A promotion for Clement
on Mar 11, 2005 at 7:09 pm
As expected, President Bush on Friday announced his intent to nominate Paul D. Clement to be U.S. solicitor general — the top advocate of the government in the Supreme Court. Clement has been serving as acting solicitor general since last July 12. Previously, he had been the top deputy to Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, who has returned to private practice. Clement’s promotion requires Senate approval.
Here is the text of the White House announcement:
“The President intends to nominate Paul D. Clement, of Virginia, to be Solicitor General at the Department of Justice. Mr. Clement currently serves at the Justice Department as Acting Solicitor General. In addition, he also serves as Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Clement previously served as Partner and Head of Appellate Practice for King & Spalding in Washington, DC. Earlier in his career, he served as Chief Counsel for the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights. Mr. Clement earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, his master’s degree from Cambridge University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.”
When Clement was named Acting Solicitor General in July, the Justice Department made this statement:
“As Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Mr. Clement represented the United States in 18 arguments before the Supreme Court. He handled cases including the Court’s landmark campaign finance decision (McConnell v. FEC), an important decision expanding the rights of individuals with disabilities (Tennessee v. Lane), and the enemy combatant cases (Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Rumsfeld v. Padilla). Mr. Clement also has represented the United States in important lower court litigation, including cases arising out of the war on terror and the General Accountability Office’s suit against the Vice President. In addition, as Principal Deputy, Mr. Clement handled a portfolio including issues such as civil rights, religious liberty and government liability.”
Early in 2004, Vanessa Blum in Legal Times wrote this:
“Sometimes it seems that Paul Clement is everywhere at once.
“In a three-week span late last year, Clement appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in a pivotal age discrimination case; before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York defending the detention of enemy combatant Jose Padilla; and before the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Va., in the case of alleged 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.”
Clement is a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, and to a now-senior U.S. circuit judge, Laurence H. Silberman.
In the Court’s current Term, Clement’s most recent appearances came in the Ten Commandments cases from Texas and California on March 2.
