On March 16, Tonkon Torp attorney Danny Newman was a featured panelist at an event hosted by the Federal Bar Association student chapter at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. Danny joined a panel of four alumni to share experiences and insight gained while completing clerkships for federal trial and appellate judges. In the past, panelists at student events discussing clerkships have been limited to Chicago-area residents, but the pandemic has enabled guests from across the country to participate and offer students a broader geographic perspective.
During the panel, the attorneys discussed the paths they followed to secure their clerkships, what they learned during their clerkships, how the job differed at the appellate and trial courts, and how the experience has benefitted their practice. Danny shared a few humorous anecdotes, including how putting “good cheeseburgers” on his resume interests line helped him find judges with whom he would get along personally. He also advised students that saving a second clerkship (if they’re so fortunate) for any potential mid-career geographic change is an excellent way to break into markets with which students may otherwise have little ties.
Danny joined Tonkon Torp’s Litigation Department and Bankruptcy & Creditor Rights Practice Group as an Associate in 2019 after completing a clerkship with Judge Richard C. Tallman at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Before that, he had spent most of his life in Chicago and Houston and when his wife was offered a dream job in Portland a few years ago, he had no connections in Portland’s legal market. Danny counts himself as incredibly lucky that he was able to obtain a clerkship in the Pacific Northwest with Judge Tallman and that opportunity, along with Judge Tallman’s guidance and support, set him up to eventually land at Tonkon Torp.
