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Posted July 10, 2026

Marshall Scholars with a legal leaning

Legal Marshall Schoiars

What do Supreme Court Judges, University Deans and a Deputy Attorney General have in common? The answer is that they are all Marshall Scholars.

Marshall Scholarships are a fantastic funding opportunity enabling US postgraduate students to study at any British university in almost any subject area including postgraduate law.

The list of Marshall alumni is an impressive one and the application period for the 2027 Marshall Scholarships has recently opened! Up to 50 scholars are selected each year for fully funded postgraduate study at any UK university – and the deadlines for applications are Tuesday 29th September 2026 for applicants and recommenders; and Thursday 1st October 2026 for endorsing US institutions.

In this blog we’re going to take a look at some of the alumni with a legal leaning in a bit more detail.

Legal careers for Marshall Scholars

Here are some exceptional careers of Marshall Scholars.

Supreme Court Justices 

Justice Neil Gorsuch was born in Colorado in 1967. He attended Columbia University and graduated in 1988 with a BA in History and Politics. He then attended Harvard Law School where he studied a Juris Doctor and counted Barack Obama as one of his classmates. In 2004, he qualified with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar. Gorsuch was appointed Associated Justice of the Supreme Court by Donald Trump in 2017.

Justice Stephen Breyer was born in San Francisco in 1938. He studied Philosophy at Stanford University and then became a Marshall Scholar at the University of Oxford, where he earned a second degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). He later graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Breyer was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1994, serving until his retirement in 2022.

Political Advisor 

Katie Beirne Fallon was born in Ohio in the mid-1970s. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Government and International Studies. She then studied Comparative Politics at Queen’s University Belfast and LSE (London School of Economics) – both on a Marshall Scholarship. She was a White House Director of Legislative Affairs under President Barack Obama.

Policy Fellow & Lawyer 

Richard Cordray was born in Ohio in 1959 and is an American lawyer and public servant. He studied a degree in Legal and Political Theory at Michigan State University and then went to the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, where he studied PPE. Following his stint in the UK, he studied a JD at the University of Chicago Law School. Appointed by President Obama to head up a consumer watchdog bureau, Cordray played a key role in shaping and enforcing consumer protection laws in the US.

Law School Dean 

Kathleen Sullivan was born in 1955 in Michigan and works as a lawyer and senior counsel. Following her graduation from Cornell University, Sullivan studied PPE at the University of Oxford as a Marshall Scholar, before returning to the US and attending Harvard Law School. She served as Dean of Stanford Law School from 1999 to 2004, and remained on their faculty until 2012.

Deputy Attorney General 

Born in Chicago in 1966, Mark Filip is an American lawyer, judge and former federal prosecutor. Filip graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1988 with degrees in Economics and History. He then attended the University of Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship, graduating in Law. In 1992, Filip graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of Harvard Law Review. Filip held the position of Deputy Attorney General under President George W Bush, he also served as the Acting Attorney General of the United States in 2009 under President Obama.

Law Professor 

Jennifer Daskal, born in 1972, is the Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Tech, Law and Security Program at the Washington College of Law at American University, where her work focuses on terrorism, national security and criminal law. After completing her undergraduate degree at Brown University, Daskal went to the University of Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar. After graduating she returned to the US to study at Harvard Law School. Jennifer Daskal is currently serving as Principal Deputy Legal Advisor and Special Assistant to the President. 

This is just a small selection of the exceptional Marshall Alumni that have entered into law-related fields, providing a brief look at what they have achieved with the help of a Marshall Scholarship.

The next cohort of Marshall Scholars

The 2026 Marshall Scholars are starting their studies in the UK soon – here are the profiles of a few of the new scholars with a legal leaning.

Ethan Barnes from Northwestern University hopes to study degrees in Criminology and Law in the UK, after which he will attend Harvard Law School as a Truman Scholar through early admission. Following law school, Ethan aspires to become a federal prosecutor.

Adelaide Lyall from the University of Pennsylvania hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how the implementation of digital technologies into the immigration and criminal legal systems affects civil rights. She intends to pursue degrees in Data and Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Digital Sociology at the University of Edinburgh.

Claire McDonald from Willams College plans to study for an MSc in Political Behaviour followed by an LLM in Public Law, expanding upon her current thesis and eventually obtaining a JD concentrating on voting rights and election law.

Dhruvak Mirani from University of Maryland is planning to study an MSc in Global Security at the University of Glasgow, followed by an MSc in Cyber Security at King’s College London.

Norah Rami from the University of Pennsylvania will spend one year studying Media Governance at the London School of Economics and then complete an MPhil in Socio-Legal Research at the University of Oxford.

What are Marshall Scholarships?

Marshall ScholarshipsMarshall Scholarships are prestigious awards that provide fully funded tuition for exceptional US students to pursue postgraduate studies at any university in the UK. Established in 1953, Marshall Scholarships are funded by the British government with the aim of strengthening the bond between the UK and the US. Marshall Scholarships cover tuition fees, living expenses and travel costs for up to two years, with the possibility of a third-year extension.

Find out more and apply now.

Editor’s note: this blog was originally published in September 2024, and has been updated in July 2026 for the new Marshall Scholarships application period

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