Paul Clement

Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American attorney who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2005 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a distinguished lecturer in law at Georgetown University and an adjunct professor at the 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. 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.

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 enjoin the Affordable Care Act; defending Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina; and, as Acting Solicitor General, defending the Controlled Substances Act under the Commerce Clause, as well as the Bush administration's treatment of terrorism suspects. Clement has also been a vocal advocate of the principle that all legal clients, even if they are unpopular, deserve representation. He has represented multiple clients challenging Trump administration actions.