IJ Attorney Clark Neily: A Black Belt In Litigation

IJ Attorney Clark Neily: A Black Belt In Litigation

By Chip Mellor

Meet Clark Neily. IJ’s newest legal gunslinger hails from Texas where he spent four years as a litigator for the large Dallas law firm, Thompson and Knight. Prior to that, Clark served as a law clerk for Judge Royce Lamberth on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Clark attended the University of Texas Law School and received his B.A. degree in Philosophy and Russian from the University of Texas as well.

Clark holds black belts in tae kwon do and judo. Never one content to just go through the motions, Clark competed successfully in college in full contact kick boxing. Clark notes, “I find interesting parallels between litigation and martial arts-both require patience and discipline, combined with the ability to adapt quickly and move aggressively to take advantage of an opponent’s weaknesses.”

A world traveler who spent a lot of time in Southeast Asia, Nepal, and Russia, Clark plans to keep his considerable energies focused on domestic travel for the foreseeable future as he crosses the nation suing bureaucrats. This is certainly no easy task, but Clark is up for the challenge: “All of IJ’s cases are uphill battles, but I love representing the underdog. Our clients are committed and they are passionate-it is impossible not to be inspired by them.”

Chip Mellor is the Institute’s president and general counsel.