Court Usher Role

I have an 'interview' for a Court Usher Role tomorrow, however it is not in a conventional interview style. There will not be a sit down interview. Myself and other candidates are being taken on a tour around the court and have the opportunity to ask questions. Are there any relevant questions you can think of that I can ask?

Many thanks in advance

Reply 1

2025

13

Original post by neonpegasus999

I have an 'interview' for a Court Usher Role tomorrow, however it is not in a conventional interview style. There will not be a sit down interview. Myself and other candidates are being taken on a tour around the court and have the opportunity to ask questions. Are there any relevant questions you can think of that I can ask?

Many thanks in advance

Here's a few:
What's a typical day consist of?
What are the most common types of cases an usher will help out in?
How much on average external administrative duties are there?
Who do I go to if I have any concerns?
Will I be expected to perform any other duties outside my generic role as an usher?
What are the opportunities for progression?

You will probably be able to word this better but hopefully its of some use.

Reply 2

Killerpenguin15

20

"What challenges could I expect of the job role?"
"Is there anything else I should know about that isn't in the job spec?"
"What training and professional development opportunities are available?"
"When can I expect to hear back?"

Reply 3

montyr

18

Are dancing lessons covered on the induction?

Reply 4

Albcat28

5

I was a court usher for many years , both County Court and Crown court . It's hard work and duties are usually alternated between ushers . I found one week I would be sitting in court , mainly swearing in witnesses ( the cases were family / civil ) passing documents to the judge and recording the hearing . This could be extremely boring and sometimes hearings could run past 'normal' finishing times . When not in court you would be on the 'desk ' , responsible for booking in members of the public and lawyers etc to attend hearings . You would also be working for , in my case , 5 judges on two floors . When the judge was ready for the next case you would call parties involved and escort them into judges chambers - this would be quite formal . Problems could arise if , for example , it was a day of housing repossessions where they would be in an out every 10 mins or so and you could find yourself being buzzed by three judges at once who could be very unforgiving if you weren't there immediately . The main problems I came across was the line of command , your line manager may ask you to do something but the judges may have other ideas . The hours could sometime be long as you are there when the Judge is sitting . On 'divorce day ' for example you could find yourself there until late whilst couples argued over who got the DVDs . I found it very interesting and have witnessed many interesting cases , rows between judges that involved chucking things and caught two lawyers 'at it ' in the robing room ! My contacts I made helped me secure work experience for my now MC lawyer son . I think you ought to ask about the line of command and the hours Good luck , hope I haven't put you off

Reply 5

Tronster

4

Just wondering where this role is as i've never heard of a "walk round" interview. When i got my job with HMCTS i have to answer a ton of competencies test questions

The post above me is pretty spot on with the role and the details, however the judges aren't as bad as made out, usually after a few months you leans how they work and are able to have a laugh with them so it's not that daunting.

Questions i would ask is
what type of work you'd be doing (family, criminal, civil etc)
what type of level would you be working at (circuit or district judge or the lay bench), (Not a huge difference but if it's in front of a circuit judge then it can be a very complex case)
What should i call the judge?
What time should i get in? (HMCTS works flexi time but the sooner you get in, the better it'll look.... trust me)
What's a bundle?
and whatever feels natural to ask, remember there aren't any stupid questions if you've never been in a court setting before. It's a rewarding and good job if you're good at it. Also it's a good way to get some legal experience if you're going for your solicitor/barrister training as the contacts you'll make will hugly benefit you

I can tell you now your line of command will always be
Judge
Delivery Manager
Team Leader
Court Clerk (if in crown)

Good luck with the interview.

Reply 6

Hawaii1985

1

I have an Interview tomorrow for a Court Usher in the Liverpool Crown Court and I also have an interview for an admin assistant ,I have done jury duty in the court so i know a little bit of what of a court usher does but is there tips you could give me for on what type of question's they might ask in in both interview's please

Reply 7

sheri5156m

1

Original post by Albcat28

I was a court usher for many years , both County Court and Crown court . It's hard work and duties are usually alternated between ushers . I found one week I would be sitting in court , mainly swearing in witnesses ( the cases were family / civil ) passing documents to the judge and recording the hearing . This could be extremely boring and sometimes hearings could run past 'normal' finishing times . When not in court you would be on the 'desk ' , responsible for booking in members of the public and lawyers etc to attend hearings . You would also be working for , in my case , 5 judges on two floors . When the judge was ready for the next case you would call parties involved and escort them into judges chambers - this would be quite formal . Problems could arise if , for example , it was a day of housing repossessions where they would be in an out every 10 mins or so and you could find yourself being buzzed by three judges at once who could be very unforgiving if you weren't there immediately . The main problems I came across was the line of command , your line manager may ask you to do something but the judges may have other ideas . The hours could sometime be long as you are there when the Judge is sitting . On 'divorce day ' for example you could find yourself there until late whilst couples argued over who got the DVDs . I found it very interesting and have witnessed many interesting cases , rows between judges that involved chucking things and caught two lawyers 'at it ' in the robing room ! My contacts I made helped me secure work experience for my now MC lawyer son . I think you ought to ask about the line of command and the hours Good luck , hope I haven't put you off

I am thinking about a usher job but have to drink water regulary and go to the toilet when I need to. Do you think that would be possible in this job at all?

(edited 7 months ago)

Court Usher Role

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