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The Massachusetts judiciary has abandoned a proposal to fill law clerk jobs with newly hired private lawyers whose firms have pushed back their start dates because of the recession.
A spokeswoman for the judicial system tells The Boston Globe that Robert Mulligan, chief justice for administration and management of the trial courts, rejected the proposal after receiving a written opinion from the state Ethics Commission and talking to some high-ranking judges.
Although no reason for rejecting the plan was given, some legal experts have suggested possible conflict of interest issues.
As a result, the state's judges start September with only about 75 full-time clerks, down from 105 in June. Clerks help judges with legal research and drafting memoranda.
Information from: The Boston Globe
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