Walker joined the faculty at Louisville Law in 2015, where he teaches Lawyering Skills and Writing for Practice. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he spent a year clerking for then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the newest justice on the Supreme Court. He also clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“Professor Walker will make a strong addition to the federal bench,” said Dean Colin Crawford. “He is well-regarded among his colleagues and students and has a true respect for the law. We congratulate him on this achievement and look forward to finding ways to continue his involvement with the School of Law as he takes on this new role.”

Walker has written about the separation of powers, national security law and federal courts. He has taught in Germany and Finland and is co-director of Louisville Law’s new聽.

He joined Louisville firm Dinsmore & Shohl as counsel earlier this year.

“Professor Walker is first and foremost a good and gentle聽person, deeply committed to the rule of law and the independence of our judiciary,” said John Selent, partner at Dinsmore. “He is equally committed to the administration of justice and will use his substantial analytical abilities to do so as Judge Justin Reed Walker.”

Donald Kelly, partner in charge of the Louisville office of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs, praised Walker’s nomination.

“He is a true constitutional scholar who has made an immediate impact on the Brandeis School of Law, its students, faculty and alumni and the greater Louisville community,” he said. “I am confident he will make an excellent judge.”

Logan Wood, a 2019 graduate of Louisville Law, worked as Walker’s research assistant as a student.

“I have been lucky enough to witness Justin’s dedication, intelligence and genuine heart聽at the Brandeis School of Law for the past three years, and there is no one more deserving of a nomination to the federal bench. While his resume speaks for itself, Justin goes above and beyond in everything that he does. He has zealously advocated for the needs and desires of the students and is always willing to lend a hand,” she said. “I have never once doubted his passion for the law or his ability to be fair and impartial. He will bring a great presence to the federal bench, and I support him fully.”

Brandeis School of Law Professor Justin Walker has a unique perspective on the recent changes to the makeup of the United States Supreme Court.

A former clerk for retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, Walker also clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, nominated last month by President Donald Trump to fill Kennedy’s seat.

At Judge Kavanaugh’s request, Walker was in attendance at the White House for the nomination announcement on July 9, 2018.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment to be in the East Room, to see a justice nominated, and for that person to be someone I admire so much as a jurist and as a mentor and as a person,” Walker said.

“I loved seeing him up there with his wife and two little girls, whom he adores. It was also special to see his dad and trailblazing mom sitting in the front row, looking beyond proud. I felt excited for all of them, honored to be there and hopeful about the independence and fair-mindedness he鈥檚 going to bring to the Supreme Court.”

Walker has been featured in several local and national media outlets about Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination and his experiences working for both men.

In interviews, Walker states that he believes Judge聽Kavanaugh would be an open-minded justice.

“He鈥檒l care about what the text of the law requires a judge to do,” Walker says in a聽. “He will not care about partisan political issues and outcomes.”

Walker has also said that Judge Kavanaugh would remain true to his conservative principles.聽

鈥淚 would bet the farm that Judge Kavanaugh would not go wobbly鈥� on key conservative issues, Walker said in an interview with聽. 鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 have a wobbly bone in his body.鈥�

On a personal level, Walker has praised Judge Kavanaugh’s work ethic and collegial nature.

鈥淲hatever the opposite of a Georgetown cocktail party person is, that鈥檚 what Judge Kavanaugh is,鈥� he told聽.聽鈥淗e鈥檇 much rather have a beer and watch a hockey game.鈥�

See a list of Walker’s media appearances:

Print/digital:

• , July 17, 2018
• , July 14, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 9, 2018聽
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 3, 2018
• , June 29, 2018
• , June 28, 2018

TV and Radio:

• Point of View Radio Talk Show, July 16, 2018
• , July 15, 2018
• Newstalk KVGO, July 13, 2018
• WAVE 3, July 13, 2018
• , July 12, 2018
• KXFM, July 12, 2018
• , July 12, 2018
• WVLK-AM, July 12, 2018
• 790 KABC, July 11, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• , July 11, 2018
• Urban Family Talk, July 11, 2018
• Bloomberg Radio, July 10, 2018
• Bloomberg TV, July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• The Mitch Albom Show, July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• Sirius Xm Patriot, July 10, 2018
• , July 10, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• , July 9, 2018
• Sirius XM Patriot, July 9, 2018
• , July 7, 2018
• , July 7, 2018
• , July 6, 2018
• , July 6, 2018
• , July 6, 2018
• , July 5, 2018
• , July 5, 2018
• WLKY Louisville, July 2, 2018
• , July 1, 2018
• , July 1, 2018
• , June 30, 2018
• Fox 5 New York, June 28, 2018

Opinion:

• , July 10, 2018
• , July 6, 2018
• , July 3, 2018

The discussion is part of the law school鈥檚 celebration. Kagan is the 2016 recipient of the prestigious award.

Walker was asked to lead the dinner discussion because he knew Kagan when he was a student at Harvard Law School and she was the dean. He took a class with Kagan and remembers her as a tough instructor who adhered closely to the old fashioned version of the Socratic method.

After graduated from law school in 2009, Kagan recommended him for the two clerkships he received, the first for Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (2010-11), and the second for her colleague,聽Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court (2011-12).

鈥淚鈥檓 very excited and so honored to lead the question and answer session with Justice Kagan,鈥� said Walker.

Walker teaches legal writing at UofL. He went to Harvard after completing an undergraduate degree from Duke University in political science. In addition to his clerkships for Justice Kennedy and Judge Kavanaugh, he was a Pentagon speechwriter for former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. His interests include volunteering as executive director of an educational nonprofit called the , which teaches elementary-school kids that they can make a difference in the world. He also enjoys visiting Civil War battlefields, watching his 100 favorite movies, and rooting for the Chicago Cubs.

UofL News had the chance to talk to聽Walker about his experience and his聽upcoming Q&A session Kagan:

UofL News: How did you first meet Justice Kagan?

Walker: She gave a speech during orientation at law school. She was the dean, and it was clear she was a different kind of dean than Harvard had seen in older days. She talked about a vision of law school that was nothing like 鈥淭he Paper Chase.鈥� Yes, you work hard.聽 Yes, you are challenged. But you do it without fear of failure. You do it by learning from your classmates, not competing against them. You do it in a way that鈥檚 fun, because exploring big ideas should be fun. Even if it鈥檚 hard … Especially if it鈥檚 hard!

UofL News: As dean, what did Kagan do to improve students鈥� experience?

Walker: Well, she was a reformer 鈥� a careful but fearless reformer. The first-year curriculum changed in big ways for the first time in about 100聽years, with new courses on things that are pretty important to being a lawyer, like legislation and regulation. She also brought in so many new teachers for us that one parody joked there were no professors left to teach at any other law schools. She improved student life in less academic ways, too 鈥� a new student center; a renovated gym; a skating rink in the winter. Those last few weren鈥檛 too controversial of course, but the new curriculum, the faculty hires, the culture changes 鈥� those pivots you can鈥檛 make with just a snap of the fingers. They鈥檙e more like turning around an aircraft carrier. And she did some of them under fire.

UofL News: It sounds like you admired her a lot.

Walker: I admire her for the battles she picked as dean, and for the way she won them.

UofL News: What was it like to take her class?

Walker: She taught an Administrative Law class at eight o鈥檆lock in the morning 鈥� so you had to really want to be there, and we did. Her style was Socratic, so she didn鈥檛 lecture a lot. She asked questions. Very tough, very probing questions and hypotheticals, not completely unlike how she asks now at oral arguments. But it was fun, because it seemed like she was having fun. I think she wanted to find out whether you could play ball 鈥� whether you could think on your feet and see different sides of a question and defend a position and maybe take a hit.

UofL News: When you were clerking for Justice Kennedy, you saw Justice Kagan ask questions at nearly 70 oral arguments. What was she like?

Walker: She has an ingenious way of zeroing in on an advocate鈥檚 biggest weakness, and exposing it in a way that鈥檚 crystal clear. When I was clerking, her chair was on the side of the bench with Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Alito, and if you were an advocate with weaknesses in your argument, I think that was the side of the bench you needed to worry about the most.

UofL News: How is your teaching affected by what you鈥檝e learned from Justice Kagan?

Walker: Two things. First, as a legal writing teacher, I use her opinions all the time. We read them for their clarity, for their power, and even for their humor. When she wrote about the constitutionality of a police dog sniff, she wrote about when 鈥渁 sniff is up to snuff.鈥� And when she wrote about the licensing rights for Spiderman, she wrote about 鈥渁 web of precedents.鈥� Second, big picture, I give my students the same advice she gave us that very first day of law school: Expect to be challenged, but exploring big ideas should be fun.聽聽

UofL News: What will you ask Justice Kagan when you interview her at the Brandeis Medal dinner?

Walker: What is your name? What is your quest? What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow? Just kidding.