 He graduated from UCLA School of Law in 1978.While at UCLA, he was elected to Order of the Coif, was a member of the UCLA Law Review, and graduated fifth in his class.Upon graduation, he clerked first for Chief Judge Edward Schwartz of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California from 1978 to 1979, and then Judge Clement Haynsworth of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1979 to 1980.