CSL Prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Award Winners

July 20, 2022

The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law is pleased to announce the winners and finalists in the CSL Prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing competition held in conjunction with its February 24-26, 2022 Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference. The competition was open to all conferees, which consisted of rising clerks who will serve in federal or state appellate court chambers in the coming year.

Subsequent to two days of writing instruction from conference faculty, each entrant drafted a short judicial opinion based on a First Amendment problem written by the Columbus School of Law. The entrants were then submitted for judging in a blind competition to the conference faculty, which was composed of: Judge Robert E. Bacharach: United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; Judge Kyle Duncan: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; Judge Paul B. Matey: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; Judge Chad A. Readler: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Judge Lawrence VanDyke, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Kathryn Davis, United States Court of Federal Claims; Judge Joseph Leeson, U.S. District Court for the E.D. Pennsylvania; Judge Edward Meyers, U.S. Court of Federal Claims; Judge Lee Rudofsky, U.S. District Court for the E.D. Arkansas; Judge Eleni M. Roumel: United States Court of Federal Claims; Judge Stephen S. Schwartz: United States Court of Federal Claims. The competition was based solely on writing criteria.

The winners and finalist are as follows:

CSL PRIZE IN JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP OPINION WRITING:

Miles Skedsvold, University of Georgia Law School: Miles will clerk for Justice Nels S.D. Peterson of the Georgia Supreme Court for the 2022-2023 term and Judge Elizabeth L. Branch of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit for the 2023-2024 term.

Miles recently reflected on the importance of a conference like the Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference. He shared, “The Conference is a phenomenal event. I’m not aware of any other conference like this one—let alone any other event that gathers so many incredible law clerks and judges from all over the country. The campus was beautiful, the events were well-planned, and the instruction was top-notch. I think all of us who attended made new friends and emerged as better lawyers. I fervently recommend this conference to anyone preparing for a judicial clerkship.”

About his success in the competition, Miles noted, “I’m honored to receive the CSL prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing. I’ve worked very hard over the years to develop as a writer, and I’ve been the beneficiary of some brilliant teachers: my current boss, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood; my former boss, then-Georgia Solicitor General (soon to be Georgia Supreme Court Justice) Andrew Pinson; many of my former colleagues at the Georgia Attorney General’s Office; all the way back to my 1L legal writing Professor, Patrick Schwedler. There is no substitute for learning from great lawyers who are willing to be teachers and mentors. I owe them all a great deal. I’m proud to vindicate the time and effort they’ve invested in me.”    

Runner -Up:

Trevor Paul, Texas A&M University School of Law: Trevor will clerk for Judge Mark T. Pittman of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas for the 2022-2023 term.

Trevor recently reflected on the importance of a conference like the Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference. He shared, “The conference was incredible. It was truly an honor to learn from some of our country’s most esteemed judges and a pleasure to be surrounded by so many talented students.” He continued, “It is a boost of confidence heading into my clerkship. But most importantly, it reminds me of just how grateful I am for all the people and opportunities that have taken my writing to where it is now.” Trevor concluded, “I want to thank the Catholic School of Law and Professor Harmon for putting on this conference.”8220;It boosts my confidence as I prepare to begin my clerkship.” 

Dalton Nichols, Regent University School of Law: Dalton will clerk for Judge Damon R. Leichty of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana during the 2022–2023 term. Dalton recently reflected on the importance of a conference like the Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference. He shared, “The conference truly left me inspired. The 2022 conference class was a collection of amazing law clerks and amazing people. The faculty seemed eager to help us improve our skills — true servant leadership was on display. I left the conference more excited about clerking!” He continued, “I want to encourage future clerks to apply. I am beyond grateful that I attended.”  

Tyler Mlakar, University of Arkansas School of Law: Tyler will clerk for Judge Bobby E. Shepard of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in El Dorado, Arkansas, during the 2022–2023 term.

Reflecting on the importance of a conference like the Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference Tyler shared, “The conference was one of, if not the greatest experience I have had in law school — not only because of the skills I learned but also because of the extraordinary people I had the honor and privilege to meet. Before the conference, I had never had any experience drafting judicial opinions. Of course, I have had to read them every day for years now, but that does not exactly translate well to writing one. As I worked on my draft opinion, I knew it was terrible. Have you ever had an assignment that you turned in that you just knew was not good? That was my draft opinion. But thanks to the incredible conference speakers, I was able to quickly pick up the art. I felt so much better as I wrote my submission for the opinion writing competition.

I now have confidence in my opinion writing abilities going into my clerkship this August, and I know my judge, the Honorable Bobby Shepherd of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, will be pleased with my skills going in. Beyond that, I cannot speak enough about how lucky I am to have met the other attendees at the conference. These people are brilliant — I mean, unparalleled. I am so glad that I can now call many of them my friends.”