Law Clerks and the Government Sector (From Improving Access to Justice: The Future of Paralegal Professionals -- Conference Proceedings, 1990, Canberra, Australia, P 59-65, 1991, Julia Vernon and Francis Regan, eds. -- See NCJ-129734)

• NCJ Number: 129741
• Author(s): K Kelly
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Type: Conference Material
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

Law clerks have played a significant role in the South Australian Attorney-General's Department for a long period of time, primarily in the criminal prosecutions area where clerks have provided vital services in the listing of criminal cases, liaison with courts and lawyers, and assisting in trial preparation.

Abstract

Over the past 10 years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of law clerks working alongside or supervised by lawyers in such areas as civil litigation, worker compensation, criminal injury compensation, and summary jurisdiction matters. The Attorney-General's Department is actively seeking to identify further areas of operation where law clerks can be used. The single most important factor behind this drive is not job enrichment for law clerks nor relieving lawyers of onerous work, but rather to reduce the government's cost of employing lawyers. The department realizes it must define the role of law clerks, use law clerks in a manner that will maximize the benefits of available technology, provide a proper career structure for law clerks, and identify effective educational avenues for these professionals. The department's existing structure for employing law clerks and proposed efforts to expand paralegal services are described.