More Men from Firms Reflect US Supreme Court Advocate Gender Gap

The US Supreme Court began its term with a familiar backdrop as male law firm attorneys are mainly the ones arguing cases, including Donald Trump’s former top lawyers at the court and the son of former Justice Antonin Scalia.

Seven men from firms or appearing as solo practitioners will argue during the October sitting, which kicked off Monday and features six cases over two weeks.

Six women advocates taking the lectern over the same period come from the US Solicitor General’s Office, academia, and public interest groups.

Jonathan Hurtarte/Bloomberg Law

Women have argued between 12% to 23% of high court cases since 2014. While the percent of women arguing during October’s two-week sitting is higher than in recent terms, that diversity continues to be driven by government, academia, and public interest groups.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued for the federal government, which also will send assistant SGs Erica Ross and Caroline Flynn to the court. The two male attorneys from the Justice Department arguing during the sitting are both attorneys of color.

Georgetown University Law Center’s Kelsi Corkran, Stanford Law School’s Easha Anand, and NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund attorney Leah Aden also will appear before the justices. Aden, who’s making her Supreme Court debut, is the only Black lawyer who’ll argue during the sitting.

On the flip side, Skadden’s Shay Dvoretzky appeared in the court’s debut argument and Jenner & Block will send over Supreme Court veteran Adam Unikowsky later in the sitting.

Both President Donald Trump’s top two attorneys at the high court were returning in October. Former Solicitor General Noel Francisco is with Jones Day and former Principal Deputy Solicitor General Jeff Wall is with Sullivan & Cromwell.

John Gore of Jones Day also makes his debut. Gibson Dunn’s Eugene Scalia, a former Trump labor secretary, and #AppellateTwitter favorite Howard Bashman make their first appearances as well.