A trio of Georgetown Law professors accepted posts in the Obama administration, making a total of four Law Center faculty members who have joined the new administration.

National Security Law professor and Director of the Georgetown Center on National Security and the Law, Neal Katyal will join the Obama administration as principal deputy solicitor general, in which position he will argue cases in front of the Supreme Court on behalf of the government. In 2006, he served as lead attorney for Salim Hamdan, who successfully challenged the legality of military commissions established by the Bush administration to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The Supreme Court voted 5 to 3 in Katyal’s favor.

According to former Solicitor General and Duke law professor Walter Dellinger, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld was an incredibly important case.

“Hamdan is simply the most important decision on presidential power and the rule of law ever. Ever,” Dellinger said, according to Georgetown Law’s Web site.

Katyal has won numerous legal awards during his time at the bar, including the title Lawyer of the Year for 2006 bestowed on him by Lawyers USA, a legal newspaper.

Professor Martin Lederman returns to the Department of Justice as deputy assistant attorney general in the Attorney General’s office. Lederman was previously an attorney advisor in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel from 1994 to 2002. Last fall he joined the Georgetown Law faculty where he teaches courses in constitutional law and seminars on the separation of powers.

Professor Lisa Heinzerling, a member of the Georgetown Law faculty since 1997, was named senior climate counsel to the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

These appointments follow the December nomination of Georgetown Law Professor Daniel Tarullo (CAS ’73) to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

“It is certainly good news that Georgetown Law faculty are putting their knowledge and expertise into work in the new administration,” Scott Fleming (SFS ’72), associate vice president for federal relations, said. “These appointments reflect the university’s commitment to public service and reflect well on the talents of individuals associated with the university.”

About 20 Georgetown Law alumni have been nominated or appointed by the Obama administration, according to the Georgetown Law Web site.

“We are pleased that members of our talented faculty have once again been called upon to serve our nation,” Georgetown Law Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff said in a press release.

The professors were unable to comment due to agreements with their respective departments.

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