India-born lawyers seem to be climbing up the legal ladder in the United States with alarming speed. Another instance of the Indian American success story is the appointment of legal whiz Neal K. Katyal as the Acting Solicitor General. With present Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s nomination to the US Supreme Court, Katyal’s appointment to the office vacated by Kagan has been virtually confirmed.

Katyal who was the Principal Deputy Solicitor General to Kagan, is a Darthmouth and Yale Law School graduate has been racking up plaudits ever since he first stepped into the legal field as the National Security Advisor in the US Department of Justice.

Katyal is perhaps best known as the counsel in the landmark Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, where he defended Osama bin Laden’s chauffer before the US Supreme Court, where he was successful in challenging the policy of military trials at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba. He was also a co-counsel on Al Gore’s legal team in the Bush vs. Gore case after the 2000 US election results were announced.

The definition that comes closest to describing Katyal’s main passion, though, would be his illustrious teaching career. Currently the Paul and Patricia Saunders Professor of National Security Law at Georgetown University’s Law Centre, he is also a visiting professor at the Harvard and Yale law schools.

Son of Punjabi Indian immigrant parents, the 40-year old Katyal has been consistently rated amongst the top legal minds in the US. American Lawyer recently featured him as one of their “Top 45 under 45" litigators. Neal Katyal’s main interest lies in constitutional law and his views have been featured in various prominent news channels and newspapers.