Traditional stained glass windows by Conrad Schmitt Studios adorn the Law School Chapel at the University of Notre Dame, depicting themes of the Eucharist, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and this one of St. Thomas More. (Photo: Kolbe Studios)
Introduction
We have often noted that the Law School stands apart from the other colleges at Notre Dame in terms of Catholic identity. Over the course of recent decades, it has strengthened its Catholic identity by increasing the proportion of Catholics on its faculty while the pattern has been precisely the reverse in the rest of the university.
The last set of comparative data publicly available showed Catholics comprised 81% of the Law School faculty and only 52% of the combined faculties of the other colleges. (We believe the disparity has widened further since then. More on that in a coming bulletin.)
The Law School has not simply become more Catholic. It has become both more impressive academically and more distinctive as moderately conservative among top law schools in an overwhelmingly left and far left legal education landscape.
In this bulletin, we describe how this development has brought welcome attention to the Law School and has had happy consequences in the lives of its graduates
Mainstream Attention
Notre Dame Law School has increasingly drawn national attention for its rise in prominence and influence within the legal field. Two recent articles spotlight the school:
- In a November 28, 2024, Washington Post article titled “Notre Dame is a pipeline for Supreme Court clerks, magnet for justices,” Ann E. Marimow examines the school’s appeal to conservative justices, its expanding role in federal clerkship placements, and its distinctive position in Catholic legal education.
- In an October 6, 2024, NBC News report titled “Notre Dame Law School’s growing influence on the Supreme Court,” Lawrence Hurley highlights Notre Dame’s increasing success in placing graduates and faculty in prestigious clerkships, emphasizing the alignment of its Catholic mission with the values of conservative Supreme Court justices.
We encourage you to read these articles (Marimow’s requires access to the Washington Post), which not only showcase the Law School’s achievements and growing recognition in the legal world but also dispel the notion that faith is a barrier to academic excellence.
Supreme Court Clerkships: A Reflection of Excellence and Values
Notre Dame Law School’s climb to prominence is especially evident in its success in placing graduates in Supreme Court clerkships, the highly prized positions awarded to only a handful of law school graduates each year. The school ranked fifth nationally between 2017 and 2021 in Supreme Court clerk placements. And In 2023, Notre Dame ranked fourth in the nation for overall federal clerkships, surpassing top-ranked law schools like those of the University of Pennsylvania (#4) and Columbia University (#8). According to data from the American Bar Association, 18.18% of Notre Dame Law’s 2023 graduates secured federal clerkships for the 2023-24 term
In his NBC News article, Hurley notes that during the 2024-2025 term:
Two recent Notre Dame Law School graduates, Kari Lorentson and Elizabeth Totzke, are both clerking for [Associate Justice] Barrett. And two law professors from the school, Christian Burset and Patrick Reidy, the latter of whom is a Catholic priest, are clerking for [Associate] Justices Neil Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, respectively.
They are following in the footsteps of four other Notre Dame graduates who clerked at the high court in the last five years, all for conservative justices. Two other Notre Dame professors also clerked at the Supreme Court in recent years, both with Gorsuch, who appears to sometimes favor hiring academics to work for him.
Referring to last year’s Notre Dame Law Review symposium with Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Hurley describes what the Associate Justice looks for in his clerks.
It’s got to be people who are comfortable with my general approach… I have had two spectacular Notre Dame law clerks. They just worked so hard.
The Law School’s achievement is this area is supported by a faculty that includes 14 professors with Supreme Court clerkship experience, representing over one-third of its tenure-track faculty. This includes Nicole Garnett, a former clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas, who leads the law school’s clerkship committee, and her husband Richard W. Garnett, former law clerk for the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and founding director of the Law School’s estimable Program on Church, State, and Society. Hurley credits Professor Nicole Garnett in particular for cultivating relationships with federal judges and preparing students for these prestigious positions.
Catholic Identity in a Left-leaning Landscape
Now, we have Catholic values… If all you care about is abortion, then yes, we look conservative. But we are also, as Catholics, pro-immigrant and anti-death penalty. I don’t know if you can characterize those as conservative positions.
The Catholic tradition of service to others informs much of what we do.
The University should not compromise its academic aspirations in its efforts to maintain its Catholic identity.
Religious Liberty Initiative: A Pillar of Advocacy
Notre Dame Law School has also carved out a niche through its Religious Liberty Initiative, which Dean Cole launched to defend faith-based principles. This clinic not only prepares students for advocacy but also directly engages in legal battles. It has been involved in cases ranging from advocating for religious charter schools to defending Native American religious rights.
A Prayerful Witness: Dean Cole’s Message to Students
Dean Cole doesn’t just talk about Notre Dame’s Catholic identity. He embodies it – as is evident in his recently posted prayer for Notre Dame Law School students as they prepare for final exam. It is exhilarating to see the Dean in prayer acknowledging the stress and anxiety the students face while petitioning not only for their academic success but also for their focus on God’s greater plan for their lives.
The title of the post is “Dean Cole’s Final Prayer.” Our prayer is that there will be many more to come.
Conclusion
The Notre Dame Law School is a model for the restoration of Catholic identity through increased hiring of Catholic faculty, an effort sparked by Professor Emeritus Gerald Bradley and like-minded colleagues decades ago under cooperative administrations.
That is not to say the school is unaffected by the strong currents of secularism that drive modern culture, or that the faculty or student body are of one voice.
There are both liberals and conservatives on the faculty, and our sense is that the proportion of Catholics in the student body is lower than in the undergraduate school. Unsurprisingly, the Church’s teachings on sex and gender seem especially under fire in some quarters.
But it is a law school, not a seminary, with a faculty and administration largely friendly rather than hostile to Church teaching. That is a rarity and makes the Law School an ornament to the University.
Support Our Common Purpose
Oremus
Notre Dame Law School exemplifies how Catholic identity can serve as a competitive advantage, enhancing both academic and professional excellence. This success stands in contrast to fears stoked by certain interests within the Notre Dame leadership and faculty, who have sought to cast doubt on the compatibility of faith and the type of scholarly rigor that boosts institutional rankings.
If you share our love for Notre Dame and want to see an authentic Catholic renewal under the Dome, please consider supporting our mission during this season of giving. Your generosity helps protect and sustain our work to defend Notre Dame’s Catholic identity.
Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. (1 Cor 3:18-19)
O God our Father, Eternal Wisdom and Love, You have created us in Your own image and likeness, and called us to live in humble obedience to You and according to the order which You have established to govern the universe. You sent Your Son, Wisdom Incarnate, to save us from sin and to reconcile us to You and to one another. He established the Church to be a saving witness of Wisdom and Love, Goodness and Truth to a rebellious world. We implore You to dispel the darkness that surrounds us. May all who have rejected the truths of creation, seeking to replace Your design for the human race with one of their own, be awakened to the destructive folly which passes for wisdom in this age. Enlighten us all by the Truth which sets us free and grant that we may courageously embrace the scorn and contempt of the wise of the world so that we may joyfully share in the Wisdom of God. Through the intercession of Notre Dame, our Mother, we make our prayer in the Name of Jesus, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
The above prayer is by Sycamore Trustee Father John Raphael (’89). To join us in regular prayer projects such as our Novena for Catholic Education and our Meditation on the 12-Days of Christmas, please join our Apostolate.
Submit Your Mass Intention
Father John J. Raphael (’89) offers a monthly Mass for the intentions of our Sycamore Trust community. If you have an intention that you would like him to include at his next Mass, you may submit it by clicking on the following button.
One Response
J.M.J.
As Catholics, “To whom much has been given, much will be expected”, thus we can know through both Faith and reason, that we, who are Baptized and profess to be, in essence , Catholic, are Called to be Men and Women, who conserve The Truth Of Perfect Love Incarnate and apply God’s Truth liberally. There is nothing in The Word Of God Incarnate, Our Savior, Jesus The Christ, that precludes us from being Good Citizens, in fact, The Catholic Faith can only serve to enhance The Value Of The State, grounded in respect for the inherent Dignity of every human person, who, from the moment of conception to natural death, Has Been Created In The Image And Likeness Of God, equal in Dignity, while being complementary as a beloved son or daughter, Willed By The True God, The Ordered Communion Of Perfect Complementary Love , Worthy of Redemption, Called to live in Loving Relationships, in Communion with The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque).
In this point in Time and Space, In Salvational History, when The Catholic Church is under attack from both outside and within. May The Law School lead us in Truth, for Perfect Justice requires The Truth Of Love.
This Christmas, let us profess, “At the heart of Liberty Is Christ,
“4For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5Have moreover tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come…”, to not believe that Christ’s Sacrifice On The Cross will lead us to Salvation, but we must desire forgiveness for our sins, and accept Salvational Love, God’s Gift Of Grace And Mercy; believe in The Power And The Glory Of Salvation Love, and rejoice in the fact that No Greater Love Is There Than This, To Desire Salvation For One’s Beloved.
“Hail The Cross, Our Only Hope.”
“Blessed are they who are Called to The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb.”
“For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
Prayers for a Blessed Christmas