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Judge Claudia Rickert Isom and Dean Laura Rosenbury
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clerking or participating in an externship at a law firm
or court?
Rosenbury: We have guidelines for externship
supervisors regarding the type of work students should
be performing and how they should be supervised. We do
not have any other guidelines regarding conduct beyond
the non-discrimination policy described above.
Isom: Do you think one is advisable?
Rosenbury: Yes! I would love to work with bar
associations and lawyers to develop best practices for
creating environments in which students and recent
graduates are not subject to unwanted sexual advances
and other forms of sexual harassment. I could see such
guidelines providing much needed advice and support
for both students and supervisors. For example, the
guidelines could discuss appropriate boundaries in
mentoring relationships and in social settings.
Isom: Some youth organizations have a “2 Deep”
policy so that a youth is never left alone with an adult.
Would such a policy be desirable in this situation?
Rosenbury: I don’t think so. Our students are adults,
and we all know that one-on-one mentoring is very
valuable for students and young lawyers. That said, I urge
firms and other organizations to develop “zero tolerance”
policies for lawyers who do not respect the boundaries of
such relationships.
Isom: In 2007, Florida enacted Rule 4-8.4(i), which
prohibits a lawyer from engaging in sexual conduct with
a client under certain circumstances and establishes a
SUMMER 2018
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HCBA LAWYER
rebuttable presumption the sexual conduct exploits or
adversely affects the interests of the client or the lawyer-
client relationship. 1 Should there be a similar rule for law
student clerks and externs?
Rosenbury: I favor such a rule. The power dynamic
between supervisors and students in summer jobs and
externships is similar to that of the lawyer-client
relationship. A summer job or externship is like a
months-long job interview, and many students may feel
pressured to acquiesce to their supervisors’ requests and
may be reluctant to report anything that makes them
uncomfortable. Once students have full-time employment
after graduation, they have more agency to navigate their
relationships with supervisors and to report any
discriminatory conduct.
Isom: Dean Rosenbury, what advice did you give to
those law students who asked to meet with you?
Rosenbury: Until we have clearly developed
guidelines, it is important to be aware of the possibility of
sexual advances and other forms of sexual harassment in
the workplace and to think about how to respond before
the advance or harassment occurs. It is often very hard to
figure out what to do in the moment, whether you are
subject to the advance or harassment or are a witness.
Talking about the possibility beforehand with mentors,
classmates, and friends makes it more likely that students
will be willing to say no in the moment or intervene.
These conversations also emphasize that such conduct is
not about the individual student or anything the student
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