On December 8th, Reuters released its comprehensive three-part series, Echo Chamber, examining the influence of an elite cadre of private law firms and advocates from nonprofits to university-based clinics, in bringing and successfully litigating cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.  The influential and successful public-interest work of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic is mentioned as a counterweight to the perceived — if not overwhelming — trend toward the interests of big business.

The study shows that 43 percent of the Court’s docket is comprised of certiorari petitions filed by less than one percent of all lawyers who filed 17,000 petitions over a nine-year period.  ◊