Matthew Solomson testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, on April 30, 2019. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Matthew Solomson, chief legal officer for Anthem Inc.'s Federal Government Solutions division based in Baltimore, has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. His disclosure documents show he earned over $500,000 last year at Anthem.

President Donald Trump nominated Solomson in March to take the seat vacated by Judge Emily Hewitt, who retired in October 2013. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on his nomination in April, and it was reported out with a 19-3 vote in June. He is currently awaiting a full Senate vote.

If appointed, Solomson would bring a strong background in federal contract law and litigation to the court. At Anthem since 2015, he has focused primarily on government contacts litigation, compliance, counseling and a variety of trial and appellate matters before the Federal Claims Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to his answers on a Senate questionnaire obtained by ALM.

Anthem did not immediately return calls seeking comment about Solomson on Thursday. He heads the legal team for the $11 billion division that provides health care management and technology services to the U.S. government for some 30 million Medicare beneficiaries as well as 1.5 million federal employees and their dependents.

The document states that Solomson is responsible for all division legal matters, "including litigation, counseling, transactional, regulatory compliance, and internal investigation issues." He also advises the Anthem CEO and general counsel Thomas Zielinski, particularly on issues involving federal procurement. Zielinski also did not return messages seeking comment.

The Senate document states that last year Solomson earned a salary and bonus of $409,529, along with vested stock worth $115,891. As of March 10, his 2019 salary amounted to $42,695 and he cited vested stock worth $335,245.

His financial disclosure shows that since 2017 Solomson has earned "modest" royalties from Bloomberg BNA for a book he authored titled "Court of Federal Claims: Jurisdiction, Practice and Procedure." He also earned $1,250 as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where he teaches a course on government contract law.

Solomson listed his net worth at $1.1 million, including 71 different investments and trusts. His total assets are $1.56 million, including a personal residence valued at $615,000. He listed total liabilities of $433,086, including a home mortgage for nearly $324,00, a graduate school student loan of $16,486, and a student loan for a dependent child at Barnard College at Columbia University for $92,984.

Before joining Anthem, Solomson served as associate general counsel at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. from 2012 to 2015. He also spent about five years in private practice with various law firms, including Sidley Austin; what is now Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, all in Washington, D.C.

Sidley Austin and Arnold Porter did not return messages Thursday, nor did Chad Miller, now associate general counsel at KPMG in Washington, D.C., and a former Arnold & Porter colleague of Solomson. Under a section on potential recusals, Solomson lists Miller as a close personal friend as well as a colleague.

The Senate document shows Solomson took part in numerous pro bono cases during his career.

The nominee also served four years with the U.S. Department of Justice from 2007 to 2011 as a commercial trial attorney. He served as a law clerk for Judge Francis Allegra on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Solomson graduated from the University of Maryland with a joint law and master of business administration degrees.