The Shelby Township 2nd Chair Program is a great opportunity to get hands-on experience while getting paid!
The 2nd Chair Program in the 41A-2 District Court, Shelby Township, has been around for several years. It pairs a 2nd Chair attorney who may need District Court experience with a more experienced attorney handling a misdemeanor docket.
Here’s how it works. On a pre-arranged morning or afternoon a Docket attorney is assigned to cases scheduled on the Court’s Docket. The 2nd Chair attorney will also be assigned to one of these morning or afternoon dockets. The 2nd Chair will act as co-counsel under the direction of the Docket Attorney. The 2nd Chair will participate in one or more of the following ways:
- Observe the Docket Attorney.
- Observe/Participate in client conferences.
- Observe/Participate in negotiations for resolution.
- Observe/Participate in placing dispositions/adjournments on the record.
The 2nd Chair attorney will be paid at a rate of $120 per hour.
This is a great way to help get qualified to be a Roster Attorney in one of the Macomb County District Court systems. The requirements to become a misdemeanor (Level D) Roster Attorney are:
- General Requirements
- Attorney member in good standing with the State Bar of Michigan.
- Maintain a confidential meeting place in Macomb County where client meetings can take place.
- Complete Basic Skills Training (for attorneys with less than 2 years criminal defense experience).
- Specific Experience
- Satisfy one or both of the following:
- Serve as co-counsel or second chair in a prior trial.
- Equivalent experience as primary attorney or 2nd Chair at misdemeanor arraignments, pre-trials, pleas and/or sentencing.
- Ability to demonstrate competent legal representation skills.
- Satisfy one or both of the following:
To become a 2nd Chair attorney or to learn more, contact Erin Freers-Cole at the Macomb County Office of Public Defender at 586-466-8311 or erin.freers-cole@macombgov.org.