The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture is proud to have three former student fellows serving as clerks for the Supreme Court of the United States during the 2025–26 term.

Michael Bradley ’14, ’17 MTS, ’22 J.D., a recipient of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture’s Polking Family Fellowship at Notre Dame Law School and an alumnus of the Center’s Sorin Fellows program, will serve as a law clerk for Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito. William “Billy” Eisenhauer ’23 J.D., also an alumnus of the Sorin Fellows program for law students, will clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts. Caitlin Fennelly Ferguson ’21, a 2024 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and an undergraduate Sorin Fellow during her time at Notre Dame, will clerk for Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“Michael, Billy, and Caitlin are each brilliant exemplars of the commitment to justice, human dignity, and the common good that animate the work of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture,” said Jennifer Newsome Martin, director of the de Nicola Center, John J. Cavanaugh Professor of the Humanities, and associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. “We know that the formation and mentorship they received at Notre Dame and in the de Nicola Center community will help them serve the highest court in the land with excellence and integrity, and we could not be more proud.”

Bradley, Eisenhauer, and Ferguson join a distinguished list of de Nicola Center Sorin Fellows and Center-affiliated alumni who have clerked at the nation’s highest court: Megan Wold ’11 J.D. clerked for Justice Alito in the 2014 term; Laura Wolk ’16 J.D. clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas in the 2019 term; Audrey Beck ’17 J.D. clerked for Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the 2019 term; and Timothy Bradley ’16, ’20 J.D. clerked for Justice Amy Coney Barrett ’97 J.D. in the 2022 term.

Bradley, a South Bend native, completed his undergraduate, masters, and law degrees at the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife Madeline have five children. Bradley was awarded the de Nicola Center’s prestigious Polking Fellowship, a top-up scholarship awarded annually to an excellent incoming law student who demonstrates a profound commitment to the dignity of life. During his time as a Polking Fellow, Bradley received specialized mentorship from the Center’s affiliated faculty and fellows, prestigious internship opportunities, invitations to exclusive events, and support for scholarly research.

“As a Polking Fellow, I benefited from the Center’s wide-ranging commitment to advancing a culture of life through law and policy,” said Bradley. “Among other things, I attended Fall Conferences (which invariably address the culture of life in beautiful ways), did a directed reading with Professor Carter Snead on his book What It Means to Be Human, helped organize a graduate- and professional-student seminar on Dobbs and the future of abortion law, and led a team of law students in a Dobbs-related research project for Professor Snead. Those experiences and others like them helped cement for me that the law is for persons, and that our law and policy should reflect the truths of who persons are, and who are persons.”

Bradley credits the guidance of dCEC faculty fellows for his decision to seek the clerkship. “Professor Sherif Girgis clerked for Justice Alito and encouraged me to apply because he believed that I would benefit from his mentorship and be a good fit for his chambers. I took Remedies with Professor Samuel Bray and did directed readings with him on statutory interpretation; his teaching and scholarship enriched me then, and his work continues to enrich me now. Professor Nicole Garnett co-taught one of my favorite courses, on originalism in theory and judicial practice, and she supported my student endeavors and my application to clerk at the Supreme Court. Professor Snead, the de Nicola Center, and the Polking Fellowship helped give me all these opportunities and more.”

Eisenhauer, a native of Dayton, Ohio, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2015. He served for five years as a submarine officer before beginning his law studies. During his time at Notre Dame Law School, he was the executive editor of the Notre Dame Law Review, participated in the dCEC’s Sorin Fellows program, and served as a research assistant to O. Carter Snead, the Charles E. Rice Professor of Law and former director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. Immediately after graduation, Eisenhauer clerked for Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Ben Beaton of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Eisenhauer and his wife Kelly have two children.

Ferguson graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021 with a double major in history and the Program of Liberal Studies. She and her husband Jack Ferguson ’20, ‘23 J.D., were both Sorin Fellows of the de Nicola Center during their time at Notre Dame; they were married in 2022 and have one child. During her time at the University of Chicago Law School, she served as a member of the Law Review and Federalist Society; she graduated law school with high honors and was inducted into the Order of the Coif. Following graduation, she clerked for Judge Amul Thapar on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

“The Center was an intellectual and social home for me and my family not only during law school but during my master’s degree program and my undergraduate years at Notre Dame,” concluded Bradley. “My wife, Madeline—who deserves credit for anything good I have done as a Polking Fellow, as in all other things, too—and I loved being part of the Center’s life. The Center’s staff has always welcomed us with open arms. I loved my time as a Polking Fellow, and I’m proud to represent the fellowship and the de Nicola Center this year at the Court.”

*Story updated on June 15, 2025, to note that Michael and Madeline Bradley have five children.