09/15/2025—Supreme Court Welcomes 2025-26 Class of Term Clerks

Atlanta, September 15, 2025-The Supreme Court of Georgia welcomes its 2025-26 class of term law clerks.

Term law clerks serve for one year, assisting their assigned Justices with legal research and writing, drafting and reviewing opinions, preparing for oral arguments, and other responsibilities.

The 2025-2026 class of term clerks consists of high-caliber law school graduates, including several former federal court clerks and interns, winning moot court and mock trial competitors, legal publication editors, a former Marine Corps Judge Advocate, and a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient.

Now in its eighth year, the Court's term clerk program allows Georgia's highest court to invest in the future leaders of the Georgia bar, as well as in the state's appellate practice, through an intensive year of legal research and writing. Some of this year's term clerks graduated recently from law school, while others have come to the Court after one or more years of work in the legal profession.

"Our Court is fortunate to have welcomed a talented cohort of term clerks," Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson said. "My fellow Justices and I are looking forward to working with them as they gain hands-on experience in appellate practice."

Meet the 2025-26 class:

• Christian Carlow, a 2024 graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, is clerking for Presiding Justice Sarah Hawkins Warren. Carlow, a native of Richmond, Va., earned his Bachelor of Arts in international affairs from the University of Georgia. During law school, he was a Karsh-Dillard Scholar, served on the managing board of the Virginia Law and Business Review, and participated in UVA's prosecution clinic. He also externed for Judge M. Hannah Lauck of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and was a summer associate at two large law firms. He previously clerked for Chief Judge Emily C. Marks of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
• Alexandria "Alex" Clark, a 2022 cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, is clerking for Justice John J. Ellington. Clark, an Atlanta native, is a Double Dawg, having also earned her Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from UGA. During law school, she co-founded the Georgia Criminal Law Review and received the Clinical Legal Education Association's award for Outstanding Externship Student. She previously worked in the Staff Attorney's Office for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
• Allison Fine, who graduated first in her class from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2024, is clerking for Justice Andrew A. Pinson. Fine, who hails from Marietta, Ga., is a Double Dawg, having also earned two undergraduate degrees in marketing and political science from UGA. During law school, she was selected for the Order of the Coif and the Order of the Barristers, was editor-in-chief of the Georgia Criminal Law Review, competed on UGA's moot court team, and argued a case before the District of Columbia Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals as a member of UGA's Appellate Clinic. She also works with Children's First Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) to help advocate for the best interests of children in the foster care system and is a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient. Fine previously clerked for Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and will clerk for Judge Adalberto Jordan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upon completion of her time at the Supreme Court of Georgia.
• Christian Futch, who graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law in 2025 in the top 10 percent of his class, is clerking for Justice Carla Wong McMillian. Futch, of Pembroke, Ga., earned undergraduate degrees in philosophy and political science from Georgia Southern University. During law school, he was a Henson Distinguished Law Fellow, editor-in-chief of the Georgia Criminal Law Review, president of the Christian Legal Society, and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer. He also externed for various state and federal agencies, including the Georgia Attorney General's Office, the Athens Public Defender's Office, and the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Georgia. He will clerk for Judge Marc. T. Treadwell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia, following his clerkship with the Supreme Court of Georgia.
• Drew Hertel, a 2020 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law, is clerking for Justice Shawn Ellen LaGrua. Hertel, of Hays, Kan., earned an undergraduate degree in integrated marketing communications from Wichita State University and a Master of Business Administration from Kansas State University. During law school, he was editor-in-chief of the Law & Psychology Review, co-founder and president of UA Law's chapter of the St. Thomas More Society, and a member of the mock trial teams. Following law school, he clerked for Judge Hope T. Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida and later worked as a U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, where he served in three different billets: Series Commander with Company I in the Recruit Training Regiment, Legal Assistance Officer in Charge, and Trial Counsel (prosecutor).
• Zachary Mullinax, a 2023 summa cum laude graduate of the Mercer University School of Law, is clerking for Justice Charlie Bethel. Mullinax, of Kennesaw, Ga., also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and public policy from Mercer University. During law school, he won the New York City Bar's National Moot Court Competition. He later worked for the Georgia Attorney General's Office in the Office of the Solicitor General, and during that time, briefed, argued, and won cases at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Supreme Court of Georgia.
• Nia Norwood, a 2023 cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, is clerking for Justice Verda M. Colvin. Norwood, who hails from Ellenwood, Ga., is a Double Dawg, having also earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and political science from UGA. During law school, she competed on both the moot court and mock trial teams and was named a finalist in the Emory Civil Rights Competition and the Southeastern Invitational Moot Court Competition. She was also president of the UGA Health Law Society, a member of the Order of the Barristers and Clarke-Carley Inn of Court, and an intern for Judge Steve C. Jones with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. After law school, she worked as an Honors Fellow/Assistant Attorney General in the General Litigation Section of the Office of the Attorney General of Georgia.
• Zach Poppe, a 2025 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, is clerking for Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson. Poppe, of Cumming, Ga., is a Double Dawg, having also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in economics from UGA. During law school, he was a notes editor for the Georgia Law Review, served as a Dean's Ambassador, and participated in UGA's Appellate Litigation Clinic, where he argued a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. After completing his clerkship with the Supreme Court of Georgia, he will work for a large Atlanta law firm and clerk for Judge Robert J. Luck of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
• Amanda Vassallo, a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, is clerking for Justice Benjamin A. Land. Vassallo, who is from Lawrenceville, Ga., previously clerked for Justice McMillian. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from UGA's Terry College of Business. During law school, she served on the managing board of the Georgia Law Review, as vice president of UGA's chapter of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, as a summer associate for a large Atlanta law firm, and as an extern for a Western Judicial Circuit Superior Court judge and a Northern District of Georgia Bankruptcy Court judge. Vassallo is an active member of a disaster relief team that rebuilds communities affected by natural disasters.

The Supreme Court of Georgia's term clerk program began in 2018 with the support of the Georgia General Assembly. Each Justice hires his or her own one-year term clerk.