Amy Chua, the Yale law professor and best-selling author who endorsed supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, has denied allegations that she instructed female law students to exude a “model-like” femininity when interviewing for clerkships with the judge. 
 
 “Everything that is being said about the advice I give to students applying to Brett Kavanaugh – or any judge – is outrageous, 100% false, and the exact opposite of everything I have stood for and said for the last 15 years,” Chua said in a letter that was sent to the Yale Law School community. 
 
 The Guardian and the Huffington Post published articles last week that alleged that Chua, the author behind the best-selling book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and her husband, Prof Jed Rubenfeld, told students that Kavanaugh liked his clerks to have a “certain look”. In one case, the advice was so off-putting to one Yale law student that she declined to pursue a clerkship with the judge, according to a source who spoke to the Guardian. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Chua with husband and fellow Yale law professor Jed Rubenfeld. Photograph: Mike McGregor for the Guardian 
 
 Chua has had an outsized influence in helping select clerks for Kavanaugh in her role at Yale Law School. In one case, a former student told the Guardian, a prospective clerk was introduced to Kavanaugh at a party that Chua hosted at her home – and was later told that the judge wanted her to apply for the post. 
 
 The controversy over Chua’s alleged remarks comes amid allegations Kavanaugh held down a woman and groped her when they were both in high school. Kavanaugh has denied the assault took place. A lawyer for his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, said that Ford was ready to testify about her experience, but wanted to negotiate the terms of her testimony. 
 
 Chua said in the statement that, contrary to allegations that she told students that it was “no accident” that Kavanaugh hired attractive clerks, she “always” told her students to prep “insanely hard” and that substance was “the most important thing”. 
 
 But another former law student who was advised by Chua and approached the Guardian after its original story was published on Thursday said his experience was consistent with the allegations presented in the article. 
 
 The male student, who asked not to be identified, said that when he approached Chua about his interest in clerking for Kavanaugh, the professor said it was “great”, but then added that Kavanaugh “tends to hire women who are generally attractive and then likes to send them to [supreme court Chief Justice John] Roberts”. 
 
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 It was a reference to Kavanaugh’s role as a so-called “feeder” judge, whose clerks often go on to win highly coveted clerkships at the US supreme court. 
 
 The student alleged that Chua then added: “I don’t think it is a sexual thing, but [Kavanaugh] likes to have pretty clerks.” 
 
 The former student told the Guardian that in the following year, he advised two female classmates who were also interested in clerking for Kavanaugh to talk to Chua. 
 
 “They got the same advice: ‘He likes girls who are pretty’,” the student said. “Another girl … she got the same advice, and [Chua told her] to wear heels.” 
 
 The allegations have caused a storm at Yale Law School. In a statement last week, the law school said it would look into the claims promptly. 
 
 “If true, this advice is clearly unacceptable,” it said. 
 
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 One former student whose account was published last week in the Guardian said that Chua had advised her to dress in an “outgoing” way. She was also advised by Chua to not wear a suit. The former student told the Guardian that she had reported the remarks to a Yale Law School administrator in June 2018 as part of a broader conversation about concerns about Chua and Rubenfeld’s conduct. 
 
 Rubenfeld, who has courted controversy for his views on rape and consent, is under internal investigation at Yale Law School and not teaching this semester. He told the Guardian in a statement last week that he had been told about the review, but not been informed of the exact nature of the allegations being investigated. He also claimed that he had been advised that the allegations would not jeopardise his position as a tenured member of the faculty. 
 
 Yale Law School said in a statement that it could not confirm or deny an investigation but that – in cases when a member of the faculty is under review – all options are left on the table. 
 
 The White House did not respond to the allegations on behalf of Kavanaugh. 
 
 • If you have a tip related to this story please contact Stephanie.Kirchgaessner@theguardian.com 
 
 

 Yale Law School professor Amy Chua denied allegations that she coached female students to dress in an “outgoing” fashion when interviewing for clerkship positions with Judge Brett Kavanaugh, now a nominee for the Supreme Court. 
 
 “Everything that is being said about the advice I give to students applying to Brett Kavanaugh—or any judge—is outrageous, 100% false, and the exact opposite of everything I have stood for and said for the last fifteen years,” said Ms. Chua, who gained fame beyond the legal world for her 2011 parenting... 

 Drew Angerer via Getty Images Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month as former clerk Zina Bash hands him a note. 
 
 A few years ago, as she was prepping to interview for a judicial clerkship, a student at Yale Law School received a troubling combination of warning and advice from her professors about one federal judge in particular: Brett Kavanaugh, she was told, liked his female clerks to have a “certain look.” 
 
 Right now Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court hangs in the balance as he faces an accusation that he sexually assaulted a girl in high school. 
 
 The professors proffering the advice are themselves well-known. Both Jed Rubenfeld and his wife, Amy Chua, author of the controversial 2011 book The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, told this woman about Kavanaugh’s preferences. Then, Kavanaugh was simply known as a prestigious judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. 
 
 Though neither said the judge did anything untoward regarding the women he worked with, the student found their counsel off-putting. 
 
 “I had mixed feelings,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns. “On the one hand, it’s a yellow flag; on the other hand, phew, I hadn’t heard anything else.” 
 
 Her first inkling that there might be issues with Kavanaugh came from Rubenfeld in a conversation about various judges with whom she might work. 
 
 Rubenfeld took care to warn her about two judges in particular: First, Alex Kozinski, then a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, was known to sexually harass his clerks, he told her. (Kozinski retired in December amid accusations of harassment.) 
 
 The other was Kavanaugh. Though the judge was known to hire female clerks who had a “certain look,” Rubenfeld told her, he emphasized that he had heard nothing else untoward. 
 
 “He did not say what the ‘certain look’ was. I did not ask,” the woman said. “It was very clear to me that he was talking about physical appearance, because it was phrased as a warning ― and because it came after the warning about Judge Kozinski.” 
 
 On a separate occasion last year, Chua offered more detail, telling a group of students that it’s “not an accident” that Kavanaugh’s law clerks “look like models,” Chua said, according to an account published in The Guardian on Thursday. The comments echoed those told to a group of Yale students over drinks with Chua last year, three of whom spoke with HuffPost. 
 
 The woman who was warned a few years ago said that she had already heard rumors about Kozinski and had ruled out a clerkship with him. 
 
 While she saw the warning about Kozinski as a flashing red signal, the advice on Kavanaugh didn’t stop her from deciding to interview with him. 
 
 That’s when Rubenfeld’s wife stepped in. At Yale, Chua is less known as the “tiger mom” and more sought after for her ability to help students land prestigious clerkships with federal judges ― the sort that can ultimately land a student the ultimate prize, a spot clerking for a Supreme Court justice. 
 
 Indeed, Kavanaugh was once a clerk for Kozinski before nabbing a spot as Justice Anthony Kennedy’s clerk on the Supreme Court. (Kavanaugh has denied knowing about Kozinski’s reputation with women.) 
 
 To the female law student, Chua echoed Rubenfeld’s comments. 

 Guardian learns Amy Chua said she would advise students on their physical looks to help win post in Kavanaugh’s chambers 
 
 A top professor at Yale Law School who strongly endorsed supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a “mentor to women” privately told a group of law students last year that it was “not an accident” that Kavanaugh’s female law clerks all “looked like models” and would provide advice to students about their physical appearance if they wanted to work for him, the Guardian has learned. 
 
 Amy Chua, a Yale professor who wrote a bestselling book on parenting called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, was known for instructing female law students who were preparing for interviews with Kavanaugh on ways they could dress to exude a “model-like” femininity to help them win a post in Kavanaugh’s chambers, according to sources. 
 
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 Kavanaugh is facing intense scrutiny in Washington following an allegation made by Christine Blasey Ford that he forcibly held her down and groped her while they were in high school. He has denied the allegation. The accusation has mired Kavanaugh’s confirmation in controversy, drawing parallels to allegations of sexual harassment against Justice Clarence Thomas by Anita Hill in the 1990s. 
 
 Yale provided Kavanaugh with many of the judge’s clerks over the years, and Chua played an outsized role in vetting the clerks who worked for him. But the process made some students deeply uncomfortable. 
 
 One source said that in at least one case, a law student was so put off by Chua’s advice about how she needed to look, and its implications, that she decided not to pursue a clerkship with Kavanaugh, a powerful member of the judiciary who had a formal role in vetting clerks who served in the US supreme court. 
 
 In one case, Jed Rubenfeld, also an influential professor at Yale and who is married to Chua, told a prospective clerk that Kavanaugh liked a certain “look”. 
 
 “He told me, ‘You should know that Judge Kavanaugh hires women with a certain look,’” one woman told the Guardian. “He did not say what the look was and I did not ask.” 
 
 Sources who spoke to the Guardian about their experiences with Chua and Rubenfeld would only speak under the condition of anonymity because they feared retribution and damage to their future careers. Some elements of this story were first published by the Huffington Post. 
 
 [Rubenfeld] told me, 'Kavanaugh hires women with a certain look'. He did not say what the look was and I did not ask Anonymous source 
 
 Chua advised the same student Rubenfeld spoke to that she ought to dress in an “outgoing” way for her interview with Kavanaugh, and that the student should send Chua pictures of herself in different outfits before going to interview. The student did not send the photos. 
 
 There is no allegation that the female students who worked for Kavanaugh were chosen because of their physical appearance or that they were not qualified. 
 
 However, the remarks from Chua and Rubenfeld raise questions about why the couple believed it was important to emphasize the students’ physical appearance when discussing jobs with Kavanaugh. The couple were not known to do that in connection with other judges, sources said. 
 
 “It is possible that they were making observations but not following edicts from him,” said one student who received such instructions. “I have no reason to believe he was saying, ‘Send me the pretty ones’, but rather that he was reporting back and saying, ‘I really like so and so,’ and the way he described them led them to form certain conclusions.” 
 
 Kavanaugh is close to Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose retirement from the supreme court left an opening, and Kavanaugh was one of three judges who vetted clerks to serve in Kennedy’s chambers. His role as a so-called “feeder” judge made his clerkships among the most coveted posts for law students across the country, but especially at his alma mater, Yale. 
 
 According to one source, Chua invited a group of students that she mentored to a bar last year to catch up and discuss their plans for clerkships. The conversation turned to a high-profile #MeToo case that was emerging in the news at the time involving a well-known public figure. 
 
 The group began to talk about whether the federal judiciary would ever face similar scrutiny, and, according to a source, Chua said she did not believe it would. She told the students she had known about allegedly abusive and harassing behavior by another judge, Alex Kozinski, who was head of the ninth circuit and was forced to retire from the bench last year after more than a dozen women accused him of harassment. 
 
 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld pictured in 2014. Photograph: Mike McGregor for the Guardian 
 
 The conversation then turned to Kozinski’s protege and good friend Kavanaugh, who one source said was a familiar name even though he had not yet been nominated to the high court. Chua allegedly told the students that it was “no accident” that Kavanaugh’s female clerks “looked like models”. Student reacted with surprise, and quickly pointed out that Chua’s own daughter was due to clerk for Kavanaugh. 
 
 A source said that Chua quickly responded, saying that her own daughter would not put up with any inappropriate behaviour. 
 
 Chua has cancelled her classes at Yale this semester and, according to her office, has been hospitalised and is not taking calls. Rubenfeld sent an email to the Yale Law School community that said his wife had been ill and in hospital and had a long period of recuperation ahead of her. 
 
 The Guardian has learned that Rubenfeld is currently the subject of an internal investigation at Yale. The investigation is focused on Rubenfeld’s conduct, particularly with female law students. Students have also raised related concerns to Yale authorities about Chua’s powerful influence in the clerkships process. The investigation was initiated before Kavanaugh was nominated by Donald Trump to serve on the high court. 
 
 Rubenfeld said in a statement to the Guardian: “In June, Yale University informed me that it would conduct what it terms an ‘informal review’ of certain allegations, but that to preserve anonymity, I was not entitled to know any specifics. As a result, I do not know what I am alleged to have said or done. I was further advised that the allegations were not of the kind that would jeopardize my position as a long-tenured member of the faculty. 
 
 This is the first we have heard claims that Chua coached students to look ‘like models’. We will look into these claims Yale law school 
 
 “For some years, I have contended with personal attacks and false allegations in reaction to my writing on difficult and controversial but important topics in the law. I have reason to suspect I am now facing more of the same. While I believe strongly that universities must conduct appropriate reviews of any allegations of misconduct, I am also deeply concerned about the intensifying challenges to the most basic values of due process and free, respectful academic expression and exchange at Yale and around the country. 
 
 “Nevertheless, I stand ready to engage with this process in the hope that it can be expeditiously concluded.” 
 
 In a statement, Yale Law School said it could not confirm or deny the existence of an internal investigation. 
 
 A Yale Law School official said in an emailed statement: “This is the first we have heard claims that Professor Chua coached students to look ‘like models’. We will look into these claims promptly, taking into account the fact that Professor Chua is currently unreachable due to serious illness. If true, this advice is clearly unacceptable.” 
 
 The official added: “I can assure you that we take allegations of faculty misconduct very seriously.” 
 
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 Chua and her husband are towering figures at Yale and were described by one student as being the centre of gravity at the elite law school, connecting students to jobs and clerkships, and rewarding loyalty. 
 
 The couple wrote a controversial book together in 2014 called The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America. It said that a mix of feeling superior with some insecurity were two traits that led to success. It also emphasised the need for “impulse control”. 
 
 The couple have hired a well-known crisis communications expert but he did not respond to specific questions from the Guardian about Chua’s remarks or the internal investigation. 
 
 In an emailed statement, Chua told the Guardian: “For the more than 10 years I’ve known him, Judge Kavanaugh’s first and only litmus test in hiring has been excellence. He hires only the most qualified clerks, and they have been diverse as well as exceptionally talented and capable. 
 
 “There is good reason so many of them have gone on to supreme court clerkships; he only hires those who are extraordinarily qualified. As I wrote in the Wall Street Journal, he has also been an exceptional mentor to his female clerks and a champion of their careers. Among my proudest moments as a parent was the day I learned our daughter would join those ranks.” 
 
 The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
 
 The Guardian was assisted in its reporting by Elie Mystal, the executive editor of the Above the Law blog. If you have tips on this story please contact the reporter Stephanie.Kirchgaessner@theguardian.com
– Amy Chua denies ever telling would-be clerks to dress a certain way when interviewing for jobs with Brett Kavanaugh, the Wall Street Journal reports. "Everything that is being said about the advice I give to students applying to Brett Kavanaugh—or any judge—is outrageous, 100% false, and the exact opposite of everything I have stood for and said for the last fifteen years," says Chua, a Yale Law School professor who made waves with her 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. According to reports in the Guardian and Huffington Post, Chua advised female students to adopt a "model-like" appearance for Kavanaugh and said it was "no accident" his female clerks "looked like models." In her email to the Yale community Saturday, Chua admits to being "frank and transparent" with aspiring clerks but says she focused on having them review a judge's opinions and dress professionally. The kerfuffle comes amid a high-profile sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh and other problems for Chua, who is suffering from what she calls a "massive, freakish internal infection" while husband Jed Rubenfeld, also a Yale Law prof, is being investigated by the school for alleged remarks to female students. Meanwhile, the Guardian stands by its Chua story: "Kavanaugh tends to hire women who are generally attractive," an unidentified former Yale student tells the paper. "I don't think it is a sexual thing, but [Kavanaugh] likes to have pretty clerks."