~ Heytens has returned to UVA following three-year leave to work in OAG; Deputy SG Michelle Kallen to become Acting SG as first woman to serve in this capacity and leading first all-female SG team in Virginia history ~

RICHMOND (August 6, 2021) – Attorney General Mark R. Herring today announced that Solicitor General Toby Heytens has returned to teach at the University of Virginia, following a three-year leave of absence to work in the Office of Attorney General (OAG). Current Deputy Solicitor General Michelle Kallen will serve as Acting Solicitor General. Kallen is the first woman to serve in this capacity and she will lead also lead the first all-female Solicitor General team in Virginia history.

As Solicitor General, Heytens successfully defended Virginia’s gun safety measures from gun lobby attacks, fought to have the divisive Lee statue removed from its place of prominence in Richmond, and successfully defended Virginia’s historic anti-discrimination laws in court against attacks from conservative activists. Heytens has argued several times in front of the U.S. Supreme Court during his time as Solicitor General, including successfully dismissing the House Republicans’ attempt to protect racially gerrymandered districts in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill and upholding Virginia’s moratorium on uranium mining.

“Toby and his team have done incredible work fighting to ensure equality, opportunity, and justice for all Virginians. Under his leadership, we successfully defended Virginia’s proven-effective gun violence prevention laws, fought to bring down the Lee statue once and for all, and successfully defended the landmark Virginia Values Act against conservative legal attacks. I want to thank Toby for his dedication and service to the people of Virginia and for being an invaluable member of my team – his wealth of knowledge and bright personality will be sorely missed in the office,” said Attorney General Herring.

Before joining the OAG in 2018, Heytens had taught in various capacities at the University of Virginia School of Law, most recently serving as the David H. Ibbeken '71 Research Professor of Law and co-director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at UVA Law. Heytens previously worked for three years in the Office of the Solicitor General of the United States. He has also served as a law clerk to The Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Supreme Court of the United States and to then-Chief Judge Edward R. Becker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has also worked in private practice, serving as an associate and as counsel at O'Melveny & Myers LLP. Heytens is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.

“I’m also thrilled that, under the new leadership of Michelle Kallen, Virginia will have its first all-female Solicitor General’s office, and I look forward to all that they will achieve,” added Attorney General Herring.

Michelle Kallen has been Deputy Solicitor General since 2018. Prior to joining the OAG, Kallen was an associate at both Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. She also clerked for Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. As Deputy Solicitor General, she has argued more than a dozen cases before the Supreme Court of Virginia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and other state and federal courts. Kallen has lead Attorney General Herring’s landmark lawsuit to have the Equal Rights Amendment recognized as the 28^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution following Virginia’s ratification in January 2020. Additionally, Kallen has worked on numerous lawsuits filed against the Trump Administration’s various policy changes that would have restricted a woman’s right to reproductive healthcare and a change to the public charge rule that said an immigrant who is legally in the country could have their legal status revoked, or even be deported, if he or she utilizes certain forms of assistance, including medical care. 

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