Paul Clement's Soft Landing

Former Solicitor General Paul Clement, likely to be one of the biggest catches for local law firms coming out of the Bush administration, said this morning he is talking to several firms, but has made no decision yet. Clement, who left the Justice Department in June, was a panelist today at the National Chamber Litigation Center's preview of the upcoming Supreme Court term, along with one of his predecessors Seth Waxman. Clement has taken a holding-pattern teaching position at Georgetown University Law Center — as Waxman did in January 2001 before he landed a top position at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Clement was happy to be previewing the term "without the pressure of a an argument in a week and a half." He spent the summer with his family, traveling and at home, and is enjoying teaching at Georgetown, he says. "I have some great students." He's teaching the same course he taught as an adjunct — separation of powers, which is a fairly fluid subject these days. But he acknowledged the teaching is not a fulltime career choice, and he expects to decide on a firm sometime next month, though "Seth tells me that can slide." If it can work out, he plans to continue teaching while working at a firm.