Author: Amanda Ashworth
Editor: Ariel Gozzip
With the holidays approaching, you are probably gearing up for the never-ending questions from a long-lost relative about your career. While there may be no way to avoid the questions, you can avoid providing a lackluster response.
Here is the best professional advice I have ever received as an attorney: the court clerk is the most important person in the courtroom.
Walking into court for the first time as a lawyer is daunting at best (and nauseating at worst). You wake up at 5:00 AM to put on your best suit, you leave with 40 minutes to spare to get parking, and you check your email twelve times to ensure you did not miss a single detail. You are as prepared as possible (or so you think). I am forever grateful someone took the time to tell me about the people truly running each courtroom: the clerk!
The clerk is a wealth of knowledge, and you need them to like you. You can know every detail about your case, but if you misunderstand courtroom dynamics, you will not get very far. New attorneys walk into court prepared to address the judge and rebut opposing counsel’s positions. They falsely believe they have covered all their bases, but in truth, they have overlooked the most vital people there. The clerk accepts the filed paperwork, manages the judge’s calendar, and sees and speaks to the judge more than any attorney ever will.
Nothing gets to the judge without the clerk seeing it first. The way you address the clerk and treat the court staff does matter. “A clerk of court has numerous duties. Indeed, practically every legal procedure involves either active or passive conduct by the clerk.”[i] According to Eric E. Younger, a retired judge, along with Donald E. Bradley:
“Individual courtrooms are like small law offices or even families. The great majority of judges are close to their staff. All of them see more of their staff than they ever will of you. A real amazement is how many lawyers, from the oldest to the youngest, are unfriendly or even patently abusive to courtroom staff. Judges do learn of this behavior. Sometimes discovering that a given lawyer has been rude to someone in the courtroom comes as no surprise. If the same lawyer is abrasive to opposing counsel and the judge, he or she is consistent and predictable. What is a surprise is that some lawyers who are the very soul of courtesy to the judge are dreadful to the staff. This is somehow more offensive than the person who is democratically offensive to everyone. There are many ways for the judge to protect his staff. Few are on the record. None are grounds for appeal. They are also no fun.”[ii]
This sage wisdom extends far beyond the courtroom or legal profession. The foundational notion of this advice is simple: respect those you work with, and value your support staff. The reality is simple: you cannot do your job effectively without them, and they deserve to be noticed for that. They are smart, technically savvy, and truly the backbone of the operation (same as the court clerk). The judge may get to wear the fancy robe and sit up high on a bench, but the courtroom would be forced to close if the clerk failed to show up. Just as a body without a spine would collapse, an office does not function without support staff (and neither do you).
Being a professional does not just mean playing the part, wearing the suits, using big words, and click-clacking on a keyboard for hours on end. Reputation does matter. You will get much further as a professional when you put your ego aside and treat everyone with consideration and kindness.
Think about how you felt as a young professional when a supervisor tasked you with a daunting assignment and little to no time to finish it. Do not turn around and be that person to the court clerk or your support staff. Being a professional requires you to be prepared. It is unacceptable to ruin someone else’s day because you are ill-prepared.
The advice I was given extends to all professional life. Your colleagues are your best assets…value them! Your professional relationships and success on behalf of your clients will flourish when people who are often overlooked feel valued and respected by you. People are inclined to work hard for those they like and vouch for those they know are honest and kind. You will win more cases and close more deals when you have a team working with you, not for you.
So, this holiday season when you get riddled with questions from a younger cousin who just downloaded LinkedIn, do not give them meaningless advice. Give them the best professional advice I’ve ever received! More fights are won with honey than vinegar. When you are an honest, hard-working, and respectful professional, your career will go much further. You will avoid unnecessary fights. Also, when you do choose to fight for a cause, those around you will not need to question whether it has merit. Credibility starts with integrity.
Here at Tyson & Mendes, our staff is essential to all we do. Our attorneys value their teams and prioritize the court staff. Tyson & Mendes attorneys are known for winning, but they are also known for honesty and reasonableness. We win because Tyson & Mende attorneys always prioritize the “backbones” of our office and the court. With innovative legal techniques, vigorous advocacy, honesty, and reasonableness, Tyson & Mendes attorneys fight for our clients and never forget that it takes a team to do it!
Keep Reading
When Roads Diverge in the Wood: the Power of Risk in Building a Fulfilling Career and Stopping Nuclear Verdicts®
Ask Atty: Scott Ruksakiati
“Building” a Better Plan for Design Professional Expert Witnesses: Theater Patrons Trapped in Elevators After Architect’s Failure
Actions With Far-Reaching Consequences: Brody v. Hoch, Non-Resident Jurisdiction, and the “Long Arm” of the Law
A First-Generation Lawyer’s Inspiration to Practice
Lights, Camera… Courtroom? Why Hollywood Stereotypes About Court Are Not All They Are Cracked Up To Be!
Colorado’s Statute of Limitations: No Exceptions for Delayed Grief
From Pro Bono to Insurance Defense: A California Lawyer’s Path
‘McDonald’s Hot Coffee Case’ 30 Years Later: Revisiting the Original Nuclear Verdict®
Sources
[1] Masek, Alys, 12 Cal. Jur. 3d Clerks of Court § 12, August 2024 Update https://1.next.westlaw.com/Document/I1f27935da11611d9ad0a81db1eb1d417/View/FullText.html?listPageSource=3f90efb01a283600a05cc4d7b954a9b3&navigationPath=Search%2Fv1%2Fresults%2
Fnavigation%2Fi0a89d02800000192d4a284c244c78109%3Fppcid%3D0931f609d6f34607a4f266fad81a
d961%26Nav%3DANALYTICAL%26fragmentIdentifier%3DI1f27935da11611d9ad0a81db1eb1d417%26parent
Rank%3D0%26startIndex%3D1%26contextData%3D%2528sc.Search%2529%26transitionType%3DSearch
Item&listSource=Search&list=ANALYTICAL&rank=1&ppcid=2f3a99f94f3148238dd841837048a91e&originat
ionContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=%28sc.Category%29
[1] Judge Eric E. Younger (Ret.) with Donald E. Bradley, Courtroom Staff—Addressing court staff, Younger on California Motions § 4:12 (2d ed.) February 2024 Update https://1.next.westlaw.com/Document/Ifd6c8b32353c11dabcfbe88a57406541
gation%2Fi0a89d02800000192d4aa1fc044cb89fd%3Fppcid%3Dd27180c7dd4d45d0baee8fe461851306%26Nav%3DANA
LYTICAL%26fragmentIdentifier%3DIfd605630353c11dabcfbe88a57406541%26parentRank%3D0%26startIndex%3D1%