Marble Palace Blog: Celebrated as a Top SCOTUS Advocate, Lisa Blatt Laments ‘Appalling Disparity’ Among Lawyers Before the Court

Thank you for reading through The Marble Palace Website, which I hope will notify and shock you about the Supreme Court docket of the United States. My identify is Tony Mauro. I’ve covered the Supreme Courtroom given that 1979 and for ALM considering that 2000. I semiretired in 2019, but I am nonetheless fascinated by the higher court. I’ll welcome any tips or strategies for subject areas to produce about. You can reach me at [email protected]

Georgetown University Law Center’s Supreme Court docket Institute experienced significantly to rejoice at its once-a-year “End of Time period Reception” on Wednesday, just hours after the last U.S. Supreme Court docket oral argument of the recent phrase.

Soon after two many years of skipping the event due to the fact of the pandemic, the institute opened the school’s doorways to dozens of SCOTUS advocates for what is in some cases called the “prom party” of the Supreme Court bar. It was the 20th this sort of reception due to the fact the institute released in 1999. Justice Brett Kavanaugh attended on Wednesday, as did Solicitor Basic Elizabeth Prelogar.

The institute delivered moot court classes for 100% of the oral arguments in the recent phrase, claimed Debbie Shrager, director of the institute. Extra than 300 voluntary panelists assisted lawyers about to argue in advance of the court deal with what Shrager termed “the artwork of moot.”

But the main event was a tribute to Williams & Connolly husband or wife Lisa Blatt, who has argued more Supreme Courtroom circumstances than any other lady, and argued them properly. Previous solicitor typical Paul Clement, who worked with Blatt, explained on Wednesday, “She has argued extra cases than any other feminine advocate by a substantial margin.” He included, “To this day, Lisa has only identified five situations out of the 42 that she has argued the place she could not persuade the justices to see things her way.” Clement, a companion with Kirkland & Ellis, has argued 110 Supreme Courtroom scenarios.

When Blatt rose to thank the audience for the celebration, she very first thanked the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for whom she clerked when Ginsburg was on the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“She showed me that, even though I will never achieve it, I must at least try for perfection,” Blatt claimed. “She also confirmed me that I did not have to costume like everyone else and that it was okay to be liberal and to however love conservatives.”

She also spoke about Williams & Connolly, the place she has labored in two stints, and about the dearth of range amongst Supreme Court advocates in standard:

“When I returned to Williams & Connolly three yrs ago, I also acquired that training law is not about how more youthful colleagues can help you, but how you can assistance your young colleagues. This lesson has taken on included importance provided the appalling disparity between male, feminine, and black oral advocates before the courtroom. As far as I can tell, only two black gentlemen from non-public exercise have argued considering that 2003 and a person of them, the fantastic John Payton passed away 10 years ago. The other a person, Luke McCloud, experienced not even argued in any courtroom in advance of I acquired to Williams & Connolly. The numbers will not change except if we act as a substitute of just communicate. It can’t be that Luke is the only dwelling superstar advocate at a regulation firm, who happens to be a black law firm.”

McCloud, a associate at Williams & Connolly, argued for the first time just before the substantial court docket on January 19 of this yr. He was a former clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor and to Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the D.C. Circuit.

Correction: This tale has been current to right a quote from Lisa Blatt.