A Quick Update from the Fed Soc Convention
Alas, celebrity professor Tim Wu -- who was originally scheduled to appear on the Federalist Society Convention panel we just returned from, addressing net neutrality -- was not there.
We were graced by the presence of Professor Christopher Yoo, however, and his presentation was excellent. Alas, due to the time constraints, he had to cover his material rather quickly.
Earlier today, we attended an address by Solicitor General Paul Clement, the government's chief Supreme Court advocate -- and were able to meet the man himself. We were in the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel, chatting with fantastic Supreme Court correspondent Tony Mauro, when Mr. Clement ("General" Clement?) exited the ballroom in which he had just spoken. Mr. Mauro then introduced us to the Solicitor General, who was most genial. He's a friendly and accessible fellow, despite being a celebrity of the legal profession, with 32 Supreme Court arguments under his belt -- at the tender age of 36 40.
(Thanks to this commenter for the correction. Clement was born in 1966. The statement of his age was made in the remarks introducing him, but we neglected to double-check them before posting.)
(We apologize to the Solicitor General for our rather disheveled state. We were unshaven, sweaty, tie-less -- and, horror of horrors, wearing a button-down shirt. That has got to violate SOME provision in Title 18 of the U.S. Code!)
(5) Comments
Did you dazzle him with your knowledge of new law firm partners or did you ask him which law school dean he finds most attractive?
Addenda like this boggle the mind. Surely we've stepped beyond irony, po-mo critique here. Somebody? Anybody?
I believe that Mr. Clement is 40, not 36. See this relatively interesting Legal Times article from January 2004 that has him at 37 years old:
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1073944820670
That said, 32 arguments for a 40-year-old is still impressive stuff (especially when you consider WHICH cases they've been).
HA! Actually, no -- although that would have been interesting.
I was tempted, during the Q-and-A, to ask Mr. Clement about what women in the S.G.'s office wear to Supreme Court arguments (since there's no female equivalent to the morning coat that the men wear). But I refrained.
As for our conversation, Clement mentioned my prior employment with the Justice Department. So we talked about some mutual friends and acquaintances who work for the DOJ. It was a very pleasant conversation.
The introduction stated that Clement, at 36 arguments, was 4 arguments short of matching his age.