Introduction
Securing a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship remains one of the most prestigious accomplishments for any recent law school graduate. These roles not only provide unparalleled legal experience but also open doors to elite positions in academia, private practice, and government. While clerkship hiring has evolved to favor more seasoned candidates with multiple prior clerkships, one thing remains constant: a select group of law schools continues to dominate the Supreme Court clerkship pipeline.
A clerkship at the U.S. Supreme Court is one of the rarest and most influential credentials an attorney can earn. Supreme Court clerks work directly with the justices on complex cases, petitions for review, oral arguments, legal research, and draft opinions that can shape American law for decades.
These opportunities remain highly concentrated among graduates of a relatively small group of law schools. Harvard and Yale have historically produced the largest numbers of Supreme Court clerks, while the University of Chicago, Stanford, the University of Virginia, and Notre Dame have strengthened their positions in recent years.
The 2026-2027 picture is still developing. October Term 2026 does not begin until October 2026, and a complete, publicly verified roster organized by law school was not yet available as of July 2026. This guide therefore separates:
- Complete results from October Term 2025
- Three-term placement trends from OT 2023 through OT 2025
- Confirmed school announcements for the 2026-2027 term
- Historical placement totals that remain useful but should not be mistaken for current data
The Supreme Court has already published its calendar for October Term 2026, but the incoming clerk class should not be treated as final until the Court or a reliable source confirms the complete roster.
Supreme Court Clerkship Rankings at a Glance
The most important findings for prospective law students and clerkship candidates are:
- Harvard and Yale remain the most consistent recent producers of Supreme Court clerks.
- The University of Chicago tied Harvard and Yale for first place in OT 2025, with seven clerks from each school.
- Stanford placed five graduates at the Court in OT 2025 and has consistently remained among the strongest feeder schools.
- Yale produced 31 clerks over OT 2023 through OT 2025, the highest three-term total.
- Harvard produced 27 clerks over the same period.
- Chicago has announced five graduates who will clerk during OT 2026.
- Virginia’s official clerkship news page identifies four graduates under its 2026 Court Term section.
- Notre Dame has announced at least one 2026-2027 Supreme Court clerk, its sixth graduate to clerk at the Court in five years.
These numbers demonstrate the influence of law school, but they do not mean that attending one of these institutions guarantees a Supreme Court clerkship. Candidates generally must graduate near the top of an exceptionally competitive class, develop strong relationships with influential professors, produce outstanding legal writing, and complete one or more lower-court clerkships.
Which Law Schools Sent the Most Clerks in October Term 2025?
October Term 2025 included 38 clerks serving the nine active justices and retired justices who continued to maintain chambers. Twelve law schools were represented.
| Rank | Law school | OT 2025 Supreme Court clerks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Chicago Law School | 7 |
| 1 | Harvard Law School | 7 |
| 1 | Yale Law School | 7 |
| 4 | Stanford Law School | 5 |
| 5 | University of Michigan Law School | 2 |
| 5 | Notre Dame Law School | 2 |
| 5 | University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School | 2 |
| 5 | University of Virginia School of Law | 2 |
| 9 | Columbia Law School | 1 |
| 9 | Georgetown University Law Center | 1 |
| 9 | George Washington University Law School | 1 |
| 9 | New York University School of Law | 1 |
Chicago’s performance was especially notable. The school went from having no Supreme Court clerks in OT 2024 to tying Harvard and Yale for first place one term later. That rapid change illustrates why one year of data should never be treated as a permanent ranking.
Which Law Schools Have Produced the Most Clerks Recently?
A three-term comparison provides a more reliable view of each school’s recent influence.
| Law school | OT 2023 | OT 2024 | OT 2025 | Three-term total |
| Yale | 10 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Harvard | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| Stanford | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| Chicago | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Virginia | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| Michigan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Notre Dame | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Columbia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Georgetown | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Northwestern | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Yale and Harvard stand apart from the rest of the field. Together, they produced 58 of the clerks serving during OT 2023, OT 2024, and OT 2025.
Stanford and Chicago form the next tier of recent producers. Virginia has maintained a smaller but consistent presence, while Michigan, Notre Dame, and Pennsylvania have also placed multiple graduates at the Court.
The results also show why descriptions such as “top five” or “leading feeder school” should always be tied to a specific time period. A school may have a dominant historical record but produce only one clerk in a particular term. Another may experience a significant surge because several alumni are hired by different justices in the same year.
What Is Confirmed for the 2026-2027 Supreme Court Term?
A complete 2026-2027 ranking should not be published until all clerks and their law schools are confirmed. Several law schools, however, have already announced major placements.
University of Chicago Law School: Five Confirmed Clerks
Chicago has announced that five alumni will clerk for four justices during October Term 2026:
- Two for Justice Neil Gorsuch
- One for Justice Elena Kagan
- One for Justice Brett Kavanaugh
- One for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
The five incoming clerks previously completed federal appellate or district court clerkships, and several completed multiple clerkships before being selected by the Supreme Court.
Chicago has also reported 48 Supreme Court clerkships from OT 2012 through OT 2025 and 137 from OT 1990 through OT 2025.
University of Virginia School of Law: Four Graduates Listed for the 2026 Term
Virginia’s official Supreme Court clerkship news page identifies four alumni under its “2026 Court Term” section. The school also states that Virginia, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and Chicago contributed the most Supreme Court clerks from 2007 through 2025.
This continued representation supports Virginia’s position as one of the strongest Supreme Court feeder schools outside Harvard, Yale, Chicago, and Stanford.
Notre Dame Law School: At Least One Confirmed Clerk
Notre Dame announced that Olivia Rogers, a 2023 graduate, will clerk for Justice Amy Coney Barrett during the 2026-2027 term. Rogers will be the sixth Notre Dame Law graduate to clerk at the Supreme Court within five years.
Notre Dame’s recent growth is significant because the school has also maintained one of the country’s strongest federal-clerkship placement rates. Its faculty includes numerous former federal and Supreme Court clerks, and the school provides individualized clerkship advising, application assistance, and interview preparation.
Why These Announcements Do Not Yet Form a Complete Ranking
Law schools announce Supreme Court placements on different schedules. Some publish detailed profiles months before the term begins, while others wait until the clerk enters chambers or the full roster becomes public.
The confirmed numbers above therefore represent verified developments—not a complete 2026-2027 ranking. Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and other schools may have additional incoming clerks who have not yet been included in a comprehensive public breakdown.
Historical Supreme Court Clerkship Leaders
A historical dataset published by BCG Attorney Search in early 2017 identified the following law schools as the largest producers of Supreme Court clerks since 1960:
| Rank | Law school | Clerks from 1960 through early 2017 |
| 1 | Harvard Law School | 491 |
| 2 | Yale Law School | 378 |
| 3 | University of Chicago Law School | 148 |
| 4 | Stanford Law School | 139 |
| 5 | Columbia Law School | 114 |
| 6 | University of Virginia School of Law | 112 |
| 7 | University of Michigan Law School | 85 |
| 8 | New York University School of Law | 54 |
| 9 | University of California, Berkeley School of Law | 52 |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania Law School | 42 |
Readers interested in the original historical analysis can review BCG Attorney Search’s Law Schools That Send the Most Attorneys to United States Supreme Court Clerkships.
The historical and recent data point to the same broad conclusion: Harvard and Yale have had the greatest long-term influence, while Chicago, Stanford, Virginia, Columbia, and Michigan have also built substantial Supreme Court clerkship records.
Federal Clerkship Rates Are Not the Same as Supreme Court Placement
Prospective students should understand the difference between several commonly cited clerkship measurements:
- Supreme Court clerks in a single term
- Supreme Court clerks over several terms
- Historical Supreme Court clerk totals
- Federal clerkships accepted immediately after graduation
- All clerkships eventually completed by a school’s alumni
These figures answer different questions.
For example, Yale reported that 49 members of its 211-person Class of 2025 entered federal clerkships, a rate of approximately 23.2%. Chicago also reported 49 federal clerks from a class of 216, or approximately 22.7%.
Those rates are evidence of strong clerkship cultures, but they are not Supreme Court placement probabilities. Federal-clerkship figures include clerkships with:
- U.S. Courts of Appeals
- U.S. District Courts
- Bankruptcy courts
- Tax and other specialized federal courts
- Federal magistrate judges
They may also count only graduates who begin their clerkships within a specified period after graduation.
Harvard, for example, explains that its Class of 2025 employment statistics count clerkships begun within ten months of graduation. The school notes that an approximately equal number of 2025 clerkships were held by graduates of earlier classes, reflecting judges’ preference for candidates with post-law-school experience.
Students should therefore avoid comparing percentages without first checking:
- The graduating class size
- Whether the data measure immediate or eventual clerkships
- Whether state and federal clerkships are combined
- Whether multiple clerkships held by one graduate are counted separately
- Whether the reported year refers to graduation or the judicial term
How the Supreme Court Clerkship Pipeline Works
Attending a major feeder school can provide access to professors, judges, alumni, and specialized advising. It is only the first stage of the process.
1. Exceptional Academic Performance
Supreme Court clerks typically build records that distinguish them even among students at highly selective law schools.
Competitive credentials may include:
- Outstanding grades
- Membership or leadership on a law review
- Exceptional legal research and writing
- Advanced coursework in constitutional, administrative, statutory, or appellate law
- Strong faculty recommendations
- Moot court or appellate advocacy experience
- A substantial scholarly paper or published student note
No single credential guarantees an interview. The candidate’s complete academic and professional record must demonstrate unusual analytical ability, judgment, discipline, and writing skill.
2. Strong Faculty Sponsorship
A generic recommendation is rarely enough at this level. Successful candidates commonly receive support from professors who know their research, writing, classroom performance, and professional judgment in detail.
Professors who previously clerked for appellate judges or Supreme Court justices may also understand how to identify appropriate judges, position an applicant, and communicate directly with chambers.
3. One or More Lower-Court Clerkships
The modern Supreme Court clerk is generally not hired immediately after law school.
Among the 38 clerks in OT 2025:
- 33, or 87%, completed more than one previous clerkship.
- 23, or 61%, had clerked for both a district court judge and a circuit court judge.
- The median clerk was three years out of law school.
- The average clerk was 3.6 years out of law school.
This represents a major change from OT 2000, when nearly all Supreme Court clerks had completed only one prior clerkship.
A common pathway now looks like:
- Graduate near the top of the law school class.
- Clerk for a federal district court judge.
- Clerk for a federal appellate judge.
- Gain experience in a law firm, government office, fellowship, or academic position.
- Apply or be recommended for a Supreme Court clerkship.
Students beginning this process can review LawCrossing’s Ultimate Guide to Judicial Clerkships for U.S. Law Students for a broader explanation of federal, state, and specialized clerkships.
4. Connections to Feeder Judges
Some appellate and district court judges have especially strong records of sending former clerks to the Supreme Court. These judges are commonly described as “feeder judges.”
Clerking for a feeder judge is not an automatic route to the Supreme Court. It can, however, provide:
- A recommendation from a judge trusted by one or more justices
- Experience handling complex appellate or constitutional questions
- Exposure to former Supreme Court clerks
- A professional network connected to Supreme Court litigation
- Evidence that the candidate can succeed in an exceptionally demanding chambers environment
5. Justice-Specific Fit
Each justice selects clerks for their own chambers. Selection may reflect a combination of:
- Prior judges
- Academic record
- Writing quality
- Professional experience
- Recommendations
- Intellectual interests
- Jurisprudential compatibility
- Personal judgment and temperament
- The needs of that justice’s chambers
A candidate with extraordinary credentials may therefore be a stronger fit for one justice than another.
What Should Applicants Look for in a Law School?
A student interested in judicial clerkships should not choose a law school solely because it produced several Supreme Court clerks in one term.
Important factors include:
Federal-Clerkship Placement
Compare both the percentage and raw number of graduates entering clerkships. A smaller school may have a higher placement rate, while a larger school may produce more clerks overall.
Dedicated Clerkship Advising
Determine whether the school offers:
- Individual judge targeting
- Application review
- Writing-sample guidance
- Mock interviews
- Alumni introductions
- Assistance for graduates applying several years after law school
Faculty Accessibility
A powerful recommendation usually develops through sustained academic work. Smaller classes, supervised research, seminars, and faculty-directed writing projects may give students better opportunities to build those relationships.
Appellate and Judicial Experience
Look for:
- Supreme Court or appellate clinics
- Judicial externships
- Advanced legal-writing courses
- Law reviews and journals
- Moot court programs
- Federal courts and constitutional-law coursework
Class Size and Academic Competition
A school may place many clerks while still offering very low individual odds. Students should consider how difficult it will be to finish near the top of the class.
Cost and Alternative Career Outcomes
Supreme Court clerkships are too rare to form the sole basis of a law-school investment. The school should also provide realistic pathways into law firms, government, public interest, academia, or other desired careers.
Students outside the traditional elite schools should review How to Find a Clerkship When You Are Not at a T14 Law School. Strong regional credentials, strategic judge targeting, faculty support, and excellent writing can still create valuable clerkship opportunities.
Why Judicial Clerkships Matter Even Without a Supreme Court Placement
The Supreme Court hires only a few dozen clerks per term. Federal appellate, district, bankruptcy, magistrate, specialized, state supreme court, and state appellate clerkships are available to a much broader range of graduates.
Depending on the court and judge, clerks may:
- Research unsettled legal questions
- Review briefs and case records
- Draft bench memoranda
- Prepare proposed opinions and orders
- Observe hearings, trials, or oral arguments
- Discuss cases directly with a judge
- Learn how courts evaluate written and oral advocacy
- Build long-term relationships with judges and co-clerks
These experiences can strengthen an attorney’s legal writing, judgment, analytical ability, and understanding of litigation.
Law students comparing immediate practice with a clerkship can read LawCrossing’s Clerkship vs. Law Firm: What Is the Best First Step After Law School?.
BCG Attorney Search also provides career-focused guidance through:
- What Long-Term Career Advantages Can a Judicial Clerkship Give You?
- What Skills Do You Learn in Judicial Clerkships That Help You in Private Practice?
- How to Get an Attorney Position During and After Your Judicial Clerkship
These resources explain how attorneys can translate clerkship experience into law firm marketability, litigation skills, and long-term career opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which law school sent the most clerks to the Supreme Court in OT 2025?
Harvard, Yale, and the University of Chicago tied for first place with seven clerks each. Stanford followed with five.
Which law school has produced the most Supreme Court clerks historically?
Harvard led the historical dataset covering 1960 through early 2017, with 491 clerks. Yale ranked second with 378. These totals should not be presented as current 2026 figures because the historical source has not been comprehensively updated.
Which law school has produced the most clerks recently?
Yale led the three completed terms from OT 2023 through OT 2025, producing 31 clerks. Harvard followed with 27, Stanford with 12, and Chicago with 10.
Which schools are leading for the 2026-2027 term?
A complete 2026-2027 ranking was not yet publicly available as of July 2026. Chicago has confirmed five incoming clerks, Virginia lists four alumni under its 2026 Court Term section, and Notre Dame has announced at least one incoming clerk.
Can someone become a Supreme Court clerk immediately after law school?
It is theoretically possible but now extremely uncommon. Most recent Supreme Court clerks have completed multiple lower-court clerkships, and many have also worked in private practice, government, academia, or fellowships.
Does attending Harvard, Yale, or Chicago guarantee a Supreme Court clerkship?
No. Even at the strongest feeder schools, only a very small percentage of graduates ultimately clerk at the Court. Candidates usually need exceptional grades, influential recommendations, outstanding writing, prior clerkships, and a strong fit with a particular justice.
Can a graduate from a non-T14 law school become a Supreme Court clerk?
Yes, but it is rare. OT 2023, OT 2024, and OT 2025 included graduates from schools outside the traditional top 14. A candidate would ordinarily need an exceptional law-school record and a highly competitive lower-court clerkship path.
Are federal-clerkship placement rates the same as Supreme Court placement rates?
No. Federal-clerkship rates measure graduates entering clerkships throughout the federal judiciary. Supreme Court placement figures count the much smaller number selected to work for the justices, often several years after graduation.
Is a clerkship worthwhile if it does not lead to the Supreme Court?
Yes. Judicial clerkships can improve legal writing, research, litigation judgment, professional credibility, and understanding of the court system. Their value should be evaluated according to the court, judge, practice goals, geography, and opportunities available after the clerkship.
Conclusion
Harvard and Yale continue to dominate the Supreme Court clerkship pipeline over both historical and recent periods. Chicago and Stanford remain powerful competitors, while Virginia and Notre Dame have demonstrated particularly strong and consistent recent results.
The 2026-2027 term may further change the balance. Chicago has already confirmed five clerks, Virginia has identified multiple incoming clerks, and Notre Dame continues to expand its presence. A definitive ranking, however, should wait until the entire OT 2026 roster has been publicly confirmed.
For aspiring clerks, the most important lesson is that law school prestige is only one part of the process. Supreme Court clerks generally combine:
- Exceptional academic performance
- Outstanding legal writing
- Strong faculty sponsorship
- Multiple lower-court clerkships
- Recommendations from respected judges
- Relevant professional experience
- Justice-specific intellectual and personal fit
Law-school placement data can identify institutions with strong resources and networks. It cannot guarantee an individual outcome. Students should select a school and pursue clerkships as part of a broader legal-career strategy that remains valuable even if the path ultimately leads somewhere other than One First Street.
Sources and Methodology
The completed-term tables use publicly reported OT 2023, OT 2024, and OT 2025 clerk rosters. The 2026-2027 section includes only placements publicly announced by law schools as of July 2026 and is not presented as a complete ranking. Federal-clerkship figures come from official law-school employment reports and ABA-related disclosures. Historical totals are clearly labeled as figures published in early 2017 rather than current lifetime totals.
