UA News

Years prior to being appointed to the UA law faculty, Katherine Barnes served as a clerk to the newest U.S. Supreme Court justice.

Working as a clerk for Sonia Sotomayor was among the most pivotal professional training experiences for University of Arizona faculty member Katherine Barnes.

Barnes, an associate professor at the UA's James E. Rogers College of Law, clerked for Sotomayor in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a one-year term that began in 2002. Sotomayor was confirmed this month as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, becoming the first Hispanic woman to hold that position.

"When are you are thrown into that kind of situation just out of law school and haven't been a lawyer, the role of clerking can be daunting," said Barnes, who earned her juris doctor degree from University of Michigan Law School in 2000.

But Barnes said she felt her experience clerking for Sotomayor was both rewarding and welcoming.

"She treats her clerks like her family," Barnes said. "She was very warm and a very good mentor and was very careful to praise people when they did well."

Barnes had also clerked in 2001 for Judge Vaughn R. Walker in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California. She went on to earn a doctorate from the University of Minnesota in 2003.

She arrived at the UA in 2007 as a law school faculty member with a joint appointment as an associate professor of economics in the Eller College of Management. She is also a member of the UA's Statistics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program.

Barnes, who directs the Rogers Program on Law and Society at the law school, currently teaches courses on topics including public employment law, racial profiling, and statistical theory and methods.

During the year Barnes clerked for Sotomayor, she worked on discrimination cases, police practice cases and a range of others.

"I think she was wicked smart and an excellent judge," Barnes said.

"She was always thinking very carefully about all the issues and what could happen," she added. "I learned a lot about the way to look at a case in the first instance and try to see the broad picture – not just what the parties were talking about."

Barnes also noted that Sotomayor was always familiar with the interests of her clerks, encouraging them to always pursue their own interests.

"She was very careful with every person and knew us well enough to know where we would fit," Barnes said.

She noted that Sotomayor was attentive to both the interests and strengths of her clerks and encouraged them to find a discipline within the legal field that fit them best.

"She wanted us to find a fit, not simply to go to the place that was the most prestigious or that paid the best," Barnes added. "I think she recognized that there are things that are more important than just accolades. You have to feel you belong at a place or you can't do your best work."