New York Lawyer
February 5, 2002

Q:
I�m a lawyer who�s thinking of becoming a court officer (Hey, times are tough). How can I find out about this career?

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A:
Court systems in New York employ tens of thousands of people in a broad variety of roles with diverse levels of responsibilities -- some administrative, some technical, some legal and quasi-legal. There are law clerks who must develop and exercise legal judgment. Many court systems use paralegals for a variety of tasks -- some technical and some administrative. There are docket administrators, scheduling clerks, filing clerks and administrative assistants. The number of these positions and the range of their responsibilities will depend on whether you're standing in some District Justice's office in suburbia or you're entering the United States District Courthouse on Foley Square in Manhattan.

The directory in the lobby of most courthouses can give you a quick overview of the structure of the courts near you -- the number of staff, the titles, even the reporting relationships are evident from most directory listings. The recruiting and employment offices for many government entities contain listings of current position descriptions. Where there is a job opening, these are likely to be posted, either at the employment office or online.

But it should not be hard to obtain representative position descriptions even for positions that are currently filled -- just sidle into the office (which may handle employment for a variety of government agencies) and say, "Hi. I wonder if I could have a little help. How would I go about getting copies of the position descriptions for the various court officers and administrative court personnel for this jurisdiction?" Make a friend. Be gracious. Act interested. You'll be surprised at the amount of information you can get at the front desk.

Next, seek out some real, live people in the hallways and say, "Hi. I know this may sound a little offbeat, but I'm very interested in the kind of work you do, and I wonder if you'd be comfortable chatting for a few minutes about how you got into this line of work, what are the requirements for entry, what day-to-day worklife is like and what you find most enjoyable or satisfying about it."

This is classic, old-fashioned networking, and it works great at this level. Most people respond favorably when you express genuine interest in them and what they do -- even if they're not in the most exotic job in the universe. Conversations like this may not only provide you with information, but may lead to an offer to introduce you the hiring powers-that-be or let you know if an opening is going to be coming up. Learn to personalize these low-stakes interactions, and you'll be amazed at how much many people will put themselves out for you. Sometimes the simplest, most straight-forward approach is the best.

One factor to emphasize: many government positions are governed by civil service provisions (and have their compensation ranges structured according to civil service standards), so be sure to investigate whether the position in which you're interested requires you to take a civil service examination and how the agency you're pursuing tends to draw names off the civil service list (there may be veterans' preferences or other selection criteria, for example).

Sincerely,
Douglas B. Richardson
President, The Richardson Group