INTERIM AG HOLDS WISCONSIN LICENSE

Cedarburg Native, a D.O.J. Employee Since 2001, has held Wisconsin license since 2003, records show.

Exclusive to the readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne
Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, (Harvard '92) who was named today by President Bush as the interim replacement for departing Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, is a card-carrying member of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Clement, a native of Cedarburg in Ozaukee County, was granted Wisconsin bar membership 1046530 on May 29th, 2003, according to bar records. However, this is more than two years after he joined the Department of Justice, in February, 2001, after previous stints as a legal counsel to a congressional committee, and service as an attorney with two Washington, D.C. law firms, according to his official biography. Clement has also been a member of the District of Columbia Bar since May 3, 1996. He maintains good standing in both the Wisconsin and District of Columbia bars, but his entire career appears to have been based in Washington.
Why Clement chose to take up Wisconsin licensure after over a decade as a lawyer, and while in possession of a perfectly fine license in the Nation's Capital, where he apparently has been employed throughout his career, is not known. There is no indication that Clement has tried any circuit court cases in Wisconsin, whether as a prosecutor, plaintiff's attorney or defense attorney. However, reader Jeff Fleming calls to our attention Cramer's involvement in Tommy G. Thompson v. Warner Jackson, a seminal school choice case1995 filed under the original jurisdiction of the state supreme court, and represented the state in the case on appeal. He was assisted by his law partner at the time, Kenneth Starr, who, as special prosecutor, went on to try to fry Bill Clinton. But this is years before he got the 2003 Wisconsin license.
Although Clement's name has not yet surfaced as a permanent replacement to Gonzalez, [written Monday. As of Tuesday the name has surfaced.--Ed.] he is no stranger to taking the head seat after a period of interimship. He was Acting Solicitor General for a year until he took the helm in June, 2005.
If anybody can hazard a guess as to why the new Interim A.G. got himself a Wisconsin license in 2003 I'd like to hear it. (I've already dashed off a note to his office.) In any event, it appears that no other State Bar of Wisconsin member has ever scaled to the pinnacle of the Department of Justice, even interimly, so let's doff our cheesehead hats to him.

CANDIDATE FOR SUPERVISOR KICKS OFF RACE WEDNESDAY

Sebastian Raclaw, the Milwaukee Police Department detective who hopes to become 14th District Milwaukee County Supervisor, will make it official on Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 at Wilson Park Picnic Area #1 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. There will be food and refreshments, the campaign promises.The suggested donation for the event is $14.
Raclaw wants to take the seat which is either being held by or being vacated by longtime incumbent Richard Nyklewicz, 52, who has been in office since before he reached today's legal drinking age. Elected in 1975, Nyklewicz, then 20, was the youngest person ever elected to Milwaukee County's legislative body. The 14th District, located on Milwaukee's south side, is popularly known as "Where Milwaukee Meets the World," due to its most prominent feature, Mitchell International Airport.
--Michael Horne