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Tseytlin finds dream job taking on the feds

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//January 26, 2016//

Tseytlin finds dream job taking on the feds

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//January 26, 2016//

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Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin took office Nov. 30 and, among other things, is representing the state of Wisconsin in some cases against the federal government. (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)
Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin took office Nov. 30 and, among other things, is representing the state of Wisconsin in some cases against the federal government. (Staff Photo by Kevin Harnack)

Wisconsin’s first-ever solicitor general sits down for a Q&A

Back in 2013, when Misha Tseytlin heard that Wisconsin lawmakers were considering establishing a solicitor general’s office, he immediately looked up the state’s rules on lawyer reciprocity.

“I was thinking, ‘How cool would that be?’” he said. “Would I have to take the Wisconsin bar exam or was practice sufficient?”

At the time, Tseytlin was a lawyer at a private firm in Washington, D.C. Within the next three years, he would not only become the first solicitor general Wisconsin has ever had, but would also dive headlong into his new duties; in his first month on the job he had already filed briefs in four cases.

Getting moving that fast was not easy. During the early days, Tseytlin’s office didn’t even have its own paralegals.

“We’ve been needing to rely upon folks that are dedicated to other divisions in the AG’s office in order to file some of the briefs we’ve had to do,” he said.

More than 40 states have solicitors general, most of whom handle all appeals on behalf of the state. Tseytlin’s office, by design of the Wisconsin governor and Legislature, plays a slighter smaller role. Tseytlin and his two deputies represent the state only in certain federal appeals cases, primarily challenges of federal actions and challenges before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The office also submits amicus briefs and represents the state’s interests in cases in which it is not a party.

“Sometimes we’ll be in front of the Supreme Court,” he said. “But sometimes they’ll be deciding a case involving another state but you have the same legal issue arising with regard to Wisconsin. So you want to make your voice heard there.”

Tseytlin’s expertise lies in federal matters. After working as a clerk for federal judges and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, he became general counsel to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. Tseytlin also worked at the same time for the same state’s solicitor general, Elbert Lin, handling federal litigation.

“He’s an outside-of-the-box thinker,” said Lin. “He’s able to think of new and interesting approaches to cases that others may not.”

Before working with Lin, Tseytlin spent three years as an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington, D.C., representing private companies in challenges of state environmental rules.

While the legal matters Tseytlin deals with as solicitor general are very different from those he had tackled in private practice, the procedures are the same. He learned about those while he was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

“One of my biggest complaints about law schools is that they don’t teach those procedures,” Tseytlin said. “Take a course in contracts or torts and you’ll learn the substantive laws … you won’t learn the real practicalities. You won’t learn how to draft a complaint. You won’t learn the proper time to seek a preliminary injunction.”

Tseytlin recently sat down with Wisconsin Law Journal staff writer Erika Strebel to talk about how he got here, goals, hopes and Frisbee:

What motivated you to come all the way here to Wisconsin? You’ve worked in places such as Washington, D.C., and Pasadena, Calif.

I think that in the way the world is with current politics, the center of gravity between how big the federal government is going to be versus how much authority the states are going to have is at the states. If you look at some of the biggest cases going on right now … all of those challenges are being led by the states because as the federal government expands its reach, it crowds out whatever sovereign authority the states have. So for someone like myself who believes that the states have a bigger role to play in our system of government than is currently being recognized by the administration, this was the place to be.

Has it always been a goal of yours to become a solicitor general?

Certainly, when I was undergrad, I’d never even heard what a solicitor general was. I just wanted to go to law school because I watched The Practice. … I was just a normal law student. I might even have put down tax law as my interest when

I was applying to law firms at the end of my 1L year. But as I went through law school and I was fortunate enough to secure a couple of clerkships for federal judges and the courts of appeals … I saw the kinds of constitutional issues, the big picture legal issues that you see when you’re clerking at the court of appeals and especially when you’re clerking at the U.S. Supreme Court. That becomes much more interesting. … I have some friends who are solicitors general of other states and I learned about some of their work. So, once I learned about that it seemed like a dream job.

How do you like Madison?

I lived for a long time in Washington, D.C., which has a lot of restaurants and things to do but the traffic is so bad you can’t really get anywhere. It’s a very frustrating place to be sometimes. And then I lived in Charleston, W. Va., where people are really friendly and there’s no traffic and you can get around but there’s not a lot of restaurants or things to do. So far Madison seems to be the best of both worlds. There’s all kinds of great restaurants you can go to but if it’s two miles away you can actually leave and get here and park in six minutes. So far it’s really great.

What do you do for fun?

I like to play ultimate Frisbee. One of the things I was excited about moving here was, at least according to Wikipedia, that Madison has the highest concentration of ultimate Frisbee players in the country. Obviously in the winter it’s kind of tough, but I’ve been playing indoor games twice a week, getting to know the Frisbee community. I also love to travel. My wife and I like to take a big trip at the end of every year. We try to save up for that because we really enjoy that.

Tell me about a memorable law school experience.

I worked for Professor Neal Katyal, who was the lead counsel in the challenge to the Bush administration’s military-detention program. And it was pretty exciting to … be in law school and to be able to moot someone for Supreme Court oral argument on a case of that much notoriety, that’s an incredible thing.

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