Elizabeth Prelogar

Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar served as the 48th Solicitor General of the United States. As Solicitor General, she was the fourth-ranking individual at the Department of Justice and was responsible for conducting and supervising all Supreme Court litigation on behalf of the United States. Prelogar has argued over 30 cases in the Supreme Court and previously served in multiple roles at the Department of Justice. Before her confirmation as Solicitor General, she served as Acting Solicitor General and Principal Deputy Solicitor General. She also served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General from 2014 to 2019. During her prior tenure as a career attorney at the Department, she was detailed to Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and obstruction-of-justice issues, where she served as an Assistant Special Counsel.

Prelogar was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, and graduated from the area’s public schools. She received her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Emory University and a master’s degree in creative writing with distinction from the University of St. Andrews. She subsequently spent a year living and studying in St. Petersburg, Russia, as a Fulbright Fellow. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School where she was an Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from law school, Prelogar clerked for Judge Merrick B. Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She then completed consecutive Supreme Court clerkships for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Elena Kagan. After her clerkships, she worked as an associate in the appellate group at Hogan Lovells LLP. She later became a partner at Cooley LLP, where she focused on Supreme Court and appellate litigation.