Washington, DC - Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti announced today that he has hired Todd Kim as the District’s first Solicitor General.  As Solicitor General, Mr. Kim will be responsible for all of the District’s appellate litigation before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

In announcing the newly created position, General Spagnoletti says the renaming of the Appellate Division to the Office of the Solicitor General will raise the profile of the hard work of the attorneys at the helm of the hundreds of cases handled on appeal each year on behalf of the District.  “Too often appellate litigation is considered an afterthought.  In fact, the work done on the behalf of the District before appellate courts is critical to the city’s firm positioning on matters that directly affect the lives of those who live, work and visit the city,” said General Spagnoletti.

General Spagnoletti commended the steady leadership of Deputy Attorney General Edward Schwab who currently heads the Appellate Division, saying Mr. Schwab’s efforts are what have allowed the Division to enter a new chapter in becoming the Office of the Solicitor General.  In thanking Mr. Schwab, General Spagnoletti also thanked Chuck Reischel, who headed the Division for 20 years until his untimely death in 2003.

Prior to becoming Solicitor General, Mr. Kim was an appellate attorney for the US Department of Justice.  He is graduate of Harvard Law School.