The Honorable Eve L. Miller, Clackamas County Circuit Court
Early on in my career as a lawyer, I learned that the key to my success was to keep the courthouse staff happy, especially the judicial clerks and assistants.
Fast forward to more than 30 years later, with 16 years of trial practice and 19 years as a circuit court judge, I still maintain that the way to a judge’s heart is through good behavior in the courthouse. Further, I will tell you that just about everything that goes on in the courthouse or a particular courtroom gets back to the judges AND the judges talk amongst themselves about lawyers who behave badly to staff.
Here are a few important tips we want to share with trial attorneys, especially when you have a case that has been designated as complex and assigned to a particular judge.
Judicial Clerk (JC) PERSPECTIVE:
- Please have all exhibits properly marked.
- If there are multiple defendants, the court will assign each defendant a series of numbers, e.g., defendant 1 is 100-199; defendant 2 is 200-299, etc.
- Provide the clerk with a list of pre-marked exhibits.
- Bring extra exhibit stickers.
- Power point/video and projector/computer needs.
- Do not assume every courtroom is equipped with technology for the lawyer’s laptops and projectors.
- Make sure your audio and computer cords are compatible with the court’s system. If you require a podium or easel with paper, check ahead of time; not every courtroom may be equipped.
- Do not assume the JC is tech savvy and able to hook up or run your equipment.
- Call ahead and meet with clerk to determine what is needed and available.
Judicial Assistant (JA) PERSPECTIVE:
- Keep JA informed by email of newly filed pleadings.
- Call to speak with the JA to determine that judge’s preferences. Some judges want only electronic documents attached to an email; others may prefer paper. Some prefer 3-hole punched in a notebook; others may not.
- Do not email the judge directly unless you have been given specific permission to do so.
- Respond promptly to requests for scheduling dates.
- Designate a legal assistant to obtain potential dates and times for hearings and trial. The designee can then coordinate with the other parties and save the JA from that task.
- Organizational tools/charts are helpful.
- If you need a chart to keep the parties and claims organized in cases with many parties and cross-claims and third-party claims, the judge and staff could use one as well. I am happy to use whatever charts and/or lists you have created if it saves me from having to create my own. For example, in a recent construction defect case involving 19 parties, there were a dozen or more motions for summary judgment and other pretrial motions. One of the attorneys created a detailed summary of the various claims and an indication of which attorney represented each party.