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Off Hours Volunteering
Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 9:49 pm
by Adikus
What I am inquiring about is for someone that has a prior commitment, but wanted to volunteer to assist and get some experience is that a possibility, or is volunteering limited only to workday normal hours?
Or stated another way, lets say you are transferring from the tip of the boot, to the Metroplex and wanted to volunteer for the knowledge, but you could only do so after hours or on weekends is that a possibility or not?
Re: Off Hours Volunteering
Posted: Mon Nov 25, 2013 9:53 pm
by A. Nony Mouse
You're generally not allowed to practice law in any capacity while working as a judicial clerk.
Re: Off Hours Volunteering
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2013 9:11 am
by owlofminerva
A. Nony Mouse wrote:You're generally not allowed to practice law in any capacity while working as a judicial clerk.
Yes and no. You are allowed, to a very limited extent, to do pro bono work. HOWEVER, you cannot do any of these things:
1) You cannot appear in any court at any level or any administrative agency
2) It cannot conflict with your duties as a clerk, or involve time you should be working
3) It cannot be a matter of public controversy or an issue likely to come before your court
4) It cannot involve compensation (given, since we are talking about volunteer work)
Basically, you can do some limited pro bono work that involves reviewing documents and the like is the bottom line. Check out the federal ethics manual for clerks or Canon 4A of the Judicial Code of Conduct for more info.
Re: Off Hours Volunteering
Posted: Tue Nov 26, 2013 10:50 pm
by Anonymous User
actually, you aren't allowed to do any legal work (even pro bono that doesn't conflict with those ethical rules) if that's your judge's policy. and that is the policy of most judges
Re: Off Hours Volunteering
Posted: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:42 pm
by owlofminerva
Anonymous User wrote:actually, you aren't allowed to do any legal work (even pro bono that doesn't conflict with those ethical rules) if that's your judge's policy. and that is the policy of most judges
Agreed--this, of course, encompasses all aspects of clerking
Re: Off Hours Volunteering
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 10:24 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:actually, you aren't allowed to do any legal work (even pro bono that doesn't conflict with those ethical rules) if that's your judge's policy. and that is the policy of most judges
This is my judge's policy. Even though I'm in a court that has a limited jurisdiction, she disallows her clerks from doing any legal work.
The only thing she allows her clerks to do is academic research and it has to be with a prof. or non-profit, non-partisan org., and she has to OK everything first.