Director, Digital Media, Communications and Fellow, R Street Institute
Shoshana Weissmann manages R Street’s social media, email marketing and other digital assets. She also works on occupational licensing reform, social media regulatory policy, Section 230 and other issues, and has written for various publications, including The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
Shoshana most recently managed digital communications for Opportunity Lives, a group that highlighted positive stories and policy solutions. Before that, she managed social media and wrote for The Weekly Standard. Earlier in her career, she managed digital communications for the America Rising PAC, where her strategy was highlighted in a piece that appeared in The New York Times.
She is on the board of The Conservation Coalition and a member of the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project’s state and local and emerging technology working groups.
She lives in Washington, D.C. and has a stuffed sloth named James Madisloth, and she enjoys the Snapchat hot dog.
Partner and Principal, Maureen Flatley
Maureen Flatley is a subject matter expert in child welfare and child exploitation with a particular expertise in government reform and oversight. She provides expert consultation to policy makers, attorneys, nonprofits, families and individuals on a wide range of related issues. In 1994, she was appointed by Federal District Court Judge Thomas Hogan to serve as a strategic advisor to the LaShawn General Receiver to provide oversight of Washington, DC's child welfare agency.
Her advocacy on Capitol Hill has resulted in the introduction, passage and implementation of a wide range of large scale reforms of child welfare, adoption and child abuse and exploitation laws.
Author, The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls
Kara Dansky is a public speaker, writer, and consultant who is committed to protecting the rights, privacy, and safety of women and girls on the basis of sex in law and throughout society. In addition to The Reckoning: How the Democrats and the Left Betrayed Women and Girls, she published the The Abolition of Sex: How the ‘Transgender’ Agenda Harms Women and Girls. She currently serves as President of the U.S. chapter of Women’s Declaration International (WDI), which seeks to promote the Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights. She served on the board of the Women's Liberation Front from 2016 to 2020. Kara is also an attorney with a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University, and an extensive background in criminal justice law and policy.
Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Policy Strategist, The White House
May Mailman is the Senior Policy Strategist in the White House. She is also the former Legal Director of the Independent Women's Forum. During President Donald J. Trump’s first term, May served as legal advisor, where she advised on a wide range of policies including healthcare, immigration, and social issues. While in the White House, she also worked in the office of the Chief of Staff and the Staff Secretary’s office. After the White House, May was Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Ohio and Vice President at Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE). Prior to entering public service, May practiced litigation in Denver. Earlier in her career, she taught sixth grade in Kansas City through Teach for America. May received a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Kansas. She also earned her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served as President of the Federalist Society.
Director of Strategic Campaigns, Grassroots Institute of Hawaii
Policy Researcher, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Jonathan Helton is a summa cum laude graduate of Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee where he earned a bachelor’s degree in law and politics. He has worked for two law firms, multiple forensics organizations and in social media marketing. While still at the university, he interned with the Tennessee General Assembly in the office of Bo Watson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Ways and Means. In addition to the Grassroot Institute, his work has been published by The Maui News, the Honolulu-Star Advertiser, TravelPulse, RealClear Politics, the Mises Institute and other publications.
Senior Counsel, America First Legal Foundation
Nicholas Barry has been a senior litigation counsel at America First Legal since 2022. During that time, he has filed numerous lawsuits challenging lawless actions by governments and businesses. Previously, he litigated catastrophic malpractice cases, and before that, he litigated cases as an Assistant Attorney General for the Tennessee Attorney General's Office. He began his career clerking for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky for Judge William O. Bertelsman and was an associate at Stites & Harbison before joining the Tennessee Attorney General's Office. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School.
General Counsel, Mountain States Legal Foundation
William E. Trachman is General Counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation, where he protects the rights of individuals to live freely and securely under the U.S. Constitution. Previously, he was appointed to serve in the Department of Education as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to his appointment, he served as General Counsel to the Douglas County School District, where he helped litigate the fight for school choice in the school district. Presently, Mr. Trachman serves as Chair of the Colorado Federalist Society and the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ Colorado Advisory Board. He previously taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. He attended U.C. Berkeley for both undergraduate and law school, and then clerked for the Honorable Harris Hartz on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Trachman is licensed in Colorado, California, and Washington, D.C.
Partner, King & Spalding
John Richter is a trial and investigations partner in the Special Matters and Investigations Practice Group, and represents and defends companies, Boards of Directors, Board committees, and individuals facing a variety of white-collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters, parallel civil litigation, and internal corporate investigations. John previously served as the Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate.
Partner, Husch Blackwell LLP
With three decades of experience as a prosecutor, Gregg counsels businesses and individuals in connection with a range of criminal, civil and regulatory matters, including government investigations, internal investigations, litigation, export control, sanctions, trade secrets and regulatory compliance.
Gregg’s extensive background in criminal and national security law, combined with his understanding of government practices and operations, allow him to pinpoint the risks and opportunities that arise in investigatory settings, to put together efficient and effective teams of legal professionals, and to mount a vigorous defense when necessary. Gregg has a strong track record as an accomplished trial lawyer, particularly in complex, high-profile jury trials.
Prior to entering private practice, Gregg served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas—one of the largest and busiest United States Attorney’s Offices in the country—where he supervised more than 300 employees handling a diverse caseload, including matters involving complex white-collar crime, contract fraud, national security, cyber crimes, public corruption, money laundering, export violations, trade secrets, tax, large-scale drug and human trafficking, immigration, child exploitation and violent crime. Gregg has also served as Counselor to the Attorney General of the United States, where he handled both criminal and national security matters, as well as crisis response. He was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas for 14 years, where he developed a reputation as an aggressive litigator and indefatigable investigator while building an impressive record handling national security, fraud, violent crime and corruption cases. Before that, he served in various roles in both the Criminal and National Security Divisions of the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. Gregg was a state prosecutor as well, handling murder, gang and other complex cases in New York County for nearly 11 years.
Throughout his career, Gregg has worked closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Commerce and other federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies. He led task forces in the Department of Justice and spearheaded the Department’s effort to improve its electronic litigation capabilities, focusing heavily on discovery. Gregg understands criminal law, national security law, the justice system, government investigations and the discovery process inside and out. His extensive and varied background means that he can provide clients with realistic and accurate expectations of how a government investigation or prosecution will proceed and where challenges may arise.
Chief Legal Officer, Paradigm
Civil Chief, Kentucky Office of the Attorney General
Justin manages the Office's Civil Division. He previously served as a litigator in the Attorney General's Office, where he brought complex cases, including against the manufacturers and distributors of deadly opioids. Along with almost two decades of private practice in a large Kentucky law firm, Justin served as the General Counsel of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and as Commissioner of the Kentucky Boxing & Wrestling Commission.
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Solicitor General, Iowa Office of the Attorney General
Eric Wessan serves as Iowa’s Solicitor General in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office. In that
role, Wessan leads Iowa’s litigation before State and federal appellate courts, including the Iowa
and U.S. Supreme Courts. Before that role, Wessan worked on complex commercial litigation at
two large law firms in Chicago. Wessan also served as a law clerk for the Honorable James C.
Ho on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for the Honorable John F. Kness on the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Wessan is a graduate of the University of
Chicago Law School, with honors, and of the University of Chicago.
Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Miles practices in the areas of appeals, business litigation, and First Amendment law. In addition to representing clients in complex civil and criminal litigation and appeals, Miles advises and represents public and private universities and serves as outside general counsel to several business and educational clients. He also represents and counsels private entities and government agencies and officials, including multiple current and former governors of South Carolina and members of Congress, on issues relating to the constitutional and statutory freedoms of speech, religion, and association. His First Amendment work has been cited by the United States Supreme Court.
Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation, Alliance Defending Freedom
David A. Cortman, Esq., serves as senior counsel and vice president of U.S. litigation with Alliance Defending Freedom. He joined ADF in 2005 and currently supervises a team of nearly 40 attorneys and legal staff who specialize in constitutional law, focusing on religious freedom, sanctity of life, and marriage and family.
Cortman has successfully litigated over 200 constitutional law cases in both federal and state court at all levels. He has also litigated several U.S. Supreme Court cases, including arguing before the Court in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which resulted in a 9-0 victory, with the Court holding that the government could not discriminate against religious speech while favoring political speech. He served as lead counsel in Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Pauley, which was decided in the Church's favor. He has also served as lead or co-counsel in victories at the high court in Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Burwell, successfully challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services abortion pill mandate that forces employers to provide healthcare coverage that includes abortion-inducing drugs in violation of their religious convictions; Town of Greece v. Galloway, successfully defending the freedom of Americans to pray at public meetings.
Cortman earned his J.D. from Regent University School of Law in 1996, graduating magna cum laude. He is a member of the state bar in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and the District of Columbia, and is admitted to practice in over two dozen federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He also teaches legal courses on the First Amendment and civil rights litigation.
Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law Houston
Josh Blackman is a national thought leader on constitutional law and the United States Supreme Court. Josh’s work was quoted during two presidential impeachment trials. He has testified before Congress and advises federal and state lawmakers. Josh regularly appears on TV, including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and the BBC. Josh is also a frequent guest on NPR and other syndicated radio programs. He has published commentaries in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and leading national publications.
Since 2012, Josh has served as a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston. He holds the Centennial Chair of Constitutional Law. Josh is an Adjunct Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Josh has written more than seven dozen law review articles that have been cited more than a thousand times. Josh was selected as the Jurist of the Year by the Texas Journal of Law & Public Policy, received the inaugural Meese III Originalism Award, and was awarded the Inaugural Joseph Story Award. Josh was selected by Forbes Magazine for the “30 Under 30” in Law and Policy. Josh is the President of the Harlan Institute, and founded FantasySCOTUS, the Internet’s Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League. He blogs at the Volokh Conspiracyand posts@JoshMBlackman.
Senior Litigation Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance
Peggy Little, Senior Counsel at New Civil Liberties Alliance, a new public interest law firm challenging the administrative state founded in 2017 by Professor Philip Hamburger, has over three decades of experience as a trial and appellate litigator in complex, high-stakes regulatory, mass-tort, class-action, products liability, securities, commercial and civil rights litigation representing individuals and high-profile litigants including Fortune 50 companies, financial institutions, public companies, and universities in state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.
Peggy is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, where she was awarded the Potter Stewart Prize. She was a law clerk to the Hon. Ralph K. Winter on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to starting her own trial and appellate law firm in 1997, where she was appellate consulting counsel to the New Haven firefighters in Ricci v.DeStefano, a landmark 2009 United States Supreme Court decision, Peggy was a partner at Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn in New Haven, Connecticut. From 2004 to early 2018, Peggy directed, part-time, the Federalist Society Pro Bono Center.
Peggy has participated in many national conferences and symposia addressing issues of current importance in constitutional law – specifically state and federal constitutional questions regarding the separation of powers and the first amendment – and regularly speaks, blogs and publishes on the topic of the unconstitutional exercise of governmental power. In May of 2017, she presented her paper, Pirates at the Parchment Gates, to a conference of state and federal judges at the Law and Economics Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School. Her work has been published by law reviews, legal publications, the Federalist Society, the Wall Street Journal, Law and Liberty and the Manhattan Institute.
Recent publications include: How the SEC silences its critics, The SEC should listen to Sen. Cotton, Lucia v. SEC, Opening Salvos in the Opioid Litigation Wars, Straight Dope on the Opioid Crisis
AI Innovation and Law Fellow, University of Texas School of Law
Kevin Frazier is an AI Innovation and Law Fellow with University of Texas School of Law.
Associate Attorney - Investment Funds, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Dhruva Krishna is an investment funds associate in the Los Angeles office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Dhruva's practice largely focuses on the formation, structuring, marketing, management and regulatory compliance of investment funds, including operational, legal and regulatory issues, with various sponsors ranging up to $15 billion. He also assists with related fund documentation and processes, including transfers, secondaries, co-investments and more. As an avid musician and writer, Dhruva is especially interested in the intersection of technology, regulation and innovation.
Research Fellow and Assistant Director, Stanford Program in Law, Science, and Technology and the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX)
Dr. Megan Ma is a Research Fellow and the Associate Director of the Stanford Program in Law, Science, and Technology and the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics (CodeX). Her research focuses on the use and integration of generative AI in legal applications and the translation of legal knowledge to code, considering their implications in contexts of human-machine collaboration. She also teaches courses in computational law and insurance tech at the Law School.
Dr. Ma is also currently an Advisor to the PearX for AI program, Editor-in-Chief for the Cambridge Forum on AI, Law, and Governance, and the Managing Editor of the MIT Computational Law Report and a Research Affiliate at Singapore Management University in their Centre for Computational Law. Megan received her PhD in Law at Sciences Po and was a lecturer there, having taught courses in Artificial Intelligence and Legal Reasoning, Legal Semantics, and Public Health Law and Policy. She has previously been a Visiting PhD at the University of Cambridge and Harvard Law School respectively.
Associate, Wiley Rein LLP
Joel S. Nolette is an associate at Wiley Rein LLP, where he advocates on behalf of corporate and individual clients in a broad spectrum of complex litigation matters. In 2017, Joel graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as the Editor in Chief of Volume 15 of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy. From 2019 to 2021, Joel clerked for the Honorable Raymond W. Gruender of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; and from 2021 to 2022, he clerked for the Honorable Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Before attending law school, Joel graduated summa cum laude from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, with his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and worked as a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service.
Partner, Duane Morris LLP; Managing Principal, Duane Morris Institute
Jonathan A. Segal is a partner at Duane Morris LLP in the Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. He is also the managing principal of the Duane Morris Institute. The Duane Morris Institute provides training for human resource professionals, in-house counsel, benefits administrators and managers at Duane Morris, at client sites and by way of webinar on myriad employment, labor, benefits and immigration matters.
Previously a litigator, Jonathan’s practice now focuses almost entirely on helping employers meet their business objectives or missions by minimizing legal risk, maximizing compliance and focusing on relationship with business objectives or mission and legal requirements or restrictions.
Partner & Deputy General Counsel, Wiley Rein LLP
Rick is a trial lawyer and appellate advocate. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rick learned to love nothing so much as going to trial, unless it is crafting briefs and presenting oral argument in an important appeal. Assistants in that office were fortunate to be able to do both.
Rick represents lawyers and other professionals in malpractice claims, defends insurers in coverage and “bad faith” litigation, and represents clients in commercial litigation. He also represents lawyers in disciplinary proceedings, provides legal ethics advice to law firms, has served as an expert witness on legal ethics and insurance coverage, and is Deputy General Counsel at Wiley.
Rick recently completed a three-year term as Chair of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Lawyers Professional Liability and now serves as a Special Advisor to the Committee. During his tenure as Chair of the Standing Committee, Rick also served as a member of the Coordinating Council of the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility. Previously, Rick served a three-year term as a member of the Standing Committee. He speaks regularly on professional liability and insurance coverage topics.
Rick has acted as lead counsel for trials in the District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, New York, Texas, and Virginia, as well as for arbitration hearings. On the appellate side, Rick has presented oral argument in the Supreme Court of the United States; 10 of the federal courts of appeals; the Supreme Courts of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Ohio; and state intermediate appellate courts in California, Florida, Maryland, New York, and Texas. His strong record of success includes winning his case in the United States Supreme Court and all five state Supreme Court cases.
Beginning with the Marc Rich cases while he was an AUSA (for those who can remember that far back), Rick has handled many high-profile representations, including dealing with the press as appropriate. Those matters include conducting an internal investigation for a U.S. Senator and representing the Senator in connection with a grand jury investigation, representing high-level White House officials in connection with criminal and congressional investigations arising from the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations, and representing Prof. Alan Dershowitz in connection with a defamation case in Florida.
Rick is an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he is the co-director of the Supreme Court Program, which operates as a clinic in which students assist in preparing submissions to the United States Supreme Court. From 2003 to 2017, Rick was an Adjunct Instructor in Trial Advocacy at the University of Virginia School of Law.
Deputy Director, Regulatory Studies Center, George Washington University
Will Yeatman is deputy director of the GW Regulatory Studies Center. A lawyer, he has spent almost two decades working on federal regulatory policy, with an emphasis on administrative law.
Yeatman has testified many times before Congress and state legislatures, and his scholarly work has appeared in such academic journals as Georgetown Law Journal, Administrative Law Review, and the (forthcoming) Catholic University Law Review. His popular writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, and Bloomberg.
Yeatman came to the RSC from the Pacific Legal Foundation. Previously, he had been at the Cato Institute’s Center for Constitutional Studies and the Competitive Enterprise Institute. From 2004 to 2006, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Yeatman holds a BA in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia, an MA in international studies from the Denver University Graduate School of International Studies, and a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center. He is a member of the Washington, DC Bar.
Chief Civil Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee
Austin Rogers serves as Chief Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, covering the civil portfolio for the Chairman. He obtained dual graduate degrees in Law and Theology from Duke University (summa cum laude), where he served on the Duke Law Journal and Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Steven D. Merryday in the Middle District of Florida. Following his clerkship, he practiced law at White & Case, specializing in commercial and appellate litigation. Prior to serving as Chief Civil Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, he served as Senior Counsel of Oversight and Investigations for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Austin obtained undergraduate degrees (summa cum laude) in International Business and Theology from Southeastern University and Wheaton College, respectively, and played college soccer at both schools.
He has published First Amendment scholarship in the Duke Law Journal and the Marquette Law Review, and he has a forthcoming article that will be published in the Florida Law Review. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Republican National Lawyers Association, and the Federalist Society, where he serves in a volunteer capacity. Austin is actively involved in his church and serves on its worship team.
Explainer Episode 87 - Child Welfare Funding & State Use of Foster Youth Benefits
Shoshana Weissmann, Maureen Flatley
RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast
An estimated 5% of foster youth qualify for Social Security benefits, but in many states,...
The Role of Language in the Transgender Movement
Kara Dansky, May Mailman
This program will explore key lessons learned on the role of language in shaping the...
Explainer Episode 86 - Regulation & Red Tape: Lessons from Lahaina Fire Recovery & the Path Ahead
Ted Kefalas, Jonathan Helton
RTP's Fourth Branch Podcast
Hawaii leads the nation in high housing prices. Experts Ted Kefalas and Jonathan Helton from Grassroot...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services
Nicholas Barry, William E. Trachman
Marlean Ames, a straight woman, was denied promotion and later demoted in her role at...
DOJ in Transition: What May Be Coming Next?
John C. Richter, Gregg N. Sofer
President Trump and his Administration are moving quickly to focus on different priorities for and...
A Conversation on the Right: The Future of the SEC & Cryptocurrency
Katie Biber, Justin Clark, Paul N. Watkins, Eric Wessan
What does the new administration mean for cryptocurrency regulation and the balance of authority between...
Litigation Update: Kluge v. Brownsburg Community School Corporation
Miles Coleman, David A. Cortman
Where should the line be drawn in the debate between the rights of persons to...
Litigation Update: Cerame v. Slack
Josh Blackman, Margaret A. Little
In June 2021, the Superior Court of Connecticut approved amendments to Connecticut Rule of Professional...
Tech Roundup Episode 24 - DOGEing Barriers? Legal Challenges to AI in Government
Kevin Frazier, Dhruva Krishna, Megan Ma
Artificial Intelligence has been rapidly brought to the forefront of the public conversation in recent...
A Seat at the Sitting - February 2025
Joel S. Nolette, Jonathan A. Segal, Richard A. Simpson, Will Yeatman, Austin Rogers
The February Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...