| Edwin Kneedler | |
| Office: | Acting Solicitor General of the United States |
| President: | George W. Bush Barack Obama |
| Term Start: | January 16, 2009 |
| Term End: | March 19, 2009 |
| Predecessor: | Gregory G. Garre |
| Successor: | Elena Kagan |
| Birth Date: | 4 January 1946 |
| Education: | Lehigh University (BA) University of Virginia (JD) |
Edwin Smiley Kneedler (born January 4, 1946) is an American lawyer who has served as Deputy United States Solicitor General since 1993. As of June 2020, he has argued more cases before the Supreme Court of the United States than any other active advocate.
Kneedler graduated from North Penn High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1963. He attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.A. in economics in 1967.[1]
After graduating from Lehigh University, Kneedler served as a AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer in Oregon.[2] He then earned a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1974.
From 1974 until 1975, he clerked for Judge James R. Browning on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[3]
Kneedler was admitted to the bar of the state of Oregon in 1975.[4]
In October 1975, Kneedler joined the Office of Legal Counsel in the United States Department of Justice. In June 1979, he joined the office of the Solicitor General in June 1979. He was appointed a Deputy Solicitor General in 1993.[3]
On March 17, 2008, he argued his 100th case before the United States Supreme Court.[5] On April 27, 2022, he argued his 150th case before the Supreme Court.[6]
On January 16, 2009, he was appointed by Bush to replace Gregory G. Garre, whose term as Solicitor General ended January 16, 2009.[7] Kneedler became Acting U.S. Solicitor General on January 20, 2009, at the end of the George W. Bush administration. On March 19, 2009, Kneedler's tenure as Acting United States Solicitor General ended with the confirmation of Elena Kagan.