Neal Katyal

Neal Katyal is an American lawyer and law professor renowned for his extensive appellate litigation practice and frequent advocacy before the Supreme Court of the United States. He served as the Acting Solicitor General of the United States during the Obama administration, the first person of Indian American descent to hold the office. A partner at the law firm Hogan Lovells and the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, Katyal is a prominent legal commentator and has argued some of the most significant cases of the modern era.

Early life and education

Neal Katyal was born in Chicago, Illinois, to immigrants from India. He attended Dartmouth College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in government, and subsequently earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. At Yale, he served as an editor for the Yale Law Journal and was a student of noted constitutional scholar Akhil Amar. His early legal career included prestigious clerkships, first for Judge Guido Calabresi on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Legal career

After his clerkships, Katyal worked as a litigation associate at the firm Shearman & Sterling before joining the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center. He entered public service as a counsel in the United States Department of Justice's Office of the Solicitor General during the Clinton administration. Katyal later served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General and, in 2010, was appointed Acting Solicitor General of the United States by President Barack Obama. In this role, he represented the federal government before the Supreme Court of the United States. He returned to private practice at Hogan Lovells, where he co-heads the firm's appellate practice, representing a wide array of clients in high-stakes litigation.

Supreme Court advocacy

Katyal has argued over 50 cases before the Supreme Court of the United States, establishing him as one of the most active advocates of his generation. Notable cases include successfully defending the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder and representing the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in its challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act. He served as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the landmark Guantanamo Bay detention camp case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, which challenged the legality of military commissions. More recently, he successfully argued McGirt v. Oklahoma, a major victory for Native American tribes and tribal sovereignty.

Academic and public commentary

As the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, Katyal teaches courses on Supreme Court litigation and national security law. He is a prolific author, having written for publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, and is a frequent legal analyst on networks such as MSNBC and CNN. Katyal has also testified before committees of the United States Congress on issues ranging from executive power to electoral integrity. He co-authored the book "Impeachment: A Citizen's Guide" with legal scholar Kermit Roosevelt III.

Personal life

Katyal is married to physician and writer Joanna Rosen, and they have two children. He maintains an active role in various legal and civic organizations, including serving on the board of the Supreme Court Historical Society. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the Justice Department's highest honor.

Category:American lawyers Category:Georgetown University Law Center faculty Category:Acting Solicitors General of the United States