Roles and Responsibilities Of A Law Clerk
A career as a law clerk has become a highly sought after job in the legal sector. Although most young people consider pursuing a career in this section, there is still much that needs to be factored in when pursuing a law clerk career.
An essentialelement to understanding if you want to follow this career direction is first to understand the roles and responsibilities that the job entails. Knowing the duties of a law clerk will help you determine if you want to become one or not.
Here are some of the things you will be doing as a law clerk;
Conducting Legal Research and Writing
Typically, a law clerk is tasked with specialized clerical duties that are relatedto courts of law and the legal practice. In essence, you will be required to make legal drafts, write up complaints, orders, declarations and other requirements as assigned.
You will also be required to study the law, read and research the constitution for information regarding a case, research the media, regulations and prepare legal memos. You will also be asked to draft letters to clients and responses relating to a lawsuit or as assigned.
Handling Inquiries
Receiving and making phone calls is all part of a law clerk’s job. You will be responsible for answering calls and assisting with questions regarding the services of the firm, lawsuits and other particulars. Most of you will argue that answering calls is the job of a secretary but here is the truth; some inquiries require a person who is knowledgeable to answer. In a law firm or court, a law clerk is the best person to do this.
Attending Court Sessions
As part of the job, law clerks are also tasked with attending court sessions. This is to hear the proceedings and advice the legal bench, judge advocate as well as the legal staff on various details and legal facts that revolve around the case before the oral judgment.
Now,this is a huge task as it calls for meticulous research of the prevailing case to get actual information that willallow a fair judgment to be made.Law clerks may also give recommendations concerning the nature of appeals made.
Assemble Case Materials
In most law firms and courts, it is part of the duties of a clerk to assemble all materials needed for a case. Thisincludes collecting and organizing all possible information, documents, reports, and evidence. Also, you will be required to summarize all the collected information to give the presiding lawyer an easy time and increase his efficiency while presenting a case in court.
The above are the primary roles of a law clerk, but other duties may vary with the firm or court you work in. Additionally, there will be other duties that you will be assigned in the course of work that will not always be stipulated in the job description.
Ellery Gordon is one legal clerk who has been in the legal industry for quite some time. He has all the comprehension of the specific and general roles that law clerks are responsible for in their line of duty. In hi line of duty, Ellery has been performing most of the above duties for years diligently and patiently, and this has earned since earned him tremendous success as a law clerk in the United States. Follow him on Linkedin here https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellerygordon/.