Jonathan Urick to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

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Jonathan Urick, son of Dan and Peggy Urick of Malverne and a 2013 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, will clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia during the 2015-16 term.

Urick, who was raised in Malverne, is also a 2008 graduate of the University of Delaware where he majored in economics. He attended and graduated from James A. Dever, the Joseph C. Fox Latin School, and Kellenberg Memorial High School.

Urick is currently clerking for Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Columbus, Ohio. In the 2013-14 term, he clerked for Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

“I’m incredibly honored and humbled by Justice Scalia’s confidence in me, and I’m eager to learn from his wealth of experience,” said Urick, whose interview with Scalia also included a challenging session with his clerks. “Leaving the interview felt a bit like leaving a law school exam, but the waiting was far more nerve-racking.”

Still, Urick says getting the call from Scalia “was incredibly exciting … it took a while to sink in.” The “exposure to Scalia during that formative time was a huge factor in my decision to go into law,” he said, “and a major influence on how I think.”

After completing his undergraduate degree, Urick worked in the corporate governance field for two years in Washington, D.C., with a nonprofit trade association of pension funds, before pursuing law.

While at the Law School, Urick was a member of the Federalist Society and served on its board, participated on the Extramural Moot Court team for two years and served on the William Minor Lile Moot Court Board. He also was a member of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. His favorite activity, though, was serving as articles development editor for the Virginia Law Review.

“The job was tailor-made for me,” he said, citing the wide exposure to legal issues and intellectual stimulation involved with the position. “I loved debating articles with my brilliant fellow editors.”

At graduation, Urick received the Robert E. Goldsten Award for Distinction in the Classroom, which recognizes the student, who the faculty determined, contributed the most to classroom participation.

After “working to do everyone at UVA proud” in Justice Scalia’s chambers, Urick said he will probably stay in D.C. for a time and enter private practice. Government work or academia could follow. He said he dreams one day of returning to Charlottesville, perhaps even to teach law.