June 25, 2019 - Kaitlyn Barry, a recent University of Houston Law Center alumna, will serve as a law clerk for Judge Kurt Engelhardt of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Barry expects that clerking for Engelhardt will enhance her legal education and introduce her to experienced individuals within the field of law.
“As a clerk, you are exposed to numerous issues, civil and criminal, and I’m confident this will be important in my continuing education as a lawyer,” Barry said. “An especially important benefit of a judicial clerkship is the opportunity to gain a valuable mentor.”
Her federal clerkship with Engelhardt is scheduled to begin in September 2020. Prior to that she will be clerking in the Eastern District of Texas for U.S. District Judge Ron Clark.
“I am very fortunate to be working for and learning from two highly respected judges,” Barry said.
The privilege of having access to the everyday actions of a courthouse was a significant motivation for Barry to undertake these clerkships.
“I pursued positions as a judicial clerk because of the extraordinary experience that clerks gain working for a judge behind the scenes in chambers and watching great litigators performing at their best in the courtroom,” she said.
Barry was inspired by people in her academic and professional circles to seek out extensive clerkship work.
“These include the many outstanding professors I’ve had at the University of Houston Law Center, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes and U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick and Suzanna Bonham, a Houston Partner and Chief of Litigation at Seyfarth Shaw, the law firm where I worked as a litigation clerk during my time in law school,” she said.
Following the completion of her clerkships, Barry hopes to be a litigator.
“I’m leaning heavily toward litigation when those clerkships expire,” she said. “Right now, I am working for The Phillips 66 Company as a law clerk and I am really enjoying the experience.”
