Finally, I'd like to mention the institution of the Staff Attorneys of the Ninth Circuit. These are lawyers who are stationed in San Francisco. They work for the court. Typically they are people who have recently graduated from law school, with excellent credentials. They stay with the Office of Staff Attorneys for approximately five years.
Supervisors remain for a longer period.
The staff attorneys are organized into units dealing with civil research, criminal research, motions, case management, and pro se work. Within these units, the attorneys develop expertise in particular areas of the law. With the assistance of these staff attorneys, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, during calendar year 1997, was able to consider carefully and process to termination 1,805 appellate cases on its screening calendar. This number is somewhat greater than in preceding years, the increase being due to an increase in case filings and the innovative case processing methods the Court has developed. The quality of the staff attorneys' work is outstanding, similar to what you would expect from a large law firm in a good-sized metropolitan city.