In recent years the notion of the judge as an autonomous decision-maker has been increasingly challenged. Correspondingly, research has expanded to study the influence of various agents on judicial decision-making; however, some of these agents still receive little attention from the academic community. This book focuses on one such agent: the judicial assistant.00Based on fieldwork conducted at two Dutch district courts, 'In the shadow of the judge' discusses the involvement of judicial assistants in judicial decisionmaking and the potential consequences of their involvement on the adjudication process. By demonstrating the multifaceted involvement of these assistants and their influence on the judgments, the author highlights the necessity for a clearer understanding of this topic ? particularly in a civil law context.