Hogan Lovells partner Neal Katyal was heading upstairs to phone in to his U.S. Supreme Court argument in a key immigration case Tuesday when he paused to tweet that his opponent would be “1 of my favorite” former associates and subsequent firm partner, Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General Colleen Sinzdak.

The unusual faceoff between current and former Hogan Lovells partners began with good luck wishes and ended with high praise for the “junior” advocate.