Updated Aug. 28 at 12:01 p.m.

Forty-one veteran appellate advocates joined in a letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday expressing “strong support” for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

“Based on our experience with Judge Kavanaugh and his work over 12 years of distinguished judicial service,” the letter stated, “we are confident that he possesses the character, temperament and intellect that will make him an asset to our nation's highest court.”

The letter came eight days before Kavanaugh's hearing begins on Sept. 4. Over the weekend, demonstrators in several cities protested Kavanaugh's nomination.

The letter from the lawyers asserted that “Kavanaugh has a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding jurist. His opinions are clear, rigorous, and thoughtful. Those of us who have appeared before him appreciate his impressive ability to distill complex legal issues to their essence, the incisiveness of his questions, and the unfailing courtesy he extends to his colleagues and to counsel who appear before him.”

The signers described themselves as holding “a broad range of political, policy, and jurisprudential views, but we speak as one in supporting Judge Kavanaugh's nomination.”

Arnold & Porter partner Lisa Blatt was an organizer of the letter-writing effort. On Aug. 2, Politico published a column by Blatt titled “I'm a Liberal Feminist Lawyer. Here's Why Democrats Should Support Judge Kavanaugh.”

But apart from Blatt, many of the lawyers who signed are former clerks to Republican-appointed justices or solicitors general appointed by Republican presidents. Former solicitors general Paul Clement, Gregory Garre and Theodore Olson, all Republican appointees, are on the letter. Seth Waxman, Neal Katyal and Donald Verrilli Jr., appointed by Democratic presidents, were not on the list and did not respond to queries as to whether they were invited to sign.

Along with Olson as a signer, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is heavily represented in the letter by Miguel Estrada, Thomas Dupree Jr., Allyson Ho, Matthew McGill, Mark Perry, Amir Tayrani and Helgi Walker. Estrada was an organizer of the letter-writing effort, along with Blatt.

Other advocates who signed on include Michael Carvin, Shay Dvoretsky and Glen Nager of Jones Day, Erin Murphy of Kirkland & Ellis, Christopher Landau of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; William Jay of Goodwin Procter, William Consovoy of Consovoy McCarthy Park, Roman Martinez of Latham & Watkins, Carter Phillips and Peter Keisler of Sidley Austin, Deanne Maynard of Morrison & Foerster, Dan Himmelfarb of Mayer Brown, Michael Kellogg and Aaron Panner of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, and Benjamin Horwich of Munger, Tolles & Olson.

The roster signing the Kavanaugh letter closely mirrors a similar letter written last year in support of nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Roy Englert Jr. of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber, one of the lawyers who signed the Gorsuch letter but not the Kavanaugh letter, said Monday that he had worked closely with Gorsuch on a judicial rules committee for six years, but had less experience with Kavanaugh.

“I have an extremely high opinion of Judge Kavanaugh, but I have never appeared before him other than at the Shakespeare Theatre, and we never collaborated on anything of substance, before or after he became a judge,” Englert said.

John Elwood of Vinson & Elkins, who also signed the Gorsuch letter but not the Kavanaugh letter, explained that he served on an American Bar Association reading committee that reviewed Kavanaugh's opinions and other writings. “Since I was asked to join that group, I've refrained from making public statements about the judge,” Elwood said.

For the nomination of Elena Kagan in 2010, letters were sent by different categories of lawyers—such as former assistants and deputies to the solicitor general's office, and former Supreme Court law clerks. In 2009, a group of lawyers significantly different from the Kavanaugh and Gorsuch letter-writers supported nominee Sonia Sotomayor. At least two prominent Supreme Court advocates endorsed all four nominees: Morrison & Foerster's Maynard, and Sidley Austin's Phillips.

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Update: An earlier version of this report misidentified Christopher Landau's firm. He is now a partner at Quinn Emanuel, not Kirkland & Ellis. Additionally, Glen Nager is a partner at Jones Day, not Mayer Brown.