2009-20 (Emergency Staff Opinion issued June 16, 2009)
Court Employees; Disclosure/Disqualification; Canon 3

Issue: A member of a Judicial Official’s staff is seeking to apply for a position with a law firm that is either in the midst of a trial before the Judicial Official or recently had a trial before the Judicial Official. Does the Judicial Official have an obligation to prohibit the court employee from applying or if the employee is permitted to apply, does the Judicial Official have an obligation to remove the employee from any cases involving the law firm or take any other measures (a) at the time of the application, (b) if the employee receives an interview or (c) if the employee receives an offer that is to start at a future date?

Emergency Staff Opinion: The Judicial Official was advised not to prohibit the court employee from applying for the position. However, should the court employee apply for the position with the law firm, whether the firm is appearing presently before the court or not, the Judicial Official should not allow the employee to work on any cases involving that law firm and should ensure that the employee has no further dealings on the Judicial Official’s behalf with that firm for a reasonable period of time under the circumstances. If necessary, the Judicial Official may need to arrange a temporary reassignment of the staff person. In rendering this opinion, staff considered JE 2008-08 and Florida Opinion 2006-32.