Paul Clement: PPACA Fighter

Representing Florida and 25 other states, Clement's central argument is that Congress went too far in requiring nearly every American to purchase insurance or pay a penalty.

"There have been a lot of crises in this country over the years, economic, other, where Congress might have thought that forcing individuals to purchase a particular good or a particular service might have been a useful means of government action. But the government never did," he said.

Born and reared in Cedarburg, Wis., Clement was a year behind Obama at Harvard Law School and worked under him on the Harvard Law Review. He was the youngest solicitor general, at 38, in 115 years.

Clement's unassuming, buttoned-down image provides little hint of his fondness for alternative rock bands he sometimes sees at Washington's 9:30 Club. He lives in suburban Virginia with his wife and three sons.

He has maintained a heavy workload despite an upheaval in his professional life that took him from the 800-lawyer King & Spalding firm to tiny Bancroft LLC. Atlanta-based King & Spalding spent a reported $5 million to lure Clement after he left government in 2008. Clement won't confirm the figure, but he does not dispute it.

Clement easily attracted deep-pocketed clients, including National Football League owners in their dispute with players.

But his representation of House Republicans in support of the Defense of Marriage Act prompted an internal struggle at the firm. The Obama administration is no longer defending the 1996 law that defines marriage as a union between a man and woman, and prohibits the government from granting benefits to same-sex couples.

King & Spalding eventually withdrew from the case, leaving Clement in the uncomfortable position of having to quit his clients or the firm. He chose the latter, which drew criticism from some gay rights groups but praise from lawyers across the political spectrum, including Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama nominee to the Supreme Court.

At Georgetown University last year, Kagan spoke of Clement's "integrity, professionalism and honor" and said Clement's critics "misunderstand the traditions and ethics of the legal profession."

Clement himself says the experience bolstered his view that he would not choose clients out of fear of taking on unpopular causes. "It seems like a formula for a really uninteresting legal practice," he said.

And despite his ties to Republicans, Clement insists that when he stands before any court, "you have to really buy into the notion that positions are taken on behalf of a client. They're not your positions."

He notes that he has been on the liberal side sometimes — arguing for California prison inmates seeking better medical and mental health care and seeking higher fees for lawyers who won changes in Georgia's foster care program.

Still, when he left King & Spalding, he, along with many of his clients, ended up at Bancroft, run by Harvard law classmate Viet Dinh. The 13-lawyer firm is heavy with former Bush administration officials, including Dinh, and law clerks to Chief Justice John Roberts.

-alb