The tributes flowed in when Michael Dreeben retired last summer from the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office after 30 years of government service and 105 arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Noel Francisco said that Dreeben knows “more about criminal law than anyone else on Earth.” Former Solicitor General Donald Verrilli described him as a “three-star Michelin chef” for his skill in managing the federal criminal docket. And his predecessor as deputy solicitor general for criminal cases, Federal Circuit Judge William Bryson, praised his willingness to stand up to prosecutors in order to protect the integrity of the Department of Justice.