At age 23, Sri Srinivasan stood to take the oath of American citizenship. Exactly 23 years later, he stood again—this time to take the oath as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. It was a full-circle moment that transformed his passion for public service into what he called the "ultimate manifestation of belonging."

“When you’re engaged in public service, you’re charged with carrying out the public trust. And when you carry out the public trust, it means that you belong,” said Srinivasan at the Law School’s Edward H. Levi Distinguished Visiting Jurist Program on May 7.

Srinivasan, who came to the United States from India as a child, was appointed to the bench in 2013 and became chief judge in 2020. Prior to that, he served as principal deputy solicitor general of the United States for two years. In a career spanning government service and private practice, Srinivasan argued 25 cases before the Supreme Court. 

During the lunchtime fireside chat, moderated by Professor David A. Strauss, Srinivasan discussed his identity as an immigrant and how it shaped his passion for public service, clerking for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and his tenure as a judge.

“It was a fundamental aspect of my upbringing that I felt like I wanted to show that I belonged,” he said, reflecting on his formative years. In searching for belonging, he found two seemingly unrelated passions: sports and public service. Sports was a way to be a “regular kid,” while his interest in public service was influenced by his parents, who worked in a state university (the University of Kansas).

“A lot of the reason I went to law school was because I knew it was about public service,” Srinivasan explained. Though he attended Stanford Law, he was unsure he even wanted to be a practicing lawyer. But, through moot court competitions and his coursework, he found that he “really appreciated collegial advocacy.”

After graduating, Srinivasan clerked for J. Harvie Wilkinson III, and then Justice O’Connor, where his passion for sports apparently helped him secure the coveted position. During the interview, O’Connor asked him what he did outside of the law. “I’m obsessed with sports,” he replied, “and I’m trying to learn how to play golf.” 

As he prepared to leave after completing his interview with her law clerks, O’Connor called him over. “I want to see you putt,” she requested. Srinivasan, physically mimicking the stressful moment for the audience, explained that, after a moment of hesitation, he took the putter from her. “For all I know the ball went off seven windows, but it found its way into the cup.” So began his tenure as a Supreme Court clerk.

Acknowledging her trailblazing career, Srinivasan shared that O’Connor had no sense of entitlement. “The most profound lesson I learned from her was a lesson of example, just watching how she dealt with her place in history,” he said. “She was completely self-aware, but all she did was put her head down and do the work.”

Srinivasan recalled how O’Connor carried out her responsibilities with civility and respect, believing that’s how the profession of law ought to be. “[She] said the whisper can be much more effective than the scream as a lawyer, and there’s nothing at odds with zealously advocating on behalf of your client and doing so with courtesy.” Srinivasan has carried those “fundamental aspects of her being” with him ever since.

Responding to a question from Strauss about the transition from advocacy to the bench, Srinivasan explained how his time as an advocate prepared him for being a judge:

“You can't advise your client effectively about the case unless you put your mind in the mind of a judge. I was doing this constantly. I wasn't realizing that it was prep for being a judge, but I was always telling my clients, look, here's what I think we should do. If we argue this, here's how they're going to receive it.”

“The transition,” he said, “wasn’t as abrupt as I think one might envision it to be.”

In another full-circle moment, Justice O'Connor swore him in at his formal investiture ceremony. His mother held the Bhagavad Gita—a copy his father had kept since they immigrated from India forty years earlier—as he took the formal oath of office.

That ceremony marked the start of a tenure that would face an unprecedented trial. Just three weeks into his term as chief judge in February 2020, the onset of COVID-19 forced the federal courts into lockdown. Srinivasan found that the steady principles he learned from his parents and his career—transparency, honesty, and a commitment to public duty—became his most vital tools in helping lead the court through the crisis.

He also noted that “the time constraints of our job have changed pretty significantly in the last few years, given the nature of the docket and the novelty of the issues we face.” Still, he shows immense admiration for his district court colleagues “doing it on their own and doing it in just incredible time.”

As the discussion came to a close, Strauss asked Srinivasan what advice he had for students.

To the packed room, Srinivasan said that his overarching advice is to “control what you can control and understand that there’s a lot you can’t.” Because of this, he explained, “happenstance and serendipity [will] play an outsized role in determining the trajectory of your life.” Srinivasan encouraged students to embrace that, and in doing so, to “do great work, be a great person, and expect other people to be great too,” even when you may not agree with them.

“I think we’re going to be a more constructive body politic and a happier place if we are better towards each other and give people the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “You could be disappointed, that could definitely happen, but you could also be wrong—so why not expect better.”

Luke Coleman is a member of the Law School's Class of 2028. He is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022. After college, Coleman completed a Fulbright grant in Madrid, Spain, then worked in tech policy in London, UK. At the Law School, Coleman is involved with the Black Law Students Association, the American Constitution Society, the Pro Bono Board, and the Supreme Court & Appellate Society.