Photo: Caroline Summers / Samford University.
Six recent graduates of Samford University's Cumberland School of Law have secured judicial clerkships, at, as the school put it, every level of the courts, from the Supreme Court of Alabama to a federal court of appeals. Cumberland announced the group on 6 July 2026. Our congratulations to all six.
The clerks and their judges
- Amelia Collins (JD 2026) will clerk for Justice Greg Cook of the Supreme Court of Alabama.
- Nick Treglia (JD 2026) will clerk for Justice Will Sellers of the Supreme Court of Alabama.
- Justin Martin (JD 2026) will clerk for Judge Matt Fridy of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals, himself a Cumberland graduate.
- Tanner Freise (JD 2026) will clerk for Judge Chris Hawkins of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
- Justin St. Amour (JD 2025) will clerk for Judge Jil Mazer-Marino of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York.
- Taylor Neill (JD 2024) is clerking for Judge Ed Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, following an earlier clerkship with Judge Austin Huffaker of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
"My federal clerkships provided an invaluable opportunity to observe the judicial process firsthand at both the trial and appellate levels," said Taylor Neill. "Cumberland prepared me well to begin my legal career in service to the judiciary."
Why a clerkship matters
A judicial clerkship is one of the most sought-after opportunities open to a new law graduate. As Cumberland notes, clerks are chosen through a highly competitive process and work closely with a judge on the core of the job, researching the law, analyzing the briefs, and helping draft opinions. It is a year or two spent inside the decision-making of a court, and it is a credential that follows a lawyer for the rest of a career. Landing six in a single year, spread across state and federal, trial and appellate courts, reflects what the school calls its "longstanding pipeline into judicial service."
Cumberland and trial advocacy
Cumberland School of Law, in the Birmingham suburb of Homewood, Alabama, is nationally recognised for trial advocacy: its program was ranked ninth in the country by U.S. News & World Report for 2026, and has sat in the national top ten for seven consecutive years. That advocacy training, the school says, is part of what prepares its graduates for the courtroom, whether at counsel table or in a judge's chambers.
For Cumberland law students
Cumberland School of Law students and alumni have complimentary access to LegalAlphabet, where they can search legal jobs and internships worldwide. Visit the Cumberland Law campus page, browse current openings on the United States legal jobs board, or read more from our Law School News desk.
Sources
This report is based on the announcement published by Samford University's Cumberland School of Law. Quotations are drawn from that announcement.
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