National Law Journal Names Covington’s Long a 'Champion'
July 11, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC, July 11, 2012 — The National Law Journal named Covington & Burling partner Robert Long a “Champion” as part of a special report honoring Washington lawyers who have advanced the practice of law in Washington and beyond the Beltway.
For the fifth year running, The National Law Journal selected “Champions and Visionaries” from the Washington legal community. Champions are selected for upholding the profession’s core values through public service, pro bono efforts, and advocacy for civil liberties. Visionaries are lawyers whose legal acumen has expanded their firms, improved government, or advanced the legal profession.
Mr. Long, chair of the firm’s Appellate and Supreme Court practice, was singled out for his pro bono participation as an amicus curiae in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida, which marked his 17th argument before the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court invited Mr. Long to argue that the court challenge to the federal health law’s individual mandate was precluded by the 1867 Anti-Injunction Act, which bars challenges to federal taxes until such time as they have been paid.
As has been widely reported, the Court declined to rule that the challenges to the statute were premature, but did hold that the mandate was a tax. In its profile of Mr. Long, The National Law Journal observed that, “Long garnered a compliment from the Court when he concluded his oral argument. ‘Mr. Long, you were invited by this Court to defend the proposition that the Anti-Injunction Act barred this litigation,’ Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. said during the hearing. ‘You have ably carried out that responsibility, for which the Court is grateful.’”
Recipients of The National Law Journal’s Champions and Visionaries feature will be honored for their achievements on September 20 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
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