Many non-profit and legal advocacy organizations jumped at the opportunity to offer up volunteer positions to recently deferred associates, provided the firms that the associates were deferred from are covering most (or all) of the costs. Many questions still linger but one thing that has been left unanswered is, what about working for judges?
In Massachusetts at least, the picture is getting a bit clearer. In short, the answer is yes, deferred associates can work for judges, provided they follow the strict guidelines provided by the Massachusetts Committee of Judicial Ethics. The rules range from forbidding discussion or any mention of the firm that deferred you in the courtroom to regulating the information the firm itself disseminates about its deferred associates and what clerkships they obtained.
Although the rules (more outlined in the article) seem strict, it is clear that the clerkships open up another door to those that have been deferred.
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