Professor of Law, Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Professor Brickman teaches Contracts, Professional Responsibility, and Land Use, among other courses. His areas of expertise include legal ethics, contingency fees, mass torts, and asbestos litigation. His writings on these and other subjects are widely cited and he is frequently quoted in the press.
Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise, Vanderbilt University Law School
Brian Fitzpatrick is the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise and Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School, where his research focuses on class action litigation, federal courts, judicial selection, and constitutional law. He is best known for his empirical studies of class action settlements as well as his book The Conservative Case for Class Actions (University of Chicago Press, 2019). Professor Fitzpatrick joined Vanderbilt's law faculty in 2007 after serving as the John M. Olin Fellow at New York University School of Law. He graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School and went on to clerk for Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, Professor Fitzpatrick practiced commercial and appellate litigation for several years at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., and served as Special Counsel for Supreme Court Nominations to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Before earning his law degree, Fitzpatrick graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's of science in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He has received the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award, which recognizes excellence in classroom teaching, for his Civil Procedure and Federal Courts courses.
Professor of Law, Western New England College School of Law
Prior to coming to Western New England College in 1980, Professor Miller worked for the National Senior Citizens Law Center, Los Angeles, California, specializing in social security and private pension litigation in the federal courts. Before that, he was an attorney with the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. He teaches constitutional law and other public law and litigation related subjects. Professor Miller's primary areas of interest focus on the challenges to the rule of law that have emerged as a result of the attacks of September 11, 2001, and on legal issues that especially affect poor people. He is president of No More Guantanamos, a non-profit advocacy group, and serves on the board of the Rosenberg Fund for Children.
Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law, Ave Maria School of Law and, National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation
John Raudabaugh is a labor lawyer and former Member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. He was a partner in law firms representing management concerning domestic and international labor law matters. Currently, he represents employees seeking relief from union and/or employer unfair labor practices. Mr. Raudabaugh has presented testimony to both Senate and House Committees regarding labor law reform. Professor Raudabaugh teaches Labor Law and a Labor Law Practicum at the Ave Maria School of Law. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce and New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations with B.S. and M.S. degrees in labor economics and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School of Law.
Attorney, Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Matthew R. Estabrook is an attorney in the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to working at the SEC, Mr. Estabrook was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Washington D.C. office.
Professor, Florida International University College of Law
Professor Norberg has over 16 years of experience as a law school professor and administrator. Before becoming a member of the faculty at the Florida International University College of Law, he taught at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Mississippi College Law School, where he also served for three years as associate dean for academic affairs. Professor Norberg was the founding Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the FIU College of Law, serving from 2001-2005, in which position he was primarily responsible for development of the academic program and ABA accreditation matters. The recipient of three teaching awards, Professor Norberg teaches in the areas of contract, commercial and bankruptcy law. He has published numerous articles, including a multi-district empirical study of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy system, which was funded by grants from the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges and the American Bankruptcy Institute. His articles have been frequently cited by commentators and courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Professor Norberg has been a frequent speaker at legal education programs for lawyers and judges, including workshops for bankruptcy judges sponsored by the Federal Judical Center. He also regularly serves as a member or chair of American Bar Association site inspection teams reviewing law schools for ABA approval. Professor Norberg practiced commercial litigation for six years in Atlanta, Georgia before entering the academy.
Professor of Law, Hofstra University School of Law
Professor Colombo joined the Hofstra University School of Law faculty in the Fall of 2006. He teaches courses in corporate, securities, and contract law. His research and scholarship focuses primarily on corporate and securities law and, more specifically, the application of non-economic principles and norms to these fields.
Before coming to Hofstra, Professor Colombo served in the Complex Global Litigation Group of Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc., as vice president and counsel. In this position, Professor Colombo supervised investigations, litigations, and regulatory inquiries affecting Morgan Stanley's investment banking franchise. Prior to that, Professor Colombo practiced as a litigation associate at the New York office of Sullivan & Cromwell, where, among other things, he represented corporate and banking clients in civil and criminal investigations conducted by the S.E.C., the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Federal Reserve Bank; in matters before state courts, federal courts, and arbitration panels; and in appeals before the Third Circuit, the D.C. Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2000-2003, Professor Colombo also served on the Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Partner and Co-Chair, Public Policy Group, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook's Washington, DC-based Public Policy Practice Group and is a leading national expert on civil justice issues with over thirty years of experience. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion.
Mark is actively involved in civil justice reform efforts at the federal and state levels. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures on behalf of business and civil justice organizations. Mark also has an active amicus brief practice specializing in tort liability and civil justice issues. He has authored or co-authored over 150 amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations. In addition, Mark routinely files comments on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations regarding potential changes to federal and state court rules. He chairs the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Civil Justice Response Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ).
Mark is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). He received his J.D. in 1990 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1987.
Former Solicitor General of Texas
Jonathan F. Mitchell is Principal at Mitchell Law PLLC. He received his law degree with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an articles editor of The University of Chicago Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Mitchell clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He then served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice from 2003 through 2006. After leaving the Department of Justice, Mr. Mitchell served as a Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University Law Center, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 2006 through 2008, and an Assistant Professor of Law at George Mason University from 2008 through 2010.
In 2010, Mr. Mitchell was appointed Solicitor General of Texas, a position he held until January 2015. After leaving the Texas Solicitor General’s office, Mr. Mitchell served as the Searle Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law before joining the Hoover Institution as a Visiting Fellow from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Mitchell also served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford Law School before opening his own law firm in 2018.
Mr. Mitchell has published numerous works of scholarship in top-10 law journals, and he has written articles on textualism, national-security law, criminal law and procedure, judicial review and judicial federalism, and the legality of stare decisis in constitutional adjudication.
Mr. Mitchell has argued eight times before the Supreme Court of the United States, and more than 20 times in the federal courts of appeals. He has also argued before Supreme Court of Texas and in numerous trial courts. Mr. Mitchell has authored the principal merits brief in 11 Supreme Court cases, and has written and submitted more than 20 amicus curiae briefs in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Mitchell devised the novel enforcement mechanism in the Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as Senate Bill 8, which avoids pre-enforcement judicial review by prohibiting government officials from enforcing the statute and empowering private citizens to bring lawsuits against those who violate it. This produced an end-run around Roe v. Wade and allowed Texas and other states to impose pre-viability abortion bans despite the continued existence of Roe.
Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment, Yale Law School
Jack M. Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School. He is the founder and director of Yale’s Information Society Project, an interdisciplinary center that studies law and new information technologies. He also directs the Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression, and the Knight Law and Media Program at Yale. Professor Balkin is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and founded and edits the group blog Balkinization (http://balkin.blogspot.com/). He is the author of over 100 articles and the author or editor of eleven books. His scholarship ranges over many different subjects, including constitutional theory, technology and Internet law, freedom of speech, jurisprudence, cultural evolution, the theory of ideology, and musical and legal interpretation. His most recent books are Democracy and Dysfunction (University of Chicago Press, 2019)(with Sanford Levinson); Living Originalism (Harvard, Belknap Press, 2011), and Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World (Harvard University Press 2011).
Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Randy Barnett is the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He has argued before the United States Supreme Court, tried murder cases to juries as a prosecutor in Chicago, and appeared as a prosecutor in the feature film Inalienable. He is the author of numerous books, including Restoring the Lost Constitution, The Structure of Liberty, Our Republican Constitution, and The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. He has published two memoirs, A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist, and Felony Review: Tales of True Crime and Corruption in Chicago. He is currently working on a new book, Freedom and Flourishing: Libertarianism for the Real World.
Research Director, Independence Institute
David B. Kopel is Research Director at the Independence Institute; Adjunct Scholar at the Cato Institute; and Senior Fellow at the University of Wyoming College of Law, Firearms Research Center. He received his B.A. in history with Highest Honors from Brown University and his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School.
He is the author of over 20 books, including the textbook Firearm Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy (Aspen Pubs. 4th ed. forthcoming 2026). His scholarship and briefs have been cited 7 Supreme Court cases--including Heller, McDonald, and Bruen--and in 140 lower courts opinions. He is the author of 120 scholarly articles. His shorter articles often appear on The Volokh Conspiracy blog, hosted by Reason magazine. His topics of interest include the right to arms throughout history, the Colorado Constitution, and law enforcement policy.
Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law, Columbia Law School
A leading administrative and constitutional law scholar, Gillian Metzger ’96 writes and teaches in the areas of administrative law, constitutional law, and federal courts, with an emphasis on federalism and privatization. In 2023-2024, she served as Acting Assistant Attorney General and Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice.
Metzger's recent work covers topics ranging from constitutional attacks on the administrative state to appropriations, administrative law under the Roberts Court, and the role of administrative agencies in a polarized world. In 2015, Metzger won the American Bar Association Administrative Law Section Annual Scholarship Award for “The Constitutional Duty to Supervise,” which examined presidential control and oversight of the modern administrative state. She is a co-editor of Gellhorn & Byse’s Administrative Law: Cases and Comments, 13th ed. (Foundation Press, 2023), a seminal administrative law casebook.
Professor Metzger was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and is a Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States. In 2020, she was awarded Columbia University's Faculty Mentorship Award and in 2014, the Law School’s graduating class awarded Metzger the Willis L.M. Reese Prize for Excellence in Teaching, recognizing, among many other accomplishments, her commitment to mentoring new generations of law students.
In 2012, Metzger helped launch Columbia Law School’s Center for Constitutional Governance (CCG)—where she now serves as faculty director—a nonpartisan legal and policy organization devoted to the study of constitutional structure and authority. CCG brings together a diverse group of constitutional scholars to explore policy areas such as health care, civil rights, immigration, financial regulation, and national security.
Metzger also has co-authored and filed numerous amicus briefs in major constitutional and administrative law challenges before the Supreme Court and other courts. Most recently, Metzger filed a brief in Seila Law Center v. CFPB, a separation of powers challenge, and in Kisor v. Wilkie, a case involving judicial deference to agencies. She has also filed briefs in cases involving reproductive rights and the Affordable Care Act, among others.
Previously, Metzger served as vice dean of intellectual life at Columbia Law School. Before joining the Law School, she worked as an attorney with the Brennan Center for Justice. Metzger also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’59 and Judge Patricia M. Wald of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In 2018, Metzger moderated a panel discussion with Justice Ginsburg on impact litigation at Columbia Law School.
Chairman and Founder, Institute for Free Speech; Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law, Capital University Law School
Smith has authored over 40 articles on campaign finance reform, appearing in academic publications such as the Yale Law Journal and Georgetown Law Journal, and popular publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and National Review. He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Bill Moyers Journal, the Lehrer News Hour, Fox News Special Report, ABC News, Washington Journal, and numerous other national and local television and radio programs.
As an FEC Commissioner, Smith won plaudits for his integrity and refusal to put partisan interests ahead of his duties, as well as his steadfast support for free speech. For his honesty and integrity, the Wall Street Journal dubbed him, “the only honorable man in this bordello.” Smith now serves as the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law at Capital University Law School. He has won numerous awards for his scholarship and teaching, and is a past member of the Advisory Committee to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Election Law. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Election Law Journal, and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Smith also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Studies, is a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute and is a member of the Board of Scholars of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Smith is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Kalamazoo College and holds an honorary doctorate from Augustana College.
Partner, King & Spalding, LLP
Mr. Ashley C. Parrish is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of King & Spalding, and a member of the firm’s national appellate and strategic counseling practice group. He focuses his practice on appellate, administrative, and constitutional law; on the preparation of high-risk cases for eventual appeal; and on strategic, complex litigation.
Mr. Parrish frequently collaborates with the leaders of his firm’s litigation and Washington, D.C.-based regulatory practices, and, in particular, works closely with his firm’s global energy practice to serve the needs of his firm’s energy industry clients. He has handled appeals and complex litigation matters involving a wide range of subject matters in courts across the country, including significant matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, almost all of the federal courts of appeals, and a variety of state appellate courts. Mr. Parrish regularly advises clients in federal administrative law and practice, and has experience in a diverse range of substantive areas of law (including energy, bankruptcy, products liability, labor, environmental, health care, and telecommunications).
After graduating from law school, Mr. Parrish served as a law clerk to the Honorable Emilio M. Garza on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1998-1999).
J.D., University of Chicago Law School
B.A., Political Science, University of Washington-Seattle Campus
B.A., Economics, University of Washington-Seattle Campus
Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
THOMAS W. MERRILL is the Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law at Columbia Law School. He previously taught at Northwestern University School of Law and Yale Law School. He has undergraduate degrees from Grinnell College and Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a law degree from the University of Chicago. He clerked on the D.C. Circuit (for Chief Judge David Bazelon) and the U.S. Supreme Court (for Justice Harry Blackmun). From 1987-1990 he served as Deputy Solicitor General, U.S. Department of Justice. Professor Merrill’s writings related to property include Property: Principles and Policies (Foundation Press Second Edition, 2012) (with Henry E. Smith); Property: The Oxford Introductions to U.S. Law (Oxford U. Press, 2010); Property: Takings (Foundation Press, 2002)(with David Dana); and numerous articles, including “The Economics of Public Use” (Cornell Law Review 1986); “The Landscape of Constitutional Property” (Virginia Law Review 2000); and “The Character of the Governmental Action” (Vermont Law Review 2012). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Senior Legal Counsel, Pacific Legal Foundation
Before becoming an attorney, James had been a productive member of society working as an exploration geologist in the late 1970s throughout the southwestern United States. However, after several years of dealing with irrational government bureaucrats and environmental policies untethered from reality, James decided that what the world needs is more lawyers — if they are willing to fight for rationality in regulatory regimes, property rights, and liberty.
James attended the University of Arizona College of Law in Tucson, where he served as an editor for the Law Review and received a J.D. degree in 1983. He had previously received a Masters degree in geological sciences from Brown University and an undergraduate degree from Hamilton College in New York. James received the Professional Achievement Award from the University of Arizona Alumni Association in 2018.
James has worked with Pacific Legal Foundation since 1983, litigating cases from Alaska to Florida. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Practice Group’s Executive Committee, a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, and an honorary member of Owners Counsel of America, an organization comprised of eminent domain attorneys who represent property owners. The Owners Counsel awarded James its Crystal Eagle award in 2013. In 2022, James was awarded the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Prize at the William & Mary College of Law. The prize is awarded annually to an individual whose work has advanced the cause of property rights and has contributed to the overall awareness of the important role property rights occupy in the broader scheme of individual liberty.
In 2001, James successfully argued a major property rights case, Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, before the United States Supreme Court, a case which affirmed that rights in regulated property do not disappear when land is bought and sold. He has written extensively on all aspects of property rights and environmental law and frequently speaks on these subjects throughout the nation.
When James is not suing the government he enjoys skiing faster than he should, bicycling, hiking, swimming, and spending quality time with his wife, family, and grandchild.
Mr. Burling’s book Nowhere to Live: The Hidden Story of America’s Housing Crisis is available now on Amazon.
James is a member of the bar only in the states of Alaska and California.
Partner, Holtzman Vogel
From small claims and county court matters to the U.S. Supreme Court, Kent has represented clients in a variety of forums. Kent’s experience in both trial and appellate courts is diverse and varied: from assisting local Florida clients relating to beach and coastal issues, private property rights, takings, contract disputes, class action defense, toxic tort claims, and business litigation to challenging federal halibut fishing regulations in Alaska. Kent assists clients in a variety of trial or appellate cases. His goal is to use his experience to bring a fresh voice and perspective to every case.
Kent grew up in Columbia, South Carolina and moved to Tallahassee immediately after law school. For more than a decade, Kent has enjoyed the outdoor activities in the Florida Panhandle, including hunting, fishing, diving, and farming. During season, Kent coaches his son’s baseball team.
Do Class Action Lawyers Make Too Much Money?
Lester Brickman, Brian T. Fitzpatrick, Isaac Mass, Bruce K. Miller
Western New England Student Chapter
On September 1, 2010, the Western New England Student Chapter of the Federalist Society hosted...
New Process Steel v. National Labor Relations Board - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
John N. Raudabaugh
SCOTUScast 09-01-10 featuring John N. Raudabaugh
On June 17, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in New Process Steel v....
Granite Rock Co. v. Teamsters - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Matthew R. Estabrook
SCOTUScast 08-31-10 featuring Matthew R. Estabrook
On June 24, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Granite Rock Co. v....
Schwab v. Reilly - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Scott F. Norberg
SCOTUScast 08-30-10 featuring Scott F. Norberg
On June 17, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Schwab v. Reilly. When...
Morrison v. National Australia Bank - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Ronald J. Colombo
SCOTUScast 08-19-10 featuring Ronald J. Colombo
On June 24, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Morrison v. National Australia...
Hui v. Castaneda - Post Decision SCOTUScast
Mark A. Behrens
SCOTUScast 08-12-10 featuring Mark A. Behrens
On May 3, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Hui v. Castaneda. The...
Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates, P. A. v. Allstate Ins. Co. - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Jonathan Mitchell
SCOTUScast 08-10-10 featuring Jonathan F. Mitchell
On March 23, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Shady Grove Orthopedic Associates,...
The Individual Health Care Mandate and Enumerated Powers
Jack M. Balkin, Randy E. Barnett, David B. Kopel, Gillian E. Metzger, Bradley A. Smith
Faculty Division
Shortly after the health care reform bill was signed into law, the attorneys general of...
NRG Power Marketing v. Maine Public Utilities Commission - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Ashley C. Parrish
SCOTUScast 08-06-10 featuring Ashley C. Parrish
On January 13, 2010, the Supreme Court announced its decision in NRG Power Marketing v....
Individual Property Takings: Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Thomas W. Merrill, James S. Burling, Kent Safriet
Environmental Law Practice Group
In Stop the Beach Renourishment, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Florida Supreme...