Paul Clement
Encyclopedia
Paul Drew Clement is a former United States Solicitor General
and current Georgetown University
legal professor. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law
. He was nominated by President George W. Bush
on March 14, 2005 for the post of Solicitor-General, confirmed by the United States Senate
on June 8, 2005, and took the oath of office on June 13. Clement replaced Theodore Olson
.
The Solicitor General is the fourth-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice
. The Solicitor General is below the Attorney General
, Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General. From September 17, 2007 to October 2, 2007 when Michael Mukasey was confirmed as Attorney General by the Senate, Clement was the highest ranking Justice Department official that had been confirmed to his office by the Senate; the Deputy and Associate Attorney general positions were both filled by acting appointees at that time.
Clement resigned on May 14, 2008, effective June 2, 2008, and joined the Georgetown University Law Center
as a visiting professor and senior fellow at the Supreme Court Institute.
. In 1984 he graduated from Cedarburg High School
, where he was on the debate team. He received his bachelor's degree
summa cum laude
from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
at Georgetown University
, and a master's degree
in economics
from Darwin College
, University of Cambridge
. While at Georgetown, Clement successfully competed in the American Parliamentary Debate Association. He graduated magna cum laude
from Harvard Law School
where he was the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review
.
of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
and for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
of the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, he worked as an associate in the Washington, D.C.
office of Kirkland & Ellis
. Clement went on to serve as Chief Counsel of Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding
, where he headed the firm's appellate practice. He also served from 1998 to 2004 as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center
, where he taught a seminar on the separation of powers.
Clement joined the United States Department of Justice
in February 2001. Before his confirmation as Solicitor General, he served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, and he became the acting Solicitor General on July 11, 2004 when Theodore Olson
resigned. He has argued over 53 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including McConnell v. FEC, Tennessee v. Lane
, Rumsfeld v. Padilla
, United States v. Booker
, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
, Rumsfeld v. FAIR, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
, Gonzales v. Raich
, Gonzales v. Oregon
, Gonzales v. Carhart
, and Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
. He also argued many of the key cases in the lower courts involving challenges to the President's conduct of the war on terrorism
. He has argued more cases before the Supreme Court since 2000 than any other lawyer.
On August 27, 2007, President Bush named Clement as the future acting Attorney General of the United States, to take office upon the resignation of Alberto Gonzales
, effective September 17, 2007.
According to administration officials, Clement took that office at 12:01 AM September 17, 2007, and left office 24 hours later. On September 17, President Bush announced that Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, Peter Keisler
would become acting Attorney General, pending a permanent appointment of a presidential nominee.
Clement gave notice of his resignation on May 14, 2008, effective June 2, 2008, and returned to Georgetown Law School as a senior fellow. He had been mentioned as a possible Supreme Court candidate in a John McCain
presidency and is a coveted potential hire among DC legal firms, who reportedly are vying to build a firm around his expertise in appellate matters. Evan Tager of Mayer Brown
said: “Paul Clement is the Holy Grail of law firm recruiting... The buzz in the legal world about Clement is like the buzz in basketball
when LeBron James
was coming out of high school and turning pro. It will be interesting to see where the market will go.”
As of November 20, 2008, Clement re-joined King & Spalding as a partner in its expanding appellate litigation practice. As part of King & Spalding he argued on behalf of the NRA
in the Supreme Court case McDonald v. Chicago
on March 2, 2010.
Clement is currently one of the lawyers representing locked-out players of the NBA
in labor negotiations. Clement also advised 10 NFL
players in the spring of 2011 when the NFL was facing a potential lock-out.
As a partner at King & Spalding, Clement was hired in April 2011 by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives
to defend the Defense of Marriage Act
, a law that federally defines marriage as between one man and one woman, after the U.S. Department of Justice
decided to stop defending it. King & Spalding withdrew from the case on April 25, 2011, and Clement resigned from the firm to continue his representation, arguing that "representation should not be abandoned because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters." He joined Bancroft PLLC
, a smaller law firm led by former Assistant Attorney General
Viet D. Dinh
.
United States Solicitor General
The United States Solicitor General is the person appointed to represent the federal government of the United States before the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Solicitor General, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 6, 2011 and sworn in on June...
and current Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
legal professor. He is also an adjunct professor at New York University School of Law
New York University School of Law
The New York University School of Law is the law school of New York University. Established in 1835, the school offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in law, and is located in Greenwich Village, in the New York City borough of Manhattan....
. He was nominated by President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on March 14, 2005 for the post of Solicitor-General, confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on June 8, 2005, and took the oath of office on June 13. Clement replaced Theodore Olson
Theodore Olson
Theodore Bevry Olson is a former United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004 under President George W. Bush.- Early life :...
.
The Solicitor General is the fourth-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. The Solicitor General is below the Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
, Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General. From September 17, 2007 to October 2, 2007 when Michael Mukasey was confirmed as Attorney General by the Senate, Clement was the highest ranking Justice Department official that had been confirmed to his office by the Senate; the Deputy and Associate Attorney general positions were both filled by acting appointees at that time.
Clement resigned on May 14, 2008, effective June 2, 2008, and joined the Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
as a visiting professor and senior fellow at the Supreme Court Institute.
Early life and education
Clement was born to Jean and Jerry Clement, and he had two brothers and a sister. Clement is a native of Cedarburg, WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
. In 1984 he graduated from Cedarburg High School
Cedarburg High School
Cedarburg High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, USA. The high school is part of the Cedarburg School District and has an enrollment of 1117 students.-Curriculum:...
, where he was on the debate team. He received his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
summa cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from Darwin College
Darwin College, Cambridge
Darwin College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.Founded in 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and women. The college is named after the family of one of the university's most famous graduates, Charles Darwin...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. While at Georgetown, Clement successfully competed in the American Parliamentary Debate Association. He graduated magna cum laude
Latin honors
Latin honors are Latin phrases used to indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned. This system is primarily used in the United States, Canada, and in many countries of continental Europe, though some institutions also use the English translation of these...
from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
where he was the Supreme Court editor of the Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School.-Overview:According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports, the Review is the most cited law review and has the second-highest impact factor in the category "law" after the...
.
Legal career
Following graduation, Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. SilbermanLaurence H. Silberman
Laurence Hirsch Silberman is a senior federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was appointed in October 1985 by Ronald Reagan and took senior status on November 1, 2000. He continues to serve on the court...
of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit known informally as the D.C. Circuit, is the federal appellate court for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Appeals from the D.C. Circuit, as with all the U.S. Courts of Appeals, are heard on a...
and for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
of the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, he worked as an associate in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
office of Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is an international law firm with headquarters in Chicago, known for its profitability and its litigation, bankruptcy, intellectual property and private equity departments. Kirkland & Ellis is currently ranked as the ninth most prestigious law firm in the United States by...
. Clement went on to serve as Chief Counsel of Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Afterwards, he was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding
King & Spalding
King & Spalding LLP is an American law firm with 125 years of service. It was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1885 by Alexander C. King and Jack Spalding. The firm has expanded nationally, with offices in Austin, Charlotte, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C...
, where he headed the firm's appellate practice. He also served from 1998 to 2004 as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
, where he taught a seminar on the separation of powers.
Clement joined the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
in February 2001. Before his confirmation as Solicitor General, he served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General, and he became the acting Solicitor General on July 11, 2004 when Theodore Olson
Theodore Olson
Theodore Bevry Olson is a former United States Solicitor General, serving from June 2001 to July 2004 under President George W. Bush.- Early life :...
resigned. He has argued over 53 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including McConnell v. FEC, Tennessee v. Lane
Tennessee v. Lane
Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509 , was a case in the Supreme Court of the United States involving Congress's enforcement powers under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment....
, Rumsfeld v. Padilla
Rumsfeld v. Padilla
Rumsfeld v. Padilla, , was a United States Supreme Court case, in which José Padilla sought habeas corpus relief against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as a result of his detainment as an "unlawful combatant."...
, United States v. Booker
United States v. Booker
United States v. Booker, , was a United States Supreme Court decision concerning criminal sentencing. The Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to jury trial requires that, other than a prior conviction, only facts admitted by a defendant or proved beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury may be...
, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld
Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 was a U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing the dismissal of a habeas corpus petition brought on behalf of Yaser Esam Hamdi, a U.S. citizen being detained indefinitely as an "illegal enemy combatant." The Court recognized the power of the government to detain enemy...
, Rumsfeld v. FAIR, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 , is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that military commissions set up by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay lack "the power to proceed because its structures and procedures violate both the Uniform Code of Military...
, Gonzales v. Raich
Gonzales v. Raich
Gonzales v. Raich , 545 U.S. 1 , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court ruling that under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, the United States Congress may criminalize the production and use of home-grown cannabis even where states approve its use for medicinal...
, Gonzales v. Oregon
Gonzales v. Oregon
Gonzales v. Oregon, 546 U.S. 243 , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that the United States Attorney General could not enforce the federal Controlled Substances Act against physicians who prescribed drugs, in compliance with Oregon state law, for the assisted suicide of...
, Gonzales v. Carhart
Gonzales v. Carhart
Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124 , is a United States Supreme Court case that upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. The case reached the high court after U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appealed a ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in favor of...
, and Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, 551 U.S. 587 , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which ruled that taxpayers do not have the right to challenge the constitutionality of expenditures by the executive branch of the government....
. He also argued many of the key cases in the lower courts involving challenges to the President's conduct of the war on terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. He has argued more cases before the Supreme Court since 2000 than any other lawyer.
On August 27, 2007, President Bush named Clement as the future acting Attorney General of the United States, to take office upon the resignation of Alberto Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales
Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th Attorney General of the United States. Gonzales was appointed to the post in February 2005 by President George W. Bush. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Attorney General in U.S. history and the highest-ranking Hispanic government official ever...
, effective September 17, 2007.
According to administration officials, Clement took that office at 12:01 AM September 17, 2007, and left office 24 hours later. On September 17, President Bush announced that Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, Peter Keisler
Peter Keisler
Peter D. Keisler is an American lawyer whose 2006 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit became embroiled in partisan controversy...
would become acting Attorney General, pending a permanent appointment of a presidential nominee.
Clement gave notice of his resignation on May 14, 2008, effective June 2, 2008, and returned to Georgetown Law School as a senior fellow. He had been mentioned as a possible Supreme Court candidate in a John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
presidency and is a coveted potential hire among DC legal firms, who reportedly are vying to build a firm around his expertise in appellate matters. Evan Tager of Mayer Brown
Mayer Brown
Mayer Brown is an international law firm head-quartered in Chicago which specializes in commercial transactions and litigation. The firm employs more than 1,600 lawyers, including approximately 875 in the Americas, 425 in Europe and 300 in Asia....
said: “Paul Clement is the Holy Grail of law firm recruiting... The buzz in the legal world about Clement is like the buzz in basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
when LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
was coming out of high school and turning pro. It will be interesting to see where the market will go.”
As of November 20, 2008, Clement re-joined King & Spalding as a partner in its expanding appellate litigation practice. As part of King & Spalding he argued on behalf of the NRA
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America is an American non-profit 501 civil rights organization which advocates for the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection...
in the Supreme Court case McDonald v. Chicago
McDonald v. Chicago
McDonald v. Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025, 130 S.Ct. 3020 , was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that determined whether the Second Amendment applies to the individual states...
on March 2, 2010.
Clement is currently one of the lawyers representing locked-out players of the NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
in labor negotiations. Clement also advised 10 NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players in the spring of 2011 when the NFL was facing a potential lock-out.
As a partner at King & Spalding, Clement was hired in April 2011 by the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
to defend the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
, a law that federally defines marriage as between one man and one woman, after the U.S. Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
decided to stop defending it. King & Spalding withdrew from the case on April 25, 2011, and Clement resigned from the firm to continue his representation, arguing that "representation should not be abandoned because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters." He joined Bancroft PLLC
Bancroft PLLC
Bancroft PLLC is an American law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.. Viet D. Dinh is the firm's principal...
, a smaller law firm led by former Assistant Attorney General
United States Assistant Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General.The President of the United States appoints individuals to the position of Assistant Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate...
Viet D. Dinh
Viet D. Dinh
Viet D. Dinh is a lawyer and a conservative legal scholar who served as an Assistant Attorney General of the United States from 2001 to 2003, under the presidency of George W. Bush. Born in Saigon, in the former South Vietnam, he was the chief architect of the USA PATRIOT Act.-Early life:Dinh was...
.
See also
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates