Jones Day hires 10 US Supreme Court clerks, 'a stunningly large number,' law prof says
Ten individuals who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court justices in the court’s last term have joined Jones Day.
They represent nearly one-quarter of the clerks who worked for current and former justices during that period, and are expected to be paid hiring bonuses of at least $300,000 each, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
“Ten Supreme Court clerks from one term going to a single law firm is unquestionably a stunningly large number,” said professor Richard Lazarus of Harvard Law School.
He was among several experts who spoke with the legal publication and questioned how one law firm could make effective use of so many former clerks from the nation’s top court. Nineteen, all told, joined Jones Day during the three prior hiring seasons—seven last year and six each of the two prior years—and Beth Heifetz said a total of 45 former clerks now work at the firm. Heifetz is a former clerk to Justice Harry Blackmun and a leader in the firm’s appellate practice and clerk hiring.
Heifitz said the firm offers premier opportunities that attract many former clerks, and has demonstrated “our ability to integrate them into the casework more easily than most firms can.” She also said the large number of hires from the Supreme Court is a plus because ex-clerks “enjoy the opportunity to continue to work with one another and with other recent clerks.”
Hat tip: Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
