With federal judges in the news, I can’t help thinking about one we lost too soon, the Honorable John E. Sprizzo, U.S.D.J. of the Southern District of New York, who left us 10 years ago this December.  I had the honor of clerking for the Judge from 2004-2006.

Like many law clerks, I entered my clerkship as a kid, directly out of law school.  And probably like many clerks, I was worried about whether I was smart enough to clerk on one of the most prestigious trial courts in the country.  I shouldn’t have been.  From the moment I stepped into the courtroom, it was clear that the Judge was in total control and that my primary responsibility was to learn.