Tulsa World: Tulsan happy to go to court

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Tulsan happy to go to court
Supreme Court, that is, to be a clerk

TU visiting assistant law professor Jamie McDonald will clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts beginning in July. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World

By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer
Published: 3/15/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 3/15/2009 4:41 AM

Well before his 30th birthday, Tulsa native Jamie McDonald will have worked for one White House administration and in two branches of the federal government.

Last year, he was working in the White House counsel's office. This summer, he will return to Washington, D.C., for the opportunity of a lifetime — being a clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

"It's such a unique opportunity that I don't have any expectations," McDonald said. "I just hope that I'm able to work hard and fulfill my obligations, whatever they are."

This spring, McDonald, 26, is working as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Tulsa, teaching constitutional law and foreign relations law.

"I thought it would be a challenge, which it's turned out to be," he said

His students are smart, and his colleagues have helped him fit into academia. He's learned a lot from the experience, he said.

"It's been made so easy just from the support here," he said.

McDonald got the chance to interview with Roberts through connections he made in Washington and from the law school he attended at the University of Virginia. He said Roberts was a nice guy who made him feel at ease, but McDonald still thought lightning would have to strike for him to be chosen, he said.

"I'm not sure in my wildest dreams this was something that I thought would work out," he said.

But when the call came, he learned he would be one of Roberts' four law clerks, serving a one-year term beginning in July.

A clerk's workload and type of assistance varies greatly with each judge. McDonald has experience being a clerk for a judge in the 6th Circuit, so he has some idea of what to expect.

He doesn't know exactly what his duties will be for Roberts, only that his work will be long and hard, he said.

"I'm just hoping that I can put my head down and work hard," he said. "I'll take in as much as possible."

McDonald grew up in Tulsa and is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School. His parents still live in the city. He has enjoyed returning to his hometown and seeing how it has developed, he said.

"It's clear that Tulsa has moved in a positive direction," he said, specifically mentioning the Vision 2025 projects.

McDonald lived in Washington when he worked in the White House counsel's office. He vividly recalls the Sunday he was called to interview for that job. A few days later, he was waiting in the lobby of the West Wing.

"My head was just on a swivel," he said. "I tried to take in as much as I could."

He worked with about 20 other lawyers, serving as a sort of office "utility man." He was working there in the last months of the George W. Bush administration and left just days before Barack Obama took office. The politics of the town, however, did not concern his work, he said.

"At all points we were lawyers, not politicians," he said.

McDonald said he hasn't thought about what he will do after July 2010.

Shannon Muchmore 581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com By SHANNON MUCHMORE World Staff Writer

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	Report Comment tulsan09, Tulsa (3/15/2009 7:11:53 AM) John Roberts? That's too bad.
	Report Comment Grumpy, Okmulgee (3/15/2009 7:16:53 AM) Can't think of a better judge to work for if you like screwing with the rights of the common citizens.
	Report Comment T!ger,, T-Town (3/15/2009 11:15:02 AM) Good Luck out there kid!
	Report Comment fredsdad, Tulsa, OK (3/15/2009 7:23:52 PM) I confess to occasionally denigrating enterprising young law school graduates. However, in that notwithstanding my protestations, they continue to multiply unabated, and in that some EYLSG is going to serve Roberts, I am proud that it is one of ours. But please, Mr. McDonald, don't join Hall Estill upon your return. My occasional $1,200 cup of coffee in their posh offices would doubtless increase to $2,000 for the privilege of being joined by another Supreme Court law clerk. Congratulations counsellor.

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