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After a routine Supreme Court argument on Wednesday, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked the lawyer who had represented the government to return to the lectern.

“You have just presented your 160th argument before this court, and I understand it is intended to be your last,” the chief justice told the lawyer, Edwin S. Kneedler, who is retiring as a deputy solicitor general. “That is the record for modern times.”

Chief Justice Roberts talked a little more, with affection and high praise, thanking Mr. Kneedler for his “extraordinary care and professionalism.”

Then something remarkable happened. Applause burst out in the courtroom, and that led to a standing ovation for Mr. Kneedler, with the justices joining, too.

“It was a rare moment of unanimity and spontaneous joy from all nine justices on the bench,” said Richard Lazarus, a law professor at Harvard. “They were all beaming.”

Kannon Shanmugam, a veteran Supreme Court lawyer, said it was “one of the most electric moments I’ve ever seen in the courtroom.”

The tribute to Mr. Kneedler’s candor and integrity came against the backdrop of a different kind of courtroom behavior. In the early months of the second Trump administration, its lawyers have been accused of gamesmanship, dishonesty and defiance, and have been fired for providing frank answers to judges.

Mr. Kneedler presented a different model, former colleagues said.

“Ed is the embodiment of the government lawyer ideal — one whose duty of candor to the court and interest in doing justice, not just winning a case, always carried the day,” said Gregory G. Garre, who served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush.

Mr. Shanmugam said Mr. Kneedler’s loyalty was to the rule of law. “He would much rather get the law right at the risk of losing,” Mr. Shanmugam said, “than win at the cost of misrepresenting the law.”

Seth P. Waxman, who was solicitor general in the Clinton administration, said Mr. Kneedler was the opposite of a partisan.

“In all the years that I worked with Ed in the Justice Department, I did not know his politics,” Mr. Waxman said.

Mr. Kneedler joined the Office of the Solicitor General, the elite unit of the Justice Department that represents the federal government in the Supreme Court, in 1979, served in many administrations and helped tutor the solicitors general who came and went.

“I was incredibly lucky to have Ed as a deputy when I was S.G.,” Justice Elena Kagan, who served as solicitor general in the Obama administration, said in a statement. “There’s pretty much no legal question he can’t answer. And he has a bone-deep understanding of the traditions and ethos of the S.G.’s office.”

She added: “I learned from him every day, and I did my job far better because he was there. In all the time I’ve spent in government, I’ve never known a finer public servant.”

That was something like a consensus view among former solicitors general. Mr. Waxman, for instance, called Mr. Kneedler “a national treasure.”

Noel J. Francisco, the solicitor general in the first Trump administration, said that Mr. Kneedler was “not just a font of knowledge, but of wisdom.”

Elizabeth B. Prelogar, the solicitor general in the Biden administration, said that “Ed Kneedler represents the very best of what it means to be a lawyer for the United States.”

Mr. Kneedler’s retirement is part of a wave of departures from the solicitor general’s office, which is quite small. After the solicitor general and a handful of deputies, there are just 16 line lawyers. About half of them are leaving, The Washington Post reported this month.

Mr. Kneedler, 79, did not respond to requests for an interview. When he received an award this month from the University of Virginia’s law school, his alma mater, he said he was “a career civil servant, not in the press if I can avoid it.”

At the ceremony, Mr. Kneedler gave extended remarks, making points that in another era might have seemed unremarkable. These days, they verged on provocative.

Calling himself a “citizen lawyer,” he praised the many federal employees he had worked with, saying he had been impressed by their “compassion and understanding for our country, and dedication to our country.”

He said his office analyzed legal issues with rigor and care, at least in cases on the court’s regular docket. Since Mr. Trump took office in January, the government has filed a torrent of emergency applications on what critics call the court’s shadow docket.

“When we don’t have emergencies like we have a number of now,” Mr. Kneedler said, “we have a very structured decision-making process.”

Leslie Kendrick, the Virginia law school’s dean, asked Mr. Kneedler a few questions, one of which was premised on his office’s “commitment to providing nonpartisan representation for the United States, regardless of cause, regardless of the political leadership of the other two branches.”

Mr. Kneedler did not quite adopt the premise. “We are lawyers for the United States,” he said, “and the administration in office is the ultimate determiner of what the interests of the United States are.”

But he ended his remarks on a hopeful note. “We’re all part of a process that is leading us to a more perfect union,” he said, “which means a union in which we are coming together, not apart.”

Before the standing ovation at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Chief Justice Roberts, himself a veteran of the solicitor general’s office, added what he called a personal note as he spoke to Mr. Kneedler.

“I recall that on two occasions you and I argued on the same side here, me representing a private client and you the United States,” the chief justice said. “We lost each of those cases. I’m sure it was my fault. Mr. Kneedler, thank you for your outstanding service to court and country.”

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Ruben Amorim offers Man Utd resignation ‘without compensation’ after Europa League defeat

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Following their disappointing defeat in the Europa League against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening, Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has said he would leave the club without compensation, if the club no longer want him as head coach.

Just six months into his tenure, and only one transfer window, the Red Devils boss Amorim has already been discussing his potential exit.

Amidst the club’s current financial turmoil, the Portuguese has insisted that he would be happy to leave any compensation owed to him if Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Man Utd co-owner, decides he is not the man for the job next season.

In rather ambiguous fashion, Amorim said after the game: “I have nothing to show to the fans, so in this moment it is a little bit of faith. Let’s see.

Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim’s side lost 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao on Wednesday evening

PA

“I am always open. If the board and fans feel I am not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit.

“I am really confident on my job. And as you see, I will not change nothing in the way I do things.”

The Europa League final on Wednesday evening gave both Tottenham Hotspur and Man Utd the opportunity to salvage some positivity in a downright dismal season for both clubs.

European silverware, Champions League qualification and £100million of extra revenue were on the line. Unfortunately, Amorim’s side never turned up on the night and fell to a messy first half Brennan Johnson goal.

JUST IN: Tottenham end 17-year wait for a trophy by beating Man Utd to land Europa League glory

Ange Postecoglou ended Spurs’ 17-year wait for a trophy, while United enter the season without European football for the first time in 11 years

PA

Despite the huge disappointment of the evening and the season as a whole, Amorim insisted he would be able to continue to improve the club: “Yes, I’m confident that I’m the guy, more so now than at the beginning.

“Because I know the club, I know what it means to coach this club, I understand what this team needs. I have more tools to do my job.”

“I have realised so much in my confidence that I can do the job.

READ MORE: What Harry Maguire told Cristian Romero during Europa League final battle as Tottenham beat Man Utd

“In this moment, I am not going to be here defending myself. It is not my style. In this moment, it is a little bit of faith [needed].”

It is not the first time the 40-year-old boss has asked for faith in the north west, as it was recently reported he had to be convinced to stay at the club in January, with the board reiterating their belief he was the right man for the job.

On the night, Amorim was adamant his side were the better team: “It was clear we were the better team, then we manage not to score again. The guys try everything to win the game. In the future, we can assess.

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Ruben Amorim insisted his side ‘were the better team’ despite falling to defeat

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“I was always really honest with you. We were not perfect today, but we were better than the opponents. There are days when we have been really poor, but today was not the day.”

Missing out on extra revenue provides further financial challenges for the club moving forward, but failing to qualify for Europe narrows the ever-decreasing pool of players that could be attracted to the project in Manchester.

“We have two plans, even for the market, and we need to understand it is tough for a club like ours not to be in the Champions League,” he said on the club failing to qualify for any European competition for the first time in 11 years.

“But we have more time and have time to be better during the week and in the Premier League, and that will be our focus.”

Having more focus on improving the basics – such as their domestic form – should, in theory, enable the cub to once again be chasing European qualification via the league.

However, with their financial troubles, questions surrounding the manager and a below-par squad, the future is looking very bleak for Manchester United at this moment in time.

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