Solicitor General Paul Clement will end his current service to the Department of Justice in June. He has informed President Bush and U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey of his resignation.
Clement became solicitor general in June 2005. His office is responsible for conducting all litigation on behalf of the United States in the U.S. Supreme Court and for supervising litigation in the federal appellate courts. Oral arguments for all current Supreme Court cases ended last month.
Prior to his confirmation, Clement served for more than four years as principal deputy solicitor general. His tenure of more than 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,” says 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, Clement argued 49 cases before the Supreme Court, prevailing in the vast majority of them.
