Neal Kumar Katyal

He campaigned, he lobbied, he made calls.

Just a few days before the argument, about two weeks,

The Washington Post runs an editorial somehow, and I'm going to read this to you word for word.

Strategic mistake.

I read it over breakfast.

Look, I don't begrudge the guy.

I mean, whatever.

I had more important things to do because I wasn't replaced.

Up I walked to that mahogany podium, and I won.

The president's tariffs declared unconstitutional.

Okay, look, I know how this sounds.

Lawyer wins big case, gets a fancy TED Talk invitation, talks for 14 minutes about how great he is.

I've seen that guy at dinner parties.

Nobody stays for dessert.

So that's not what this is.

This is the behind-the-scenes story of four teachers that helped me connect.

And it's also about one secret that I've never told anyone about when I walked out of that courtroom.

First connection I needed was with myself.

I was terrified of blowing the case, and that Washington Post editorial didn't help matters.

A month before the argument, I met Ben.