American Constitution Society selects ND Law’s Varun Cidambi as a 2025 Next Generation Leader

Second-year Notre Dame Law student Varun Cidambi has been named one of the American Constitution Society’s 2025 Next Generation Leaders (NGLs)—a national cohort of just 31 law students recognized for exceptional public interest commitment and chapter leadership.

Launched in 2007, the NGL program identifies rising progressive lawyers who “represent the future of the progressive legal movement at a time when we need them more than ever to join us in the fight for the rule of law and our democracy,” said Zinelle October, ACS interim president. Participants receive intensive mentoring, networking, and leadership development opportunities and remain deeply engaged with the ACS network throughout their careers.

Applicants are selected through a competitive application process. The selection committee looks for students who demonstrate strong legal skills, a commitment to public service, and a track record of leadership and community engagement. Every year, a select number of law students are chosen as NGLs.

Cidambi is president of Notre Dame Law School’s ACS student chapter, where he has expanded programming on voting rights, judicial ethics, and economic justice while fostering dialogue across the ideological spectrum. “Serving as president of Notre Dame’s ACS Student Chapter has been the most meaningful experience I have had during my time here,” Cidambi said. “I’m very proud of our efforts to create a safe space for progressives at this Law School and to promote dialogue within our student body. I’m grateful to past executive boards for providing the foundation for our success this year and to ACS National for recognizing our success.”

In addition to his work with ACS, Cidambi is a staff editor of the Notre Dame Law School Journal of Legislation. The summer after his first year of law school, he split his time between working at the chambers of Judge Cristal Brisco '06 J.D. at the Northern District of Indiana as a judicial extern and at the Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate as a research assistant.

Professor Richard W. Garnett, Paul J. Schierl/Fort Howard Corporation Professor of Law, praised Cidambi’s impact on the school’s intellectual life. “In addition to being a generous citizen and engaged student, Varun has been an excellent and dedicated leader of Notre Dame Law School's chapter of the American Constitution Society,” Garnett said. “Thanks to his hard work, the chapter has sponsored a large number and great variety of speakers and events. He and his colleagues have, in many ways, contributed to the Law School's vibrant intellectual community and reflect the important fact that Notre Dame is a place for respectful dialogue and collegial conversation. It has been a pleasure teaching and working with him, and we expect great things from him in our learned profession and in his legal vocation.”

Cidambi is the fourth Notre Dame Law student to earn the NGL distinction, joining Peter Gonzales (J.D. ’19), Allison Lantero (J.D. ’21), and 3L Adem Osmani. The honor places him in a growing network of more than 400 NGL alumni who serve as judges, policymakers, advocates, and scholars nationwide.

Through his leadership, academic engagement, and dedication to public service, Cidambi exemplifies the values at the heart of Notre Dame Law School’s mission. His contributions not only enrich the campus community but also reflect the Law School’s commitment to educating a “different kind of lawyer”—one who is intellectually rigorous, ethically grounded, and devoted to advancing justice and the common good.