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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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Third-highest paid defender in the world to be RELEASED a year before his £390,000-a-week contract ends

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  • Third-highest paid defender in the world has fallen out with manager
  • He arrived in 2023 but is set to sever ties and will be looking for a new club
  • LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why Liverpool fans must not let Trent Alexander-Arnold row spoil their title party

By WILL GRIFFEE

Published: | Updated:

Aymeric Laporte‘s incredible £390,000-a-week contract is coming to an end prematurely in Saudi Arabia. 

The former Manchester City centre-back, who is currently the third-highest paid defender in world football, has agreed to cut ties with Al Nassr, according to AS. 

He is reported to have a difficult relationship with manager Stefano Pioli and is now expected to leave the club in the coming days despite his deal being signed until 2026. 

He was excluded from the Asian Champions League semi-final game against Kawasaki Frontale in the clearest indication that he’s heading for an exit. 

Laporte’s eye-watering contract puts him third on the list of highest-paid defenders, behind Kalidou Koulibaly‘s £553,225-per-week and Virgil van Dijk‘s new deal worth around £400,000-per-week. 

While the 30-year-old will not find his next contract to be as lucrative outside of Saudi, there will still be plenty of interest in his signature. 

Aymeric Laporte is set to leave Al Nassr before his lucrative contract expires in 2026

The Euro 2024 winner is the third-highest paid defender in world football 

Laporte is reported to have fallen out with manager Stefano Pioli at the Saudi side

Real Madrid were said to be interested in him previously and are in the market for a defender, though seem likely to target a younger player. 

And Marseille are currently among the front-runners to recruit him on a free transfer. 

Laporte was part of the starting line-up for Spain when they beat England in the final of Euro 2024. 

He showed he can still perform at the top level and has been a stalwart for Al Nassr, the same side Cristiano Ronaldo plays for. 

But it seems any acrimony is too much to overcome and his future lies elsewhere, having joined the club for £23.6million. 

Al Nassr ended up losing the Asian Champions League semi-final 3-2 and the team are also seemingly out of the title race. 

They are currently third, 11 points behind leaders Al Ittihad and five points behind Al Hilal in second. 



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