"x x x.
Familiarize Yourself with the Courts
Consider your expected practice areas. What types of work will you do to take care of your anticipated clients’ needs? How should you prepare yourself for taking on and doing this type of work? What courts are relevant for your anticipated practice areas and expected practice matters? Keep in mind that even if your practice does not include litigation, you still need to know about your local and regional court systems. Decisions could be handed down that impact clients in your practice area. A client may want basic information on something related to the court system. You do not want to appear clueless to a client regarding a seemingly elementary question for a lawyer.
- Make a list of the courts in your local region and schedule time over the upcoming days and weeks to visit them.
- Before your visits:
- Find out the types of cases that are heard in those courts.
- Get information regarding the requirements and procedures for filing documents, requesting fees, getting on the court-appointed attorney list, etc.
- Download the local practice manuals for the courts, if available.
- Obtain a schedule of cases, motions, hearings, etc., and plan to attend some of each. If you attend frequently, you can expect to obtain an appreciation of what judges expect from attorneys who appear in their courts in terms of competence and preparation as well as in courtroom etiquette and decorum. Moreover, even if you never have to appear before a judge, seeing good and bad performances by attorneys helps you put professional life in perspective, appreciating that no one is perfect but everyone should intend to give their best.
- When you visit the courts, be sure to go early so that you can introduce yourself to the clerks and have time to talk to the attorneys.
- Ask them about process servers, expert witness providers, and interpreters.
- Learn about the services that are available through the courts for self-help, domestic violence, drugs, foreclosure, mediation, and guardian ad litem, to name a few.
- Just as important, find out where the attorneys congregate and make a point to be there. Are there some days that typically have more attorneys present than others? If so, be sure to go on those days. Have questions ready to ask the attorneys that you meet.
- x x x."
