How State SG Offices Became A Judicial Pipeline

Misha Tseytlin, a partner in Troutman Pepper Locke’s Appellate + Supreme Court Practice Group, was quoted in the August 3, 2026, Law360 article, “How State SG Offices Became a Judicial Pipeline.”

• But the doubling of the number of offices over the past 25 years is likely a result of expanding executive power, according to Misha Tseytlin, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP who served as solicitor general of Wisconsin from 2015 to 2018 under Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel.
• Tseytlin said the trend gained momentum with President Barack Obama, who, as Democrats lost control of the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014, relied increasingly on executive orders to push his policy agenda. The desire for a local response fostered solicitor general offices.
• “I think it’s a lot to do with the federal government, especially presidents of both parties, being very aggressive, either directly through executive orders or through their agencies, in attempting to expand the reach of the federal government beyond what Congress has authorized,” he said. “States are in a uniquely important position to be able to push back against that kind of federal overreach, and having a professional, well-credentialed solicitor general staff is a really great way to do that.”
• During Tseytlin’s tenure, he worked with 28 other states to fight the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, which would have required a reduction in carbon emissions from power plants. The states won emergency relief from the Supreme Court in what is widely regarded as the first “shadow docket” decision. Tseytlin continued to litigate the case during subsequent administrations.
• …
• Tseytlin noted blue states seem to be pivoting away from older, long-standing solicitors general, which could mean they, too, are a training ground for future judges.
• “If you have older solicitors general, it’s just less likely they’ll be put on the bench,” Tseytlin said. “My hunch is that those numbers are changing, so you might see different results in future administrations.”