Question:
A lawyer has a hearing in court scheduled for Shabbos. Can he appoint a goy to go in his place since no melacha has to be done? The goy would just be negotiating, etc.
Answer:
While one may ask a non Jew to do something that does not entail a Shabbos prohibition, one may not keep his law practice open on Shabbos and earn money from it. This is the prohibition of Schar Shabbos which is even for work that does not entail any Shabbos violation. If you send a non Jew and he earns the money for the work this would be permissible.
Sources:
Shulchan Aruch O:C 306:4, see there that if you are being paid an overall pay for work that is done during the week as well, this is also permissible, known as “havlaah”.
