Prior clerkship experience of Supreme Court clerks has changed dramatically in the last 10 and 20 years

David Lat’s tireless efforts to chronicle the hiring of Supreme Court clerks prompted me to look at a trend that’s developed in recent years. It increasingly appears that multiple clerkships are a prerequisite to securing a Supreme Court clerkship. So I looked at the data for this October Term 2023 class, along with comparisons to the credentials of the OT2013 and OT2003 classes. The results were pretty dramatic. (I looked only at the 36 clerks of the active justices, and the 35 when Chief Justice Rehnquist served on the Court and only hired three clerks instead of the usual four.)

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For OT2003, just twenty years ago, 33 clerks came off of one previous court of appeals clerkship, and just two others had multiple clerkships (one of which was not on the federal court of appeals). In 2013, the number off a single prior court of appeals clerkship had dropped to 25. Another nine had two prior clerkships (one of which was not court of appeals), and two more had newer development of two separate court of appeals clerkships. Today, for October Term 2023, just seven of the 36 clerks came from one prior court of appeals clerkship. Fourteen had two prior clerkships, at least one of which was not on the federal court of appeals. And 11 had two prior court of appeals clerkships, and four with the novel development of three prior clerkships.

I’ve lamented that the hoops to jump through for a law school teaching position often involve a series of short-term stints and moves over a course of a few short years. Likewise, I’m not sure this is a particularly welcome development. Admittedly, Supreme Court clerks are a fraction of career outcomes. But many more, I think, are likewise chasing similar credentials of serial clerkships even if they do not get a Supreme Court clerkship in the end. I am not sure that it redounds to the benefit of law students, who as fourth or fifth year associates have much higher billing rates and expectations, but much less practical experience in the actual practice of law. For judges, I am sure that clerks with experience are beneficial, but in previous eras that role may have been given to a career clerk. I don’t know what the longer-term ramifications are, but it’s a trend I’m watching.

Recent Supreme Court clerk placement into the legal academy

On the heels of my recent annual survey of where Supreme Court clerks end up 10 years after their clerkships, I thought I’d look at the data a different way. I’ve done this survey for seven years and have a good chunk of placement data for Supreme Court clerks. I thought I’d look at the 56 clerks who ended up as law professors 10 years after their clerkships, and where they’d landed in that time. Of course, clerks may have moved on to other schools after 10 years, some may have left the academy by 10 years, or others may enter the academy after 10 years. But looking at the same 10-year window of similarly-situated clerks across several years was of interest (ed.: or more likely serves as a Rorschach to confirm priors…).

I’ve sorted below by justice and then by school, among those who clerked OT 2003 to OT 2009, and where they were 10 years out.

Ginsburg (11): Yale, Harvard, Chicago (x2), Duke, Michigan (x2), Berkeley, Fordham, Wisconsin (x2)*

Stevens (11): Columbia (x3), Michigan, Penn, Duke, Wisconsin, Florida, Cardozo, Georgia State, American

Souter (10): Harvard, NYU (x2), Columbia, Virginia, Michigan, Northwestern, UCLA, William & Mary, Pepperdine

Kennedy (7): Harvard, Washington University in St. Louis, George Washington, Notre Dame (x2), Ohio State, Hastings

Breyer (4): Harvard, Chicago, Columbia (x2)

O’Connor (4): Yale, Chicago, Emory,** BYU

Roberts (3): Chicago, Duke, Missouri

Scalia (3): Columbia, Virginia, Richmond

Sotomayor (2): Georgetown, Wisconsin*

Thomas (2): Notre Dame, George Mason

Alito (1): Emory**

*Clerked for both Ginsburg and Sotomayor in different terms

**Clerked for O’Connor and later Alito in the same term

Columbia (7): Stevens (x3), Breyer (x2), Scalia, Souter

Chicago (5): Ginsburg (x2), Breyer, O’Connor, Roberts

Harvard (4): Breyer, Ginsburg, Kennedy, Souter

Michigan (4): Ginsburg (x2), Souter, Stevens

Duke (3): Ginsburg, Roberts, Stevens

Notre Dame (3): Kennedy (x2), Thomas

Wisconsin (3): Ginsburg, Ginsburg/Sotomayor, Stevens

NYU (2): Souter (x2)

Virginia (2): Scalia, Souter

Yale (2): Ginsburg, O’Connor

American (1): Stevens

Berkeley (1): Ginsburg

BYU (1): O’Connor

Cardozo (1): Stevens

Emory (1): O’Connor/Alito

Florida (1): Stevens

Fordham (1): Ginsburg

George Mason (1): Thomas

George Washington (1): Kennedy

Georgetown (1): Sotomayor

Georgia State (1): Stevens

Hastings (1): Kennedy

Missouri (1): Roberts

Northwestern (1): Souter

Ohio State (1): Kennedy

Penn (1): Stevens

Pepperdine (1): Souter

Richmond (1): Scalia

UCLA (1): UCLA

Washington University in St. Louis (1): Kennedy

William & Mary (1): Souter

Where are they now? Supreme Court clerks, OT 2009

Following up on posts on a ten-year retrospective on the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2003, October Term 2004, October Term 2005, October Term 2006, October Term 2007, and October Term 2008, here's what the clerks from October Term 2009 are doing. This list is probably unreliable and has not been fact-checked in any way, except for the links provided (and these links admittedly often aren't the best source material). Some designations including “recently” are the last-available information. As always, please let me know of any errors or corrections (Twitter DM or email is fine, no need to comment!).

Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Roman Martinez (Yale 2008 / Kavanaugh), partner at Latham & Watkins

James M. McDonald (Virginia 2007 / Sutton), Director of Enforcement, CFTC

Stephen E. Sachs (Yale 2007 / S. Williams), law professor at Duke

Erik R. Zimmerman (Stanford 2007 / Wilkinson), attorney at Robinson Bradshaw

Justice John Paul Stevens

Hyland Hunt (Michigan 2008 / D. Ginsburg), partner at Deutsch Hunt PLLC

Adam C. Jed (Harvard 2008 / Calabresi), DOJ, recently Civil Division and Office of Special Counsel, DOJ

Merritt E. McAlister (Georgia 2007 / R.L. Anderson), professor at Florida

David E. Pozen (Yale 2007 / Garland), professor at Columbia

Justice Antonin Scalia

Jonathan C. Bond (GW 2008 / Sutton), recently partner at Gibson Dunn

Steven P. Lehotsky (Harvard 2002 / D. Ginsburg), Senior Vice President & Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center

Daniel M. Sullivan (Chicago 2008 / O’Scannlain), partner at Holwell Shuster & Goldberg

Katherine Twomey (Allen) (Virginia 2008 / Wilkinson), DOJ, Civil Division

Justice Anthony Kennedy

Daniel Epps (Harvard 2008 / Wilkinson), law professor at Washington University in St. Louis

Allon Kedem (Yale 2005 / Leval / Kravitz (D. Conn.)), partner at Arnold & Porter

Scott A. Keller (Texas 2007 / Kozinski), partner at Baker Botts

Misha Tseytlin (Georgetown 2006 / Kozinski / J. R. Brown), partner at Troutman Sanders

Justice Clarence Thomas

Tyler Green (Utah 2005 / McConnell / Cassell (D. Utah)), Solicitor General of Utah

Brian Morrissey (Notre Dame 2007 / O’Scannlain), DAAG, DOJ

Elizabeth P. Papez (Harvard 1999 / Boggs), partner at Gibson Dunn

Marah Stith McLeod (Yale 2006 / O’Scannlain), professor at Notre Dame

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Elizabeth B. Prelogar (Harvard 2008 / Garland), recently Solicitor General’s Office and Office of Special Counsel, DOJ

Pamela Bookman (Virginia 2006 / Sack), professor at Fordham

Vincent G. Levy (Columbia 2007 / D. Ginsburg), partner at Holwell Shuster & Goldberg

John Rappaport (Harvard 2006 / Reinhardt), professor at Chicago

Justice Stephen Breyer

Andrew Manuel Crespo (Harvard 2008 / Reinhardt), professor at Harvard

Bessie Dewar (Yale 2006 / W. Fletcher / L. Pollak (E.D. Pa.)), State Solicitor of Massachusetts

Chris C. Fonzone (Harvard 2007 / Wilkinson), partner at Sidley

Jennifer Nou (Yale 2008 / Posner), professor at Chicago

Justice Samuel Alito

Amit Agarwal (Georgetown 2004 / Kavanaugh), Solicitor General of Florida

K. Winn Allen (Virginia 2008 / Sutton), partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Jaynie Lilley (Yale 2006 / Cabranes / M. Patel (N.D. Cal.)), Civil Division, DOJ

Lucas C. Townsend (Seton Hall 2004 / Barry / Ackerman (D.N.J.)), partner at Gibson Dunn

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Jeremy C. Marwell (NYU 2006 / S. Williams), partner at Vinson & Elkins

Eloise Pasachoff (Harvard 2004 / Katzmann / Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.)), law professor at Georgetown

Lindsey E. Powell (Stanford 2007 / Stevens / Garland), civil division, DOJ

Robert Yablon (Yale 2006 / R. B. Ginsburg / W. Fletcher), law professor at Wisconsin

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Joshua Deahl (Michigan 2006 / Benavides, shared with Kennedy), appellate division, Public Defender Service

Justice David H. Souter

Thomas Pulham (Yale 2004 / Katzmann / Cote (S.D.N.Y.), shared with Breyer), Civil Division, DOJ

As usual, there’s a mix of government attorneys (DOJ and state SG most common), law professors, and law firm partners, with scattered other positions. Of note, two from this class served on Robert Mueller’s investigation team.

One more note: as I perused those were partners at law firms, I was struck by the number who’re heading or a part of the “appellate” teams at these firms. I know, this is a popular reason to hire or pursue Supreme Court clerks. But I’ve been looking at 10-year profiles for several years, and it struck me that there were disproportionately more in this field this year.

By that I mean, in previous years, I’d commonly find partners doing “real law” (okay, I don’t mean to be pejorative here)—tax law, white collar criminal defense, complex litigation, and so on. Appellate might have been a part of the portfolio, but it wasn’t the defining area. Now, it seems that more are specifically in appellate work without other defined practice areas.

Maybe I’m just misremembering (possibly) or observing selectively (probably). But it’s worth considering whether Supreme Court clerk trajectories are changing among those who remain in private practice.

Where are they now? Supreme Court clerks, OT 2008

Following up on posts on a ten-year retrospective on the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2003, October Term 2004, October Term 2005, October Term 2006, and October Term 2007, here's what the clerks from October Term 2008 are doing. This list is probably unreliable and has not been fact-checked in any way, except for the links provided (and these links admittedly often aren't the best source material). As always, please let me know of any errors or corrections.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts

William P. Baude (Yale 2007 / McConnell), law professor at Chicago

Jeffrey M. Harris (Harvard 2006 / Sentelle / Silberman), partner at Consovoy McCarthy Park

Erin E. Murphy (Georgetown 2006 / Sykes), partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Porter N. Wilkinson (Virginia 2007 / Kavanaugh), chief of staff to regents of the Smithsonian

Justice John Paul Stevens

Jessica Bulman-Pozen (Yale 2007 / Garland), law professor at Columbia

Cecilia M. Klingele (Wisconsin 2005 / Black / Crabb (W.D. Wis.)), law professor at Wisconsin

Lindsey Powell (Stanford 2007 / Garland), DOJ

A. Damian Williams (Yale 2007 / Garland), AUSA, S.D.N.Y.

Justice Antonin Scalia

Jameson R. Jones (Stanford 2007 / Sutton), partner at Bartlit Beck

Yaakov M. Roth (Harvard 2007 / Boudin), partner at Jones Day

Moshe Y. Spinowitz (Harvard 2006 / Boudin), partner at Skadden

David C. Thompson (Stanford 2007 / Kozinski), general counsel & chief privacy officer, Grand Rounds

Justice Anthony Kennedy

Ashley C. Keller (Chicago 2007 / Posner), partner at Keller Lenkner

Travis D. Lenkner (Kansas 2005 / Kavanaugh), partner at Keller Lenkner

Steven M. Shepard (Yale 2007 / Kozinski), partner at Susman Godfrey

Christopher J. Walker (Stanford 2006 / Kozinski), professor at Ohio State

Justice David H. Souter

Erin F. Delaney (NYU 2007 / Calabresi), professor at Northwestern

Michael Gerber (Yale 2005 / Leval), AUSA, S.D.N.Y.

Warren D. Postman (Harvard 2007 / W. Fletcher), partner at Keller Lenkner

Noah Purcell (Harvard 2007 / Tatel), Solicitor General of Washington

Justice Clarence Thomas

William S. Consovoy (George Mason 2001 / E. Jones), partner at Consovoy McCarthy Park

Claire J. Evans (Rutgers-Camden 2002 / Sentelle / Chertoff / Simandle (D.N.J.)), partner at Wiley Rein

Jennifer L. Mascott (George Washington 2006 / Kavanaugh), professor at George Mason

Patrick N. Strawbridge (Creighton 2004 / H. Dana (Maine) / M. Arnold), partner at Consovoy McCarthy Park

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sue-Yun Ahn (Columbia 2006 / Tatel / Cote (S.D.N.Y.)), senior counsel, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Miriam L. Seifter (Harvard 2007 / Garland), professor at Wisconsin

Kevin S. Schwartz (Yale 2006 / Calabresi), partner at Wachtell

Robert M. Yablon (Yale 2006 / W. Fletcher), professor at Wisconsin

Justice Stephen Breyer

Brianne J. Gorod (Yale 2005 / Katzmann / Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.)), chief counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center

Seth Grossman (Yale 2005 / Calabresi / Reinhardt), chief of staff to the President of the University of California

Aileen M. McGrath (Harvard 2007 / Boudin), deputy city attorney, City of San Francisco

Matthew E. Price (Harvard 2006 / Boudin), partner, Jenner & Block

Justice Samuel Alito

Dana Remus (Yale 2002 / Scirica), general counsel, Obama Foundation

Andy Oldham (Harvard 2005 / Sentelle), judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Michael H. Park (Yale 2001 / Alito), partner at Consovoy McCarthy Park

Jack L. White (Pepperdine 2003 / Alito), partner at FH+H

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Isaac Lidsky (Harvard 2004 / Ambro, shared with Ginsburg), CEO, ODC Construction

This is by far the most close-knit class of clerks we’ve come across. To wit:

-Three teach at the University of Wisconsin, and two of them, Ginsburg co-clerks, are married to each other. (UPDATE: Two other clerks from OT08, Erin Delaney and Travis Lenkner, are also married to each other.)

-Two Thomas clerks, one Roberts clerk, and one Alito clerk are partners at a boutique founded by at least some of them.

-Two Kennedy and one Souter clerk are also partners at the same boutique founded by at least some of them.

Otherwise, it’s a typical mix of mostly law firm partners, public servants, (including a state SG and a federal appellate judge), and law professors.

Where are they now? Supreme Court clerks, OT 2007

Following up on posts on a ten-year retrospective on the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2003, October Term 2004, October Term 2005, and October Term 2006, here's what the clerks from October Term 2007 are doing. This list is probably unreliable and has not been fact-checked in any way, except for the links provided (and these links often aren't the best source material).

Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Jason T. Burnette (Georgia 2006 / R. L. Anderson), partner at Jones Day

Joshua Hawley (Yale 2006 / McConnell), attorney general of Missouri

Anton Metlitsky (Harvard 2005 / Garland), partner at O'Melveny

Erin Morrow Hawley (Yale 2005 / Wilkinson), professor at Missouri

Justice John Paul Stevens

Todd Gluth (Berkeley 2005 / W. Fletcher), partner at Cooley

Sara Eisenberg (Cardozo 2005 / Lifland (D.N.J.) / Barry), deputy city attorney of San Francisco

Kate Shaw (Northwestern 2006 / Posner), professor at Cardozo

Abby Wright (Penn 2006 / Boudin), attorney, DOJ

Justice Antonin Scalia

Aditya Bamzai (Chicago 2004 / Sutton), professor at Virginia

John Bash (Harvard 2006 / Kavanaugh), associate counsel, White House (and nominee, U.S. Attorney, W.D. Tex.)

Bryan M. Killian (Harvard 2005 / Niemeyer), partner at Morgan Lewis

Rachel P. Kovner (Stanford 2006 / Wilkinson), assistant to the Solicitor General

Justice Anthony Kennedy

Michael Chu (Harvard 2006 / D. Ginsburg), partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Stephen J. Cowen (Chicago 2006 / D. Ginsburg), of counsel at Jones Day

Annie Kastanek (Northwestern 2005 / Ripple), AUSA, N.D. Ill.

C.J. Mahoney (Yale 2006 / Kozinski), partner at Williams & Connolly (and nominee, Deputy Trade Representative)

Justice David H. Souter

Bert Huang (Harvard 2003 / Boudin), professor at Columbia

Leslie C. Kendrick (Virginia 2006 / Wilkinson), professor at Virginia

Michael J. Mongan (Stanford 2006 / Garland), deputy solicitor general of California

Micah W.J. Smith (Harvard 2006 / Calabresi), AUSA, S.D.N.Y.

Justice Clarence Thomas

Eric McArthur (Chicago 2005 / Luttig), DAAG, DOJ

Carrie Severino (Harvard 2004 / Sentelle), chief counsel and policy director, Judicial Crisis Network

Heath Tarbert (Penn 2001 / D. Ginsburg), nominee, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Markets and Development

Leila Mongan (NYU 2005 / Sentelle / Lamberth), most recently counsel at Hogan Lovells

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruthanne M. Deutsch (Georgetown 2004 / Dyk), partner at Deutsch Hunt

Brian H. Fletcher (Harvard 2006 / Garland), assistant to the Solicitor General

Thomas G. Saunders (Yale 2004 / Leval), partner at WilmerHale

Zachary D. Tripp (Columbia 2005 / Kearse), assistant to the Solicitor General

Justice Stephen Breyer

Michael Bosworth (Yales 2003 / Katzmann / Kakoff), counsel at MacAndrews & Forbes

Karen Dunn (Yale 2006 / Garland), partner at Boies Schiller

Eric J. Feigin (Stanford 2005 / Wilkinson), assistant to the Solicitor General

Philippa M. Scarlett (Columbia 2003 / A. Williams), formerly DAAG in DOJ

Justice Samuel Alito

James Hunter (Yale 2003 / Alito), partner at Hunter & Kmiec

Geoffrey J. Michael (Yale 2000 / Alito), partner at Arnold & Porter

David H. Moore (BYU 1996 / Alito), general counsel, USAID

Jessica E. Phillips (Northwestern 2006 / Flaum), counsel at Boies Schiller

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Heidi Bond (Michigan 2006 / Kozinski, shared with Kennedy), author

A few thoughts:

Law professors continue to flow from a few justices. Only five law professors among the bunch, and they're spread out a bit more than previous years.

Plenty of government service. There were 15 involvement in government, and not all federal--service in Missouri, California, and San Francisco peppered the resumes of this class.

A small drop in law firms. There were 14 in law firms, down from 19 last year--and those were all partners. This year's includes several counsel & of counsel positions.

All in all, the sample size is consistently too small to draw much comparison from class to class or across classes. But it's worth looking back over the years to see if 10-year retrospectives have changed terribly much!

Update: I mixed up an OT 2008 Ginsburg clerk with an OT 2007 clerk; that has been corrected!

Where are they now? Supreme Court clerks, OT 2006

Following up on posts on a ten-year retrospective on the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2003, October Term 2004, and October Term 2005, here's what the clerks from October Term 2006 are doing. This list is probably unreliable and has not been fact-checked in any way, except for the links provided (and these links often aren't the best source material).

Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Felicia H. Ellsworth (Chicago 2005 / Boudin), partner at WilmerHale

George W. Hicks, Jr. (Harvard 2005 / J.R. Brown), partner at Bancroft

Keenan D. Kmiec (Berkeley 2004 / Sentelle / Alito (3d Cir.)), partner at Hunter & Kmiec

Paul J. Nathanson (Harvard 2004 / Silberman / Niemeyer), AUSA, E.D. Va.

Justice John Paul Stevens

Nicholas J. Bagley (NYU 2005 / Tatel), professor at Michigan

Chad Golder (Yale 2005 / Garland), AUSA, E.D. Va.

Jamal Greene (Yale 2005 / Calabresi), professor at Columbia

Lauren Sudeall Lucas (Harvard 2005 / Reinhardt), professor at Georgia State

Justice Antonin Scalia

Daniel A. Bress (Virginia 2005 / Wilkinson), partner at Kirkland & Ellis

Louis A. Chaiten (Northwestern 1998 / Sutton), partner at Jones Day

Joshua S. Lipshutz (Stanford 2005 / Kozinski), partner at Gibson Dunn

Hashim Mooppan (Harvard 2005 / Luttig), partner at Jones Day

Justice Anthony Kennedy

David W. Foster (Harvard 2005 / Kozinski), partner at Skadden

Lisa Marshall Manheim (Yale 2005 / Leval), professor at University of Washington

Eric E. Murphy (Chicago 2005 / Wilkinson), Solicitor General of Ohio

Mark R. Yohalem (Harvard 2005 / Rymer), AUSA, C.D. Cal.

Justice David H. Souter

Boris Bershteyn (Yale 2004 / Cabranes), partner at Skadden

David S. Han (Harvard 2005 / Boudin), professor at Pepperdine

Bryan W. Leach (Yale 2005 / Cabranes), CEO at Ibotta

Daniel B. Tenny (Michigan 2005 / Tatel), civil division, appellate, DOJ

Justice Clarence Thomas

John D. Adams (Virginia 2003 / Sentelle), partner at McGuireWoods

David A. Bragdon (Virginia 2002 / S. Williams), AUSA, E.D.N.C.

Adam Conrad (Georgia 2005 / Sentelle), partner at King & Spalding

Brandt Leibe (Yale 2005 / Luttig), partner at King & Spalding

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Kate Andrias (Yale 2004 / Reinhardt), professor at Michigan

Scott Hershovitz (Yale 2004 / W. Fletcher), professor at Michigan

Daphna Renan (Yale 2004 / H. Edwards), professor at Harvard

Arun Subramanian (Columbia 2004 / Jacobs / G. Lynch (S.D.N.Y.)), partner at Susman Godfrey

Justice Stephen Breyer

Jaren Janghorbani (Columbia 2004 / Jacobs / K. Wood (S.D.N.Y.)), partner at Paul Weiss

Tacy F. Flint (Chicago 2004 / Posner), partner at Sidley

Stephen Shackelford (Harvard 2005 / Boudin), partner at Susman Godfrey

Thiru Vignarajah (Harvard 2005 / Calabresi), Deputy Attorney General of Maryland

Justice Samuel Alito

Michael S. Lee (BYU 1997 / Alito (3d Cir.) / Benson (D. Utah)), Senator from Utah

Christopher J. Paolella (Harvard 1999 / Alito (3d Cir.)), partner at Reich & Paolella

Matthew A. Schwartz (Columbia 2003 / Alito (3d Cir.)), partner at Sullivan & Cromwell

Gordon D. Todd (Virginia 2000 / Beam), partner at Sidley

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Justin Driver (Harvard 2004 / Garland), professor at Chicago

A few thoughts:

Law professors continue to flow from a few justices. Nine members of this class went on to be law professors, the same number as last year. Six of those came from two justices, Stevens and Ginsburg. (And it's worth noting that while Ginsburg placed three professors this year, it doesn't match the full four-professor slate from OT 2003!)

More partners, and more boutiques. There were 19 law firm partners this time. Last year, a number were in an "attorney" or "counsel" role, but that doesn't seem to be the case for this class. Additionally, two clerks (Kmiec and Paolella) went on to start their own boutiques.

A Senator! A CEO! That's right, Senator Mike Lee of Utah is the first elected official I've run across in the last several years of doing this. Additionally, Bryan Leach is the CEO of a startup, another first in my review of Supreme Court clerks.

Public interest as government work. Usually, there are a couple clerks in a more policy-oriented public interest position, but this year it's pretty much limited to AUSAs, with an SG and a DAG thrown in for good measure.

Where are they now? Supreme Court clerks, OT2005

Following up on posts on a ten-year retrospective on the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2003 and October Term 2004, here's what the clerks from October Term 2005 are doing. This list is probably unreliable and has not been fact-checked in any way, except for the links provided (and these links often aren't the best source material). Note that Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away at the beginning of the term and was replaced by Chief Justice John Roberts, and clerks for both are designated under the Roberts clerks. Also note that Justice Samuel Alito replaced Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in the middle of the term, and I did the best I could breaking down their clerks.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts

Daniel P. Kearney, Jr. (Yale 2004 / J. Roberts (D.C. Cir.)), counsel at WilmerHale

Mark W. Mosier (Chicago 2004 / Rehnquist / Tacha), partner at Covington

Ann E. O'Connell (George Washington 2004 / Rehnquist / Magill), assistant to the Solicitor General, DOJ

Michael S. Passaportis (Virginia 2004 / Rehnquist / Wilkinson), unknown

Kosta Stojilkovic (Virginia 2004 / J. Roberts (D.C. Cir.)), AUSA, E.D. Va.

Justice John Paul Stevens

Jean Galbraith (Berkeley 2004 / Tatel), professor at Penn

Daniel J. Lenerz (Stanford 2002 / S. Williams / Thompson (M.D. Ala.)), civil division, appellate staff, DOJ

Sarah Eddy McCallum (Georgetown 2002 / Walker (2d Cir.) / Rakoff), AUSA, S.D.N.Y.

Samuel Spital (Harvard 2004 / H. Edwards), partner at Holland & Knight

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Tali Farhadian Weinstein (Yale 2003 / Garland), AUSA, E.D.N.Y.*

Benjamin J. Horwich (Stanford 2003 / Becker / V. Walker (N.D. Cal.)), attorney at Munger Tolles**

Amy N. Kapczynski (Yale 2003 / Calabresi), professor at Yale

Sasha Volokh (Harvard 2004 / Kozinski), professor at Emory**

*Also clerked for previous term with Justice O'Connor.

**Also clerked for Justice Alito upon his confirmation.

Justice Antonin Scalia

John C. Demers (Harvard 1999 / O'Scannlain), VP & assistant GC, Boeing

Scott P. Martin (Columbia 2004 / Kozinski), partner at Gibson Dunn

D. John Sauer (Harvard 2004 / Luttig), partner at Clark & Sauer

Evan A. Young (Yale 2004 / Wilkinson), partner at Baker Botts

Justice Anthony Kennedy

David M. Cooper (Stanford 2004 / J. Roberts (D.C. Cir.)), counsel at Quinn Emanuel

Randy J. Kozel (Harvard 2004 / Kozinski), professor at Notre Dame

Jeffrey A. Pojanowski (Harvard 2004 / J. Roberts (D.C. Cir.)), professor at Notre Dame

Zachary S. Price (Harvard 2003 / Tatel / Blake (D. Md.)), professor at Hastings

Justice David H. Souter

Jeanne C. Fromer (Harvard 2002 / Sack), professor at NYU

Meaghan McLaine VerGow (Harvard 2004 / Garland), counsel at O'Melveny

Jon D. Michaels (Yale 2003 / Calabresi), professor at UCLA

Allison Orr Larsen (Virginia 2004 / Wilkinson), professor at William & Mary

Justice Clarence Thomas

Chantel Febus (George Washington 2002 / E. Jones / Lamberth (D.D.C.)), counsel at Proskauer

James C. Ho (Chicago 1999 / J. Smith (5th Cir.)), partner at Gibson Dunn

John M. Hughes (Chicago 2004 / Luttig), partner at Bartlit Beck

Ashley E. Johnson (Vanderbilt 2004 / Luttig), counsel at Gibson Dunn

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Lori Alvino McGill (Columbia 2003 / Tatel), partner at Quinn Emanuel

Joshua Civin (Yale 2003 / Reinhardt), counsel,  Montgomery County Public Schools

Rebecca Deutsch (Yale 2002 / Katzmann / Rakoff (S.D.N.Y.)), assistant general counsel for law and policy, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Anna-Rose Mathieson (Michigan 2003 / Boudin), partner at California Appellate Law Group

Justice Stephen Breyer

Danielle Gray (Harvard 2003 / Garland), partner at O'Melveny

Kathryn E. Judge (Stanford 2004 / Posner), professor at Columbia

Jonathan Kravis (Yale 2004 / Garland), AUSA, D.D.C.

John H. Longwell (Georgia 1999 / D. Ginsburg / V. Walker (N.D. Cal.)), counsel, ING

Justice Samuel Alito

Adam G. Ciongoli (Georgetown 1995 / Tatel / Bea), counsel, Campbell Soup Company

Horwich (from O'Connor)

Hannah Clayson Smith (BYU 2001 / Thomas (S. Ct.) / Alito (3d Cir.)), counsel, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty

Volokh (from O'Connor)

A few thoughts:

The law professor drought is over! Well, last year, I wondered about a sharp drop-off in academic placements, from 14 for OT2003 to just 3 for OT2004. They're back! Nine are teaching at top flight law schools.

Who needs to become a partner? I count 6 former clerks working at law firms in an attorney or counsel role rather than as partner.

Otherwise, it's the usual mix of government or public interest lawyers, private practitioners, and academics one might otherwise expect.

Where are they now? Supreme Court clerks, OT2004

Following up on last year's post on a ten-year retrospective on the Supreme Court clerks from October Term 2003, here's what the clerks from October Term 2004 are doing. This list is probably unreliable and has not been fact-checked in any way, except for the links provided (and these links often aren't the best source material).

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist

Jeffrey L. Oldham (Northwestern 2003 / Posner), partner at Bracewell & Giuliani

Julius N. Richardson (Chicago 2003 / Posner), AUSA, D.S.C.

Ryan A. Shores (Virginia 2003 / Ripple), partner at Hunton & Williams

Justice John Paul Stevens

Melissa Arbus Sherry (Virginia 2003 / Motz), assistant to the Solicitor General, DOJ

Roberto J. Gonzalez (Stanford 2003 / Calabresi), Principal Deputy General Counsel, CFPB

Michael J. Gottlieb (Harvard 2003 / Reinhardt), partner at Boies Schiller

Daniel J. Powell (Chicago 2003 / W. Fletcher), deputy legal affairs secretary, Office of the Governor of California

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Joel C. Beauvais (NYU 2002 / H. Edwards), Associate Administrator, Office of Policy, EPA

Theane D. Evangelis (NYU 2003 / Kozinski), partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Tali Farhadian Weinstein (Yale 2003 / Garland), AUSA, E.D.N.Y.

Joshua Klein (Stanford 2002 / Garland), AUSA, C.D. Cal.

Justice Antonin Scalia

Curtis E. Gannon (Chicago 1998 / E. Jones), assistant to the Solicitor General, DOJ

William M. Jay (Harvard 2001 / O'Scannlain), partner at Goodwin Procter

Tara S. Kole (Harvard 2003 / Kozinski), partner at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown

Jake Phillips (Chicago 2003 / Luttig), chief counsel, Boeing

Justice Anthony Kennedy

Andrew C. Baak (Chicago 2003 / Posner), partner at Bartlit Beck

Kathryn R. Haun (Stanford 2000 / Kozinski), AUSA, N.D. Cal.

Michael E. Scoville (Harvard 2003 / Luttig), partner at Perkins Coie

Matthew C. Stephenson (Harvard 2003 / S. Williams), professor at Harvard

Justice David H. Souter

Catherine M.A. Carroll (Michigan 2002 / H. Edwards), partner at WilmerHale

Matthew S. Hellman (Harvard 2002 / Boudin), partner at Jenner & Block

Christine B. Van Aken (NYU 2002 / Leval), deputy city attorney, San Francisco

Daniel S. Volchok (Harvard 2003 / Tatel), partner at WilmerHale

Justice Clarence Thomas

Jennifer Hardy (Yale 2003 / Garza), counsel at Kirkland & Ellis

Martha M. Pacold (Chicago 2002 / Bybee / Randolph), partner at Bartlit Beck

Jeffrey B. Wall (Chicago 2003 / Wilkinson), special counsel at Sullivan & Cromwell

Henry C. Whitaker (Harvard 2003 / Sentelle), Civil Division, DOJ

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ginger D. Anders (Columbia 2002 / Sotomayor / G. Lynch), assistant to the Solicitor General, DOJ

Katherine H. Ku (UCLA 2003 / Kozinski), partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson

Daniel B. Levin (Yale 2002 / W. Fletcher), partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson

Dorothy Hien Tran (Harvard 2003 / Tatel), director of global advocacy, Landesa

Justice Stephen Breyer

Christina Duffy Ponsa (Yale 1998 / Cabranes), professor at Columbia

James P. Dowden (Boston College 2000 / Scirica), partner at Ropes & Gray

Aimee A. Feinberg (Stanford 2002 / Tatel), director, California Supreme Court Clinic, UC Davis

Jake Sullivan (Yale 2003 / Calabresi), national security advisor to the Vice President

A few thoughts:

Unlike the October term 2003 class, there's not quite the clear divide upon roles for clerks to "conservative" (Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas) and "liberal" (Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer) justices. (These are, of course, imperfect terms.) That gives us 35 clerks, 19 clerking for "conservative" justices and 16 for "liberal" justices.

For those still in private practice, 11 are from "conservative" justices (same as last year), and 7 from "liberal" justices (up from 3), good for 18 placements.

For academia, the interest is down dramatically from the 14 placements last year--there are just 3 in academia from OT2004: two from Breyer, one from Kennedy, two of them at Ivies.

In government/public interest, the total is 7 from "conservatives" (up from 3) and 7 from "liberals" (up from 4).

Is there an inertia to clerk classes? Is there a reason that government employees basically doubled between the OT2003 and OT2004 classes, while those entering academia plummeted 80%? Is comparing anecdata for two years' sets of clerks worth much more than a few minutes of baseless Internet speculation? Rest easy--it is certainly little more than that.

New phrase in hiring SCOTUS clerks: the "Full Kagan"

Following "The Elect" is a hobby of many, including, on occasion, me. And we have something new to report.

As far as I can tell from a reading of this Wikipedia page, this is one of the rare times in Supreme Court history that a justice has selected all four of her clerks from the D.C. Circuit--and the first time a justice has selected four D.C. Circuit clerks from four different D.C. Circuit judges.

Other justices have hired all their clerks from the D.C. Circuit before (consider some terms for Justice Brennan), but never when they hired four clerks.

And others have hired three D.C. Circuit clerks before (consider Justice White's October Term 1978, or Thurgood Marshall's October Term 1987).

Still others have hired four clerks from the D.C. Circuit before, but multiple came from the same judge. Justice O'Connor hired four from the D.C. Circuit in October Term 1983 (J. Skelly Wright x2, R.B. Ginsburg, Bork). Justice Scalia brought all of his clerks from the D.C. Circuit with him in 1986, which isn't quite the same. But he also had four D.C. Circuit clerks in October Term 1988 (S. Williams x3,  Bork), not counting an additional D.C. Circuit clerk he shared with Justice Burger.

Last year, three of Justice Kagan's four clerks came from District of Columbia Circuit clerkships (Garland x2, Rogers), the fourth coming from the Tenth Circuit (Gorsuch).

But this year, according to Above the Law, it would be the first time that Supreme Court justice hired four clerks from the D.C. Circuit, from four different justices. Justice Kagan has selected a Kavanaugh, a Srinivasan, a Tatel, and a Garland clerk for October Term 2014.

In homage of the "Full Ginsburg," I thought I'd call this move the "Full Kagan." Sure, it's not "full" in the sense that she's selected a clerk from every D.C. Circuit judge, but it's close enough for the phrase to work.

Now a justice that selected four D.C. Circuit clerks from four different judges appointed by four different presidents... that's for another day (but, perhaps, the "Full Kagan, Squared"?).

I welcome factual corrections if it turns out Justice Kagan is not the first to have performed this maneuver. But even then, I still think naming the hiring cycle after her would work nicely.