Neal Katyal

Neal Katyal
Born	Neal Kumar Katyal 12 3, 1970
Birthplace	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Lawyer, legal scholar
Title	Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Known for	Acting Solicitor General of the United States; lead counsel in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld; lead attorney challenging Trump tariffs before the U.S. Supreme Court
Education	Dartmouth College (BA) Yale Law School (JD)
Awards	National Law Journal "Fab Fifty" Young Litigators

Neal Kumar Katyal (born March 12, 1970) is an American lawyer, legal scholar, and one of the most prominent Supreme Court advocates of his generation. He serves as a partner at Milbank LLP and holds the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professorship of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center. During the Obama administration, Katyal served as the Acting Solicitor General of the United States from May 2010 to June 2011, becoming the first Indian American and the first Asian American to hold that position. He is perhaps best known for his role as lead counsel in the landmark case Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), in which the Supreme Court struck down the Bush administration's use of military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. In February 2026, Katyal returned to national prominence as the lead attorney who successfully argued before the Supreme Court against President Trump's sweeping tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a case that generated significant international attention. Over the course of his career, Katyal has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court, establishing himself as one of the busiest oral advocates in the nation's highest court.

Early Life

Neal Kumar Katyal was born on March 12, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois, to parents of Indian descent. He grew up in the Chicago area, where his family was part of the Indian American community. His sister, Sonia Katyal, went on to become a prominent legal scholar in her own right. His brother-in-law is Jeffrey Rosen, the legal writer and president of the National Constitution Center.

Katyal's Indian American heritage has been frequently noted in coverage of his career, particularly in Indian media. In February 2026, when he successfully argued the tariffs case before the Supreme Court, multiple Indian media outlets highlighted his background. NDTV profiled him as an "Indian-American Lawyer Who Argued Against Trump's Tariffs," and India Today referred to him as an "Indian-origin lawyer" whose work had wide-ranging international implications.

Education

Katyal attended Dartmouth College, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently enrolled at Yale Law School, where he obtained his Juris Doctor degree. During his time at Yale, Katyal developed interests in constitutional law and national security law that would come to define his subsequent career. His academic accomplishments at both institutions positioned him for a career at the intersection of legal academia and high-level government service.

Career

Early Legal Career and Academia

After completing his legal education at Yale, Katyal entered a career that blended government service with legal academia. He joined the faculty of Georgetown University Law Center, where he eventually rose to hold the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professorship of National Security Law, one of the institution's most prominent endowed chairs. At Georgetown, Katyal became known for his scholarship on national security law, constitutional law, and the separation of powers. He published articles in leading law journals including the Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal.

His scholarly work addressed some of the most consequential legal questions of the post-September 11 era, including the legality of military commissions, executive power in wartime, and the rights of detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

Katyal's national profile rose dramatically when he served as lead counsel for Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni national who had been Osama bin Laden's driver and was detained at Guantanamo Bay. The case, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, challenged the legality of the military commissions established by the Bush administration to try detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Katyal argued that the commissions violated both the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Conventions.

In a landmark 5–3 decision issued on June 29, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in Hamdan's favor, finding that the military commissions lacked the authority under federal law and that they violated the Geneva Conventions. The decision was one of the most significant rulings on executive power during the War on Terror and represented a major check on presidential authority.

The case attracted widespread media attention and established Katyal as one of the foremost advocates for the rule of law in the context of national security. As a Georgetown law professor arguing against the federal government before the Supreme Court, Katyal's victory was seen as a testament to the power of individual legal advocacy against the full weight of executive authority. The case has since become a staple of constitutional law and national security law curricula at law schools across the United States.

Department of Justice and Acting Solicitor General

In early 2009, following the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Katyal joined the United States Department of Justice as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General, serving under newly confirmed Solicitor General Elena Kagan. He assumed this position on February 3, 2009, succeeding Daryl Joseffer. In this role, Katyal was responsible for assisting the Solicitor General in representing the federal government before the Supreme Court.

When President Obama nominated Kagan to the Supreme Court in May 2010, Katyal was elevated to Acting Solicitor General on May 17, 2010. He took over from Kagan and became the first person of South Asian descent to serve as the nation's top appellate lawyer. As Acting Solicitor General, Katyal was responsible for supervising and conducting all litigation on behalf of the United States government in the Supreme Court and was the government's representative in oral arguments before the Justices.

Katyal served as Acting Solicitor General until June 9, 2011, when Donald B. Verrilli Jr. was confirmed by the Senate as the new Solicitor General. Following the transition, Katyal briefly continued serving as Principal Deputy Solicitor General until August 26, 2011, at which point he was succeeded by Sri Srinivasan, who would later become a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Katyal then returned to Georgetown Law and entered private practice.

Private Practice

After leaving the Department of Justice, Katyal became one of the most sought-after Supreme Court advocates in private practice. He joined Milbank LLP (formerly Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy) as a partner, where he led the firm's Supreme Court and appellate practice. Over the course of his career, Katyal has argued more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court, a number that places him among the most frequent oral advocates before the Court in modern times.

His practice has spanned a wide range of legal areas, including constitutional law, administrative law, intellectual property, and business litigation. At the same time, Katyal has maintained his position on the faculty at Georgetown University Law Center, continuing to teach and publish on matters of national security law and constitutional interpretation.

Trump Tariffs Case (2026)

In February 2026, Katyal returned to the center of national legal and political attention as the lead attorney challenging President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs before the Supreme Court. The case centered on whether the president had the authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law that grants the president broad emergency economic powers. Katyal argued on behalf of U.S. businesses that the president's use of IEEPA to impose what he described as sweeping tariffs was unauthorized by the statute and unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration, striking down the tariff plan. The decision was widely covered in both domestic and international media. In an interview with USA Today, Katyal described the Trump administration's tariff actions as "fundamentally un-American" and stated that he had been confident of victory. Speaking to MSNBC's Morning Joe, Katyal said the ruling "gave us everything that we asked for."

In subsequent days, following the ruling, President Trump moved to impose a 15% tariff under different legal authority. Katyal publicly challenged this new action as well, arguing that it lacked legal applicability. He called on the administration to "do the American thing" and comply with the Court's ruling. Former International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath backed Katyal's legal arguments, drawing a distinction between trade deficits and balance of payments deficits in the context of the Trump administration's justifications for the tariffs.

In an interview with NPR on February 23, 2026, Katyal argued that his clients were entitled to refunds for tariffs already paid, describing the federal government's actions as unlawful. The lead attorney in the tariffs challenge was praised in The Hill for the outcome, with the publication noting that he "thanked the Supreme Court for striking down the plan."

The tariffs case cemented Katyal's reputation as an advocate willing and able to take on major challenges to executive authority before the Supreme Court, echoing themes from his earlier work in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld nearly two decades prior.

Media Appearances

In addition to his legal practice and academic work, Katyal has been a frequent legal commentator in the media. He has appeared regularly on television news programs, including on MSNBC and other networks, providing analysis on Supreme Court cases, constitutional questions, and legal issues of national importance. He has also been credited with an appearance on the Internet Movie Database, suggesting involvement in documentary or news media productions.

Personal Life

Katyal is of Indian American heritage, born to parents who emigrated from India. His sister, Sonia Katyal, is a law professor who has held positions at prominent American law schools. His brother-in-law, Jeffrey Rosen, is a legal scholar, author, and the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The family has been described as one of the most prominent legal families in the United States, with multiple members holding distinguished positions in law and legal academia.

Katyal is a member of the Democratic Party. He has resided in the Washington, D.C. area, consistent with his professional positions at Georgetown University Law Center and the Department of Justice.

Recognition

Katyal has received numerous honors and recognitions throughout his career. He was named to the National Law Journal's list of the "Fab Fifty" outstanding young litigators in the United States, a recognition that highlighted his accomplishments as a relatively young advocate before the Supreme Court. He was also recognized by The American Lawyer in its selection of outstanding young litigators.

Washingtonian magazine named Katyal one of Washington, D.C.'s best lawyers in its coverage of the Supreme Court bar.

His work in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld earned him recognition from legal organizations, civil liberties groups, and media outlets. The case has been featured in law school textbooks and legal publications as a landmark challenge to executive authority during the War on Terror. His 2026 victory in the tariffs case before the Supreme Court attracted international media attention, with outlets across the United States, India, and elsewhere profiling his role in the litigation.

Legacy

Neal Katyal's career has been defined by a series of high-profile confrontations with executive power before the United States Supreme Court. His victory in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld in 2006 established a precedent that the executive branch could not unilaterally establish military commissions outside the framework of existing law, a ruling that reshaped the legal landscape of the War on Terror. The case demonstrated that an individual lawyer, operating outside the government, could successfully challenge the executive branch at the highest level of the American judicial system.

His tenure as Acting Solicitor General during the Obama administration placed him at the center of the federal government's legal strategy before the Supreme Court during a period of significant legal activity. As the first person of South Asian descent to serve in the role, his appointment carried symbolic importance for the Indian American and broader Asian American communities.

The 2026 tariffs case added another chapter to Katyal's record of challenging presidential authority. By successfully arguing that President Trump's use of IEEPA to impose sweeping tariffs was unlawful, Katyal played a central role in what has been described as one of the most significant Supreme Court cases involving trade policy and executive power in decades. His willingness to pursue follow-up challenges—including demanding refunds for his clients and questioning the legal basis of the administration's subsequent 15% tariff—illustrated a sustained commitment to the litigation.

Throughout his career, Katyal has balanced roles as a practitioner, scholar, and public commentator. His publications in the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, and other leading academic outlets have contributed to legal scholarship on national security, executive power, and constitutional interpretation. At Georgetown University Law Center, he has trained the next generation of lawyers and legal scholars while maintaining an active Supreme Court practice.

Katyal's career trajectory—from law professor to lead counsel in a landmark national security case to Acting Solicitor General to partner at a major law firm to lead attorney in a major tariffs challenge—reflects the distinctive role that Supreme Court advocates play in the American legal system, serving as intermediaries between private parties and the nation's highest court on questions of constitutional significance.