New Ga. Rules Foster Volunteer Work by Deferred Out-of-State Lawyers
The Georgia Supreme Court has adopted new rules that help out-of-state lawyers who volunteer for state offices and nonprofits get valuable courtroom experience.
The new rules allow the out-of-state lawyers to appear in court as long as they are accompanied by a lawyer for the agency where they work, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. They also permit out-of-state lawyers to enter documents in the record as long as an agency lawyer signs off.
The rules apply to out-of-state lawyers volunteering in the state with the attorney general, a district attorney or a public defender, state or municipal courts in a solicitor role, and nonprofit groups.
Seven judicial circuits in Georgia, faced with staffing shortages and budget cuts, are using deferred associates to help prosecute cases, the story says.
“The opportunities for volunteerism are increasingly plentiful, as are the attorneys seeking them,” the story says.
