CLERKSHIP, INC.: GRADS MATCHED WITH JUDGES, ACROSS THE COUNTRY
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ne day in December, Easha Anand ’14 received a call. She didn’t recognize the number, so she didn’t answer. The ensuing voicemail floored her. “Hey, Easha,” it began, “it’s Sonia Sotomayor. Could you please give me a call at your convenience?” Anand had interviewed for a clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court, so the call wasn’t unexpected, but the justice didn’t say whether the news was good or bad. Only when Anand called back, heart pounding, did she learn: She’d gotten an offer. Anand was astonished; her teachers weren’t. “Easha’s a superstar,” says professor Amanda Tyler, who co-chairs Berkeley Law’s Clerkship Committee with associate professor Andrew Bradt and Eric Stern, director of operations for the Career Development Office (CDO). “She blazed through law school. She did exceptionally well in her coursework, and she volunteered for a tremendous amount of institutional service— student organizations, clinical work, the Dean Search Committee.” It wasn’t the first clerkship offer Anand had received. In fact, she was already midway through a 9th Circuit clerkship with Judge Paul Watford, who had strongly backed her for the Sotomayor job. Anand was in good company, clerkshipwise. Stern says 59 new grads—20 percent
Easha Anand ’14 starts clerking for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in July. GEARING UP:
of Anand’s class—landed clerkships (immediately after graduation or for future terms) with state or federal judges, including 18 at the 9th Circuit alone (see sidebar “Home Court Advantage,” page 29). Nearly one-third will be clerking for more than one judge. The numbers reflect a concerted effort by the CDO and the Clerkship Committee. The task of matching students with clerkships has grown more challenging since 2013, when the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan was eliminated, ending uniform application deadlines and selection dates. Now, says Tyler, “It’s a never-ending, full-throttle institutional push to help our students land these extraordinary opportunities. It’s extremely time-consuming and stressful for the students.” It’s also no picnic for Erin Reynolds’ Faculty Support Unit, which produced more than 11,000 clerkship recommendation letters last year—about 5,500 online submissions and 6,000 letters sent directly to judicial
chambers. The efforts are paying off nationwide, with class of 2014 graduates clerking in 29 states, from Maine to Alaska. As for Anand: When she returned Justice Sotomayor’s call, Anand says she “babbled on and on” about how honored she was to receive the offer. Finally the justice asked wryly, “Does that mean ‘yes?’” Yes. Anand’s SCOTUS clerkship begins in July. —Jon Jefferson
ANOTHER SUPREME ACHIEVEMENT Shortly before Transcript went to press, another Berkeley Law grad received a dream phone call. Greg Miller ’12, who has already worked for three judges, was informed that he will clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia starting in July 2016. “Former clerks say their year with the Supreme Court was the most demanding and rewarding of their legal careers,” Miller says. “I expect to work very hard while making a few memories and forming friendships that will last a lifetime.”
JIM BLOCK (ANAND); TIMOTHY BARTLETT (TALWANI)
LABORING FOR JUSTICE INDIRA TALWANI ’88 Indira Talwani ’88 traces her path to the federal bench back to her roots—specifically, her grassroots experience as a labor organizer. After graduating from Harvard, she worked in California’s Central Valley for the Service Employees International Union, organizing convalescent-home staff members. “It was very hard” she recalls, “and I decided I needed more tools to help workers. That’s what made me want to go to law school.” At Berkeley Law, she volunteered in the Workers’ Rights Clinic and served as articles editor for the Industrial Relations Law Journal (now the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law). After graduating, she clerked Former labor organizer Indira Talwani ’88 took an unconventional path to the federal judiciary.
LABOR OF LOVE:
S P R I N G 2015 | T R A N S C R I P T |
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