NRI Neal Katyal
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Neal Katyal: A Leading Constitutional Advocate and Scholar

Los Angeles/Sep 02, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh

Early Life & Education

• Born March 12, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois, to Indian immigrant parents—his mother, Pratibha, is a pediatrician, and his father, Surendar, was an engineer. His sister, Sonia Katyal, is a prominent law professor at UC Berkeley.
• Attended Loyola Academy (Jesuit high school) in Wilmette, Illinois, before earning a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1991, where he was an active member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Nu, and the Dartmouth Forensic Union.
• Obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1995, serving as an editor of the Yale Law Journal, and studied under professors like Akhil Amar and Bruce Ackerman.

Prestigious Clerkships & Early Legal Roles

• After law school, Katyal clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi (Second Circuit Court of Appeals) and then for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
• Served in the Department of Justice during the Clinton administration, including drafting special counsel regulations (later used in the Mueller investigation) and working as National Security Advisor to the Deputy Attorney General.

Academic & Government Leadership

• Joined Georgetown University Law Center faculty in 1997, eventually becoming the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law. He has also served as a visiting professor at Yale and Harvard.
• Served in the Solicitor General’s Office under President Obama as Principal Deputy Solicitor General and later as Acting Solicitor General from May 2010 to June 2011.

Supreme Court Advocacy

• Katyal has argued in more than 50 Supreme Court cases, surpassing all other minority attorneys—including breaking the record previously held by Thurgood Marshall.
• Notable wins include:
  • Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, striking down Guantánamo military commissions.
  • Northwest Austin v. Holder, upholding key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
  • Defending the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality, John Ashcroft in al-Kidd, and more.
  • Moore v. Harper (2022–23), a landmark election-law case praised by Judge Michael Luttig as one of the most important for American democracy.
• In the 2022–23 term alone, he argued five Supreme Court cases, accounting for nearly 10% of the Court’s docket

Legal Practice & Firm Roles

• After leaving government, he joined Hogan Lovells and later in 2025 moved to Milbank LLP, where he now leads the firm's appellate practice in Washington, D.C.

Media, Publications & Public Engagement

• Published his first book, "Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump", with Sam Koppelman in 2019.
• A prolific writer and commentator with presence in The New York Times, Washington Post, and numerous law journals.
• Frequently appears on TV and even made cameo appearances as himself on House of Cards and Billions.

Awards & Honors

• Neal Katyal’s performance has earned him many accolades:
• Edmund Randolph Award, the highest civilian honor from the DOJ (2011).
• Named Litigator of the Year by American Lawyer (2017, 2023), Top 20 Practitioners Globally by Financial Times (2025), Top 200 Lawyers by Forbes (2024), Leading Lawyers by Lawdragon (2005–24), Most Influential People in DC by Washingtonian, Appellate MVP by Law360, FT Innovative Lawyer, GQ's Man of the Year (2017), and listed among the 40 Most Influential Lawyers of the Past Decade by the National Law Journal.

Civic and Institutional Affiliations

• Trustee, Dartmouth College (2021), Trustee, Whitney Museum (2022), Vice President & Trustee, Supreme Court Historical Society (2023).
• Senior Fellow, Kettering Foundation