The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit welcomed dozens of new law clerks this week with an orientation program at the James R. Browning U.S. Courthouse in San Francisco. The new clerks, who will spend the next year working in the chambers of judges of the court, received presentations on court procedures and observed sittings of special 11-judge en banc courts. They also got a surprise visit from Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was visiting the court on other business. Justice Kennedy, a former Ninth Circuit judge, touched on various topics before closing with words of encouragement. “I wish you a wonderful year,” Justice Kennedy said, adding that the experience will “provide perspective to what you have learned in law school.”