FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Third-year law student Tyler Mlakar has been selected as one of the 25 students from across the country to participate in the Columbus School of Law's Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference to be held Feb. 24-26, 2022, in D.C.

Over the course of the conference, participants will receive opinion writing instruction from some of the nation's most distinguished members of the judiciary. They will also be guided through writing an appellate court opinion and will receive individual review and commentary on their work by the Columbus School of Law faculty, all judges or former judicial clerks. Finally, each attendee will be eligible for the $500 Columbus School of Law Prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing.

The Columbus School of Law will fund travel and accommodations for all conferees. 

"To learn the art of opinion writing directly from a renowned panel of federal circuit and district court judges from across the country — in the very heart of our nation's legal system — is a privilege few are awarded, and I am honored and humbled," said Mlakar. "I look forward to representing the University of Arkansas School of Law. Wooo Pig!"

Mlakar believes that the skills he will learn will be essential to his success as a clerk for the Honorable Judge Bobby Shepherd of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in El Dorado for the 2022-2023 term.

The School of Law offers a competitive J.D. as well as an advanced LL.M. program, which are taught by nationally recognized faculty. The school offers unique opportunities for students to participate in pro bono work, externships, live client clinics, competitions, and food and agriculture initiatives. The school strives to identify, discuss, and challenge issues of race, color, ethnicity, and the impact(s) they have on students, faculty, and staff members in an effort to achieve a diverse, inclusive, and equitable community. From admitting the Six Pioneers who were the first African American students to attend law school in the South without a court order to graduating governors, judges, prosecutors, and faculty who went on to become President of the United States and Secretary of State, the law school has a rich history and culture. Follows us at @uarklaw.