Smart and very skilled that is building consensus. Two traits not listed on Kagan's resume but they sure won't hurt her chances of confirmation . CNN’s Kate Bowdoin has a close look.

Elena Kagan here congratulating retiring Justice John Paul Stevens on his long and distinguished career. If you ever argue before the Supreme Court, beware, underlying Justice Stevens' extraordinary politeness, extraordinary courtesy , danger awaits. Now the saluted general could feel the very seat just as Stevens's vacating at the end of this term.

A 50-year-old New York citizen native Kagan is a former dean of Harvard Law School where she received her law degree. She worked in the Clinton White House and is currently the federal government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court. She’s argued six cases herself since taken over the job in 2009. During confirmation hearings for that position some senators were skeptical Kagan had the necessary experience because she’s never been a judge and had it at that point never argued a case before the Supreme Court or any court for that matter. How are you gonna handle that? How are you gonna prepare yourself? I’m very confident that I’m up to this part of job as I am to all the many other parts. I think I bring up a life-time of learning and study of the law and particularly of the constitutional administrative law issues that form the core of the court stock. I think I bring up some of famously excellent teacher.

OK Bowdin joins us now from outside the Supreme Court. So Kate how unusual it was for a Supreme Court justice to have zero experience as a judge? It is unusual and I think it’s some 40 years since the last time this is happened. It really it cuts both ways. Well some say they are concerned about her thin judicial record because liberals would say they want to make sure she is a reliable liberal that everyone is very clear she is a democrat with a big but the question is this this is a nomination you can’t take this job back here. You know that so President Obama wants to be very sure and liberals especially wanna be very sure that whoever gets on that court they can rely on to be a very reliable liberal. You will hear that a little bit more but at the same time as I said cuts it the other way. Her limited paper trail also offers much less for conservative credits to go through.

To try to reprove and look at what she said on the record. So they can also work in her favor in that regard.