For most third-year LSU Law students, commencement marks a much-anticipated final step of their formal legal education. But for Tara Roussel, her graduation next spring will also represent the start of a two-year journey that will take her through district and appellate courtrooms on back-to-back federal clerkships for a pair of prominent LSU Law alumni.
Roussel will begin a yearlong clerkship with Judge Darrel Papillion (’94) of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana next August, and then clerk for Judge Kurt Engelhardt (’85) of the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals the following year.
With hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants vying for every federal clerkship, securing one is a pinnacle achievement in any law student’s career. American Bar Association data shows just 3.4% of all J.D. graduates nationwide land one of these extremely competitive opportunities. Roussel is among an even less common group of law students to obtain two federal clerkships.
It’s an impressive feat for Roussel—a non-traditional student who taught elementary school in Jefferson Parish for five years before enrolling at LSU Law—but she knows it’s also a significant time commitment and challenge.
“I initially wondered, ‘Am I too old to do two clerkships? Do I need to jump right into my career?’” said Roussel, who earned her B.S. and Master of Arts in Elementary Education from LSU. “But these opportunities really fell into my lap, thanks to the support and guidance of some of my professors, and they are too amazing to pass up.”
With dreams of ascending to her own seat on the federal bench one day, Roussel hopes to gain a 360-degree understanding of the federal judicial system through her clerkships with Papillion and Engelhardt.
“Ever since I started law school, the judiciary really appealed to me,” she said. “I love finding the right answer, and that’s what judges do for a living.”
Although taking on the challenge of two federal clerkships wasn’t part of Roussel’s plan when she began her law school journey, she credits the supportive network of LSU Law faculty and alumni for helping her identify and take advantage of this unique opportunity.
Judges Papillion and Engelhardt prefer graduates from their alma mater to serve as their clerks, and Roussel’s name came up as a promising candidate when the judges asked several LSU Law professors about their best students. Roussel’s clerkship with Papillion was secured during the first few weeks of her 2L year, thanks to a strong recommendation from her Torts and Louisiana Civil Procedure professor, Bill Corbett.
“I got an email from the registrar that Judge Papillion had reached out and wanted to see my transcripts,” said the Metairie native. “Professor Corbett’s recommendation and support were crucial in landing that interview.”
Her clerkship with Judge Engelhardt was facilitated by Professors Maggie Thomas and Ray Diamond. Judge Engelhardt requires that his clerks have one year of district level experience before joining his chambers in the Fifth Circuit, Roussel noted, which will be satisfied by her clerkship with Judge Papillion.
“Professors Thomas and Diamond knew I was clerking at the district court level and recommended me to Judge Engelhardt after he visited LSU Law to hear oral arguments in March,” she said. “Their encouragement and push for me to apply were instrumental. The professors at LSU Law are incredibly dedicated to their craft and to their students, which is part of what makes it such a fantastic law school.”
As a federal clerk at both the district and appellate levels, Roussel said she will have the chance to learn two completely different skill sets. District courts are hands-on, with motions and hearings, she said, while appellate courts are more academic, focusing on research and occasionally oral arguments.
Roussel’s journey to LSU Law—and eventually to Judge Papillion’s and Engelhardt’s chambers—began when she made the tough decision to end her teaching career and shift gears to attend law school in 2022.
“I absolutely loved teaching, but I started to feel stuck,” she said. “Research led me to find out how versatile a law degree is. I’ve always loved reading and writing so it felt like a natural fit.”
She quickly realized that pursuing a legal career was a good fit for her interests and talents. Each semester at LSU Law, Roussel has been named a Paul M. Hebert Scholar, which is awarded to the top 10% of students earning 12 or more credits during an individual semester.
A recipient of the Dean’s Scholarship and the John R. Fridge and Rose Pitre Bahlinger Scholarship, she served as a junior associate for Volume 84 of Louisiana Law Review last year and this year is serving as Editor in-Chief of Volume 85. She also served as an academic tutor for Professor John Devlin’s Basic Civil Procedure II course and is a member of LSU Law’s Ethics Committee.
This summer, Roussel interned at the New Orleans offices of Stanley Reuter and Jones Walker in the firms’ litigation groups, and she previously served as a summer associate at both Irwin Fritchie Urquhart Moore & Daniels LLC and Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver LLC in New Orleans during her time at LSU Law.
As she looks forward to her final year of law school, graduation in May, and the start of her clerkships next fall, Roussel said she is confident that her commitment will pay off and bring her closer to her goal of sitting on the federal bench. However, before reaching that milestone, she plans to practice as a litigator in New Orleans after her clerkships conclude in 2027.
“I gave up my teaching career because I knew how versatile a law degree is, so I’ve taken law school very seriously from the start,” Roussel said. “Becoming a federal judge is like getting struck by lightning, it’s very hard to do, but it’s a long-term goal of mine.”
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