Musical Chairs: Jim Ho Replaces Ted Cruz as Texas Solicitor General (SG)
APR 10, 2008 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: MAR 26, 2022
Congratulations to our old friend James Ho. The good news first surfaced on Sophistic Miltonian Serbonian Blog:
A quiet trickle of a rumor last week was that James C. Ho, currently of counsel with Gibson Dunn and a former law clerk to Justice Thomas at SCOTUS, has been tapped to serve as the next Solicitor General of Texas.
If this is true, Texas will be in very capable hands as Jim Ho is certainly one of the best appellate lawyers in the state (and the country for that matter), and has demonstrated great and valuable political savvy on the national stage as well.
Moreover, it is interesting to note that, now, three of the four solicitors general have clerked for SCOTUS (Greg Coleman – Justice Thomas; Ted Cruz – the late Chief Rehnquist; and Jim Ho – Justice Thomas).
A SCOTUS clerkship now appears to be a prerequisite to the post, which makes eminent sense because one of the OSG’s main functions is to represent the State before SCOTUS-a job we have noted current General Cruz has done extremely well.
That preliminary report appeared on Tuesday; the news is now confirmed.
Here are press releases from the Texas Attorney General, [page removed from internet] Greg Abbott, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, both praising Ho for his past achievements, and wishing him well in his latest endeavor.
Over at the Supreme Court of Texas blog, Texas appellate lawyer Don Cruse (another old friend) has some interesting observations:
What’s somewhat unusual about Ho’s legal career path is that he did his Supreme Court clerkship midstream, after he had already spent five years as a lawyer working in the political branches.
According to the data on his LinkedIn profile, Ho finished his clerkship for Justice Thomas in July 2006….
Indicted TX AG Ken Paxton Aims for Settlement of Employees Lawsuit Claimin’ Bribery and Corruption
Mark Penley, David Maxwell and Ryan Vassar — Paxton’s former deputies — asked the Texas Supreme Court to put the whistleblower case on hold.
US District Judge Robert Pitman Reverses on Indicted AG Ken Paxton’s Subpoena
Pitman said he changed his mind when abortion-rights groups filed a new motion citing the various attempts they had made to serve him.
Top Attorney for Texas Ken Paxton Dishes Out COVID Relief Funds to Elected Officials
Unlike other pay raises, these “premium pay” bonuses don’t need to be declared to the public ahead of time.
