Paul Clement Quote

Defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do

Paul Clement

Defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do

Related Quotes

About Paul Clement

Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after leaving Kirkland & Ellis, following that firm’s decision to end its Second Amendment work. He is also a Distinguished Lecturer in Law at Georgetown University and 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 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.
During his career, Clement has argued cases on behalf of many conservative causes, such as opposing gun control; defending a ban on federal recognition of same-sex marriage; advocating to overturn the Affordable Care Act; defending Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina (Rucho v. Common Cause); and, as Acting Solicitor General, defending the Bush administration's treatment of terrorism suspects.