Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, General Division Junior Lawyer Participation Incentives

The Court encourages active participation by less-experienced lawyers and may allow bifurcated oral argument or relax the one-lawyer-per-witness rule to facilitate it.

The Court strongly encourages parties to allow less-experienced lawyers the opportunity to participate actively in cases by presenting arguments at motion hearings, appearing at pretrial conferences, or examining witnesses at trial. Therefore, the Court may alter its practices to afford opportunities to less-experienced lawyers. For example, the Court may allow a bifurcated oral argument in which a senior attorney presents one portion of the argument, and a newer lawyer who has worked on the case presents the other portion. Similarly, at trial or evidentiary hearings, the Court may relax the usual one-lawyer-per-witness rule to allow less-experienced lawyers an opportunity to examine witnesses.