Chuck Darwin<p>In her Justice Department office in Washington, DC, a vase holds the evidence of how busy the 48th <a href="https://c.im/tags/solicitor" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>solicitor</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/general" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>general</span></a> of the United States has been: </p><p>In it, a collection of quills<br />—an old-time souvenir the Supreme Court gives every advocate who argues there<br />—serves as a reminder of her nearly four years standing up for the government. </p><p>Despite this visibility and all the attention and praise she gets from people who follow the Supreme Court closely, <br />most Americans would be hard-pressed to name one solicitor general, <br />let alone explain what this government lawyer does. </p><p>It may be the most low-key influential job you’ve never heard of, <br />tasked with defending the United States and its interests before the high court<br />—the only presidentially appointed officer required to be “learned in the law.” </p><p>That qualification doesn’t exist for the attorney general or even the justices of the Supreme Court.</p><p><a href="https://c.im/tags/ElizabethPrelogar" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ElizabethPrelogar</span></a><br /><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/elizabeth-prelogar-solicitor-general" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">vanityfair.com/news/story/eliz</span><span class="invisible">abeth-prelogar-solicitor-general</span></a></p>