U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar (02C) spoke before a crowd of about 50 people in the Oxford Road building on Sept. 11 at an event organized by the Emory College of Arts and Sciences Pathways Center. At the event, “Understanding Justice: A Conversation with the U.S. Solicitor General,” Prelogar discussed her time at Emory University and her journey to becoming the U.S. solicitor general, in addition to sharing advice to aspiring lawyers in the audience.
As solicitor general, Prelogar supervises and conducts all Supreme Court litigation on behalf of the executive branch. She is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the Department of Justice. However, just over 20 years ago, Prelogar was an Emory undergraduate student unsure what to major in or what career path to pursue.
Prelogar ultimately majored in English and Russian, deciding to study Russian after taking an introductory class to complete a general education requirement. She was also involved in The Emory Wheel, which she described as an influential experience that made her want to pursue a career in journalism. After teaching English in Russia through the Fulbright Program, Prelogar pursued a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and then attended Harvard Law School (Mass.), where she discovered her passion for practicing law.
During the event, Prelogar encouraged students to step outside their comfort zones when exploring classes and career options and to be open to deviations in their future plans.
“In retrospect, when you get to a point in your career and you’re looking back, sometimes it all makes perfectly logical sense in every next step rightly followed from the one that came before,” Prelogar said. “But I don’t think that a career has to proceed literally like that.”
After graduating from law school, Prelogar clerked for then-Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Currently, Garland serves as the 86th attorney general of the United States. Prelogar then clerked for former Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Elena Kagan before working several jobs within the Department of Justice.
Prelogar was nominated by U.S. President Joe Biden to become solicitor general in August 2021 and was sworn in on Oct. 29 of that year. Prelogar told the crowd that although the days leading up to her inauguration were stressful, she made sure to trick-or-treat with her two young sons the night before.
For students involved in pursuing careers in the government, Prelogar discussed why she finds her work rewarding, noting the privilege she feels getting to serve the American people.
“In a public service-oriented role, you often have a chance to make a difference — to feel like the work that you do is impactful, that you are contributing to your community and to our society,” Prelogar said. “You cannot discount how rewarding that can be in a career to feel like you are not just a cog in a machine.”
Prelogar attributed becoming the U.S. solicitor general to a lot of luck and the right mentorship. She has argued in the Supreme Court 32 times so far, and she said her most memorable case was her first, United States v. Texas (2021), in which the Supreme Court decided not to intervene in a Texas abortion law known as the “Texas Heartbeat Act.”
“I think of us as kind of the Navy SEALs of the Department of Justice,” Prelogar said. “We’re small and mighty. Maybe I’m just indulging myself here, but we swoop in on these elite missions to represent the United States and the Supreme Court.”
In preparation for cases, Prelogar said she consults with other government agencies to make sure she is representing her client, the U. S., in an unbiased way. Although she works long hours and must balance being a government official and a mother, Prelogar said this unique and demanding job makes her feel like “luckiest person in the world.”
Aidan O’Sullivan (26Ox) attended the event because he is interested in a career in law and was excited by the chance to meet somebody so successful in the profession. O’Sullivan said Prelogar’s advice to get out of your comfort zone and try different things stood out to him. George Drakos (24Ox, 26C) also attended the event and found Prelogar’s message about not having to follow a specific path inspiring.
“It’s unparalleled because to be able to hear that somebody went to Emory and then got such a high profile job is really inspiring, not only to Emory students, but it can also give us inspiration on what we want to pursue after Emory and possibly law school,” Drakos said. “We heard her story about how she majored in Russian and in creative writing, so it really shows that you can major in just about anything and still be very successful.”
Prelogar noted her diverse educational background, like her master’s degree in creative writing, as having a huge influence on her career and work as the U.S. solicitor general. She said that although she is not creating fiction before the Supreme Court, she is “very much telling stories” in order to make sure justice is carried out fairly.
During her time as a clerk for Ginsberg, Prelogar said she had an eye-opening moment one night as they were working on an opinion together. While they worked, Ginsberg was able to remember the names, families and injustices many of her former clients faced, which again underscored the importance of storytelling for Prelogar in her work.
“Cases are about people,” Prelogar said. “They’re not just about principles. They’re about the people who have these real world problems, and I try never to lose sight of that now in telling the stories of my people.”
