Attorney David Eduard Mills ’99 had his day in court yesterday — U.S. Supreme Court, that is — and joined the very small, very select group of lawyers who are asked to speak before the nine justices.
The fact that Mills accomplished this rare feat as a 33-year-old operating a solo appellate law practice that he runs out of his Cleveland apartment makes it even more remarkable, and newsworthy.
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| David E. Mills graduated with honors from the University of Michigan Law School in 2002. (Photo courtesy of Cleveland Plain Dealer) |
Mills, who majored in math and drew editorial cartoons for the Maroon-News student newspaper while at Colgate, has been the subject of several lengthy newspaper stories that focused on his unusual path to the Supreme Court.
An article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer pointed out that fewer than 1 in 10,000 practicing attorneys ever stand at the Supreme Court lectern and that most lawyers who do are veteran appellate attorneys from large firms.
Mills works with a staff of one: his mother, Elisabeth, who is a part-time paralegal.
A major profile in the ABA Journal discussed how Mills gave up a lucrative practice at a large international firm two years ago to go solo as a federal appellate lawyer. He had only $20,000 in the bank, no paying clients, and no guaranteed sources of income.
“I wanted to create my own reality,” said Mills. “Now, don’t get me wrong — there have been a lot of tough times the past two years. I had to borrow $5,000 from my little brother [to pay bills], and I have eaten a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”
All that is expected to change dramatically, and already has to some extent, as word spreads about Mills’s appearance before the high court to argue in the Ortiz vs. Jordan case, which revolves around the issue of summary judgments.
“I’m getting calls to speak at law conferences. There is probably no better way to advertise than to argue a case at the Supreme Court,” said Mills, who also is an adjunct professor of law at the Case Western University School of Law.