In Brief
Highest Degree Reaches New Peak “New and improved” may be a stretch. After all, Berkeley Law’s three-year Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.) has long been a mark of distinction for international legal scholars. Nevertheless, recent updates are invigorating the school’s most advanced degree program. “We’ve tightened up our admissions process to ensure that the people we admit truly fit Berkeley Law,” says Evelyn Borchert,
GLOBAL APPEAL: J.S.D. students Daniel Castaño and Aylin Akturk Sahin with Evelyn Borchert, associate director of Berkeley Law’s International & Advanced Degree Programs
Greg Miller ’12 and Karim Kentfield ’12 will begin coveted U.S. Supreme Court clerkships in July—Miller for Justice Clarence Thomas, Kentfield for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Miller experienced exhilaration and heartache en route to the high court. He was set to clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia last year, until the jurist died unexpectedly. “That was the toughest news I’d received in a long time,” says Miller, who read Scalia’s book A Matter 8 TRANSCRIP T SPRING 2017
of Interpretation in high school. “Being hired as his law clerk was a dream come true. Losing out on that dream was difficult.” His wish to clerk on the Supreme Court was delayed, but not derailed. An appellate associate at Vinson & Elkins’ Houston office, Miller—who had two federal clerkships under his belt—applied to clerk for Thomas months after Scalia’s death. “Eric Stern (of Berkeley Law’s
Career Development Office) did a great job making sure my recommendation letters and other materials were ready in time,” Miller recalls. “Professors Amanda Tyler, Jesse Choper, and John Yoo were also tremendously helpful.” Kentfield, a tax associate at Skadden Arps in New York City, has also clerked for two federal judges. The former Google software engineer calls Justice Ginsburg “one of my legal
JIM BLOCK
FROM CLASSMATES TO SCOTUS CLERKS