Annie Ortega, a third-year law student at Notre Dame, praised the school’s “ideologically diverse” environment, where she, as a conservative Federalist Society chapter president, has lively conversations with her liberal friends. Recent graduate Joshua Mannery, a liberal who served as the student bar association president, acknowledged the school’s conservative leaning but felt included.
Notre Dame Law School is known for producing top-notch Supreme Court clerks, who are considered the best in the legal profession. These clerks work on major cases during their year-long clerkships and often go on to successful careers in law, academia, or politics. Many Supreme Court justices, including six of the current nine, have also clerked at the court.
Recent Notre Dame graduates Kari Lorentson and Elizabeth Totzke are currently clerking for Justice Barrett, while professors Christian Burset and Patrick Reidy are clerking for Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, respectively. Notre Dame has placed more graduates in Supreme Court clerkships in recent years than other high-ranking law schools like Duke, UPenn, and Columbia.
While Notre Dame competes with other elite law schools for clerkships, it has successfully placed graduates in both Supreme Court and federal appeals court positions. About 20% of the most recent graduating class secured clerkships. The school’s success is attributed to its strong connections and reputation in the legal profession. Notre Dame also emphasizes diversity of thought, offering students a well-rounded legal education.
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