News Archive

Six students at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law attended the 25th Annual American Bar Association Judicial Clerkship Program in Phoenix, Arizona, January 30-February 2, 2025. The program connects law students from backgrounds historically underrepresented among judicial clerks with judges and educates students on the long-term benefits of judicial clerkships, offering a unique, hands-on experience over the course of three days. Approximately 70 law students from 17 law schools and 40 judges participated.

Attending the program were Simarjit Kaur, 2L; Bavleen Seerha, 2L; Rachel Gray, 2L (Hybrid); Sylvia Smith, 1L (Hybrid); Kayla Lemmon, 1L; and Clayton Underhill, 1L. Also attending the program was McKinney Professor Frank Sullivan, Jr., who has been a leader of the program since its inception in 2001. In addition, former Marion Superior Court Judge Heather A. Welch, who is an adjunct professor at McKinney, was a co-chair of the program.

Taking part in the program solidified her goal of securing a judicial clerkship after graduation, Gray said, “not only because of the invaluable legal training it provides but also because of the incredible judges I had the opportunity to meet. What struck me most was how many of these judges came from humble beginnings and never imagined themselves in their current roles. Hearing their stories was a powerful reminder that perseverance, hard work, and a genuine passion for the law can open doors that once seemed out of reach.”

“When I was in law school,” Professor Sullivan said, “I was oblivious to the possibility of clerking for a judge. This program is designed to put the opportunities and benefits of clerking on the radar screen of students who would not otherwise be aware of them. I think it is terrific that McKinney sends a delegation of top students to the program each year.”

Included in the program was attendance at two oral arguments conducted before the Arizona Supreme Court; several panel discussions about clerking; and a presentation from U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa, the first American Indian woman to serve as a federal judge. The program also included a major research exercise designed to simulate the judge-clerk personal interaction characteristic of judicial clerkships. The exercise considered whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is violated by a hypothetical state statute that bans medical treatments for gender dysphoria in transgender adolescents.

In the photo from left are Rachel Gray, Kalya Lemmon, Sylvia Smith, Professor Frank Sullivan, Judge Heather Welch, Bavleen Seerha, Simarjit Kaur, and Clayton Underhill.