‘No! Not my SCOTUS clerk bonus!’
Having the experience at that level generally suggests you have many options ahead of you in the legal profession, but an offense of this nature, in my view, should end your membership in that profession or prevent it from beginning.
— Travis Lenkner, who clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy, explaining why he thinks that if a clerk were the one to leak the draft opinion on overturning Roe v. Wade, they should be precluded from enjoying the successes that Supreme Court clerks generally enjoy in their careers. SCOTUS clerks are known to be rewarded handsomely in lavish bonuses and salaries from some of the most prestigious law firms and go on to a life in prominence at their firms, in academia, and in the judiciary. “This would be career suicide,” said Carolyn Shapiro, a former clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer and a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.