Knudson School of Law Students Attend Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing Conference, Accept Judicial Clerkships
The students include Brooklyn Bollweg, Brock A. Brown, Taylor Graves, Tory J. Shafer and Ben Titus.
Conference attendees received opinion writing instruction from America’s most distinguished judiciary members serving as faculty judges. Participants also crafted a concise judicial opinion addressing a First Amendment issue based on a problem drafted by the CSL.
Each attendee was eligible for the CSL Prize in Judicial Clerkship Opinion Writing. Titus and Graves were recognized as finalists.
“The conference was an amazing opportunity to understand how sitting judges approach decision-making and opinion writing. I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to network with other future law clerks, learn about different strategies to help writing achieve its purpose and receive feedback on my writing from the conference judges,” said Graves. “I’m honored to be recognized as a finalist in the competition, and I look forward to applying what I have learned in my role as clerk.”
“I’m honored to be recognized as a finalist in the writing competition. I had a great educational experience attending this conference with informative and impressive judicial panelists. I would encourage all Knudson School of Law students to apply for this opportunity,” said Titus.
The students have also accepted judicial clerkships.
- Brooklyn Bollweg – Bollweg will be clerking for Justice Janine M. Kern of the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2025-26. Following her clerkship, she will join the firm of Willcox Savage in Norfolk, Virginia. At the law school, she is the editor-in-chief of the South Dakota Law Review, a member of the Marjorie Breeden Society and a student ambassador.
- Brock A. Brown – Brown will be clerking for all five justices of the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2025-26. Following his clerkship, he will join Boyce Law Firm, LLP, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He is a gubernatorially appointed member of the South Dakota Board of Regents, a member of USD’s Law Moot Court Board and president of the Student Bar Association.
- Taylor Graves – Graves will be clerking for Chief Justice Steven R. Jensen of the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2025-26 in Pierre, South Dakota. As a law student, she is a member of Women in Law and Women in Philanthropy, and she serves on the Academic Affairs and Curriculum Committee. She is a copy editor on Volume 70 of the South Dakota Law Review and was previously a staff writer on Volume 69.
- Tory J. Shafer – Shafer will be clerking for Justice Jonathan Papik of the Nebraska Supreme Court in 2025-2026 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Following his clerkship, Shafer and his wife, Mariah, will move to the location of her family medicine residency following her graduation from medical school in 2026. At the law school, he is the lead articles editor of the South Dakota Law Review, Volume 70 and president of the South Dakota Christian Legal Society student chapter.
- Benjamin P. Titus – Titus will be clerking for Judge Camela Theeler in the Western Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota in 2025-26, in Rapid City, South Dakota. As a law student, he is the managing editor of the South Dakota Law Review, where he also served as a staff writer and authored a student-comment article.
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