-
We accept primarily 3L students for fall-semester classes; but, in the spring, the balance is about 50/50, and it is not unusual for us to have more 2L students than 3L students. We are a research-and-writing heavy clinic, and some students feel more confident with more semesters under their belts. That said, we’ve also had 2L students who hit the ground running and have become our go-to students on tough questions. Trust your instincts on what’s right for you.
-
The clinic primarily handles cases that are before the U.S. Supreme Court. We work on cert. petitions, briefs in opposition, merits briefs, and amicus briefs at both the cert. and merits stages. Sometimes we have worked as Supreme Court counsel to advise lawyers handling a case below as it heads to the Supreme Court. But our focus remains at all times on Supreme Court practice and positioning issues for Supreme Court review.
In terms of subject matter, the clinic handles all kinds of cases, including First Amendment challenges to state and federal statutes, immigration cases, admiralty cases, intellectual-property cases, tax cases, Outer Continental Shelf Act cases, civil-rights cases, habeas cases—you name it. The clinic’s bread-and-butter is statutory construction, and that comes into play across a broad spectrum. We typically do not handle death-penalty cases, except in coordination with the Capital Punishment Clinic; and we tend to steer clear of emotionally charged hot-button issues, if we can.
-
Supreme Court Litigation Clinic students sometimes work individually but more often work in teams on a wide range of projects that include researching and writing background memos, drafting sections of briefs, preparing questions for moots to help advocates prepare for Supreme Court arguments, participating in student-led moots of advocates preparing for Supreme Court arguments, cite checking briefs, and participating in brainstorming and/or Q&A sessions with other counsel in clinic cases.
-
Clinic students receive up to $750 from the law school (for reimbursable, actual expenses) to defray the costs of a clinic trip we take each semester to see oral argument at the Supreme Court. We try to tie our trips to cases in which the clinic has played a role, if possible. And we also look for cases that won’t require students to line up outside the Court days before the arguments. (Our students have developed an impressive collection of tips for the ticket line the morning of arguments.)
-
Although grades undoubtedly matter, we look at an applicant’s entire record in an effort to identify students who will be a good fit for the clinic. Because we’re a research-and-writing heavy clinic, we look closely at legal-writing grades and grades in seminars with substantial papers. Also, Fed Courts grades definitely catch our eye if a student has taken that class. Plus, we often reach out to professors in courses that require skills similar to those our students regularly use, hoping to get professors’ impressions of students and what they’re likely to contribute. We also strongly consider a pattern of improving grades, as we know it takes some students longer than others to demonstrate their capabilities on exams.
-
- Creative problem solving and strategic thinking
- Collaborative research and drafting
- How to conduct complex legal research on unresolved federal questions of national importance, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and admiralty issues over which federal courts of appeals and possibly state high courts conflict
- How to draft and edit effective appellate and U.S. Supreme Court briefs
- How to prepare for an effective appellate oral argument, particularly at the U.S. Supreme Court
- How appellate—and, in particular, U.S. Supreme Court—written and oral advocacy differs from other stages of legal practice
- How certiorari practice and amicus practice at the U.S. Supreme Court differ from merits practice
- Differentiating and evaluating impact-litigation vs. client-centric goals
- Identifying and tailoring legal arguments to resonate with different audiences, whether justices, law clerks, the media, or institutional and individual clients
- Understanding and committing to rigorous precision in written and oral appellate advocacy
- Taking ownership of projects and demonstrating initiative and professionalism with an advocate, not student, mindset