Ian Heath Gershengorn (born February 21, 1967) is an American lawyer and former acting Solicitor General of the United States under President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

Early life and education

Born in New York, New York and raised outside of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Gershengorn attended the

Roxbury Latin School The Roxbury Latin School is a private boys' day school that was founded in 1645 in the town of Roxbury (now a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts) by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. It bills ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1988 and a J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1993. From 1993 until 1994, Gershengorn clerked for

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

Judge Amalya Kearse. From 1994 until 1995, Gershengorn worked as a law clerk for

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

Associate Justice John Paul Stevens.

Professional career

From 1995 until 1997, Gershengorn worked for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

as a special assistant and counsel to then-

United States Deputy Attorney General The United States deputy attorney general is the second-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice and oversees the day-to-day operation of the Department. The deputy attorney general acts as attorney general during the ...

Jamie Gorelick Jamie S. Gorelick (; born May 6, 1950) is an American lawyer who served as the Deputy Attorney General of the United States from 1994 to 1997, during the Clinton administration. She has been a partner at WilmerHale since 2003 and has served on ...

. In 1997, Gershengorn joined the law firm of

Jenner & Block Jenner & Block is an American law firm with offices in Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. The firm is active in corporate litigation, business transactions, the public sector, and other legal fields ...

, rising to the level of Partner in the firm's litigation department, working in the firm's Appellate and Supreme Court Practice and in its Communications Practice. While at the firm, Gershengorn was very active in representing

Indian tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, tribal nation, or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Native Americans in the Unit ...

s in Supreme Court and appellate litigation. On April 13, 2009, it was announced that Gershengorn would be rejoining the

as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division with oversight of the Federal Programs Branch. The Federal Programs Branch is handling Guantánamo Bay detainee cases and state secret matters. In his deputy assistant attorney general position, Gershengorn was known for his work in defending legal challenges to President Obama's signature legislative achievement, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On August 9, 2013, Gershengorn was named as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the

's Office of the

United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

. On June 2, 2016, it was announced that

Donald B. Verrilli Jr. Donald Beaton Verrilli Jr. (born June 29, 1957) is an American lawyer who served as the Solicitor General of the United States from 2011 into 2016. He was sworn into the post on June 9, 2011. On June 6, 2011, the United States Senate confirmed Ve ...

was stepping down as Solicitor General and that Gershengorn would become Acting Solicitor General effective June 25, 2016, which he remained until resigning at the end of Obama's term on January 20, 2017 because the Republican Senate majority did not deal with a replacement anymore.

Personal life

On September 1, 1996, he married Gail Felice Levine in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. Gershengorn's wife has worked as a lawyer for the

, as have two of his sisters. His father is a cardiologist and his mother, Wendie Gershengorn, was a state court judge in Massachusetts. He and Gail have three sons.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gershengorn, Ian 1967 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Roxbury Latin School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Obama administration personnel Lawyers from New York City United States Solicitors General Assistant United States Attorneys People associated with Jenner & Block Harvard College alumni

Early life and education

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References

External links