Chief Justice Elizabeth “Beth” Walker of the Supreme Courtroom of Appeals of West Virginia visited Greensboro accompanied by regulation clerks Evan Smith L’20 and Mary Beth Royal L’21, who each emphasised the significance of sturdy authorized writing for securing judicial clerkships.
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Who higher to glean recommendation for attaining early skilled success than two alumni of your regulation faculty who’re excelling in their very own nascent careers?
And after they carry their boss, the highest jurist within the State of West Virginia, to their alma mater? That leaves a fair larger impression.
Dozens of scholars crammed Elon Regulation’s largest classroom in downtown Greensboro on Feb. 20, 2023, for a lunchtime go to by Chief Justice Elizabeth “Beth” Walker of the Supreme Courtroom of Appeals of West Virginia and two of her regulation clerks: Evan Smith L’20 and Mary Beth Royal L’21.
Smith concludes a two-year clerkship with Walker in June, whereas Royal holds the excellence of serving as Walker’s first administrative regulation clerk, a place she has held for nearly precisely a yr to the date of the trio’s go to to Elon Regulation.
Over the course of an hour, Walker and her clerks mentioned the evolving position of the highest court docket in West Virginia. They mirrored on the numerous choices issued after oral arguments, that are solely held for a fraction of the appeals that attain the court docket’s 5 justices.
And so they reiterated to college students – most of whom have been of their first yr, joined by a handful of second-year college students with curiosity in clerking – what writing and advocacy abilities make for efficient appellate advocacy. That included:
- Don’t begin oral arguments with an announcement of info. Judges and their clerks know the info of a case; get proper to the purpose and clearly pose the query of regulation you need determined in your favor.
- Maintain your authorized writing concise. In lots of (however not all) situations, briefs ought to be written so that somebody with an eighth-grade schooling can perceive your argument.
- Make eye contact with judges throughout oral arguments and learn to learn your viewers.
- Be assured and calm, not aggressive. Some appellate attorneys come throughout as offended at opposing events and even the bench itself, and that may detract out of your argument.
Walker, a staunch advocate for well-being who encourages attorneys to prioritize their bodily and psychological well being, reminded college students that everybody makes errors. It’s the way you reply to errors in a courtroom that may imply the distinction for future shoppers.
“Generally you must get well from adversity,” Walker mentioned. “The power to get well from a misstep is a superb ability to have. Pivot and return to your sturdy factors. I’m certain you be taught this in moot court docket, however that’s as a result of it’s essential in actual life.”
Walker was elected in 2016 to the Supreme Courtroom of Appeals of West Virginia after 20 years in personal observe at Bowles Rice McDavid Graff & Love (now Bowles Rice) in Charleston, West Virginia, adopted by service in Morgantown as affiliate normal counsel for the West Virginia United Well being System
Lively on social media, Walker joined with Justice Rhonda Wooden of the Arkansas Supreme Courtroom, then-Chief Justice Bridget McCormack of the Michigan Supreme Courtroom, and former Justice Eva Guzman of the Texas Supreme Courtroom to launch the podcast Woman Justice: Ladies of the Courtroom, which options discussions of the judicial department of presidency and their experiences on their states’ highest appellate court docket.
Walker’s go to was hosted by Elon Regulation’s Workplace of Profession and Scholar Growth as a part of the obligatory Lawyering, Management and Professionalism course for first-year college students.
“College students want to listen to from the supply, from somebody who’s on the prime of the occupation, that authorized writing is the muse of our authorized system,” mentioned Krista Contino Saumby, Elon Regulation’s affiliate director of profession growth. “And college students additionally want to listen to {that a} good lawyer can observe any space of regulation, however a greater lawyer will carry out at the next degree after they concentrate on their very own well-being.”
