News

Dec. 3, 2007 – Brooklyn Law School is experiencing its most successful clerkship season yet. Next fall, six future graduates and current alumni will be clerking with federal circuit judges, which places BLS 19th in the country, according to the latest Leiter Report ranking. Three will be working for judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, two for the Eleventh Circuit, and one for the Third Circuit. While BLS has consistently placed a number of students with federal judges, this is the largest number yet who will be working in the circuit courts of appeals.

To date, 13 other students have also received offers to clerk with federal district courts, bankruptcy courts, courts of international trade and magistrate judges. “This year an exceptional group of students and alumni have secured clerkships,” says Professor Jason Mazzone, who chairs the Law School’s Judicial Clerkship Committee. “They have become much more competitive for these positions.”

Standouts in Class and Career

The newest group of federal circuit court clerks from Brooklyn Law School are stand-outs in their class and in their careers. They were all active participants in the community at the Law School, and each one is looking forward to the unique opportunities his or her clerkship will create. Shannon Haley ’08, a third-year BLS student who will be clerking for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, says she is anticipating “an unparalleled learning experience” with Judge Ralph K. Winter in the Second Circuit. “Clerking is something akin to an advanced degree in law that will build on the exceptional education I have received at Brooklyn Law School,” she observes. “It is where the rubber hits the road as far as the law is concerned, providing direct exposure to contemporary legal problems and first-rate legal analysis.” As editor-in-chief of the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, Shannon published a note in the journal in 2007. At the top of her class, she is a Carswell Scholar who has held a wide variety of jobs while at Brooklyn Law School, including a summer associate position at Allen & Overy in New York; a research assistant job with Professor Joel Gora; and internships for both the Center for Appellate Litigation and the New York City Administration for Children’s Services.

Blake Denton ’08 will clerk for Judge Phyllis A. Kravitch of the Eleventh Circuit before joining Latham & Watkins, where he has already accepted a position as an associate. “Starting my career with a clerkship will better prepare me for the work of a young associate,” he says. “It will also give me a chance to observe the law in action.”

Blake, who was a summer associate in Latham & Watkins’ New York office, currently serves as an articles editor for the Brooklyn Law Review. He published an article in the UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy in 2007. Blake has made the Dean’s List each year and is a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. He has interned for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and for U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak in the Eastern District of New York.

Echoing the hopes of her classmates, Anna Burns ’08 says she is looking forward to participating in the judicial process, reviewing cases and making recommendations to Judge Stanley Marcus of the Eleventh Circuit. “In a way, I will be continuing my academic experience,” she says. “While the challenges will be great, I am confident that the skills I’ve developed during my time at BLS will serve me well.”

Anna is executive notes and comments editor for the Law School’s Journal of Law and Policy, where she published a note in 2007. She took first place in the national moot court competition in bankruptcy last spring and is a Merit Scholar as well. She has worked as a summer associate at Willkie Farr & Gallagher and interned for U.S. District Court Judge David G. Trager in the Eastern District of New York and for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York.

Timothy Sini ’05, who will clerk for Judge Chester Straub on the Second Circuit, recently concluded a clerkship with Judge William C. Conner of the Southern District of New York. At Brooklyn Law School, Sini graduated magna cum laude, won the William Payson Richardson Memorial Prize, which the faculty gives each year to one outstanding student, and was an executive articles editor on the Brooklyn Law Review.

“Clerking is the ideal job for a new attorney,” says Sini. “It allows you to study litigation and its process from a judicial vantage point – a perspective that is invaluable in improving your practice for years to come.” Prior to his first clerkship, Sini was a litigation associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP for a year after graduation. He is now with the firm of Orans, Elsen & Lupert LLP, where he practices commercial, surrogate and securities litigation, in addition to white collar criminal defense. “I’ve been in private practice for only a very short period of time,” he says, “and I see already that the choices that I make in litigation are considerably shaped by my experiences as a law clerk.”

Alida Lasker ’07 has secured a clerkship with Judge Dolores Sloviter of the Third Circuit. Winner of a Cornelius T. Wickersham, Jr. Prize for the highest grade in constitutional law and a magna cum laude graduate, Lasker served as an executive notes & comments editor on the Brooklyn Journal of International Law. She currently works at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York and plans to return to the firm after her clerkship.

Lasker is especially excited about her position with a judge on the Third Circuit because the court’s docket is filled with asylum cases. “I developed a real passion for immigration law at Brooklyn Law School, and I hope to focus on asylum and refugee law in my practice in the future,” she explains.

Erez Davy ’05 will be clerking for Judge Reena Raggi of the Second Circuit. He graduated summa cum laude and joined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP’s New York office, where he also worked as an intern during law school and as a summer associate. While at BLS, he also interned for Judge Chester J. Straub of the Second Circuit, worked as a research assistant for Professor Aaron Twerski, served as an executive articles editor for the Brooklyn Law Review, and won numerous CALI awards, which are given to the students with the highest marks in each course. Davy was also a member of the Moot Court Honor Society and a finalist in one of its competitions.

The Clerkship Application Process

The Clerkship Committee plays a very active role in assisting students and recent graduates who decide to seek a clerkship. Comprised of junior and senior faculty members as well as the director of the Career Services Center, the committee helps with the seemingly daunting process of gathering information about possible clerkships and submitting applications to judges throughout the country. More than a year before the clerkships even start, faculty committee members, all of whom are former clerks for federal judges, work one-on-one with students and alumni to help them present the strongest possible applications. In addition, the Committee links current students with Brooklyn Law School’s strong and growing network of alumni who clerked with federal judges and are eager to offer mentoring advice during the application process.