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The Clerk’s office is a Resource for Young Lawyers
by michael healy, esq. general counsel, lee clerk of court
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hree hundred employees. Centuries of court experience. Knowledge of every case type, legal proceeding, petition, motion, writ, and post-judgment collection process. It’s not a white-shoe law firm; it’s the Lee County Clerk of Court. For our very reasonable hourly rate of $0, we’re happy to answer your procedural questions – whether you are new to the practice of law or have decades of experience. Legal research tools, and even the almighty Google, often struggle to provide specific procedural guidance to practitioners. Most law school courses, and the Bar Exam focus on substantive knowledge. Even the law school courses that focus on procedure seem to spend an inordinate amount of time on “minimum contacts” and “stream of commerce”. Most practical procedural knowledge, how to file a case and progress that case through litigation, comes from years of practice. There are procedural differences contained in almost every different case type, and those differences can be daunting when you practice in a new and unfamiliar area of law. For almost every case type, the Clerk’s office has employees, managers, and supervisors who possess the knowledge, training, and skills to provide guidance on almost any of your procedural questions. The Clerk’s Courts Department is divided into several divisions, including Court Intake (processing filings), Court Records,
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Court Services, Unified Family, and Customer Service. Each year, our entire Courts Department opens approximately 111,000 new cases, processes 840,000 e-filed documents, answers 160,000 customer calls and assists 60,000 walk-in customers. This highly skilled department is focused on every area of law, including foreclosure, eviction, family, probate, and guardianship. Those teams continuously monitor, and adapt to, the myriad legislative and court rule changes enacted every year by the legislature and judiciary. Those rule changes can alter what is required in a court filing or can create an entirely new cause of action. By the first day those changes go into effect, the Clerk’s office has already prepared and implemented processes and procedures designed to comply with the new rules. One of the main benefits of contacting the Clerk’s office with questions is the person you speak to will often be the same clerk who reviews your filing to ensure it is legally sufficient. The Clerk’s office doesn’t do an in-depth review of any pleadings, but we do make sure you’re filing the correct case type in the correct court. A conversation with a clerk to resolve any questions you have could help you avoid the dreaded e-filing portal “corrections queue”. The Clerk’s Court Services team of approximately 50 clerks supports 26 judicial officers, and it is their job to document the court results, accept LeeBar.org
evidence on behalf of all parties, swear in witnesses and read the verdict of jury trials. If you work in the courtroom, we encourage you to connect with your court clerks as they are familiar with the judicial preference of the presiding judge. Reaching out to the Lee County Clerk of Court can save you time, save your client money, avoid the correction queue, fix errors and provide invaluable procedural knowledge for use in future cases. It’s also a great opportunity to build positive relationships with people who will be a largely unseen part of your legal practice for years to come. Depending on your area of law, you may also interact with other departments in our highly complex office. Aside from being the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Clerk also has the constitutional duties of protecting all county Official Records and serving as the county’s Chief Financial Officer, auditor, and treasurer. You can learn more about the Clerk’s office and our services at www.leeclerk.org. If you need assistance, you can also email the Lee County Clerk of Courts and Comptroller Kevin Karnes at kkarnes@leeclerk.org or me at mhealy@leeclerk.org. We look forward to working with you.
Michael Healy, Esq., has served as General Counsel for the Lee County Clerk of the Court & Comptroller since 2017. Prior to joining the Clerk’s office, Michael was a civil litigation attorney practicing in Monroe County.
