Former Utah Solicitor General Tyler Green is joining the Washington-area litigation boutique Consovoy McCarthy, the firm widely known for its advocacy for President Donald Trump in his effort to stop U.S. congressional investigators and New York prosecutors from obtaining his financial records.

Green, a former clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas during the 2009-10 term, is a partner in the now 12-lawyer firm that was started in 2014 by William Consovoy and Thomas McCarthy, formerly classmates at George Mason University School of Law. Green will be based in Salt Lake City.

With the addition of Green, the firm is now home to five former U.S. Supreme Court clerks, including three other Thomas alums: Consovoy, partner Patrick Strawbridge and associate Cameron Norris. Jeffrey Harris, also a partner, clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts Jr.

"Tyler has been a good friend for more than a decade, and we are all delighted to have him join our firm," Harris said. "His background and experience make him a perfect fit to help grow some of our core practice areas, such as constitutional and appellate law, representation of states and government entities, and regulatory and administrative law."

Before joining the firm, Green served as the Utah state solicitor general for five years. He oversaw all civil and criminal appellate matters in which Utah or its officers or agencies were a party. He has argued cases in state and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2015 case, Utah v. Strieff.

A graduate of the University of Utah College of Law, Green also clerked for former Judge Michael McConnell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and former U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell of Utah. He began his career at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Green earlier served as deputy chief counsel for litigation at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center before entering public service. His co-clerks for Thomas during the 2009 term were Brian Morrissey, now deputy general counsel at the U.S. Treasury Department; Elizabeth Papez, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; and Marah Stith McLeod, who teaches at Notre Dame Law School.

Tyler Green Tyler Green (courtesy photo)

"The job in the [solicitor general's] office was a dream job," Green said. "But government jobs are not career positions, and it's probably good for the office and government to get fresh blood in to bring a different energy to the job. When this opportunity [with Consovoy McCarthy] came up to work with my closest friends at a firm that is one of the preeminent litigation boutiques in the country, it was too hard to pass up."

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the legal business world because of the coronavirus, Harris said the firm will have a summer associates program, bringing eight or nine into the firm at various points.

"Although a lot of firms are retrenching, we still have a robust practice," Harris added.

The firm's Strawbridge will argue Tuesday on behalf of Trump in the combined Supreme Court cases, Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Deutsche Bank. Trump challenges subpoenas to his accounting firm and banks by U.S. House investigating committees seeking the president's financial records.

Consovoy McCarthy has become increasingly active in the Supreme Court over the past several years. Last year, Harris, making his Supreme Court debut, argued Title VII of federal civil rights law does not accord protections to gay and lesbian workers against workplace discrimination. The Supreme Court recently said it would hear another Consovoy McCarthy case, CIS Services Inc. v IRS, a tax dispute from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Stawbridge was counsel of record on the petition.

"This case presents an exceptionally important question about the relationship between the APA and the Anti-Injunction Act: Does the Anti-Injunction Act override the APA and insulate agency action from pre-enforcement review whenever an agency enforces that action with a penalty that it labels as a tax?" Strawbridge wrote.

The law firm brought a petition on behalf of Living Essentials, the maker of the 5-Hour Energy drink. The petition, still pending, challenges a Washington state enforcement action that alleged the company has made deceptive consumer claims.

Consovoy McCarthy has done legal work for, or is currently working for, states including Alaska, Maine, Georgia and Florida. Public records show Consovoy bills at $950 an hour, but at times he will discount the rate for state clients. J. Michael Connolly, a partner at the firm, also bills at $950 hourly.

A former Consovoy McCarthy name partner, Michael Park, reported earning income of $373,000 in 2017 and $577,000 in 2018 before his confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.