Of Courtiers and Kings

Supreme Court justices have long relied on law clerks to help process the work of the Court. Yet few outside the Court are privy to the behind-the-scenes bonds
that form between justices and their clerks.
In Of Courtiers and Kings, Todd C. Peppers and Clare Cushman offer an intimate new look at the personal
and professional relationships of law clerks with their justices. Going beyond the book’s
widely acclaimed predecessor, I n Chambers, the vignettes collected here
range from reflections on how serving as clerks at the Supreme Court impacted the careers of  such justices as Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, William Rehnquist, John G. Roberts Jr., and John
Paul Stevens to personal recollections written by parents and children who have both served as  Supreme Court clerks. While individual essays often focus on a single justice and his or her
corps of clerks—including how that justice selected and utilized the clerks—taken as a whole the volume provides a macro-level view of the evolution of the role of the Supreme
Court law clerk. Drawing on a rich repository of such anecdotes, insights, and experience, the volume relates in a clear and accessible style how the clerking function has changed over time
and what it is like for law clerks to be witnesses to history.
Offering a rare
glimpse into a normally unseen world, Of Courtiers and Kings reveals the Court’s increasing reliance on law clerks and raises important questions about the  selection, utilization, and influence of law clerks.
Praise for In
Chambers:
“An excellent book…. It's interesting for many
different reasons, not the least of which as a reminder of how much of a bastion of elitism the Court has always been.”—Atlantic Monthly
“The best parts of the book are the behind-the-scenes descriptions of life at the court…. [A]n impressive and comprehensive book.”—Associated Press