James C. Ho is a partner in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He has over a decade of government experience, including all three branches of the federal government, and most recently as Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate lawyer.
An experienced appellate, business, and constitutional litigator, Mr. Ho has litigated successfully in courts across the country, prevailing in well over 75% of his arguments. His amicus briefs have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Seventh Circuits.
In addition, Mr. Ho counsels clients on constitutional issues and legal strategy in disputes involving the executive and legislative branches of state and federal government and in other adversarial contexts. He has testified before Congress and the Texas Legislature.
Mr. Ho has been “repeatedly recognized by legal organizations as one of the most skilled appellate advocates in the country” (Benchmark Appellate), and has been named among the nation’s leading lawyers by The National Law Journal, Law360, Texas Lawyer, and Texas Super Lawyers. Benchmark Appellate stated that “[h]is oral and written appellate advocacy skills are nationally regarded,” while Law360 noted his “impressive string of victories before state and federal appeals courts,” and The National Law Journal placed him among the “upper echelons of Supreme Court practice.”
Government and Public Service Experience
As Solicitor General of Texas, Mr. Ho represented and counseled Attorney General Greg Abbott and other government officials and agencies in the State’s most difficult legal disputes. He has the highest win rate at the U.S. Supreme Court of any Texas solicitor general, and is the first state solicitor general in the nation to be invited by the Court to express the views of a state. He also received three Supreme Court Best Brief Awards from the National Association of Attorneys General.
In addition, Mr. Ho has served in all three branches of the federal government. On Capitol Hill, he was named one of the best 35 Congressional aides under 35 by The Hill, for his service as chief counsel to Senator John Cornyn and to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on the Constitution and Immigration. At the Justice Department, he helped lead the Civil Rights Division, and then worked at the Office of Legal Counsel, where he advised White House and other senior officials on constitutional and other complex legal issues. He also served as a law clerk for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court.
His record of public service also includes appointments to numerous boards and commissions. Mr. Ho is actively involved in judicial appointments as a member of the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee established by U.S. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, and the U.S. Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Northern District of Texas. He has also served on the Continuity of Government Commission and the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Before law school, he was a legislative aide to State Senator Quentin Kopp.
Other Background Information
Mr. Ho is a frequent commentator on legal issues. He has taught U.S. Supreme Court Litigation as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law. He has served as co-editor of Pub. L. Misc., and as senior editor of the Green Bag. He is also involved in numerous national, statewide, and local organizations.
Taiwanese by birth and Texan by marriage, Mr. Ho is an active member of the Asian American legal community. He is co-chair of the Judiciary Committee of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and a recipient of the Association’s Presidential Award.
Mr. Ho graduated from Stanford University with honors and a B.A. in Public Policy, and the University of Chicago Law School with high honors. His wife Allyson, a successful appellate litigator, recently gave birth to twins, Quentin & Georgia.
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