Third-year law student Tyler Mlakar has been selected from law students across the country to participate in the Heritage Foundation's Judicial Clerkship Training Academy to be held March 23-25 in Washington, D.C. 

According to the Heritage Foundation, constitutionalists on the federal bench represent that standard of excellence, and they, like all federal judges, rely heavily on their clerks for the legal research needed to administer justice in full accordance with the Constitution. The program will give applicants practical advice on the daily work of clerks, including technical issues and legal writing. It will also offer sessions on originalism and textualism to advance a better understanding of the Constitution.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for me both personally and professionally," Mlakar said. "I am so excited to expand my network with the Heritage Foundation, an organization with countless connections to such highly esteemed jurists. I want to thank my professors here at the University of Arkansas School of Law for not only aiding me in my pursuit of this opportunity, but also for helping me to achieve more than I ever thought possible. Go Hogs!"

Mlakar will serve as a clerk for the Hon. Judge Bobby Shepherd of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in El Dorado for the 2022-2023 term. He is the executive editor of the Arkansas Law Review and also serves on the Board of Advocates executive board. In 2021, he won first prize in the annual Law Student Writing Competition sponsored by the American Bar Association's Forum on Construction Law, which came with a $2,000 cash prize, first-prize plaque, a one-year membership in the forum and the opportunity to publish his article in one of the forum's two publications, Under Construction or The Construction Lawyer. Mlakar was recently 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 in Washington D.C.

About the School of Law: 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 impacts 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.