Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. will deliver the 2026 George Barrett Social Justice Lecture on March 5. In his talk, titled “Civic Courage, the Rule of Law, and the Legal Profession at a Crossroads,” Mr. Verrilli will reflect on the role that the legal profession has played, and failed to play, in defending the rule of law against the authoritarian challenges of the past year.
The 2026 Barrett Lecture is part of Dialogue Vanderbilt’s 250 Conversations on America: Civil Discourse in Action, a yearlong series celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary and Vanderbilt’s enduring commitment to open dialogue.
Mr. Verrilli is a partner with Munger, Tolles & Olson and founder of their Washington, D.C. office. He is one of the nation’s premier Supreme Court and appellate advocates. In 2025, the Southern Center for Human Rights recognized him as a 2025 Frederick Douglass Award honoree for his leadership in standing up for the rule of law and the integrity of the legal profession in response to executive orders by President Trump seeking to punish law firms for the stances they have taken on behalf of their clients. Since joining the firm, he has handled numerous significant cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, including victories in Moore v. Harper, which rejected the independent state legislature, California v. Texas, which upheld the Affordable Care Act, and Financial Oversight and Management Board v. Aurelius, which upheld the constitutionality of the federal law establishing the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico.
In addition to handling matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the courts of appeals, Don’s practice focuses on representing and counseling clients on multi-dimensional problems, where litigation, regulation and public policy intersect to shape markets and industries in our evolving economy. He is recognized as a Star Individual by Chambers USA and was named “Lawyer of the Year” for his appellate work in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
He served as Solicitor General of the United States from June 2011 to June 2016. During his time as Solicitor General, he argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, including landmark decisions upholding the Affordable Care Act (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius and King v. Burwell) and recognizing marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges). Before serving as Solicitor General, Don served as Deputy White House Counsel, and previously as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice. In those positions, he counseled President Obama, Cabinet secretaries and other senior government officials on a wide range of legal issues involving national security, economic regulation, domestic policy and the scope of executive and administrative authority.
Mr. Verrilli is also a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches classes on the First Amendment and on the Supreme Court. He previously taught First Amendment law for many years at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Community members may register for the event here.
The annual George Barrett Social Justice Lecture is sponsored by the George Barrett Social Justice Program. The George Barrett Social Justice Program was named, endowed, and expanded in honor of George Barrett ’57. “Citizen Barrett,” as he was widely known, was a civil rights pioneer. He represented student protesters in the Nashville sit-in movement, labor unions working to protect workers’ rights, and shareholders and consumers wronged by corporate malfeasance. He was best known for leading a decades-long and ultimately successful legal battle to desegregate Tennessee’s public institutions of higher learning.