
Lawyers arguing health care in front of justices
The lawyers arguing Tuesday at the Supreme Court over President Barack Obama's health care law:
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DONALD B. VERRILLI JR.
Verrilli is solicitor general of the United States, the government's official representative in front of the Supreme Court. He was confirmed to his position last June as the replacement for Justice Elena Kagan after serving as associate deputy attorney general and an associate White House counsel in the Obama administration. A graduate Columbia Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review, he was a law clerk for Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. and a partner at Jenner & Block, where he co-chaired the firm's Supreme Court practice. He has argued more than a dozen times before the Supreme Court, and worked as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law School from 1992 through 2008. In 1994, as special counsel to President Bill Clinton, he assisted in the confirmation process for Justice Stephen Breyer.
Official biography: http://www.justice.gov/osg/meet-osg.html
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PAUL CLEMENT
Clement is a former solicitor general, having served in that position for President George W. Bush. When confirmed, he was the youngest solicitor general in 115 years at age 38. Clement graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School one year behind Obama, and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. He has argued more than 55 cases at the Supreme Court, and served as the chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights. A partner at Bancroft PLLC, he is a Georgetown University law professor and a former partner at King & Spalding. He resigned from there after the firm decided not to continue its representation of the U.S. House of Representatives in its attempt to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Clement was one of the lawyers who made the successful argument in front of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that would strike down the law's core requirement that individuals carry health insurance or pay a penalty
Official biography: http://www.bancroftpllc.com/professionals/paul-d-clement/
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MICHAEL A. CARVIN
Another former Justice Department official, Carvin's most famous argument was delivered to the Florida Supreme Court on behalf of soon-to-be President George W. Bush in the Florida recount controversy during the 2000 presidential election. A graduate of George Washington University's law school in 1982, Carvin has worked as deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, which is responsible for legal opinions that are binding on the Executive Branch, deputy assistant attorney general and special assistant to the assistant attorney general in the department's civil rights division. He will be representing the National Federation of Independent Business, which was a party to the lawsuit in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta that struck down the law's core requirement that individuals buy health insurance or pay a penalty.
Official biography: http://www.jonesday.com/macarvin