By Gwyneth K. Shaw
Berkeley Law’s newest graduates are clerking for the supreme courts of five states this fall — Alaska, California, Hawaiʻi, New Jersey, and Nevada — as well as intermediate courts of appeal in Alaska and Hawaiʻi and state superior courts in Alaska and California.
In all, 47 members of the Class of 2026 will be state or federal court clerks: 36 in the fall term and 21 in future terms. Another 53 alums are clerking in the fall term, according to the school’s Career Development Office (CDO), which offers support for clerkship applications both before and after graduation.
That adds up to at least 89 Berkeley Law clerks this fall in 24 different states, Washington, D.C., and South Africa.
The state court clerkship numbers are a particular point of pride for Assistant Dean of Career Development Eric Stern, who has consistently promoted state-level opportunities to students interested in clerking.
“While many of the entities that ‘rank’ employment outcomes continue to send the signal that students should only pursue federal clerkships, we have worked hard over the last 15 years to elevate, illuminate, and promote all clerkship opportunities to students — particularly entry-level state court judicial clerkships through panels, resources, and campus visits from state court judges,” Stern says. “And we have seen how impactful state court clerkship experiences have been in providing our graduates with public service opportunities with incredible members of the bench while also helping them accelerate their career goals.”
The efforts of Stern and Director of Judicial Clerkships Anna Han have created a pipeline into state courts that runs in two directions: Judges, including alumni, who’ve hired Berkeley Law graduates come back for more, and students who’ve seen their predecessors thrive in state clerkships are inspired to apply themselves.
Expanding the map
One example is in Alaska, where 30 alums have clerked from the 2022 term to this fall’s term. Two alumni, Daniel Winfree ’81 and Walter “Bud” Carpeneti ’70, made a practice of hiring Berkeley Law graduates when they were on the state supreme court, and it’s accelerated over the past few years. Current Justice Jennifer Henderson has hired seven alumni over the last four terms and visited the school in April for an event to demystify the clerkship process.
In turn, as students who worked on Ecology Law Quarterly, Berkeley Law’s student-run environmental law journal, clerked in Alaska, they shared with their former peers that it’s a strong place to clerk for those interested in the field.
There’s a similar path for graduates in Hawaiʻi, where Chief Justice Vladimir Devens ’87 and Intermediate Court of Appeals Judge Keith Hiraoka ’83 sit. Three members of the Class of 2026 will clerk for them and Devens will participate in Berkeley Law’s Judges-in-Residence Program this fall.
“Berkeley Law graduates benefit from exceptional instruction by distinguished faculty across foundational legal subjects, as well as in key specialty areas such as family law and environmental law. This combination of broad training and specialized expertise strengthens our law clerk team as a whole,” Devens says. “Those who have served in our chambers have been exceptional — intelligent, inquisitive, hardworking, and well-rounded, with a keen appreciation for how our work impacts the lives of everyday people.”
“We are fortunate to have such talented and outstanding law clerks serving in our chambers.”
Han says any clerkship offers intensive research and writing practice, exposes students to a spectrum of types of advocacy, and ideally opens up a mentoring relationship that lasts a lifetime. But state court clerkships are more numerous, especially for those who can be flexible about where they live, which increases the odds of success.
State courts can also offer a broad substantive experience, she adds.
“The cases in state court, especially at state supreme courts, are often wide-ranging,” Han says. “Clerks are going to get exposure to a lot of different areas of law, and they’re going to work on a high volume of cases. That experience will be very marketable in their future job searches.”
And state courts have impact: The vast majority of cases, perhaps as much as 95%, are filed there. As the U.S. The Supreme Court shifts authority to state legislatures and judiciaries, state supreme courts offer a unique chance to work at a court of last resort — for example, the Missouri Supreme Court recently struck down a law that would have made it more difficult for advocacy groups to do voter registration drives.
That was part of the draw for Alice Choi ’26, who will clerk at the California Supreme Court this fall term.
“I am a Californian, born and raised. This is where I have made a home with my partner and two children. California is such an influential state, and we are rightly known for our innovation,” she says. “As someone aspiring to work in criminal defense, I have encountered how California courts have handled issues around Three Strikes, juvenile justice, bail, capital punishment, and the new Racial Justice Act. I look forward to learning more and hopefully contributing positively to the development of these laws in our state moving forward.”
Carsten Felicitas Grove ’26, who will clerk at the Alaska Superior Court in Homer, seized an interesting opportunity to work in the state, with an eye on the future.
“I am looking to work for a federal judge the year after,” she says. “Having some clerkship experience would be very helpful for applying to federal clerkships.”
“I grew up in Hawaiʻi, so I wanted to clerk for the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court because it offers me a unique look at what issues my community cares about the most — enough to litigate to the highest court — and it provides me an opportunity to serve my community in profound way that will impact both my grandparents and grandkids,” says Lia Foster ’26.
Alumni assistance
Stern and Han credit alumni for significant contributions to help students get interested and apply for clerkships, part of CDO’s broader effort to help students build the most fulfilling careers, particularly for those interested in public interest jobs.
“So many of our students are interested in serving their communities, and clerkships are a vital public service,” Han says. “In these roles, especially at the state court level, where the impact is more localized on their community or state, and where the dockets are generally wide-ranging and very busy, they help to decide what justice means for a significant number of people.”
Alums who are judges also show students a path to the bench, Stern says. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Cara Sandberg ’12 spoke at the spring celebration for future clerks, and Amanda Karl ’14 was recently appointed as a superior court judge in Contra Costa County.
“There are rich opportunities for our grads to ascend to state benches, and many of them have,” he says. “It says a lot to students that someone who graduated from here is now on the bench — and will be hiring our students.”
Shirriff, who clerked for Guam Superior Court Judge Elyze M. Iriarte, went into her clerkship search excited to be at a state or territorial court. Having worked for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before law school in a role supporting a territorial health system in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, she knew there was impact to be made at that level.
Her experience validated that belief, notching her great experiences and the chance to build a powerful mentorship bond with Iriarte.
“My clerkship experience was an invaluable asset in my post-clerkship career. Not only did I feel more competent in understanding how the law worked in the real-world, but I was exposed to countless examples of what good lawyering looks like in practice,” Shirriff says. “Guam is unique because its laws were modeled off of California, so in a sense I felt like I was learning both Guam and California law during my clerkship. I believe the skills I learned at the state/territorial level are just as beneficial as what one could learn at the federal level.
“Above it all, too, my clerkship gave me a sense of confidence in my abilities as a recent law graduate that I know will translate to any position for me moving forward.”