Buies Creek, N.C. – The Honorable Neal Katyal, acting Solicitor General of the United States, will deliver the the commencement address at the May graduation ceremony for Campbell’s Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. Katyal was appointed to replace Elena Kagan, who became a Supreme Court Justice in August 2010. The ceremony is set for Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m. at Meymandi Concert Hall of the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh. A total of 133 degrees will be conferred.
As Solicitor General of the U.S., Katyal determines the legal position of the United States before the Supreme Court in cases in which the government is a party. His office also argues on behalf of the federal government in virtually ever case in which the U.S. is a party. Former U.S. Solicitor Generals have been William Howard Taft and Thurgood Marshall.
Prior to his appointment, Katyal served as National Security Adviser in the U.S. Justice Department, Office of the Deputy Attorney General, and was commissioned by President Clinton to write a report on the need for more legal pro bono work. He also served as Vice President Al Gore’s co-counsel in the Supreme Court election dispute of 2000 and represented the deans of most major private law schools in the landmark University of Michigan affirmative action case, Grutter v. Bollinger.
Katyal received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. His articles have appeared in virtually every major law review and newspaper in America.
Photo Copy: This is a photo of U.S. Solicitor General Neal Katyal. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.