18 members of the Class of 2018 selected to join the Order of the Coif

Eighteen members of the Class of 2018 have been selected to join the Order of the Coif. Vanderbilt’s new Order of the Coif members were announced by Amanda Rose, professor of law, who is president of the Vanderbilt Law School Chapter of the Order of the Coif.

Members of the Order of the Coif are selected by faculty approval and represent the top 10 percent of their graduating class. New members from the Class of 2018 include:

  • Zoe Michal Ben-Oren of Sandy Springs, Georgia. Ben-Oren earned her B.A. at the University of Florida and is a law clerk for Judge Leigh Martin May of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia from 2018-20 and will clerk for Judge Jay S. Bybee on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2020-21.
  • Cassandra Michelle Burns of Louisville, Kentucky. Burns earned her B.A. at Xavier University of Ohio. She has joined Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago as an associate.
  • Mark Alexander Carver of Kingsport, Tennessee. Carver earned a B. S. and B.A. at Carson-Newman College. He is a law clerk for Judge R. David Proctor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in 2018-19 and will clerk for Judge William H. Pryor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 2019-20.
  • Catherine Cassel Ciriello of West New York, New Jersey. Ciriello earned her B.S. at Carnegie Mellon University. She has joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York as an associate.
  • Paige N. Costakos of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Costakos earned her B.A. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She has joined Sullivan & Cromwell in New York as an associate.
  • Richard Turner Henderson of Nashville, Tennessee. Henderson earned his B.A. at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is an associate at Bass Berry & Sims in Nashville.
  • Nell Blair Henson of Columbus, Georgia. Henson earned her B.A. at Furman University. She has joined King & Spalding in Atlanta as an associate.
  • Virginia Douglas Hiner of Richmond, Virginia. Hiner earned her B.A. at Barnard College. She has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, D.C., as an associate.
  • Miron Klimkowski of Memphis, Tennessee. Klimkowski earned his B.A. at Vanderbilt University. He has joined Vinson & Elkins in Dallas as an associate.
  • Samuel Thomas Mallick of Dallas, Texas. Mallick earned his B.A. at Vanderbilt University. He is a law clerk for Judge Brian S. Miller ’95 of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Arkansas in 2018-19.
  • Shannon C. McDermott of Minneapolis, Minnesota. McDermott earned a B.A.J. and a B.A. at the University of Georgia. She is a law clerk for Judge Paul G. Byron of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 2018-19.
  • Alexandra Michelle Ortiz of Amsterdam, New York. Ortiz earned her B.A. at Cornell University. She is a law clerk for Judge Thomas A. Varlan ’81 of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in 2018-19.
  • Walter Allen Perry Jr. of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Perry earned his B.A. at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is a law clerk to Judge David J. Hale of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in 2018-19.
  • Victoria Lynn Romvary of Medford Lakes, New Jersey. Romvary earned her B.A. at Princeton University. She has joined Cravath Swain & Moore in New York as an associate.
  • Margaret Grace Wilkinson Smith of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Smith earned her B.A. at Duke University. She is a law clerk to Judge Duane Benton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in 2018-19.
  • Donovan Eric Sowder of Berea, Kentucky. Sowder earned his B.A. at Transylvania University. He has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis in Nashville as an associate.
  • Nicole A. Weeks of Lynnfield, Massachusetts. Weeks earned her B.A. at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is a law clerk to Judge Michael L. Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in 2018-19.
  • Blake C. Woodward of Bethel, Ohio. Woodward earned her B.A. at Miami University of Ohio. She has joined Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft in Washington, D.C., as an associate.

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