Paul Clement, who served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush, will do battle with the Justice Department at oral arguments next month over the constitutionality of President Trump’s sanctions against Big Law.
Clement was picked to represent a quartet of firms—Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey—at the May 14 arguments, oral arguments on May 14. Trump’s executive orders singled out the four firms last year, and they won federal injunctions against the enforcement of Trump’s orders, leading to DOJ’s appeal.
His selection was detailed in a Thursday brief to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. A panel of two Obama-appointed judges, and one appointed by Trump, will hear the arguments.
Clement, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner who founded his own firm, will bring his conservative credibility to a case over Trump’s allegations of partisan lawfare against members of the legal profession. He was initially hired to file legal action for WilmerHale, where the late former FBI director and special counsel Robert Mueller worked.
He has appeared before the Supreme Court for decades, tallying over 100 arguments, including wins in cases expanding gun rights and curbing regulatory authority.
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