Democracy and Governance Studies

Professor Waxman is a partner at the firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, where he specializes in Supreme Court, appellate, and complex civil and criminal litigation, and in advising clients with multifaceted legal and public policy challenges. Professor Waxman served as the 41st Solicitor General of the United States, from 1997 until January 2001. Prior to his confirmation as Solicitor General, Professor Waxman served in several other senior positions in the United States government, including Acting Deputy Attorney General. Before entering government service in 1994, Professor Waxman practiced law for 17 years in Washington, D.C. After leaving government, Professor Waxman taught both as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and as a Visiting Professor at the Law Center. Professor Waxman has argued 31 cases in the Supreme Court and has tried and argued dozens of other high-profile, complex civil and criminal cases in federal and state courts across the country. Professor Waxman is a summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College and a former Rockefeller Fellow. He received his law degree from the Yale Law School, where he was managing editor of the Yale Law Journal . Before commencing the practice of law, he served as law clerk to the Honorable Gerhard A. Gesell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.