3Ls Land Ninth Circuit Clerkships

Federal appellate clerkships are among the most coveted opportunities for newly minted lawyers, with only a small percentage of candidates accepted. This year, two remarkable students, 3Ls Nina Gliozzo and Alyxandra Vernon, have secured highly competitive clerkships at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals headquartered in San Francisco. “Alyx and Nina are both hugely talented and will bring great honor to UC Law SF with these prominent judges,” said Professor Rory Little, longtime chair of the faculty Clerkships Committee at UC Law SF.

Gliozzo will clerk for Judge Marsha S. Berzon of the Ninth Circuit, beginning in the summer of 2019. Gliozzo said she was inspired to pursue this clerkship while taking a constitutional cases seminar taught by Judge Berzon together with Professor Joe Grodin. “I was so impressed by Judge Berzon,” said Gliozzo, who previously externed for Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

“The questions she posed to the class were deeply thought provoking and challenging,” Gliozzo added. “The opportunity to clerk for her could not be more exciting.”

Just as Gliozzo finishes with Judge Berzon, in the summer of 2020, her classmate and good friend Vernon will begin a yearlong clerkship with Judge William A. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit. Vernon will first clerk for Judge Edward J. Davila ’79 of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

At UC Law SF, Vernon has distinguished herself as editor in chief of the UC Law SF Journal as well as an award-winning Moot Court participant. Additionally, she served as a research assistant to Little, helping to compile his annual U.S. Supreme Court review publication for the American Bar Association. “I’m fascinated by appellate litigation,” said Vernon, who spent two years between college and law school working with Teach for America. “I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to see the appellate process from behind the scenes.”

UC Law SF annually places roughly 20 to 30 graduates into judicial clerkships with state and federal courts at all levels. “Without a doubt, clerkships lead to greater job opportunities and bring great credit to UC Law SF and its graduates,” Little explained.

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