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GAZETTE
L A W B R I E F
NOVEMBER 1995
•j.'li'r;
HIP Mill
i.
A
.1
The Law Clerk
Dr. Eamonn G. Hall
In former times, it was considered that
the clergy and druidical priests were
great lawyers. In fact, "elerk" is
derived from the Latin word
"clericus",
a churchman, clergyman
or ecclesiastic. One of the definitions
of the word "clerk" in the current
Oxford English Dictionary
is "a man
(or woman) of book learning, one able
to read and write: a scholar".
However, the dictionary qualified this
most noble definition by adding that
that specific meaning of the word
"clerk" is now archaic.
Remuneration, or more precisely, the
lack of it in sufficient measure, has
been one of the principal concerns of
law clerks - now often designated
legal executives. But then all
professions demonstrate a similar
concern. In an address in January
1894 Mr. Spray, the honorary
treasurer of the United Law Clerks'
Society in an address referred to in the
Irish Law Times and Solicitors'
Journal
(vol. XXV I I I, 1894 p.54)
doubted whether any noteworthy
writer of fiction before Dickens
featured a law clerk. Mr. Spray found
sixteen references to law clerks in the
works of Charles Dickens but
proceeded to illustrate his references
to literature by considering that law
clerks had made no progress since
Charles Dickens's day at least in the
matter of remuneration. He did note
that in 1894 it required greater effort
and a higher level of intelligence than
ever before for a law clerk to obtain a
post in a lawyer's office. Some
aspects of life never change.
The term "law clerk" has a significant
meaning in the United States. The
"law-clerking" institution in the
context of the US Courts began in
1882 when Justice
Horace Gray
hired
a recent Harvard Law School graduate
Photographed
at the conferring
ceremony
of Fellowships
of the Irish Institute
of
Legal Executives
on April 25, 1988 were from left to right, front row: Chief
Justice
Thomas Finlay, Master Harry Hill, SC, Veronica
Duffy, Fellow, William
Finnerty,
Fellow, James Ivers, Director
General,
Law Society, John Kelly,
Fellow.
Second row: Brendan
Byrne, Fellow, Francis Colgan, Fellow, James
firadshaw,
Fellow and Dr. Eamonn
G. Hall,
Solicitor.
to assist him in his judicial office.
Law clerks' duties in the US Supreme
Court include reading, analysing and
preparing memoranda for the justices.
In ruling on cases to be selected for
review, justices often rely on their
clerks' summaries and
recommendations.
In January 1894, Mr. Spray, the
Treasurer of the United Law Clerks'
Society noted that in 1894 it required
greater effort and a higher level of
intelligence than ever before for a
law clerk to obtain a post in a
solicitor's office. Some aspects of life
never change.
Law clerks often assist US Supreme
Court justices in the preparation of
written judgments. Some may say that
the clerks from time to time write the
entire judgment for some justices but
this is nothing to be derided if the law
clerk has sufficient intelligence and
ability and is supervised by the judge.
The law clerks in the US Supreme
Court are expected to be
discreet
but
the Court could not manage its current
case-load without their assistance.
Each US Supreme Court justice may
have four law clerks, two secretaries
and a messenger. Most law clerks
have attended prestigious law schools
and have graduated at the top of their
class. Many of the law clerks
subsequently become law school
professors and three have become US
Supreme Court judges.
There is the Institute of Legal
Executives in London, a professional
body representing legal executives and
responsible for training legal
executives employed in England,
Wales, Northern Ireland and many
overseas countries. Accordingly, legal
executives in those countries have
their own recognised status and role
within the legal profession and often
enjoy a responsible and rewarding
career. The Institute of Legal
Executives was formed in 1963 with
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