From the Army to the Courtroom: A TAP Mentorship Story
When Alex Porter, clerk at the Southern District of Indiana, began thinking about life after the Army, his path wasn’t yet clear. But a formative experience at West Point—serving on the Cadet Honor Committee, investigating alleged violations of the Cadet Honor Code, and working alongside military attorneys—sparked an interest that would eventually lead him to law school.
“I remembered how much I enjoyed the work of investigating and presenting cases, and I decided on law school,” Alex said. “So I brought an LSAT book with me to Afghanistan, studied during downtime over the night shift, and took the test the next year after I returned home.”
The transition from military service to civilian life—and into a new professional world—was both smoother and stranger than expected: “I had an easier transition to civilian life than most,” he said, crediting the Army Career Skills Program, which allowed him to intern at a Washington, D.C. law firm before discharge. “Still, there were challenges with adjusting to the more relaxed nature of a law school, a law firm, or civilian life in general.”
A Thoughtful TAP Match
When it came time to apply for clerkships, Alex sought guidance through The Appellate Project’s Mentorship Program, where he was paired with attorney and fellow veteran Josh Mathew, associate at Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. “Our shared Army background definitely influenced our mentorship relationship,” Josh said. “I suspected that Alex had compelling experiences in service, which he might downplay as ‘just part of the job,’ but he would need to explain and highlight to civilian audiences.”
For Josh, who once benefited from mentors who encouraged him to clerk, the opportunity to pay it forward was deeply personal. “After I transitioned out of the Army, entered law school and began my legal career, I benefited tremendously from the mentorship of friends, attorneys, and professors,” he said. “As I’ve written elsewhere about the importance of mentorship programs, no one gets there alone. After clerking for judges in the district court and court of appeals, I wanted to pay it forward.”
Translating Military Experience to the Courtroom
Through their conversations, Josh helped Alex translate his military experience to the legal profession. “One of the hard parts of transitioning out of the military is translating your skills into language that makes sense to a civilian audience,” Alex said. “Josh helped me not only put my experiences into words that my new audience would understand, but also take the next step of writing to persuade my reader that those experiences would make me a capable clerk.”
Josh understood that challenge well. “Like folks from immigrant families, veterans often downplay their achievements because they’ve come up in an environment that consistently reminds them that they could always be faster, stronger, and more proficient,” he said. “While that mindset is helpful in the military, it’s important for veterans (and others navigating imposter syndrome) to give themselves credit and some grace. We discussed how Alex’s experiences in service—caring for soldiers while executing his commander’s guidance under tight timelines—would make him a great clerk for a judge. We made sure to highlight those traits in his applications.”
That reframing helped Alex see how his military experience could be an asset in chambers. “Serving in the military influences how I aim to approach all matters with neutrality, focus, and an open mind,” he said. “Another important aspect of being a veteran is the exposure to diverse people the military gives you. A lot of the people we see in court are dealing with issues like those of soldiers in your platoon, so serving produces leaders who care about people and their issues.”
“We’re All Here”
For Josh, one of the most enduring lessons from his military service was that diversity makes teams stronger. “My former commander told me: ‘The U.S. Army is one of the most diverse organizations in the world. We have every race, religion, national origin, gender, creed, and sexual orientation. We’re all here,’” he recalled. “While serving, I always appreciated this diversity, and we were stronger for it.”
Yet the diversity Josh saw in the military doesn’t always carry over to the legal field. “Veterans are underrepresented in the legal profession, in clerkships, and on the bench,” he said. “And given the makeup of our military, there’s significant overlap between those who serve and other underrepresented communities, including folks of color, immigrants and the children of immigrants, first-generation lawyers and students, and those hailing from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Veterans, particularly those from these communities, have a unique voice to share in the legal profession and in clerkships but often face challenges navigating both.”
That perspective continues to shape how he views diversity in the legal profession—and why he admires The Appellate Project’s mission. “I’ve admired TAP’s mission to support law students from underrepresented backgrounds,” Josh said. “This work is critical to ensuring that our courts better reflect our communities and the principle that ‘We’re all here.’”
Looking to the Future
Fast forward to today, and Alex is clerking for Chief Judge James R. Sweeney II of the Southern District of Indiana—a role that has deepened his appreciation for mentors and role models who share similar backgrounds. “It is great to work for a judge who shares [a military] background,” he said. “It helps us communicate efficiently when we not only have shared vocabulary, but also have shared ideas of character and doing things the right way based on our similar educations at West Point and the Naval Academy. Judge Sweeney is a great example for how veterans can reach the highest levels of legal practice as a judge and in his career as a law firm partner beforehand. You might have to ask me this again after the Army-Navy football game in December, though.”
Josh is proud to see Alex thriving. “I am particularly excited for Alex because my closest Army friend, Jose Moncada, also clerked for Chief Judge Sweeney,” he said. “I have witnessed how Jose’s clerkship with Chief Judge Sweeney and on the Seventh Circuit provided him invaluable training as a litigator and unlocked opportunities for him. I look forward to seeing Alex benefit similarly and develop as a lawyer.”
The Appellate Project thanks Alex Porter and Josh Mathew for sharing their mentorship story with us in honor of Veterans Day—and for their continued service to their communities, both in and beyond the courtroom.
