Page 49 - Briefcase Volume 36 Number 2

LAW CENTER

CLERKSHIP TRADITION

was related to federal government issues such as regulatory write and argue persuasively,” Canales said.
challenges. Canales achieved this opportunity with the help of Law
“At the district court, there are continuous motions pending Center professors who continually encourage students to look
that must be worked on, interspersed with the excitement of into clerkships.
the occasional trial,” Cutri-Kohart said. “The district court is “Professor Theodore Rave answered all of my questions
filled with the unexpected, and more than once I came to work about clerking and was a major source of knowledge and
surprised at motions from litigants that needed to be addressed help throughout the process,” Canales said. “Anyone I asked
promptly, such as requests for temporary restraining orders. about their clerkship experience absolutely raved about it. I
“The pace of work at the appellate court is much more distinctively remember a conversation with Professor Jessica
measured. There were few surprises, with each case handled Roberts who spoke with great pride and fond memories of her
in a steady and almost academic manner. It was extremely time clerking as well.”
interesting to research matters that had clear national Law Center student Henry Legg will finish his 3L year in
importance. I found the controversies at an appellate court May 2019. After completing his legal education, he will be
seemed to me to have a lot more clerking for a year in Austin with
shades of gray in the law than the Jeffery V. Brown, a justice on the
cases I observed at the district court. Texas Supreme Court and a 1995
Trying to discern what the legally “Clerking is a great graduate of the Law Center. Legg
‘right’ answer could be much more is most interested in appellate
difficult.” way to see many work and litigation and said
Like Cutri-Kohart, Bilma Canales, he is optimistic the experience
a 2018 Law Center alumna, will clerk different kinds of will be essential to his personal
with Miller from August 2018 to development.
August 2019. She also has another trials and lawyers.” “I’m most looking forward to
clerkship opportunity lined up with helping write and research opinions,”
Chief Judge Roger Gregory at the he said. “I'm confident that my
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth writing will improve drastically after
Circuit from August 2019 to August 2020. a year of feedback from Justice Brown and the rest of his staff. I
Canales hopes to pursue a career as a trial lawyer with a am also eager to better understand the process behind deciding
focus on commercial litigation. She trusts that clerking will what cases merit review by the Texas Supreme Court.”
give her the hands-on experience needed to succeed in the legal He said Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's visit to the
field. Law Center in January 2018 also played a role in his pursuit of
“Clerking is a great way to see many different kinds of trials a clerkship,
and lawyers,” she said. “You can see what makes them great and “When my professors discussed the impact their clerkships
learn from that.” had on them, it seemed like not pursuing a clerkship would
Canales looks forward to absorbing all the information be a wasted opportunity,” Legg said. “Someone asked Justice
she can from a highly-experienced judge. She believes that Sotomayor when she spoke at the Law Center if she had any
clerking is an invaluable experience because of the opportunity career regrets or advice. She commented that she wished she
to develop a rapport with a judge and learn a great deal in had pursued a clerkship and that a year-long clerkship was the
the process. equivalent of five or so years of practice. This sentiment was
“I’ll be able to see a lot of different trials that deal with repeated by many of my professors, and so a clerkship seemed
different issues and areas of law and see how different lawyers like an invaluable opportunity.” ■

2018 BRIEFCASE 49