NCLA Internship Spotlight

Isaiah McKinney

Summer Law Clerk

Law School: Wake Forest University School of Law

Expected Graduation: 2022

Hometown: Lake Stevens, WA

Campus Activities: Wake Forest Journal of Law and Policy; Executive Board Member of the Criminal Justice Society; Federalist Society, Christian Legal Society; and Pro Bono Projects.

Hobbies: cooking, fencing, hiking, watching baseball, and road trips.

What were your duties as an NCLA intern?

I performed legal research on various issues and helped edit briefs. I also helped look for plaintiffs for a potential case.

What did you most enjoy about your internship?

I really liked working with others who were passionate about fighting the overreaches of the unconstitutional administrative state. It was encouraging to work with such talented attorneys who are devoted to the Constitution. I also really enjoyed learning more about administrative law.

What interesting thing(s) did you learn about Administrative Law?

Administrative agencies are not very keen on complying with their own regulations, and it is very challenging to hold them accountable.

How might you use what you’ve learned later in your professional career?

I will definitely use the research and writing skills I honed this summer. Administrative law affects so many areas of law, and I am sure that I will use what I learned this summer throughout my career in litigation and compliance matters.

Any advice for other students who want to intern at NCLA in the future?

While it is not a common 1L course, try to learn as much about administrative law as possible. That will allow you to be more knowledgeable and spend more time working on projects rather than learning what you need to know in order to complete a project.