was my favorite subject and I'd love to be a part of a real lawsuit. Or if it is criminal you can talk about how you have friends that are police officers, and you are in awe of what they do to keep you safe. Appearing to have an interest in the case or some kind of strong position about law enforcement are the quickest ways to be dismissed. Remember serving on this jury would be the highlight of your life and police officers are your heroes