Neal Katyal is a prominent Indian-American lawyer whose legal work played a central role in a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning sweeping tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision was seen as a major constitutional check on the president’s powers and a setback for Trump’s trade agenda.
Katyal was born in Chicago on March 12, 1970, to parents who immigrated from India. His mother is a pediatrician and his father is an engineer. He grew up in the United States and later earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Yale Law School, where he excelled academically.Earlier in his career, Katyill served as a law clerk to Judge Guido Calabresi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and later to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. These experiences helped him develop a strong legal foundation and opened the door to high-level legal practice.From May 2010 to June 2011, Katyill served as the Acting Deputy Attorney General of the United States in the Obama administration. During this time, he represented the federal government in numerous cases before the Supreme Court. During his career, he litigated more than 50 cases before the Supreme Court, a record for minority attorneys.Today, he is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of the law firm Milbank LLP and holds the title of Paul and Patricia Sanders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He is recognized for his expertise in constitutional and appellate law.In recent tariff cases, Cartier represented a coalition of small businesses and trade groups challenging the legality of Trump’s tariffs. The Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not give the president the authority to impose such broad tariffs without express congressional approval. After the ruling, Cartier said the ruling showed “only Congress can tax the American people” and highlighted the limits of presidential power under the Constitution.Among other things, Katyal’s career has included defending the Voting Rights Act, challenging the 2017 travel ban and contributing to important constitutional debates. His achievements have earned him such honors as the Edmund Randolph Award, the U.S. Department of Justice’s highest civil honor.
