In today’s chaotic world, judicial clerks play an important role in helping legal tasks and court proceedings for lawyers and judges. However, vast people are still unaware of the specific roles and responsibilities of judicial clerks.
What is a judicial clerk?
A judicial clerk is a legal professional who assists and serves judiciaries in any legal processes. Judicial clerks are considered an important profession of the courts as they help in maintaining vital administrative and legal duties like drafting memos, preparing research and performing various important tasks for judges. Clerkship is a valuable way for those new lawyers who begin their professional careers.
Duties of Judicial Clerks
- The foremost duty of judicial clerks in court is to manage any pleadings and administrative documents especially those that are filed in various types of cases pending before the court.
- They also oversee different filing systems, regulate access to filed documents and respond if there are requests for document copies.
- A clerk in a court is also tasked to respond for requests of crucial information about court guidelines and pending cases.
- A judicial clerk manages the docket in many judicial systems. This means that the judicial clerk maintains a specific master calendar to determine upcoming trials, hearing and other court proceedings.
Condition of Work
- Judicial court clerks perform huge range of tasks that maintain an effective administration of justice.
- There are some jurisdictions in which the judicial clerk is usually appointed by their chief judge of the court. In other areas, the judicial clerk is an elected official.
Educational Requirements
In order to become a judicial clerk, an associate degree in political science or any law-related degree is important. A required 8 years working experience in any competitive title in the court system is essential along with the correct knowledge in legal statutes, terminologies and rules that are stated in the Criminal Procedure Law, Civil Practice Law and Rules, Penal Law and Family Court Act.
Occupation and Progress
- Job offers for judicial clerk are not like any other profession as there are many judges that expect an on the spot answer. Clerk applicants should only apply to this specific job and commit for an interview with a court judge if they are willing to indulge and accept the job immediately.
- Judicial clerks provide a significant increase in the legal job market not only because of their knowledge and skills with court system and law but also because of their valuable personal relationship and contacts that are developed during their clerkship experience.