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(4) is to the law clerk’s knowledge likely to be a material witness in the proceeding. Canon 4. A law clerk may engage in activities to improve the law, the legal system, and the
2) A law clerk should keep informed about the law clerk’s personal and fiduciary financial interests,
and should make a reasonable effort to keep informed about the personal financial interests of the
law clerk’s spouse and minor children residing in the law clerk’s household.
3) For the purposes of this section:
a. the degree of relationship is calculated according to the civil law system;
b. “fiduciary” includes such relationships as executor, administrator, trustee, and guardian;
c. “financial interest” means ownership of a legal or equitable interest, however small, or a
relationship as director, advisor, or other active participant in the affairs of a party, except
that:
(1) ownership in a mutual or common investment fund that holds securities is not a
“financial interest” in such securities unless the law clerk participates in the management
of the fund;
(2) an office in an educational, religious, charitable, fraternal, or civic organization is not a
“financial interest” in securities held by the organization;
(3) the proprietary interest of a policyholder in a mutual insurance company, of a depositor
in a mutual savings association, or a similar proprietary interest, is a “financial interest”
in the organization only if the outcome of the proceeding could substantially affect the
value of the interest;
(4) ownership of government securities is a “financial interest” in the issuer only if the
outcome of the proceeding could substantially affect the value of the securities.
4) During the course of a clerkship, each law clerk will no doubt be looking for employment to
follow employment with the court. To avoid embarrassment to interested parties, as well as potential
conflicts of interest, the following guidelines apply:
a. When interviewing, the law clerk must carefully avoid even the most indirect discussion of
cases pending before the court.
b. The law clerk need not be recused from participation in a case involving a law firm to which
an inquiry for employment is pending. If serious or active negotiations are underway,
however, the law clerk should so inform the judge, and volunteer to withdraw from the
case.
c. After the end of the clerkship, the law clerk must maintain the confidentiality of the court.
Discussions of a particular judge or case should be avoided. The former law clerk must also
avoid conflicts of interest by not working on cases that the law clerk participated in during
the clerkship.
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administration of justice.
A law clerk may engage in law-related activities if in doing so the law clerk does not cast doubt on the
law clerk’s capacity to participate fully and impartially in performing the law clerk’s assigned duties.
Canon 5. A law clerk should regulate extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with law
clerk duties.
A. Other Activities.
ᆤ A law clerk may write, lecture, teach, and speak on legal as well as non-legal subjects, and
engage in the arts, sports, and other social and recreational activities, if such activities do not
detract from the dignity of the office or interfere with the performance of the law clerk’s duties.
B. Civic and Charitable Activities.
ᆤ A law clerk may participate in civic and charitable activities that do not reflect adversely upon
the law clerk’s impartiality or interfere with the performance of the law clerk’s law clerk duties. A
law clerk may serve as an officer, director, trustee, or non-legal advisor of an educational, religious,
charitable, fraternal, or civic organization not conducted for the economic or political advantage of
its members.
C. Financial Activities.
1) A law clerk should refrain from financial and business dealings that tend to reflect adversely on
the law clerk’s impartiality, interfere with the proper performance of the law clerk’s duties, exploit the
law clerk’s position, or involve the law clerk in frequent transactions with lawyers or persons likely to
come before the court in which the law clerk serves.
2) Subject to the requirements of subsection (1), a law clerk may hold and manage investments,
including real estate, and engage in other remunerative activity subject to the approval of the law
clerk’s judge.
3) Neither a law clerk nor a member of the law clerk’s family residing in the law clerk’s household
should accept a gift, bequest, favor, or loan from anyone except as follows:
a. a law clerk or a member of the law clerk’s family residing in the law clerk’s household may
accept ordinary social hospitality; a gift, bequest, favor, or loan from a relative; a wedding
or engagement gift; a loan from a lending institution in its regular course of business on
the same terms generally available to persons who are not law clerks; or a scholarship or
fellowship awarded on the same terms applied to other applicants;
b. a law clerk or a member of the law clerk’s family residing in the law clerk’s household may
accept any other gift, bequest, favor, or loan only if the donor is not a party or other person
whose interests have come or are likely to come before the court where the law clerk
serves.
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