B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Georgetown University; J.D., New York University School of Law. Following graduation from Georgetown, Professor Butler served as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army, stationed for the most part in Germany. Professor Butler then attended law school at NYU, where he was Executive Editor of the NYU Law Review and published The Defense of Marriage Act: Congress’s Use of Narrative in the Debate Over Same-Sex Marriage, 73 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 841 (1998). Professor Butler clerked for Judge John Gleeson on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. He then practiced litigation and legislative advisory work with Covington & Burling and Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. While in private practice, Professor Butler represented civil rights groups in a successful challenge to a referendum petition to repeal Maryland’s Antidiscrimination Act of 2001, and represented the parents of slain Army soldier Barry Winchell in obtaining reforms to the Pentagon’s former “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy. Professor Butler then served as an Assistant Attorney General in Maryland, representing the State of Maryland in major litigation and advising state agencies and officials on legislative and policy matters. In 2010, Professor Butler became Senior Counsel with the IRS Office of Chief Counsel. Professor Butler is now Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division.
