Fr. Pat Reidy returns from Kavanaugh clerkship
Father Patrick Reidy, C.S.C.—a graduate of Notre Dame and Yale Law School—recently completed a clerkship with Justice Brett Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court of the United States. Previously a rector to Keough Hall and chaplain to the Notre Dame Law School, he is now an associate professor of law and Morrissey Hall’s priest in residence.
Reflecting on why he came to Notre Dame in the first place, Fr. Reidy said, “I came to Notre Dame because I was discerning religious life and priesthood. I knew it would be a place where I could receive the best possible education, while also being present to my discernment of seminary. … I studied political science, and thought law school might be interesting down the road, but always held in my heart this discernment of seminary.”
After graduating summa cum laude in 2008, Fr. Reidy entered seminary with the Congregation of Holy Cross. Beginning in 2016, he served as chaplain to the Law School; it was this time, he said, that reinvigorated his long-time interest in law school. Two years later, he left Notre Dame for Yale Law School.
By this time, Fr. Reidy had set his eyes on clerking. “My religious community had asked me to consider legal education for the purpose of teaching and scholarship,” he told the Rover. “And so all along the way in law school, I was thinking, ‘What would it take to research and write and teach?’ And one of the things that a number of law professors do between law school and when they join the legal academy is clerk.”
After graduation, Fr. Reidy clerked in Pittsburgh for Judge Hardiman on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Following this clerkship he taught at Yale and Notre Dame. Then, this past year, he did what no Catholic priest has ever done: clerked at the Supreme Court of the United States. Every year, each justice selects four of the brightest attorneys across the country to clerk for them. This past term, Kavanaugh selected Fr. Reidy.
Fr. Reidy spoke glowingly of his time at the court—both of his fellow clerks and of the justices. “I was delighted by the warmth and other-focus of the community in the building.” He continued, “All of the clerks—to a person—are incredibly generous, kind, thoughtful, other-focused people, brilliant, hard working, faithful agents of their boss, their respective justices.”
However, the court wasn’t just a legal education. For Fr. Reidy, it also offered opportunities for ministry. “It mattered to me that people in the building, especially my co-clerks in the building, saw me as somebody who cared for them, who supported them, who could accompany them in joyful and difficult moments. Whether we agreed or disagreed, I wanted my co-clerks to know that I loved them, and respected them, and was deeply grateful to work with them. Because I believe that each one of them is created in the image and likeness of God.”
One of Fr. Reidy’s co-clerks under Justice Gorsuch, Christian Burset, told the Rover via email, “Fr. Pat contributed to that environment in a big way. His steady example and pastoral touch helped keep us on an even keel. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that every single clerk was grateful for his presence.”
Both Burset and Fr. Reidy returned this fall to Notre Dame Law School as professors. They are part of an increasingly esteemed faculty at NDLS.
Visiting Professor John Garvey commented on the changes at the Law School. “When I graduated from college in 1970, the Law School was decidedly second rate,” he told the Rover. Now, he said, “It’s one of the ten best law schools in America, maybe higher than that.”
“Notre Dame’s faculty are every bit as good as Harvard’s, and more present for their students,” Garvey said.
Garvey, a Harvard Law graduate, taught at NDLS from 1994 to 1999. He is back in South Bend as a visiting professor, after serving as the dean of Boston College Law School and president of the Catholic University of America.
“When I taught at the Law School back in the 90’s, there was nobody on the faculty who had clerked at the Supreme Court. Since that time, the Law School has improved immensely. The number of people who are themselves former Supreme Court clerks—or the number that have Ph.D’s—has exploded.”
Garvey explained how the Law School rose to such heights. “There were a number of young faculty who were hired in the 90’s. … They began to create a culture of excellence that attracted more people like themselves. … Law school faculties tend to clone themselves, so the better the faculty gets, the better it gets. And it’s just snowballed since then.”
Sherif Girgis, a law professor who himself clerked for Justice Alito in 2018-19, echoed Garvey’s statement. “It’s self-perpetuating because as our students have taken [clerkships] and done well, judges and Justices have been quicker to trust the education and formation provided by ND.”
This year, NDLS was ranked fourth in the nation for clerkship placements for the third year in a row; 34 graduates obtained 46 federal clerkships. Two are at the Supreme Court for this term.
For those considering clerkship, especially at the Supreme Court, Fr. Reidy gave the following advice: “With anybody discerning who God calls them to be—clerk, law student, or otherwise—one part of that discernment is being honest about your gifts and talents. What can you do? What makes you come alive?”
He continued, “I think sometimes we can get tripped up and think about vocation in a way that focuses on ‘me’, on my own gifts and talents, rather than in a way that is directed towards the needs of the Church and the world. … It’s important to reflect on your God-given gifts and talents, but then ask yourself, ‘Who needs them?’ To answer that question, you need to listen to the needs of the Church and the world.”
Fr. Reidy added, “We are forming our law students in both the competence to see and the courage to act in a way that allows them to go out into the world, not only as lawyers, but as neighbors, as parents, as leaders, as disciples.”
Jack Krieger thinks that he has the coolest priest in residence, so he wrote an article about him. You’re welcome to debate at jkrieger@nd.edu, but you won’t win. Once you try Fr. Pat’s fudge you’re sure to admit defeat.
Photo Credit: Notre Dame Law School
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