William Consovoy

William Spencer Consovoy (August 31, 1974 – January 9, 2023) was an American attorney known for his advocacy for conservative causes. He helped found the law firm Consovoy McCarthy PLLC.

Early life and education William Spencer Consovoy was born on August 31, 1974, in Plainfield, New Jersey, and was raised in Florham Park. His family was involved in Republican Party politics: his grandfather, George Consovoy, was a mayor in central New Jersey, while his father, Andrew Consovoy, was a campaign aide to Thomas H. Kean and was appointed to the state's parole board after Kean was elected governor in 1981. Consovoy attended Monmouth University and then worked for the state parole agency. He later enrolled at the law school of George Mason University; while he initially intended to work in the field of sports law, that changed after his experience at George Mason, which The New York Times described as "transformative".

Career Consovoy clerked for Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and subsequently joined the Wiley Rein law firm, where he worked with several former clerks of U.S. Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas. They recommended Consovoy to the justice, and the former clerked for the latter, whom he later described "as my hero". In 2020, his firm fought against California's efforts to send all voters absentee ballots, extensions to Wisconsin's mail-in voting deadline, and felon re-enfranchisement in Florida. The New York Times described Consovoy as "a Trump lawyer who mixes Jersey guy affability with an affinity for some of the most divisive culture-wars legal disputes"; He died on January 9, 2023, at age 48.