Two Georgetown Law Alumni Serving as Supreme Court Clerks
December 22, 2016
Two graduates of Georgetown Law’s Evening Program, Betsy Henthorne (L’14) and Tiffany Wright (L’13), are clerking on the Supreme Court during the October 2016 Term. Henthorne is a clerk for Justice Elena Kagan; Wright is a clerk for Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Henthorne, a 2006 graduate of Brown University, previously clerked for Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Gregory H. Woods of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Wright, a 2003 graduate of the University of Maryland, previously clerked for Judge David S. Tatel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Georgetown Law Dean William M. Treanor said that the graduates’ achievements reflect the strength of the school’s evening program as well as its clerkship program.
He noted that the school is currently working to maximize financial aid and educational opportunities for its evening students. “From our inception in 1870, we were a school about opening doors; many of our students worked in Washington, D.C., during the day,” he said.
Regarding the clerkship program, Treanor noted that a Georgetown Law education prepares students well for the rigorous of advising and preparing judges for the important work of the courts. “Our focus on doctrinal analysis, legal writing, and experiential education makes our alumni stellar candidates,” he said.
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Jeffrey Shulman (L’05), director of the Evening Program, called Henthorne and Wright “two wonderful illustrations of the kind of students” who are attracted to the program.
“Their outstanding achievements are ample testimony to just how formidable the evening students are and what a pathway to success the evening program can be!” said Shulman, who is a 2005 cum laude graduate of the program.
In Fall 2016, more than 50 students entered the Evening Program, which now may be completed in three years, Shulman noted. “Georgetown is creating a program with sufficient flexibility to allow evening students to graduate in 3 to 4 years, depending on their individual needs and choices.”
Professor Eloise Pasachoff, who chairs the school’s Clerkship Committee, said: “As a former Supreme Court law clerk myself, I’m so pleased for the wonderful opportunity Betsy and Tiffany are getting this year. It’s a privilege to be able to assist the justices with their work.” Pasachoff clerked for Justice Sotomayor in the October 2009 Term.
Henthorne and Wright each completed two other clerkships before the Supreme Court, Pasachoff noted. In the last few years, Georgetown Law students have obtained district court and federal appellate clerkships in every circuit of the country and in many state courts, federal specialty courts, and some international tribunals as well.
“Our students are well situated because of the numerous opportunities for externships in Washington, D.C. — as well as courses such as the Supreme Court Institute Judicial Clerkship Practicum, in which students serve as law clerks to practitioners mooting cases that are about to be argued in the Supreme Court,” Pasachoff said.