Annie Ortega, a third-year scholar who lately took a weeklong class taught by Barrett, praised the “ideologically numerous” faculty. She is president of the college’s chapter of the Federalist Society however mentioned she has vigorous conversations together with her many liberal buddies on the faculty.
“Going to a legislation faculty the place I used to be going to listen to each side of the dialog was actually necessary, and is one thing that I discovered to be true in my class,” she added.
Joshua Mannery, a latest graduate who leans liberal and served as president of the scholar bar affiliation, mentioned that whereas he didn’t really feel excluded, “I do suppose anyone who says it’s extra conservative isn’t incorrect in saying that.”
‘Cream of the crop’
Each of the 9 Supreme Court justices hires 4 clerks a yr. It is taken into account probably the most prestigious submit a latest legislation faculty graduate can acquire.
“These are thought of the cream of the crop, the perfect within the authorized occupation,” mentioned Aliza Shatzman, president of the Legal Accountability Project, a gaggle she shaped to assist enhance transparency within the clerkship course of amid issues about office bullying and harassment.
During the yr, the clerks work on all the largest instances earlier than the court docket on points like abortion, weapons, voting rights and LGBTQ rights. Once the clerkship is accomplished, the clerks are in excessive demand within the authorized occupation, with massive legislation companies providing eye-popping signing bonuses. Many clerks go on to high-profile careers, whether or not in company legislation, academia or in some instances politics. Later of their careers, they’re typically earmarked as potential judicial appointees. Of the present 9 justices, six clerked on the court docket, as have a number of outstanding senators, together with Republicans Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
In the approaching nine-month time period that formally begins on Monday, two latest Notre Dame Law School graduates, Kari Lorentson and Elizabeth Totzke, are each clerking for Barrett. And two legislation professors from the college, Christian Burset and Patrick Reidy, the latter of whom is a Catholic priest, are clerking for justices Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, respectively.
They are following within the footsteps of 4 different Notre Dame graduates who clerked on the excessive court docket within the final 5 years, all for conservative justices. Two different Notre Dame professors additionally clerked on the Supreme Court lately, each with Gorsuch, who seems to typically favor hiring teachers to work for him.
In an look at Notre Dame final yr, Kavanaugh spoke about what he seems for in his clerks.
“It’s acquired to be people who find themselves comfy with my basic method,” Kavanaugh mentioned. “I’ve had two spectacular Notre Dame legislation clerks. They simply labored so exhausting.”
Nicole Garnett, a longtime Notre Dame professor who clerked for conservative Justice Clarence Thomas and is a longtime buddy of Barrett’s, chairs the college’s clerkship committee. In an interview, she downplayed connections with the conservative justices.
“I feel that drawing any conclusions about Supreme Court clerkships might be a class error as a result of it’s such a needle-in-a-haystack, lightning-strike type of factor,” she mentioned.
In 2023, Notre Dame was ranked fourth within the nation at putting college students in clerkships in any respect ranges of the court docket system. Overall, Notre Dame ranked twentieth in the latest U.S. News & World Report legislation faculty rankings.
The conventional elite legislation colleges dominate Supreme Court clerkships, with many justices hiring clerks from the identical legislation colleges they themselves attended and sustaining shut hyperlinks with college members. About two-thirds of clerks come from 5 colleges: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Chicago. Barrett, who graduated from Notre Dame Law School, is the one member of the present court docket to not have a legislation diploma from Harvard or Yale.
Within that context, Notre Dame is scrapping with different legislation colleges for the remaining clerkships and has carried out properly. In the final 5 years, extra graduates of Notre Dame Law School have been clerking on the excessive court docket than from many different high-ranking legislation colleges, together with Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Another conservative-aligned legislation faculty that’s making inroads is George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School in Virginia, which has additionally positioned some graduates in Supreme Court clerkships.
While Supreme Court clerkships are probably the most sought-after, comparable roles with federal appeals court docket judges are additionally necessary, partly as a result of many individuals who later acquire clerkships on the excessive court docket have beforehand labored for a decrease court docket choose.
Notre Dame is making inroads on that entrance too. Of the latest graduating class of 187 college students, about 20% moved on to clerkships of some sort.