The Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme
The Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme is available to
Fellows of the Institute of Legal Executives with two years
post-qualification experience.
It is aimed at those who are thinking of becoming a judge and
applying for judicial office. The work shadowing scheme offers
an insight into judicial work and responsibilities and can
give you the opportunity to observe the work of a variety of
judges before you yourself apply.
The scheme seeks to widen the pool of applicants for Judicial
Office, particularly those from under-represented groups by
providing the opportunity to spend up to three days observing (both
in and out of court) the working lives of the following types of
judges:
- District Judge (sitting in Civil or Family Jurisdictions)
- District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts)
- Tribunal Member
Shadowing provides ILEX Fellows with two years
post-qualifying experience with opportunities to gain an
insight into the life of a Judicial Office Holder to help them
decide whether they would like to apply for a judicial
appointment.
Newly qualified ILEX Fellows are not able to apply for the
judicial work shadowing scheme for two years after qualifying.
If a newly qualified Fellow is considering an
application at some stage in their career, once the two years
is completed they are encouraged to consider undertaking
shadowing as soon as possible. The insight gained
into the judicial process through the shadowing scheme
will allow them to plan their career path accordingly.
Work shadowing can also be particularly beneficial for those
with caring responsibilities and those who may wish to change their
specialism.
Participation in the
scheme
The scheme is open to any lawyer who has two years
post-qualifying experience and who is interested in seeking a
judicial appointment in England and Wales as a Deputy District
Judge (including Deputy District Judges of the Principal Registry
of the Family Division), Deputy District Judges (Magistrates’
Courts) or as a Tribunal Member.
The shadowing does not have to take place on consecutive days,
but must be completed within six months of acknowledgement of the
application. Participants are encouraged to shadow for a minimum of
two consecutive days, although this will depend on the availability
of the Judicial Office Holder being shadowed.
Participants will be asked to sign a declaration that they have
a genuine interest in a judicial appointment, which states that
they agree and accept that they are prohibited from disclosing any
facts or information about the cases after the work shadowing is
completed.
Participants are asked to avoid any possible conflicts of
interest. If they choose to shadow in a local court or tribunal,
they should not shadow cases in which their firm is representing
one of the parties. Judicial Office Holders are encouraged to
reconfirm this with an applicant at the start of the shadowing
period. For the same reason, Crown Prosecution Service lawyers will
be required to shadow in a different region to the one in which
they practice.
Continuous Professional
Development (CPD)
The Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme attracts CPD hours. ILEX
Fellows can attract up to 16 hours CPD (excluding breaks) if you
are in the same area of expertise as the judge. If you are
shadowing a judge outside of your area of expertise, you can get up
to 8 hours of CPD (excluding any breaks).
Role of the Judicial Office
Holder
Before any period of work shadowing starts, the Judicial Officer
Holder will be provided with a copy of the participant’s
application form. This will provide information about the applicant
and whether he/she has made any specific requests regarding the
type of work they would like to observe.
The Judicial Office Holder may also make initial contact with
the participant prior to their placement to discuss any issues that
may be useful. This may be explored further with the participant at
the start of the shadowing period.
Judicial Office Holders will endeavor to set aside time to
discuss aspects of judicial life with the participant, such as the
volume and pressures of the workload and the relationship of judges
with court staff and court users. It would also be useful to cover
topics of particular relevance to fee-paid office holders (e.g. how
best to combine sittings with practice).
It is intended that participants will see as wide a variety as
possible of a judge’s main duties including, as appropriate:
- preparing for trial/hearing
- case management
- overseeing court proceedings
- hearing applications
- sentencing
- determining applications
- giving judgments or decisions
At the judge’s discretion, the participant may sit on the bench
in most types of case. In this case, the Judicial Office Holder may
state to the court that the shadower is simply observing and will
not be influencing the decision in any way. In the case of a trial
of a juvenile in the Crown Court, however, the participant must sit
in the body of the court or hearing room.
At the end of the placement, participants should ask the
Judicial Office Holder to complete and sign a form to confirm that
the work shadowing has taken place. The form will be returned to
the Directorate of Judicial Offices to enable them to evaluate the
success of the scheme and to make future improvements.
Participants with a
Disability
The application form asks for the participant to state whether
they have a disability in order to arrange for reasonable
adjustments to undertake work shadowing. In these cases, the Local
Disability Adviser will assist in the consideration of the
application.
How it all works
The scheme is administered centrally by the Directorate of
Judicial Offices, whilst placements are allocated regionally by
administrators in Her Majesty’s Courts Service and the Tribunals
Service. The Directorate of Judicial Offices also publicises the
scheme, including events hosted by other organisations and deals
with any general enquiries.
The Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme team receives the
applications and carries out the initial processing stages of the
application form, including security checks on applicants. The
application is then forwarded to the relevant circuit, who will
provide a copy to the JOH. The application form outlines details of
the applicant’s work experience and the type of work in which they
have a particular interest.
The regional Judicial Work Shadowing Scheme administrator
contacts the Judicial Office Holder to arrange a suitable date for
the placement. It is the Court/Tribunal centre manager or listing
officer’s responsibility to ensure that the placement includes an
appropriate mix of cases where applicable. They will also be
responsible for rearranging the shadowing placement if it cannot go
ahead on the prearranged dates, for example if the list
collapses.