Justice Liu urges Asian Americans to seek clerkships

Speaking to a group of Asian American lawyers Friday, California Supreme Court Justice Goodwin H. Liu called being a judge’s clerk the best experience someone can get early in a law career.

“Clerking was a very formative experience in my early career. I had the opportunity to clerk for two, David Tattle on the D.C. Circuit who is a tremendous mentor, and RBG, Ginsburg, a legend in the law in her own right. Being a court clerk is of tremendous value and you can see how judges work up close,” Liu told a crowd at the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association conference.

Liu was on a panel of former judicial clerks: U.S. Justice Department lawyer Celia Choy, a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer; Morrison & Foerster associate Michael F. Qian, who also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth B. Ginsburg; and Jones Day associate Eric Tung, a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Antonin G. Scalia.

Asian Americans face challenges in getting proper representation and visibility in the court, Liu told the gathering.

“Asian Americans have done very well getting into schools and firms, but when you get to the justice system, representation is very thin,” he said.

“In the justice system, Asian Americans account for 6% of the population but if you look at the top law school graduates it’s more like 10%,” he said. “I hear students self veto themselves from the process and it makes me wonder where it comes from. Be persistent.”

The panelists agreed Asian American representation is lacking as a result of often being the first in their families to attend law school.

“It doesn’t matter where you eventually enter, it’s going to be a valuable experience because of the mentorship and relationships you’ll gain. Programs like these are valuable because they change the perspective of what is possible,” Liu said.

Choy encouraged attorneys and law students to get into clerkship programs.

“Social sciences show that in diverse communities, there’s less group think. Because this is a democracy, institutions need to reflect that difference. Clerkships are pathways to other areas of professional success and other Asian Americans need to see you there,” Choy said.

Tung said he enjoyed drafting opinions that reflected a justice’s thoughts but also valued that his opinion on the case mattered.

Qian said working for Ginsburg taught him how to choose words carefully, and how to boil a case down to its basics.

“Beyond the law, she was a role model of strength, and talking about career, seeing first hand the obstacles was inspiring. Her resoluteness and strength I will carry with me forever,” Qian said.

Liu said, “This is the first time I ever sat in a panel with three other Asian Americans. I’m proud of our community. We are at a point where the mentorships are very possible so a resource you have is 60 or 70,000 other Asian American lawyers like yourself. Take advantage of that.”