Students Meet Judges & Policy Makers in DC

Students from the Yale Law School chapter of the American Constitution Society and Yale Law Democrats met with policy makers and elected officials during an annual trip to Washington, D.C. on March 3-4, 2016.

During this year’s trip, students met with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ’79; Judge Merrick Garland and Judge Sri Srinivasan, of the D.C. Circuit; U.S. Senators Cory Booker ’97 of New Jersey and Richard Blumenthal ’73 of Connecticut; former White House Chief of Staff Pete Rouse; former White House General Counsel Bob Bauer; current White House General Counsel Neil Eggleston; White House staff, DOJ attorneys, congressional staff, and the General Counsel of the The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

The purpose of the trip was to provide students with an opportunity to learn about how Yale Law School alumni and other prominent officials have structured their careers doing inspiring policy and political work outside of traditional firm jobs. Students meet with leaders in law, policy, politics and advocacy in order to be exposed to how law graduates are putting their legal educations to use fighting to move the country in a progressive direction.

“The annual trip to DC is a special opportunity for current Yale Law students to meet with a diverse group of policymakers, elected officials, and judges and to hear about their varied career paths after law school,” said Bassam Gergi ’17. “Each of the speakers reiterated that there is no single path that is right for everyone, and only in retrospect could they see the thread that connected their different career choices and experiences. Students came away from the trip energized and with a clearer understanding of how they might choose to contribute to the legal and political life of the nation.”

The Yale Law Democrats is a group for progressive students interested in policy, elections, and governing.

The American Constitution Society is the largest student group at Yale Law School. ACS aims to foster community-wide discussion on progressive issues in law and to provide a forum for the Yale Law progressive community.