Illustrations by Robert Neubecker

Clerkship

Behind the Bench

BU Law graduates flock to clerkships across the country.

When Robert Khuzami (’83) was nearing graduation, he sent dozens of letters to federal district court judges across the country hoping for a clerkship, and he eventually got one—on the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Unbeknownst to Khuzami—this was pre-internet—the judge who eventually hired him had been elevated to the appellate bench in the time between Khuzami’s application and his phone interview. His potential new boss, Judge John R. Gibson, told Khuzami he was hiring one clerk from the West Coast, one from the East Coast, and one from his alma mater, the University of Missouri School of Law.

“I said, ‘I’m from the East Coast; I’m your man,’” recalls Khuzami, a native of upstate New York. And, meanwhile, “I’m thinking to myself, ‘It’s kind of odd that he has three clerks,’ because district court judges typically had two. I ended up with this Eighth Circuit clerkship that I didn’t even apply to.”

Despite the happenstance nature of Khuzami’s clerkship process, things worked out nicely for him. He has practiced in the private sector, served as director of enforcement for the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and was, until recently, the deputy US attorney for the Southern District of New York (and the acting US attorney in the case against President Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen). But it’s safe to say that clerkship applications have gotten a little more strategic at BU Law over the years. And, consequently, the number of graduates who clerk has continued to rise, meaning many more alumni are benefitting from the mentorship and up-close-and-personal look at lawyering that comes from working side by side with a judge in their chambers.

Expanding Opportunities

One major turning point in the effort to expand clerkship opportunities at BU Law came in 2013 when Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, who herself clerked on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, joined the law school as assistant dean of the Career Development & Public Service Office (CDO). Hornblower created a dedicated position for clerkship applications and recruitment, and the results speak for themselves: Between 2015 and 2018, the overall number of graduates in clerkships doubled, and the number of alumni working as federal clerks increased fivefold. Among the Class of 2018, 12 graduates are clerking for state and local judges and 11 accepted federal clerkships, including two at the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

“It’s been a multi-pronged effort,” says Blair G. Edwards, who joined BU Law as associate director for judicial clerkships and the private sector in 2017. “We’ve reframed our outreach to both students and courts, as well as our processes and communications about clerkships. We’ve seen a really terrific student response, and the numbers are definitely trending in the right direction.”

Edwards says the CDO has increased its outreach both internally and externally. On campus, for instance, additional programming for first-year students has been put in place (the 2017 1L Career Conference included a new panel on judicial clerkships that was oversubscribed, so in 2018 the CDO added a second). Career counseling is now mandatory for any student planning to apply, and interested students have the option of being paired with a peer mentor to serve as a resource throughout the application and interview process. Further, Edwards seeks help identifying strong candidates from faculty and student groups, particularly those focused on areas of the law with specialized courts, such as bankruptcy or family law.

“There are lots of qualified students,” Edwards says, “but when they have a narrow focus, they don’t necessarily think of clerking as a step in their professional development. We help them understand the long-term professional and personal benefits of clerking.”

The tailored approach seems to be working. Sam Claflin (’19) hoped to stay in the Boston area after graduation, and through the application process narrowed his focus to the appellate court. Edwards helped him earn a clerkship with the Massachusetts Appeals Court, where this summer he will begin working with Associate Justice Sabita Singh (’90).

Edwards and the CDO also have increased outreach to courts and judges, including those that have not traditionally hired BU Law graduates.

“We definitely make an effort to show the caliber of our students,” Edwards says. “There are certain markets where we have not had a high number of applicants, so we may not be on the radar unless we affirmatively make contact.”

Brynn E. Felix (’18), who married a Seattleite and received an offer from the Pacific Northwest firm Lane Powell, will begin a clerkship with Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary I. Yu in 2019.

Yu normally hires clerks from local law schools who have externed in her chambers, but she said Felix—her first BU Law hire—stood out in the application and interview process.

“She knew a lot about me,” Yu says. “That makes a difference because so many law students send out general letters without really knowing anything about the chambers to which they’re applying. Brynn was spot-on in terms of knowing about me and the issues I care about. She was very familiar with some of our court’s rulings.”

Alumni Involvement

In the effort to increase BU Law’s clerkship numbers, alumni have been a big part of the equation. Graduates who have clerked in the past return to campus to talk about their experiences with current students and make themselves available for other networking events as well. And alumni on the bench have taken up the cause, too. First Circuit Judge Juan R. Torruella (’57) has hired BU Law graduates as clerks or taken them on as interns since he became a district court judge in 1974.

“I think BU puts out a very good product,” he says.

Other alumni judges are following suit. In 2015, Chase T. Rogers (’83), then-chief judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court, hired her first BU Law graduate, Jean-Phillip (J.P.) Brignol (Wheelock’12, LAW’15). This year, First Circuit Judge Sandra L. Lynch (’71) hired her first alum, Lucas Fortier (’18), and the First Circuit’s other BU Law alum, Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson (’76), has also hired BU Law graduates.

Rogers, who is now a partner at Day Pitney in Hartford, says clerkships are “an opportunity to really think deeply about legal issues and have the luxury of time and really good legal minds around you to explore those issues.” She says hiring a fellow BU Law graduate was a way to give back to the school.

“I felt that my experience at BU had been an excellent one and had prepared me well for being a lawyer,” she says. “I felt like it would be the right thing to do.”

Brignol says the experience with Rogers was “fantastic.” One of the cases he analyzed, Connecticut v. Kono, resulted in a ruling that the state’s constitution prohibits police from conducting a warrantless search of an apartment complex with drug-sniffing dogs. Brignol says Rogers considered the arguments he and another clerk put forward before making her own decision.

“I really felt a part of the team,” he says. “When you are in chambers, you become part of the family.”

Edwards says alumni with past clerkship experience are an excellent resource for current students. “It is encouraging for students to see the success and the diversity of clerkship experiences that other BU Law graduates have had as they evaluate their own options,” she says.

This feature originally appeared in The Record, BU Law’s alumni magazine. Read the full issue here.

Related News

• The Record, Spring 2019
• Pushing Through: Anat Maytal (’09)
• Prosecuting the Big Cases: Robert Khuzami (’83)
• Catching up with the Class of 2018: Recent graduates grow into their new roles