Alum’s Fellowship Offers Close-Up View of Supreme Court
Ever since he became interested in a legal career, Elias Kim ’16 has aspired to argue cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Just three years out of law school, Kim has landed a government fellowship that will enable him to work with attorneys who specialize in such cases.
Kim, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 2019, is one of five recipients of this year’s Bristow Fellowships with the Office of the Solicitor General in the U.S. Justice Department. Bristow Fellows assist attorneys in drafting briefs in opposition to cases filed against the government in the Supreme Court, preparing briefs on the merits in Supreme Court cases, and assisting in the preparation of oral arguments before the Court. “My career goal is to become a Supreme Court litigator,” Kim said. “There are many ways to get there, but to be able to do this work in the Solicitor General’s Office is a great opportunity.”
Photo courtesy of the subject.
Kim learned about the fellowship when he was working as a clerk for federal appellate Judge Richard Taranto in Washington, DC. “Judge Taranto had been a full-time attorney in the Solicitor General’s office, and after he told me about his work there, the fellowship was something I had been thinking about for the last couple of years,” he said.
After leaving the clerkship with Judge Taranto, Kim worked for a year with a private Washington law firm. He has been working for the past several months as a clerk for a federal judge in San Francisco.
Kim, who majored in political science and physics at Vassar, said his science background had led him to become interested in patent and intellectual property law. “But my liberal arts education has helped me in a unique way to be a flexible and broad thinker,” he said. “I’m grateful to my professors at both Harvard and Vassar for preparing me for this opportunity.”