197 Texas Bar Journal • March 2013 texasbar.com

View From the BenchView From the Bench

MENTORING

BY PRESIDING JUDGE MARTIN HOFFMAN

How Mentoring From a Judicial PerspectiveDiffers From Private PracticeHow Mentoring From a Judicial PerspectiveDiffers From Private Practice

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IT SEEMS I GET ASKED ALMOST WEEKLYABOUT WHY I’M SO INVOLVED IN THEJUDICIAL INTERNSHIP PROCESS. I COULDGIVE A VARIETY OF ANSWERS AND ALLWOULD BE TRUE. My interest in mentoring startedwhen I was in high school. My parents were both profes-sors, and a day didn’t go by that I didn’t think of follow-ing in their footsteps. Although I planned to go to lawschool as early as junior high, I always felt the tug of edu-cation. While in college, I even took the GRE andlooked at applying to different graduate programs, but thelure of the law prevailed.

While in private practice, I worked with law clerks andhigh school interns, but the day-to-day grind of a busylaw practice kept me from mentoring as I would haveliked. I never served as a judicial intern during law school(I didn’t even realize that such an opportunity was avail-able). Nor did I consider becoming a judicial mentoruntil right after I was elected to the bench in 2006. Ibecame aware of the judicial internship program duringmy investiture. Due to the large number of new judgeswho were elected, the investiture was for all 12 new civiljudges. I vividly recall Judge King Fifer’s touching speechabout his internship with Judge Merrill Hartman andhow it inspired him to become a judge. This was when Ifirst decided to get involved in the judicial internshipprogram. Many judges who had traditionally beeninvolved in the program were no longer on the bench.Fortunately, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers hadalready developed a strong judicial internship program. Igot involved with the DAYL judicial internship programin 2007.1 I quickly learned that the ethical rules and actualprocess for mentoring from a judicial perspective werequite different than those for mentoring students in pri-vate practice.

JUDICIAL ETHICS FOR INTERNSAdvisory Opinion 286 of the Committee on Judicial

Ethics addresses the role of judicial interns.2 This opinionclarifies that although judicial interns are not officiallymembers of the court staff, they must still comply with allthe judicial canons. Canon 2 dictates that a judge (andby extension his intern) shall not allow any relationshipto influence judicial conduct or judgment. In addition,this canon dictates that a judge shall not lend the prestigeof judicial office to advance the private interests of the

199 Texas Bar Journal • March 2013 texasbar.com

judge or others; nor shall a judge convey or permit othersto convey the impression that they are in a special posi-tion to influence the judge. Canon 3 also provides signif-icant advice about maintaining the dignity and impartialityof the judiciary. Interns should always be instructed thatconfidentiality is the backbone of a successful judge-intern relationship. In other words, what the judge tellsyou in chambers must stay in chambers. In fact, manyjudges require interns to sign a statement of adherence tothe Code of Judicial Conduct. The judge-intern relation-ship usually runs smoothly, but judges should be willing toinstruct interns on the importance of the canons whennecessary.

MENTORING PROCESSI have mentored more than 80 judicial interns in the

past six years. I have had interns from seniors in highschool to recently licensed young lawyers. The majorityof my interns have been law students. I try to run a struc-tured program that combines observational, educational,and social components. The first component is courtobservation. My interns watch every phase of proceed-ings. Interns are encouraged to take notes during allaspects of the proceedings they observe. For many lawstudents, this will be the only opportunity during theircareer to actually observe court proceedings without hav-ing to worry about billable hours or their own practice.The interns will likely get to see the best and worst thelegal profession has to offer. They also get an opportunityto observe a wide range of different areas of practice. Mycourt handles exclusively civil litigation, but this can bea broad range of cases from small car wrecks and creditcard cases to multimillion-dollar commercial disputes andcatastrophic injury claims. For many law students, this isthe first time they can see how the theory they learn inlaw school is applied in actual trial practice.

The second component is educational. I require all mylaw school and post–law school interns to write a sub-stantive memo. The purpose of this requirement is two-fold. In Dallas County, we do not have briefing attorneysor law clerks, so it can be helpful to get the free researchassistance. Just as importantly, it can be beneficial to theintern. I am frequently asked to write letters of recom-mendation for my interns or serve as a reference. I amable to provide a much more thorough review of interns’work habits and abilities if I have given them a signifi-cant project that they (hopefully) have completedpromptly and competently. I also try to provide feedbackto the interns on the proceedings they observe and whatI considered effective and what could be improved. Otherjudges require interns to maintain a journal or prepareorders or opinions, which can also be quite valuable.

The third component of the internship is social. I amactive in the Dallas Bar Association, the Dallas Associa-tion of Young Lawyers, and the sister bars. It is rare that aweek goes by that I don’t attend at least one legal event.I frequently bring my interns to events and other outingsso they can learn more about the Dallas legal community.Judges tend to have the good fortune to attend a diversityof events. Many interns have used this as an opportunityto network and learn about new practice areas that theyhaven’t studied in school. This is frequently the part ofthe judicial internship program that my interns enjoy themost.

Over the past six years, I have loved almost everyaspect of being a judge. Mentoring interns has been ahighlight of this experience. Mentoring is usually benefi-cial both to interns and judges. Many students find it tobe one of the most rewarding aspects of their legal educa-tion; while judges, like teachers, often learn from theirinterns/students. TBJ

NOTES1. The American Bar Association Judicial Internship Opportunity Pro-

gram and Dallas Bar Association Collins Clerkship program are twoother active programs for minority interns. These programs both pro-vide small stipends for interns unlike the DAYL and other programs.

2. This opinion states as follows:

SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Ethics Opinion Number 286 (2003)Question: May a judge receive the benefits of a law student serving as asummer judicial clerk/intern who receives a monetary stipend frommoney raised and distributed by a local bar association’s foundation schol-arship program funded by contributions from local law firms, businesses,private individuals and fundraisers sponsored by the bar association?Answer: Yes, with certain qualifications regarding implementation ofthe program.Canon 4B provides considerable latitude to a judge regarding activitiesto improve the law. The Committee perceives this summer internshipprogram to be primarily an educational endeavor which furthers theadministration of justice, and should be permitted. However, the judgeshould avoid participating in any of the fundraising activities thatmight violate Canon 4C(2). Additionally, although the summer internswill not officially be employees of the judge to whom they are assigned,the Committee views them as court personnel who would be subject toall the provisions of the Code. Thus, the judge would be responsible forinstructing the interns about their obligations and responsibilities underthe Code.

MARTIN HOFFMANis the presiding judge of the 68th District Court of Dallas County. In2012, he received the Outstanding Mentor Award by both the TexasYoung Lawyers Association and the Dallas Association of YoungLawyers. Presiding Judge Hoffman serves on the board of directorsof the Dallas Bar Association. He is a graduate of Trinity Universityand the University of Texas School of Law.