U.S. Supreme Court · Merits-stage amicus
Appellate research & writing
Daniel E.
Thompson.
I help attorneys with legal research, brief drafting, substantive editing, and careful source verification.
I'm a law clerk working in appellate and Supreme Court litigation and a Merit Scholar at the University of Chicago. I take on select independent projects under licensed-attorney supervision to help support my family and save for law school.
Experience
Selected appellate work
Examples of matters to which I've contributed research, drafting, editorial review, or authority verification while working under the direction of counsel.
U.S. Supreme Court · Merits-stage amicus
Genalo v. Keisy G.M.
U.S. Supreme Court · Certiorari-stage amicus
Association for Education Fairness v. Montgomery County Board of Education
U.S. Supreme Court · Certiorari-stage amicus
Polk v. Montgomery County Public Schools
Tennessee Court of Appeals · Amicus
Phillips v. State of Tennessee
Supreme Court of Ohio · Merits reply
Craig v. Cromes
Additional appellate work. These are selected publicly identifiable matters, not a complete list. Several other projects—including a D.C. Circuit matter and a U.S. Supreme Court brief—are omitted pending public filing or permission to acknowledge them.
My contributions differed by matter and included substantive drafting on most of these briefs, alongside legal research, editing, and source verification. I was not counsel of record and do not claim sole authorship of any brief. Links lead to public court dockets or official case searches, not a claim of authorship of every filing.
Time returned to counsel
Hundreds of hours
of delegated work.
I've completed hundreds of hours of attorney-assigned legal research, brief drafting, substantive editing, Bluebooking, and source verification—work that lets supervising counsel devote more of their time to strategy, judgment, and clients.
This describes hours of attorney-directed work I've completed, based on project hours assigned and worked. It is not an independently measured total of net attorney hours saved; that depends on the task and the attorney's review time.
How I can help
Project-based support
Focused assistance for attorneys who could use another careful researcher or writer on a particular matter.
01
Legal research
Cases, statutes, legislative history, and supporting authority.
02
Brief drafting
Drafting substantive sections under attorney direction.
03
Substantive editing
Revising legal analysis, organization, and written advocacy.
04
Source verification
Checking citations, quotations, and the authorities supporting propositions.
A project in practice
From first email
to finished work.
What does a small, independent research or writing assignment actually look like? Click through a sample email exchange.
Illustration only. This is fictional correspondence, not a real client exchange or a representation of work performed for any particular firm. Actual arrangements depend on the project and supervising attorney.
Sample correspondence · fictional
Appellate research & citation review
Prospective counsel ↔ Daniel E. Thompson
Prospective counselInitial inquiry
Hi Daniel — we're looking for help checking citations and tightening an argument section for an appellate brief. Would you have about five hours available this week? Our filing deadline is Friday.
Daniel E. ThompsonAvailability & scope
Thank you for reaching out. Please send a nonconfidential description of the matter so I can consider potential conflicts and confirm availability. If it's a fit, I can prepare a source-linked citation review and tracked edits for your review.
Prospective counselProposed terms
That sounds right. Let's agree in writing on the rate, a five-hour cap, and Thursday delivery so we have time to review. Once conflicts are cleared, we'll share the draft through our approved secure channel.
Daniel E. ThompsonEngagement confirmed
Confirmed. I've completed the conflict review and we have the scope, supervision, and terms in writing. I'll work within the approved cap and flag any question that could affect the scope or deadline before proceeding.
Daniel E. ThompsonDelivery
The tracked edits and source-verification table are ready in the secure workspace. I flagged two authorities for your judgment and included the itemized hours and invoice under our agreed terms.
Message 1 of 5
Working together
Clear scope.
Clear terms.
Before I take on an assignment, we establish what needs to be done, whether I have the time, how many hours are authorized, and when the work is due. No surprises on scope or billing.
01
Availability & assignment
Share the nature of the matter, the work you need, and the expected time commitment. I confirm whether my schedule allows me to accept it.
02
Rate, hours & deadlines
We agree in advance on the hourly rate, authorized hours or budget cap, deliverables, and deadline. I obtain written approval before exceeding an agreed limit or changing scope.
03
Written project agreement
Before work begins, we document the scope, attorney supervision, confidentiality expectations, rate, hour cap, deadlines, deliverables, and invoice and payment terms.
04
Secure materials & review
Research sources, case documents, drafts, and comments are exchanged through a secure channel approved by your firm. We can arrange interim check-ins and review rounds as the assignment requires.
05
Delivery & billing
I deliver the agreed work and an itemized record of hours. I send my invoice upon completion, with payment due according to the date and terms agreed in writing at the outset.
This website does not accept confidential files. For sensitive materials, we will agree on an appropriate secure document-sharing and review method before any transfer.
Confidentiality & professional discretion
I take seriously the trust attorneys place in me when assigning legal research and writing projects. I maintain the confidentiality of internal communications, unpublished drafts, research materials, and other nonpublic work product.
My independent assignments are separate from my work for Spero Law and my academic research appointments; they are not Spero Law engagements. I do not use another organization's confidential information, unpublished work product, or client materials for independent projects. I consider potential conflicts before accepting an assignment, and I complete independent work on my own time using my own equipment, accounts, and separately authorized research resources.
While I may acknowledge my involvement in publicly filed matters with supervising counsel's authorization, I do not use client or attorney social media posts to generate traffic, solicit attention, or promote my own involvement.
My responsibility is to support the attorney's work and the client's interests, with professionalism and discretion.
About me
Background &
training
I'm currently pursuing a Master of Liberal Arts at the University of Chicago, where I'm a Merit Scholar. My long-term goal is to attend law school and build a career in the legal profession.
Outside my existing professional responsibilities, I accept select independent research and writing assignments. This work helps me support my family and save for law school while continuing to develop the skills I hope to bring to the legal profession.
I've been fortunate to develop my legal research and writing skills through direct work with Christopher Mills, founder of Spero Law, where I serve as a contract law clerk, and Professor Leah Litman of the University of Michigan Law School, for whom I have served as a research assistant. Both previously served as law clerks at the United States Supreme Court, and I'm grateful for their guidance and the opportunity to continue learning from them.
For the avoidance of doubt, their exceptional writing abilities should not yet be imputed to me.
Current legal work
Law Clerk (Independent Contractor) · Spero Law LLC
Education
University of Chicago · Master of Liberal Arts, Merit Scholar
Research experience
University of Chicago · Research Assistant
University of Michigan Law School · Research Assistant
University of Michigan Law School · Research Assistant
Additional background
B.S. in Software Engineering · Brigham Young University–Idaho
Contact
Have a research or writing project in mind?
I'd be glad to hear about it. I'm open to attorney-supervised, project-based work and happy to discuss availability and scope. Please include the type of assignment, anticipated deadline, proposed hourly rate, and estimated hours or budget cap.
Please do not include confidential or privileged documents in your initial email. We can arrange an agreed secure channel after discussing the engagement.