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Elected Member

Douglas
Hallward-Driemeier

Location
Washington, DC, USA
Affiliation
Ropes & Gray LLP
Education
DePauw University
University of Oxford, M.Phil
Harvard Law School

Douglas Hallward-Driemeier is a partner at Ropes & Gray LLP, where he leads the firm’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice. He has presented more than 50 appellate arguments, including before the U.S. Supreme Court and every federal circuit court of appeals. Mr. Hallward-Driemeier serves as an Adviser on the Restatement of the Law Fourth, the Foreign Relations Law of the United States: Sovereign Immunity project.

He has briefed and argued both civil and criminal matters covering a wide range of subjects and has particular experience in the areas of intellectual property, bankruptcy, the False Claims Act, securities litigation, and antitrust. Mr. Hallward-Driemeier has also extensive experience litigating issues of concern to companies and foreign governments with international activities, including the Alien Tort Statute, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, and forum non conveniens.

Mr. Hallward-Driemeier rejoined the firm in 2010 after spending more than a decade handling civil appeals and Supreme Court litigation for the U.S. Department of Justice. Between 2004 and 2009, he was an Assistant to the Solicitor General, where he briefed and argued cases on behalf of the United States before the Supreme Court. He has argued sixteen cases before the Supreme Court and filed more than 150 briefs in that Court. In 2015, he argued before the Supreme Court in the highly publicized landmark marriage equality case (Obergefell v. Hodges) and in a key bankruptcy case regarding whether an order denying confirmation of a bankruptcy plan is appealable (Bullard v. Blue Hills Bank).

Member News

Traynor on Liberty, Law, and Democracy

In his essay "Liberty, Law, and Democracy: Are There Grounds for Realistic Optimism?" Michael Traynor, former President of The American Law Institute, reflects on the challenges facing American democracy amid political polarization and institutional strain. He examines threats to the balance between liberty and law, citing dysfunction across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, while drawing on historical context and recent scholarship to frame these concerns.

Despite his sober assessment, Traynor maintains a guarded optimism rooted in America’s resilience, civic traditions, and individual potential to effect change. He highlights positive actions within the legal community, nonprofit organizations, and among engaged citizens, while outlining five practical steps Americans can take to strengthen democracy: improving civic education, demanding accountability, fostering open debate, participating in elections and local governance, and resisting simplistic solutions.

Traynor concludes that democracy is “stubborn work,” incremental, imperfect, and ongoing, but expresses confidence that Americans have the resolve to preserve it.

Read the full article The New Nationalist

Michael Traynor is senior counsel at Cobalt LLP in Berkeley California. He served as ALI President from 2000 to 2008, and as Chair of the Council from 2008 to 2011. He is also a recipient of ALI's Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Traynor is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.   He received the John P. Frank Outstanding Lawyer Award from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is an honorary life trustee of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and of Earthjustice and a past President (1973) of the Bar Association of San Francisco.