Claire McCusker Murray

Claire McCusker Murray

Class of 2000

Claire McCusker Murray Claire McCusker Murray is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of the global law firm of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where her practice focuses on appellate litigation and white-collar defense. Before entering private practice, Ms. Murray served as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice through its Honors Program.

During her tenure at the Justice Department, Ms. Murray successfully briefed and argued cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeals and obtained convictions in both bench and jury trials. Ms. Murray also served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the Supreme

Court of the United States and Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In between clerkships, she was awarded a Temple Bar Scholarship by the American Inns of Court to study the British legal system.

Ms. Murray received her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was a Coker Fellow and an Articles Editor on the Yale Law Journal. She earned her A.B. in government, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard University, where she received the Augustus Clifford Tower Fellowship. She also holds a diplôme d’études approfondies in political philosophy

from l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales and an M.Phil. in Classics from the University of Cambridge, both with highest distinction.Claire McCusker Murray

Valedictorian of the Mountain Lakes High School Class of 2000, Ms. Murray was also the Editor-in-the-Chief of the Mountaineer, President of the Key Club, and Captain of the Softball and Mock Trial teams. After her time at MLHS, then-President Clinton named Ms. Murray a United States Presidential Scholar.

Ms. Murray lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She and her husband, Michael, have three small children. 

Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.