2008-08 (October 1, 2008)
Post-retirement Employment; Advancing Private Interests; Disclosure/Disqualification; Canons 3 & 5 

Issue:  May a Judicial Official, in preparing for post-retirement employment, communicate with law firms regarding future employment opportunities? 

Response:Based upon the facts presented, the Committee unanimously agreed that the Judicial Official should not make it generally known that he/she is seeking a position, so as to avoid being solicited by a number of law firms or other entities that may appear before the Judicial Official prior to his/her leaving the Judicial Branch. With respect to initiating contact with law firms, the Judicial Official may do so on an individual basis; however, the Judicial Official should not contact any law firm currently before the Judicial Official or that was recently before the Judicial Official. Furthermore, because of the requirement in Canon 3 that judicial duties take precedence over all other matters, he/she must be selective in the firms that he/she contacts, so that the Judicial Official does not have to recuse him/herself from so many cases as to interfere with the proper performance of his/her judicial duties.