Adjudication as an Alternative Career for Lawyers

Antoine L. Collins examines adjudication as a career path for lawyers, drawing on his experience in prosecution and private practice before becoming an adjudicator. He explains how adjudicators manage hearings, assess evidence and credibility, apply legislation and jurisprudence, and give clear reasons for their decisions. 

The presentation considers the shift from advancing a client’s position to deciding a matter impartially on the full record. Antoine L. Collins identifies skills lawyers can bring to the role, including listening, questioning, legal research, writing and professional judgment. He also discusses the responsibility and independence that come with making decisions affecting real people, and why fairness, timeliness and understandable reasons matter to access to justice and public confidence.