WMACCA Annual Meeting Will Feature Keynote Address On "The Roberts Court As A Business Court"

WMACCA is pleased and honored to welcome Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement as the keynote speaker for its 2009 Annual Meeting.  The luncheon meeting will be held at The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Boulevard, McLean, VA, on Wednesday, January 28, from noon to 2 pm.

Mr. Clement will give us his perspective on the Roberts Court as a "business court," examining how the Court has given the business community victories in cases involving securities litigation and punitive damages, but less favorable outcomes when it came to the Court's employment docket. He will provide insights about the cases pending during this Term, when the Court will decide important cases involving federal preemption of state tort law, punitive damages, antitrust and employment law. Mr. Clement also will explain the role of the Solicitor General in litigation before the Supreme Court.  For more information about the luncheon, or to register, please click here.

Mr. Clement served as the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States from June 2005 until June 2008. Prior to his confirmation as Solicitor General, he served as Acting Solicitor General for nearly a year and as Principal Deputy Solicitor General for over three years. His more than seven years of service in the Office of Solicitor General is the longest period of continuous service in the Office by a Solicitor General since the Nineteenth Century. He has argued 49 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including McConnell v. FEC, Tennessee v. Lane, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, United States v. Booker and MGM v. Grokster. He also argued many of the government’s most important cases in the lower courts.

Mr. Clement recently returned to the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding as a partner and head of the firm’s national appellate practice.  He also served from 1998 to 2004 as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he taught a seminar on the separation of powers. Prior to rejoining King & Spalding in November 2008, Mr. Clement served as a Visiting Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center and as a Senior Fellow of the Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute.  WMACCA will apply for MCLE credit for this program.  

This luncheon will also feature WMACCA's Annual Meeting and election of officers and directors.  Kevin S. Lapidus will conclude his term as WMACCA President and Manik K. Rath will begin his service in that role and offer remarks on his vision for WMACCA in 2009.  We will elect six members of the Board of Directors, as well as President-elect, Vice President - Programming, Vice President - External Relations, Secretary and Treasurer.  Later this week, proxies for the election will go in the mail to all WMACCA members.