List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 2)
Clerk Started Finished School ( year ) Previous clerkship
Joseph L. Rauh , Jr 1939 1939 Harvard ( 1935 ) Cardozo
Adrian S. Fisher 1939 1940 Harvard ( 1937 ) Brandeis
Edward F. Prichard , Jr 1939 1940 Harvard ( 1938 ) none
Philip L. Graham 1940 1941 Harvard ( 1939 ) S. F. Reed
Philip Elman 1941 1943 Harvard ( 1939 ) Magruder ( 1st Cir . )
Stanley M. Silverberg 1943 1944 Harvard ( 1942 ) L. Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Harry K. Mansfield 1944 1945 Harvard ( 1943 ) Edgerton ( D.C . Cir . )
Philip B. Kurland 1945 1946 Harvard ( 1944 ) J. Frank ( 2d Cir . )
Louis Henkin 1946 1947 Harvard ( 1940 ) L. Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Irving J. Helman 1947 1948 Harvard ( 1942 ) Magruder ( 1st Cir . )
Albert J. Rosenthal 1947 1948 Harvard ( 1941 ) Magruder ( 1st Cir . )
William Thaddeus Coleman 1948 1949 Harvard ( 1946 ) Goodrich ( 3d Cir . )
Elliot L. Richardson 1948 1949 Harvard ( 1947 ) L. Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Albert M. Sacks 1949 1950 Harvard ( 1948 ) A . Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Fred Norman Fishman 1949 1950 Harvard ( 1948 ) A . Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Weaver White Dunnan 1950 1951 Harvard ( 1949 ) A . Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Hugh Calkins 1950 1951 Harvard ( 1949 ) L. Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Vincent L. McKusick 1951 1952 Harvard ( 1950 ) L. Hand ( 2d Cir . )
Abram Chayes 1951 1952 Harvard ( 1949 )
Donald T. Trautman 1952 1953 Harvard ( 1951 ) none
Law clerks have assisted the justices of the United States Supreme Court in various capacities since the first one was hired by Justice Horace Gray in 1882. Each justice is permitted to have between three and four law clerks per Court term. Most persons serving in this capacity are recent law school graduates (and typically graduated at the top of their class). Among their many functions, clerks do legal research that assists justices in deciding what cases to accept and what questions to ask during oral arguments, prepare memoranda, and draft orders and opinions. After retiring from the Court, a justice may continue to employ a law clerk, who may be assigned to provide additional assistance to an active justice or may assist the retired justice when sitting by designation with a lower court.