JUDICIAL LAW CLERK

Job Definition:

• Legal professionals conduct research on legal problems, advise clients on legal aspects of problems, plead cases or conduct prosecutions in courts of law, preside over judicial proceedings in courts of law and draft laws and regulations

Job Description:

• Assist judges in court or by conducting research or preparing legal documents.

Duties and Tasks:

• 1) Maintain judges’ law libraries by assembling or updating appropriate documents.
• 2) Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information.
• 3) Communicate with counsel regarding case management or procedural requirements.
• 4) Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders.
• 5) Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations.
• 6) Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes.
• 7) Participate in conferences or discussions between trial attorneys and judges.
• 8) Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations.
• 9) Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court.
• 10) Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief.
• 11) Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress.
• 12) Verify that all files, complaints, or other papers are available and in the proper order.
• 13) Compile court-related statistics.
• 14) Coordinate judges’ meeting and appointment schedules.
• 15) Enter information into computerized court calendar, filing, or case management systems.
• 16) Perform courtroom duties, including calling calendars, administering oaths, and swearing in jury panels and witnesses.
• 17) Prepare periodic reports on court proceedings, as required.
• 18) Respond to questions from judicial officers or court staff on general legal issues.
• 19) Supervise law students, volunteers, or other personnel assigned to the court.

Activities:

• 1) Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
• 2) Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
• 3) Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
• 4) Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
• 5) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
• 6) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
• 7) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
• 8) Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
• 9) Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
• 10) Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
• 11) Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
• 12) Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
• 13) Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
• 14) Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
• 15) Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
• 16) Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
• 17) Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
• 18) Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
• 19) Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Abilities:

• 1) Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand
• 2) Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• 3) Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• 4) Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• 5) Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• 6) Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• 7) Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• 8) Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• 9) Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• 10) Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• 11)  Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• 12) Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• 13) Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
• 14) Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
• 15) Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
• 16) Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Knowledge

• 1) Clerical — Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• 2) Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• 3) Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• 4)  Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 5) English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.