NPLA Clerkship Panel
Join NPLA on Tuesday, February 10th at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT for a panel with four judges on judicial clerkships. The panel will feature:
Judge Michelle Childs
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
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The Honorable J. Michelle Childs was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in July 2022. Judge Childs holds an undergraduate degree in Management from the University of South Florida Honors College, a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law, a Masters in Personnel and Employment Relations from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, a Masters of Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law, and an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Public Service from the University of South Carolina.
From 1992 to 2000, Judge Childs worked at Nexsen Pruet, ultimately achieving the designation of partner. Upon acceptance of a gubernatorial appointment, she served from 2000 to 2002 as the Deputy Director for the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation’s Division of Labor. From 2002 to 2006, as the result of another gubernatorial appointment, Judge Childs served as a commissioner on the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission. In 2006, the South Carolina General Assembly elected her as a state circuit court judge. During her time on the state bench, Judge Childs served as chief administrative judge for General Sessions, which is South Carolina’s criminal court, and as chief administrative judge for the state’s business court. In 2010, she was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, where she served until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.
Judge Childs is active with various local, state, and national bar organizations, as well as community organizations. Judge Childs is the past President of the Federal Judges Association. She has been named to the American Inns of Court Board of Trustees and the United States Supreme Court Fellows Commission. Within the American Bar Association, she is the Chair of the Appellate Judges Conference, a member of the Administrative Law Council, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a fellow in the Litigation Section, and a member of the Committee on the American Judicial System. Formerly, she was the Chair of the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division, the Secretary of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section, and Chair of the Appellate Judges Education Institute Conference. Judge Childs is also a member of the American Law Institute and its Council, having served as an Advisor to the Restatement (Third) of Employment Law. She currently serves on the Bolch Judicial Institute Advisory Board and joined the class of 2022 Rodel Judicial Fellows.
Judge P. Casey Pitts
U.S. District Court for N.D. Cal.
Judge David Urias
U.S. District Court for D.N.M.
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P. Casey Pitts has served as a district judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California since July 2023. He sits in the Court’s San José courthouse. Before taking the bench, Judge Pitts was a partner at Altshuler Berzon LLP, a public interest law firm in San Francisco where his practice focused on representing workers, labor unions, consumers, public entities, and public interest organizations in complex impact and appellate litigation. Judge Pitts is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal and a Coker Fellow in constitutional law. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was the first out LGBTQ+ district judge nominee to the Northern District of California.
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In January 2022, Judge David Herrera Urías was appointed by President Joseph Biden to be the 25th federal district judge for the District of New Mexico.
Judge Urías graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2001, and then served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Vanessa Ruiz of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Following his clerkship, Judge Urías obtained a competitive national civil rights fellowship and joined the firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP, in New York City, where he practiced corporate and commercial litigation for one of the most prestigious Wall Street firms in the county. As a civil rights fellow, Judge Urías also had the opportunity to represent indigent clients in a wide variety of matters and received the firm’s Pro Bono Award in 2003.
Thereafter, beginning in 2004, Judge Urías began his work as a civil rights attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), the largest and most prominent Latino legal organization in the nation. From MALDEF’s San Antonio Regional Office, Judge Urías practiced and tried cases throughout the Southwest in all areas of civil rights law, including voting rights, class action and collective action employment matters, immigrant rights, and education law.
Immediately prior to taking the federal bench, Judge Urías was a partner and firm President at Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Urías & Ward, a litigation firm based in downtown Albuquerque. At the firm, Judge Urías practiced in the areas of complex civil litigation, civil rights law, serious personal injury cases, including wrongful death and medical malpractice claims, employment and whistleblower litigation, consumer law, and election law.
Over the span of his legal career, Judge Urías obtained extensive trial and appellate experience in both state and federal courts. He tried cases in a number of jurisdictions throughout the Southwest, including New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, and presented argument before both state appellate courts and federal circuit courts of appeal.
Judge Martin Hoffman
68th District Court of Texas, Dallas County
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Judge Hoffman was elected in November, 2006 to the 68th District Court. This court specializes in civil jurisdiction. Judge Hoffman has been honored with the Outstanding Trial Judge Award in 2013 by the Texas Attorney Mediator Coalition for his work with foreclosure mediation legislation. He has been elected three times by the 10,000 members of the Dallas Bar to the Dallas Bar Board of Directors. In 2012, Judge Hoffman was honored with the Outstanding Mentor award by both the Texas Young Lawyer Association and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers. He was also selected by his peers at the George Allen Courthouse to serve at the Presiding Judge of the Central Jury Room for 2009 and as the Presiding Judge of the Civil District Judges for 2014. Judge Hoffman has been extensively involved with speaking and/or organizing continuing legal education events for the Dallas Bar Association, the Texas Bar Association, the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Dallas Women’s Lawyer and many other organizations. He has won awards from the American Bar Association, Texas Bar Association and Texas Young Lawyers for his work with different bar activities.
Prior to taking the bench, Judge Hoffman was a practicing civil litigator for thirteen years. He initially worked for the law offices of Windle Turley and later became the litigation manager for the law firm of Smoger & Associates. He is board certified in Personal Injury Trial Law. Judge Hoffman received his degree in economics from Trinity University and graduated from University of Texas Law School.
Judge Hoffman was very involved with the community prior to taking office. He served as president of the Dallas Homeowners League for three years and served on that board for over a decade. While on that board, he trained over a thousand neighborhood leaders. He was also elected to the Board of Trustees for Dallas County Schools for over five years where he was elected as Vice President of that board.
The virtual panel will cover…
What kind of clerkship is right for me?
The judges will discuss the difference between trial court and appellate court clerkships, and state court and federal court clerkships based on different career goals.
How do I research judges that would be a good fit?
The judges will share various sources of information to create a list of judges to apply to.
What are judges looking for in applications?
The judges will answer questions about what they look for in applications, such as the importance of cover letters.