It is the end of an era in the Solicitor General’s office. Earlier this year I emailed Emily Spadoni of the OSG staff and got an error message. Because I had checked the address before sending, I knew it meant the worst: Emily had retired. I knew it would have to happen sooner or later, but I had been dreading it.
Former Assistant to the Solicitor General Irv Gornstein has this fitting tribute to Emily at SCOTUSblog. It is spot on:
I never saw Emily’s job description, but an accurate one would have been simple to write: “Everything that needs to be done.” She processed everything that came into the Office, organized the Office’s massive number of files, kept track of all due dates, and ensured timely and accurate filings. Perhaps most important, she was the Office’s line of communication with the Supreme Court’s Clerk’s Office and with everyone else outside the SG’s Office. She selflessly performed all those tasks and more, and she did it with unrelenting dedication, an unparalleled sense of personal responsibility for the quality of the Office’s work, a deep reservoir of knowledge about the Office and the Court, and an unwavering commitment to getting things right.
The truth is, alumni of the SG’s Office know next to nothing about the mechanics of Supreme Court practice when they leave the Office, because the entire time they were there, Emily took care of everything for them.
One other noteworthy thing Irv said that I have to echo:
On behalf of everyone who has worked with you over the years, thank you Emily, and may you have a long and happy retirement.
What he said.