I’m just delighted, both as a friend of Ed’s and as one of his future clients. From the state Attorney General’s press release:
As the chief appellate lawyer for the Department of Justice, DuMont will lead the new Office of the Solicitor General, oversee all civil and criminal appeals, and litigate the most sensitive, complex cases throughout the appellate process in state and federal courts. Under DuMont’s leadership the Department’s Office of the Solicitor General, originally established more than a decade ago, will expand significantly in scope and capacity….
DuMont brings more than 27 years of public and private sector experience in United States Supreme Court and appellate litigation to the position of California Solicitor General. DuMont joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in 2002, becoming a partner in 2004, and currently is a vice chair of the firm’s Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice Group. Before joining the firm, Ed served seven years as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States and as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, focusing on computer crime and privacy issues.
DuMont has argued 18 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court on a wide array of issues, including employment law, the First Amendment, criminal law and administrative procedure. During his career, he also has been the principal author of dozens of briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, and filed briefs or argued matters in the federal courts of appeals for the First, Second, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, District of Columbia and Federal Circuits….
A California native, DuMont grew up in the Bay Area. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School…. DuMont will officially assume his new post in January 2014.
I can’t imagine a better choice than Ed, who is a superb lawyer; we’re lucky to have him.