Published on Sep. 4, 2024

Updated on Sep. 25, 2024

Going into law school at the University of Missouri, Kristen Evans, ’22, already had her eyes on a coveted position after graduation: a federal clerkship.

“I felt that it would be really resourceful to do,” Evans said. “[Judicial clerks] gain a lot of knowledge about how the courts work, and that includes learning the court system, learning how to cater your arguments, your motions, your orders, to judges’ preferences.”

However, Evans felt discouraged by the pervasive message that clerkships were out of her reach. Outside of Evans’ friends and mentors at Mizzou Law, many emphasized the exclusivity of federal clerkships.

“I got a lot of, ‘you probably won’t get a federal clerkship’ and ‘I don’t know this is going to work out for you.’”

In spite of the naysayers, a fellow Mizzou Law student introduced Evans to the chief bankruptcy judge for the Eastern District of Missouri during her 2L summer externship with a District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, which only made her more interested in clerking.

“She was very eager to introduce me to bankruptcy and expose me to all the benefits of being a bankruptcy attorney. “I decided to sit in on some of her hearings. I liked what I saw, and I thought to myself, ‘I can do this.’ So I decided that I would apply for a bankruptcy clerkship.”

Evans’ dream came true, she was hired by The Honorable Judge Denise Barnett, a bankruptcy judge in the Western District of Tennessee.

After spending nearly two years as a clerk, Evans said she wouldn’t have it any other way. After completing her clerkship later this month, Evans will continue working in bankruptcy as an associate at Spencer Fane, a firm based in Kansas City, Missouri.

In an effort to pay it forward, Evans now volunteers with Black Women in Law Legacy Program, which pairs Black female attorneys with Black female law students with the goal of diversifying the legal profession. She wants to share her experience but most importantly for Evans, she wants to be an encouraging mentor to young women.

“I had people in my corner that encouraged me and pushed me to ignore the background noise that said you can’t do it,” she said. “So, I wanted to be that person for somebody else.”

Evans is currently working with two Black female law mentees and though they are at different points in their professional and educational paths, Evans said she is excited to see them grow, just as she did from law school to her clerkship and beyond.