Former Powell Clerk Paul Cane to Deliver Distinguished Lecture On Feb. 3 at 5:00 pm, Cane will give a talk titled “Serving Justice: Clerking for Lewis Powell, and His Timeless Lessons for Young Lawyers.”

By Peter Jetton
January 28, 2022

Attorney Paul W. Cane Jr., a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, will deliver the annual Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Distinguished Lecture. The title of Cane’s talk is “Serving Justice: Clerking for Lewis Powell, and His Timeless Lessons for Young Lawyers.”

The event is scheduled for February 3 at 5:00 p.m. in the Millhiser Moot Court Room, Sydney Lewis Hall on the campus of Washington and Lee University. The event is free and open to the public.

Cane is a senior counsel in the Employment Law practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. Mr. Cane represents management in employment matters. His principal focus is major motions and appeals.

Cane has briefed and argued numerous cases in the state and federal courts of appeals, including the California Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court. He has a special expertise in appeals involving pre-dispute arbitration agreements.

Cane is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the law school at the University of California at Berkeley, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the California Law Review. Before joining Paul Hastings in 1981, he served as law clerk to United States Supreme Court Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr.

The students at Washington and Lee University School of Law founded the Lewis Powell, Jr. Distinguished Lecture Series in 2002 in honor of Justice Powell ’29A, ’31L, who was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972.  Justice Powell’s judicial legacy was defined by a respect for both sides in a dispute and a desire to craft judicial opinions that struck a middle ground.  The student-run lecture series features nationally prominent speakers who embody Powell’s spirit in their life and work.