![]() ![]() “There is a perception among law students-and it bears out a little bit in the statistics-that certain judges are more likely to have connections to Supreme Court justices and to send their clerks onto the Supreme Court,” McCloud said. ![]() Garland ’74 and Kavanaugh had 25 and 23 of their clerks respectively move on to Supreme Court clerkships, the two highest represented judges. More than a third of the clerks since 2010 had previously clerked at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in their previous clerkship job. Procuring a highly coveted position at a lower court first, then, is a well-worn path Law students follow. district court or for a state court before clerking for a Supreme Court justice. Only 18 Supreme Court clerks since 2010 had previously clerked for judges at a U.S. Court of Appeals or another justice on the Supreme Court before taking their most recent clerkship position on the Supreme Court. Out of these 310 clerks, 292 had worked as a clerk for either a judge on the U.S. Since 2010, 310 individuals have clerked on the United States Supreme Court for all the current justices as well as retired Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, and David H. The year-long position entails assisting a justice and researching cases, and those who aspire to be among the chosen few begin jockeying early for positions and accolades that will one day lead them to the nation’s highest court. Excellent grades and prior clerking experience are often prerequisites-and Ivy League pedigrees and law journal experience help. Landing a Supreme Court clerkship after graduation is not easy. Following the highly selective process, some students find it challenging to navigate making crucial connections to land their ideal clerking jobs, while others face difficulties balancing their career choices with paying off student loans. The path for some students who wish to clerk is not as smooth as McCloud’s, though. Less than 40 newly minted lawyers get picked each year, and holding a degree with “Harvard” on it boosts their chances. Clerkships, which entail assisting judges and researching cases, are stepping stones to the most prestigious jobs in the legal world. ![]() McCloud’s path from law school student to Supreme Court clerk is the dream of many law students around the country. Circuit, before finally making his way to the Supreme Court as Sotomayor’s clerk. Then, McCloud took another federal appellate clerkship-this time for Judge Brett M. to work at his current law firm, Williams & Connolly. Niemeyer on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals before moving to D.C. He was able to land a clerkship with Judge Paul V. ![]() “I’m not sure I knew exactly what a clerkship entailed before people started thinking about it at the end of the second year.” “I decided that I wanted to clerk around the end of my second year,” McCloud said. In fact, McCloud said the idea of clerking hadn’t even crossed his mind until more than halfway through his time at the Law School. “It was not something that I had given much thought to at all.” “No, it’s not something I ever considered,” he said. When Charles “Luke” McCloud entered Harvard Law School in 2008, he had no idea he would end up serving as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Sonia M. ![]()
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