Kavanaugh, Sotomayor Clerk Makes Supreme-Court Advocate Debut

Luke McCloud brings rare experience to his first U.S. Supreme Court argument on Wednesday, having clerked for both Brett Kavanaugh and Sonia Sotomayor.

The Williams & Connolly partner takes the lectern for a pro-bono client seeking to shorten his 19-year prison term for crack-cocaine charges.

McCloud’s unusual clerkship pairing is a fitting backdrop for the case he’s arguing, which has unified a diverse set of groups ranging from the ACLU to the American Conservative Union.

They’re backing Carlos Concepcion, who wants his sentence reduced under the First Step Act, the 2018 criminal-justice reform bill passed with bipartisan support and ...