Justice Kavanaugh’s Law Clerks Are All Women, a First for the Supreme Court

By Emily Baumgaertner

Oct. 9, 2018

WASHINGTON — Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, confirmed to the Supreme Court amid fiery accusations of sexual misconduct against women, arrived Tuesday for his first day on the bench with an unprecedented all-female class of law clerks.

As a result, more than half of the Supreme Court’s law clerks this year will — for the first time in American history — be women.

Former colleagues of Justice Kavanaugh have described a longstanding reputation of promoting women in law. During his 12 years at the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the majority of Justice Kavanaugh’s law clerks were women — 25 of 48 — and during his confirmation hearings he testified that he graduated more of them to clerkships at the Supreme Court than any other federal judge.

Supreme Court clerkships — among the most coveted credentials in American law — offer young lawyers unusual influence over the court’s proceedings. There are about 36 law clerks each term, and they offer recommendations on which cases to hear, help prepare the justices for oral arguments and draft major portions of the opinions and dissents.

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By Analisa Merelli

His four hires are Shannon Grammel (Stanford Law 2017), Megan Lacy (University of Virginia Law 2010), Sara Nommensen (Harvard Law 2016) and Kim Jackson (Yale Law 2017).

Here is the full list of Supreme Court clerks for 2018, together with the judge who hired them and the law school of origin. Out of 38, 20 are now women—an unprecedented majority.
Judge Clerk Law School
Sonya Sotomayor Samiyyah Ali Vanderbilt (2016)
Sonya Sotomayor Michael Skocpol Stanford (2016)
Sonya Sotomayor Rachel Wilf-Townsend Yale (2017)
Sonya Sotomayor Michael Zuckerman Harvard (2017)
Stephen Breyer William Ernest Havemann Stanford (2013)
Stephen Breyer Jo-Ann Tamila Karhson Harvard (2014)
Stephen Breyer Janine Marie Lopez Harvard (2014)
Stephen Breyer Alec Warren Schierenbeck Stanford (2015)
Elena Kagan Robert B. Niles Harvard (2016)
Elena Kagan Ashley Robertson Stanford (2016)
Elena Kagan Zachary Brams Savage NYU (2013)
Elena Kagan Reema Shah Yale (2016)
Brett Kavanaugh Shannon Grammel Stanford (2017)
Brett Kavanaugh Kimberly J. Jackson Yale (2017)
Brett Kavanaugh Megan Marie Lacy Virginia (2010)
Brett Kavanaugh Sara Shaw Nommensen Harvard (2016)
Clarence Thomas Kathryn Anne Kimball Florida (2012)
Clarence Thomas Christopher Ernest Mills Harvard (2012)
Clarence Thomas Russell Balikian Yale (2012)
Clarence Thomas Madeline Lansky Chicago (2016)
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg Kathryn (“Katie”) Barber Virginia (2015)
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg Rachel Bayefsky Yale (2015)
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg Rebecca Lee Yale (2016)
Ruth Bader-Ginsburg Matthew Jacob Rubenstein Yale (2014)
Samuel Alito Jorge Benjamin Aguiñaga LSU (2015)
Samuel Alito David Casazza Harvard (2015)
Samuel Alito Whitney Downs Hermandorfer GW (2015)
Samuel Alito Sherif Girgis Yale (2016)
Samuel Alito Aimee W. Brown (hired by Anthony Kennedy) Chicago (2014)
Neil Gorsuch Tobi Merritt Edwards (Young) Mississippi (2003)
Neil Gorsuch Ethan Price Davis Yale (2008)
Neil Gorsuch Paul Alessio Mezzina Harvard (2008)
Neil Gorsuch Jeffrey T. Quilici Texas (2012)
Neil Gorsuch Alexander Kazam (hired Anthony Kennedy) Yale (2017)
John Roberts Evelyn Blacklock Harvard (2016)
John Roberts Cole Carter Harvard (2016)
John Roberts Julie Karaba (Siegal) Northwestern (2014)
John Roberts Michael Clemente Yale (2016)

https://qz.com/1419239/who-is-on-brett-kavanaughs-all-female-team-of-clerks/