Full Name
Noel J. Francisco, Esq.
Job Title
Partner-in-Charge
Company
Jones Day
Speaker Bio
Noel Francisco served as the 47th Solicitor General of the United States, from 2017 to 2020. He represents
clients in a broad array of civil and criminal litigation, challenges to federal and state laws and regulations, and
government investigations and enforcement actions. The matters he handles often have significant public policy
implications, including in the areas of global climate change, opioids, asbestos, tobacco, firearms, health care,
administrative law, free speech, religious liberty, and separation of powers.
Noel has argued some of the most important cases the Supreme Court has heard in recent years. For
example, he argued Trump v. Hawaii, where he successfully defended the president's orders restricting travel from
countries deemed to present security risks; Janus v. AFSCME, which upheld the First Amendment rights of public
employees who decline to join labor unions; Kisor v. Wilkie, which adopted his argument that the "Auer deference
doctrine" should be significantly curtailed but retained in its core applications; Apple Inc. v. Pepper, which
addressed whether Apple's App Store customers had standing to sue the company for antitrust violations; Knick
v. Township of Scott, which held that property owners could sue state and local governments in federal court to
vindicate Fifth Amendment takings claims; Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, which invalidated restrictions on the
president's authority to remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; McDonnell v. United
States, which reversed the federal bribery conviction of the governor of Virginia; NLRB v. Noel Canning, which
limited the president's constitutional recess appointments power; and Zubik v. Burwell, which challenged federal
insurance coverage regulations that violated Catholic organizations' religious beliefs.
Noel graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with honors in 1991
and a Juris Doctor with high honors in 1996. Following graduation from law school, he clerked for Judge J.
Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia of the
United States Supreme Court.
clients in a broad array of civil and criminal litigation, challenges to federal and state laws and regulations, and
government investigations and enforcement actions. The matters he handles often have significant public policy
implications, including in the areas of global climate change, opioids, asbestos, tobacco, firearms, health care,
administrative law, free speech, religious liberty, and separation of powers.
Noel has argued some of the most important cases the Supreme Court has heard in recent years. For
example, he argued Trump v. Hawaii, where he successfully defended the president's orders restricting travel from
countries deemed to present security risks; Janus v. AFSCME, which upheld the First Amendment rights of public
employees who decline to join labor unions; Kisor v. Wilkie, which adopted his argument that the "Auer deference
doctrine" should be significantly curtailed but retained in its core applications; Apple Inc. v. Pepper, which
addressed whether Apple's App Store customers had standing to sue the company for antitrust violations; Knick
v. Township of Scott, which held that property owners could sue state and local governments in federal court to
vindicate Fifth Amendment takings claims; Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, which invalidated restrictions on the
president's authority to remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; McDonnell v. United
States, which reversed the federal bribery conviction of the governor of Virginia; NLRB v. Noel Canning, which
limited the president's constitutional recess appointments power; and Zubik v. Burwell, which challenged federal
insurance coverage regulations that violated Catholic organizations' religious beliefs.
Noel graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with honors in 1991
and a Juris Doctor with high honors in 1996. Following graduation from law school, he clerked for Judge J.
Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia of the
United States Supreme Court.
Speaking At
