KS ALUM N I
Serving America’s highest court Kamaile Turcan is the first person of Native Hawaiian ancestry and the first UH law school graduate to serve as a U.S. Supreme Court law clerk
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t’s been quite the year for Kamaile Nichols Turcan KSK’98. In January 2016, Turcan was selected by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to a prestigious law clerk position in her office. Turcan’s term began in the summer and will run for one year. Turcan’s achievement marks the first time that a person of Native Hawaiian ancestry will serve as a law clerk to a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. The appointment is also a first for a University of Hawai‘i law school graduate to attain the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. During her term in the country’s highest federal court, Turcan will have the opportunity to assist the justice in legal research, writing and preparation for hearings. “The opportunity to work on some of the biggest legal questions of our day, to help Justice Sotomayor, is the ultimate opportunity for a young lawyer,” Turcan told Hawai‘i News Now upon learning of her appointment. “It’s an incredible lifetime opportunity for any law graduate, let alone one from Hawai‘i. One of the exciting things about the court is one never knows what nationally important issue will present itself.” Following her graduation from KS, where she served as salutatorian, Turcan received her BA in integrative biology from UC Berkeley in 2001. After working for several years as a field biologist, she
Kamaile Turcan, second from left, is congratulated (from left) by KS attorney Paul Nahoa Lucas KSK’77, trustee Lance Wilhelm KSK’83 and KS CEO Jack Wong.
entered the UH law school and graduated in 2008 with a certificate in environmental law. According to Turcan, the education she received at Kamehameha Schools laid the foundation for her to pursue the field of science, and later, law. She recalled playing around with the science equipment in her lab classes. “Every teacher I had at KS instilled in me a dedication to learning and to
“Every teacher I had at KS instilled in me a dedication to learning and to asking questions, which was instrumental to setting my path…” – Kamaile Turcan, U.S Supreme Court law clerk
asking questions, which was instrumental to setting my path in the sciences. But the greatest influence was my love of the outdoors and the ‘äina itself. Growing up in Hawai‘i, with the ocean and the mountains right outside my door, from the very beginning I was focused first and foremost on environmental issues.” Turcan initially did not set out to study law, as she thought she would always stay in the sciences. “I saw that some of the very creatures I loved to study were vanishing before my eyes. I can’t study them if they’re not there anymore,” she said. This prompted her interest to veer toward law and policy and be part of the efforts to protect the ‘äina. She said one of her goals is to continue being a good steward of the environment, both through her career and commitment to community through organizations like Käko‘o ‘Öiwi – a group that works to restore ecological continued on page 39
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