Sam Adkisson is a great choice for the Eastern District of Tennessee. It’s an important court because it is within the conservative (and effective) Sixth Circuit and is populated with strong conservatives like Katie Crytzer and Thomas Varlan (whom Adkisson would succeed). It’s also one of the most consistently and reliably Republican areas in the country, dating back to its quasi-secession from the rest of Tennessee during the Civil War.
Adkisson is a legacy pick. He’s very young, it’s true, but his career has been highly impressive. Currently an associate counsel and special assistant to the president, he previously worked at the conservative powerhouse firm Cooper & Kirk and the once-and-now-increasingly conservative Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He clerked for the Chief Justice and before that Amul Thapar and Greg Katsas—two of the (if not the) best. In law school, he was a research assistant at my think tank, the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He’s held various leadership positions in the Federalist Society.
His time in practice, though relatively brief, has involved some of the most cutting-edge civil rights issues of our day, including the Students for Fair Admissions case. He’s handled election cases, criminal cases, and bankruptcy. He even sued the Texas bar to get Texas lawyers out of paying bar dues that support an ideological agenda.
As I said, Adkisson is a legacy pick. As Chairman Andrew Ferguson of the FTC put it to me, “I’ve worked with Sam since he graduated law school. He is one of the best lawyers of his generation. His appointment will define President Trump’s legacy — reshaping the Tennessee judiciary.”