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Home School of Law About Memphis Law Federal Clerkship Success

MEMPHIS LAW FEDERAL CLERKSHIP SUCCESS

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With 7% of the Class of 2017 receiving a prestigious federal judicial clerkship, Memphis Law is proud to be placed among the top law schools in the country in regards to federal clerkships obtained by our most recent graduating class.

This exciting accomplishment places Memphis Law in what is traditionally the top 20 law schools in the nation for federal clerkships obtained by graduates. Based on available ABA data from last year's Class of 2016 graduating class listed below, you can see that Memphis Law's 7% federal clerkship percentage from THIS year would place us in the traditional Top 20, tied with Northwestern University School of Law and in the company of the upper echelon of U.S. law schools. Click here to view the full list and more.

  1. Yale Law School - 33.9%
  2. Stanford Law School - 24.59%
  3. Harvard Law School - 19.23%
  4. Univ. of Chicago Law School - 16.74%
  5. Duke Law School - 15.63%
  6. Univ. of Virginia School of Law - 14.55%
  7. Univ. of Cal. Irvine School of Law - 13.56%
  8. Univ. of Michigan Law School - 12.84%
  9. Univ. of Cal. Berkeley School of Law - 11.82%
  10. Univ. of Penn. Law School - 11.24%
  11. Univ. of Alabama School of Law - 10.34%
  12. Vanderbilt University Law School - 9.89%
  13. Washington and Lee School of Law - 9.47%
  14. Univ. of Texas School of Law - 9.12%
  15. Tulane Univ. Law School - 9.05%
  16. Univ. of Montana School of Law - 7.69%
  17. Univ. of Memphis School of Law (Class of 2017 graduate figures) - 7.00%
  18. Northwestern Univ. School of Law - 7.00%

The law school's high rate of success in this area is due to a variety of factors, including an excellent externship program that was vital in giving each of these recent graduates relevant experience and connecting them with several federal judges who ultimately decided to hire them. Additionally, each student was a member of the University of Memphis Law Review, giving them increased practice and expertise in writing and editing, qualities these federal judges looked for in the hiring process. Several students in this class even obtained multiple federal clerkships, and will serve them back to back upon graduation. 

Students in this class who obtained federal judicial clerkships and their judges are as follows:

  • Pablo J. Davis, Clerk to the Honorable Bernice B. Donald, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2017-2018 term)
  • Jordan M. Emily, Clerk to the Honorable S. Thomas Anderson, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2017-2018 term)
  • Lyle Gruby, Clerk to the Honorable Sheryl H. Lipman, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2017-2018 term); Clerk to the Honorable Bernice B. Donald, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (2018-2019 term)
  • David W. Marshburn, Clerk to the Honorable James L. Croom , United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2017-2018 term)
  • Devon Muse, Clerk to the Honorable John T. Fowlkes, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2017-2018 term); Clerk to the Honorable Bernice B. Donald, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (2018-2019 term)
  • Megan McKenzie Reed, Clerk to the Honorable Diane Vescovo, Chief Magistrate for the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee (2017-2018 term)
  • Hunter Yoches, Clerk to the Honorable Thomas Johnston, United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia (2017-2018 term)