Paul Clement To Step Down as Solicitor General

The Department of Justice has just issued the following press release.

SOLICITOR GENERAL PAUL D. CLEMENT TO LEAVE

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Justice announced that Solicitor General Paul D. Clement will end his current service to the Department on June 2, 2008.

Nominated by President Bush on March 14, 2005, Clement was confirmed as Solicitor General on June 8, 2005, and was sworn in on June 13, 2005. Prior to his confirmation, he served for over four years as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, and during that period served for nearly a year as Acting Solicitor General. Clement’s tenure of over seven years in the Office of the Solicitor General is the longest period of continuous service in that office by an individual who served as Solicitor General since Samuel Phillips, who served from 1872-1885.

“Paul Clement is one of the nation’s finest appellate lawyers,” said Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. “I am deeply grateful to Paul for his service to the Department and to the nation during his seven-year tenure in the Office of the Solicitor General. I will miss not only Paul’s superb advocacy on behalf of the United States, but also his wise counsel and keen legal analysis.”

During his time in the Office of the Solicitor General, Clement argued 49 cases before the Supreme Court, prevailing in the vast majority of them. Landmark cases argued by Clement include Tennessee v. Lane, McConnell v. FEC, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, Gonzales v. Raich, and Gonzales v. Carhart. He also argued many other significant cases in both the Supreme Court and the lower courts involving novel and important legal issues concerning the conduct of the War on Terror.

The Office of the Solicitor General is responsible for conducting all litigation on behalf of the United States in the Supreme Court, and for supervising litigation in the federal appellate courts. Oral arguments for the 2007 Supreme Court term were completed in April 2008. The Department will submit all of its briefs for action during this term by the end of May 2008.