The University Law School now ranks third in the nation for the number of alumni who are serving as clerks for the United States Supreme Court for the 2006-07 session, with four. Only Harvard and Yale have more alumni serving as clerks on the high court.
Molly Bishop, the director of public service for the Law School, noted how "remarkable it is that four alumni will be clerking this year" and that this accomplishment contributes to the Law School's "great success record of placing graduates as clerks" for the Supreme Court.
"[Being a clerk] is the highest achievement and most exciting job for a young lawyer," Bishop said.
It is a "testimony to the strength of the Virginia Law School, which consistently ranks among the top schools in the nation," University spokesperson Carol Wood said.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Virginia as the eighth best law school in the country this year.
The four Law alumni who will begin clerking this fall are Gordon Todd ('00), John Adams ('03), David Bragdon ('02) and Dan Bress ('05).
Todd, who formerly worked as counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division, will be clerking for Justice Samuel Alito, the junior member of the Court.
Adams, who clerked for Judge David Bryan Senelle, and Bragdon, who clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, will both be clerking for Justice Clarence Thomas.
Bress, who served as a clerk on the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, will clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia.
According to Bishop, all four clerks will be working for justices who are predominantly considered conservative. Bishop said this year Virginia graduates had a conservative trend but that this is "historically not the case."
Since 2000, the Law School has had clerks work for more liberal judges including Justices David Souter and Ruth Ginsburg.
A Supreme Court clerk helps a justice to research facts and precedents which pertain to the cases at hand. They also contribute in writing the judicial opinions.
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