Government attorneys do all sorts
of work and are found in every area
of the law. The Government Lawyers
Section is pleased to present a series
of articles describing the roles of
attorneys in various governmental
offices. These “day-in-the-life”
articles will help us better understand
the many government attorney roles.
If you are a government attorney
that would like to share, contact us!
We hope you enjoy learning more
about what our government attorneys
do day in and day out.
I’m thrilled to share a day
in the life of a judicial staff
attorney (also known as
trial court law clerk) in the
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit’s Legal
Department. Many individuals
do not know what the Legal
Department does for the
Thirteenth Circuit, or that we even
exist. As judicial staff attorneys, we
provide support to and assist the
judges of our Circuit in executing
their judicial duties. This may
entail reviewing motions and
memos from parties, conducting
research, providing analysis and
recommendations on matters
pending before the Court, drafting
and editing documents (including
proposed orders), or simply being
a sounding board for discussion.
Our Legal Department consists
of General Counsel, Assistant
General Counsel, one paralegal
Melissa Foss and several other Thirteenth Circuit judicial staff attorneys
at a FTCSAA Conference in October 2019.
asjudicialstaffattorneys,weprovidesupporttoandassist
thejudgesofourCircuitinexecutingtheirjudicialduties.
adayintHeliFeoF…aJudiCialStaFFattorney
Government lawyers Section
Chairs:ChristianKatchuk-13thJudicialCircuitCourt&LyndseySiara-13thJudicialCircuitCourtassistant,
and nineteen staff
attorneys. Each staff attorney
is assigned to a specific division
or divisions and the judge(s)
assigned to those divisions. While
comparable to a federal clerkship
in providing research and writing
for our assigned judges, our roles
are different in that we do not
work in chambers and are usually
assigned to more than one judge.
Plus, while federal clerkships are
typically term-limited, Thirteenth
Circuit staff attorneys occupy
career positions.
A typical day can vary greatly
depending on the staff attorney’s
assignment. Some attorneys spend
more time in the courtroom
listening to hearings or trials,
while others rarely sit through
court proceedings. Assignments
flow directly from our assigned
judges. In addition to pre-trial
work, post-conviction filings are
provided on a daily basis from the
Clerk’s office for legal review.
I am assigned to the Thirteenth
Circuit’s county court divisions —
both civil and criminal — as well
as first appearance court. While
there is opportunity to experience
the many different divisions —
including circuit criminal, circuit
civil, post-conviction, unified
family, and probate — county
court has been my assignment
for over six years. I really enjoy
the broad range of issues I
encounter in this assignment.
For me, a typical day starts
by taking stock of my pending
assignments — noting deadlines,
and determining whether I need
to reprioritize any assignments.
My assignments range from simple
ones to more complex issues that
may take days, weeks, or months
to complete. After this initial
review, I set to work on pending
assignments. The majority of my
day is spent reviewing filings in
cases, conducting legal research,
and writing, including memos,
orders, or judgments. Occasionally,
one of my assigned judges will ask
me to sit in on a hearing if they
anticipate wanting my assistance
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