Roger Williams University School of Law
Professor Bogus has achieved national prominence in two areas -- (1) tort law, and especially, products liability; and (2) gun control, including issues involving the Second Amendment.
His work in the first area includes Why Lawsuits Are Good for America: Disciplined Democracy, Big Business and the Common Law (NYU Press). His Constitutional Law research proposes the thesis that James Madison wrote the Second Amendment to ensure that the federal government could not subvert the slave system by disarming the militia, on which the South relied for slave control. Professor Bogus has testified before Congress and spoken about and debated these subjects at many venues across the country, including at Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Stanford, and Vanderbilt law schools, and his writings on these subjects have been published by law reviews, as well as opinion journals such as The Nation and The American Prospect, and newspapers including USA Today, Boston Globe, Washington Times, and the Providence Journal. Most recently, he was interviewed by National Public Radio. One of his interests is how ideology influences the law, and he is presently at work on a biography of William F. Buckley, Jr. and the conservative movement.
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Frank H. Easterbrook is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a Senior Lecturer at the Law School of the University of Chicago. He was Chief Judge from 2006–2013. Before joining the court in 1985, he was the Lee andBrena Freeman Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, where he taught and wrote in antitrust, securities, corporate law, jurisprudence, and criminal procedure. He has published The Economic Structure of Corporate Law (with Daniel R. Fischel) and about 100 scholarly articles. He served as Co-Editor of the Journal of Law and Economics from 1982 to 1991 and as a member of the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure from 1991 to 1997. Before joining the faculty of the Law School in 1979, Judge Easterbrook was Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College (B.A. with high honors, 1970) and the University of Chicago (J.D. cum laude, 1973), and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Law Institute, the Mont Pelerin Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Order of the Coif.
Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates
Ambassador C. Boyden Gray is the founding partner of Boyden Gray & Associates, a law and strategy firm in Washington, D.C., focused on constitutional and regulatory issues.
Mr. Gray worked in the White House for twelve years, first as counsel to the Vice President during the Reagan administration and then as White House Counsel to President George H.W. Bush. In the Reagan administration, he was Counsel to the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief, for which he wrote the original Executive Order 12291 requiring cost-benefit analysis and White House review of regulations (later renumbered as current EO 12866). In the George H.W. Bush Administration, Mr. Gray was in charge of judicial selection and was also instrumental in the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and a cap-and-trade system for acid rain emissions. In 1993, he received the Presidential Citizens Medal. Under President George W. Bush, Mr. Gray was U.S. Ambassador to the European Union and U.S. Special Envoy to Europe for Eurasian Energy.
Mr. Gray practiced law for 25 years at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering and was chairman of the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section of the American Bar Association from 2000 to 2002. Early in his career, Mr. Gray helped to develop the Business Roundtable and served as its first counsel. He is an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia Law School and a former adjunct professor at NYU Law School (teaching energy and environmental law). Mr. Gray is on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council, the Federalist Society, Reason Foundation, and the Trust for the National Mall.
Mr. Gray earned his A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard, where he was an editor of the Crimson, and his J.D. with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. Mr. Gray served in the United States Marine Corps, and after law school, he clerked for Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor of Law and Organization, Yale Law School
Christine Jolls is the Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor, a chair previously held by Nobel Laureate Oliver Williamson. She is also the Director of the Law and Economics Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Previously she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of the United States in the chambers of Justice Antonin Scalia. Professor Jolls received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and her Ph.D. in Economics from M.I.T., where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her sophomore year and won the Robert M. Golden Medal. Prior to college Professor Jolls was named one of two United States Presidential Scholars from the state of California. Her research and teaching concentrate in the areas of employment law, privacy law, behavioral law and economics, and government administration.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Barrington Daniels Parker, Jr. (b.1944) is a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He joined the court in 2001 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He assumed senior status on October 10, 2009.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Roger Williams University School of Law
Professor Bogus has achieved national prominence in two areas -- (1) tort law, and especially, products liability; and (2) gun control, including issues involving the Second Amendment.
His work in the first area includes Why Lawsuits Are Good for America: Disciplined Democracy, Big Business and the Common Law (NYU Press). His Constitutional Law research proposes the thesis that James Madison wrote the Second Amendment to ensure that the federal government could not subvert the slave system by disarming the militia, on which the South relied for slave control. Professor Bogus has testified before Congress and spoken about and debated these subjects at many venues across the country, including at Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Stanford, and Vanderbilt law schools, and his writings on these subjects have been published by law reviews, as well as opinion journals such as The Nation and The American Prospect, and newspapers including USA Today, Boston Globe, Washington Times, and the Providence Journal. Most recently, he was interviewed by National Public Radio. One of his interests is how ideology influences the law, and he is presently at work on a biography of William F. Buckley, Jr. and the conservative movement.
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Frank H. Easterbrook is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a Senior Lecturer at the Law School of the University of Chicago. He was Chief Judge from 2006–2013. Before joining the court in 1985, he was the Lee andBrena Freeman Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, where he taught and wrote in antitrust, securities, corporate law, jurisprudence, and criminal procedure. He has published The Economic Structure of Corporate Law (with Daniel R. Fischel) and about 100 scholarly articles. He served as Co-Editor of the Journal of Law and Economics from 1982 to 1991 and as a member of the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure from 1991 to 1997. Before joining the faculty of the Law School in 1979, Judge Easterbrook was Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College (B.A. with high honors, 1970) and the University of Chicago (J.D. cum laude, 1973), and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Law Institute, the Mont Pelerin Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Order of the Coif.
Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates
Ambassador C. Boyden Gray is the founding partner of Boyden Gray & Associates, a law and strategy firm in Washington, D.C., focused on constitutional and regulatory issues.
Mr. Gray worked in the White House for twelve years, first as counsel to the Vice President during the Reagan administration and then as White House Counsel to President George H.W. Bush. In the Reagan administration, he was Counsel to the Presidential Task Force on Regulatory Relief, for which he wrote the original Executive Order 12291 requiring cost-benefit analysis and White House review of regulations (later renumbered as current EO 12866). In the George H.W. Bush Administration, Mr. Gray was in charge of judicial selection and was also instrumental in the enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and a cap-and-trade system for acid rain emissions. In 1993, he received the Presidential Citizens Medal. Under President George W. Bush, Mr. Gray was U.S. Ambassador to the European Union and U.S. Special Envoy to Europe for Eurasian Energy.
Mr. Gray practiced law for 25 years at the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering and was chairman of the Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section of the American Bar Association from 2000 to 2002. Early in his career, Mr. Gray helped to develop the Business Roundtable and served as its first counsel. He is an adjunct professor at Antonin Scalia Law School and a former adjunct professor at NYU Law School (teaching energy and environmental law). Mr. Gray is on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council, the Federalist Society, Reason Foundation, and the Trust for the National Mall.
Mr. Gray earned his A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard, where he was an editor of the Crimson, and his J.D. with high honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. Mr. Gray served in the United States Marine Corps, and after law school, he clerked for Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor of Law and Organization, Yale Law School
Christine Jolls is the Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor, a chair previously held by Nobel Laureate Oliver Williamson. She is also the Director of the Law and Economics Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Previously she served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of the United States in the chambers of Justice Antonin Scalia. Professor Jolls received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School and her Ph.D. in Economics from M.I.T., where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her sophomore year and won the Robert M. Golden Medal. Prior to college Professor Jolls was named one of two United States Presidential Scholars from the state of California. Her research and teaching concentrate in the areas of employment law, privacy law, behavioral law and economics, and government administration.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Barrington Daniels Parker, Jr. (b.1944) is a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He joined the court in 2001 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. He assumed senior status on October 10, 2009.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Dennis Jacobs is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He became Chief Judge on October 1, 2006. At the time of his appointment in 1992, he was a partner in the New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Judge Jacobs received his B.A. degree from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1964; his M.A. degree from New York University in 1965; and his J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law in 1973.
Judge Jacobs was a lecturer in the English Department of Queens College of the City University of New York from 1967 until 1969. He was in private practice from 1973 with the New York law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, serving as a partner there from 1980 until his judicial appointment.
In 1997-2004, Judge Jacobs was a member of the Committee on Judicial Resources of the Judicial Conference of the United States; starting in 1999 he was chair of that committee.
Judge Jacobs is a native of New York City.
Former President & CEO, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer, former President and CEO of the Federalist Society, has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for more than 40 years. He is responsible for shepherding the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. The Society now includes a Student Chapter at nearly every ABA-accredited law school in the country and Lawyers Chapters in 220 major cities across the nation. Gene earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Gene currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master.
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
Dennis Jacobs is the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He became Chief Judge on October 1, 2006. At the time of his appointment in 1992, he was a partner in the New York law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Judge Jacobs received his B.A. degree from Queens College of the City University of New York in 1964; his M.A. degree from New York University in 1965; and his J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law in 1973.
Judge Jacobs was a lecturer in the English Department of Queens College of the City University of New York from 1967 until 1969. He was in private practice from 1973 with the New York law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, serving as a partner there from 1980 until his judicial appointment.
In 1997-2004, Judge Jacobs was a member of the Committee on Judicial Resources of the Judicial Conference of the United States; starting in 1999 he was chair of that committee.
Judge Jacobs is a native of New York City.
Former President & CEO, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer, former President and CEO of the Federalist Society, has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for more than 40 years. He is responsible for shepherding the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. The Society now includes a Student Chapter at nearly every ABA-accredited law school in the country and Lawyers Chapters in 220 major cities across the nation. Gene earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Gene currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master.
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.
George Butler Research Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center
Professor Duncan joined the University of Houston Law Center faculty in 1998. She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University and earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1993. Upon graduation from the Law Center, she clerked for the Honorable Edith H. Jones, Judge for the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. She was an associate at Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. prior to returning to clerk permanently for Judge Jones.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Edith Jones graduated from Alamo Heights High School, where she was a National Merit Scholar. In 1971, she received her B.A. in Economics from Cornell University, graduating with honors. In 1974, she was awarded her J.D. at the University of Texas Law School, where she was a law review editor and received the Order of the Coif.
Judge Jones was the first female partner at Andrews, Kurth, Campbell & Jones (now Hunton Andrews Kurth) where she practiced various types of litigation and bankruptcy cases. Judge Jones went on the federal bench on June 1, 1985.
Judge Jones served as a former member of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, and as a member of the Judicial Conference Commission on Bankruptcy Rules. Judge Jones served on the White House Fellows Commission. Judge Jones served on the board of the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. She has been a member of the Garland Walker Inn of Court in Houston for more than 20 years and its President for at least ten years. Judge Jones is also on the Board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.
George Butler Research Professor of Law, University of Houston Law Center
Professor Duncan joined the University of Houston Law Center faculty in 1998. She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University and earned her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center in 1993. Upon graduation from the Law Center, she clerked for the Honorable Edith H. Jones, Judge for the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. She was an associate at Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. prior to returning to clerk permanently for Judge Jones.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Edith Jones graduated from Alamo Heights High School, where she was a National Merit Scholar. In 1971, she received her B.A. in Economics from Cornell University, graduating with honors. In 1974, she was awarded her J.D. at the University of Texas Law School, where she was a law review editor and received the Order of the Coif.
Judge Jones was the first female partner at Andrews, Kurth, Campbell & Jones (now Hunton Andrews Kurth) where she practiced various types of litigation and bankruptcy cases. Judge Jones went on the federal bench on June 1, 1985.
Judge Jones served as a former member of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, and as a member of the Judicial Conference Commission on Bankruptcy Rules. Judge Jones served on the White House Fellows Commission. Judge Jones served on the board of the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. She has been a member of the Garland Walker Inn of Court in Houston for more than 20 years and its President for at least ten years. Judge Jones is also on the Board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.
Senior Associate General Counsel/Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Management and Budget/CFPB
Victoria Dorfman is a Senior Associate General Counsel at the Office of Management and Budget and is a Senior Legal Advisor at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At the OMB, she advises on constitutional and statutory issues. At the CFPB, she is primarily responsible for Enforcement, Supervision, Fair Lending, Oversight, and the Bureau’s litigation.
Prior to entering government service, Victoria was a partner at Jones Day, in Washington, D.C. and in New York, where she represented clients in appellate and complex commercial litigation in U.S. courts and in international arbitration. She has successfully briefed cases at all stages of litigation and argued before federal and state courts of appeals.
Victoria's areas of in-depth experience include jurisdiction and civil procedure, arbitration, bankruptcy, antitrust, and general commercial litigation. She maintained an active First Amendment Establishment and Free Exercise practice and represents religious institutions. Victoria's representations included obtaining unanimous victories in intergovernmental tax immunity and forum non conveniens cases in the U.S. Supreme Court; bankruptcy confirmations, including in appellate and Supreme Court proceedings, of Chrysler, the City of Detroit, Caesar's, Adelphia, and Relativity Media; UNCITRAL and BIT arbitrations; victories for Bayer in antitrust patent challenges to agreements regarding a blockbuster drug's production; and a damages award for Chevron against the government, including a sanction for bad faith litigation conduct.
Prior to joining Jones Day, Victoria clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Michael J. Luttig of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Victoria received her A.B. from Harvard College (cum laude) and J.D. from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude), where she was Articles, Books and Commentaries editor on Harvard Law Review.
Victoria is a native speaker of Russian, and is proficient in French and Portuguese. She published articles on Religion Clauses, bankruptcy, federal jurisdiction and statutory interpretation, and is a contributing author and editor of The Practitioner's Guide to Appellate Advocacy.
Litigation Associate, Winston & Strawn LLP
Jacob R. Loshin is a litigation associate in Winston & Strawn's Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s nationwide appellate and critical motions practice.
Before joining Winston & Strawn, Mr. Loshin served as a law clerk to the Hon. Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He has also worked in business strategy and development for an education technology company.
While at Yale Law School, Mr. Loshin was senior editor of the Yale Law Journal and editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal on Regulation.
B.A., magna cum laude, in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, Claremont McKenna College
J.D., Yale Law School
San Diego Councilman, District 5
On June 3, 2008 Carl DeMaio was elected to the San Diego City Council to represent District 5. DeMaio made history as a non-incumbent taking a Council seat by the widest margin in a primary-winning 66% of the vote.
Prior to winning his seat on the City Council, DeMaio was best known in San Diego as the City Hall Watchdog. He helped uncover the city's financial and ethical problems. After years of prodding city leaders to enact reforms, a frustrated DeMaio decided to run for City Council.
DeMaio's pledge to the voters was simple: Clean Up City Hall. His platform includes balancing the budget, reforming the pension system, fixing crumbling infrastructure, and restoring ethics and accountability to every level of city government.
Refusing to shed his watchdog roots, DeMaio pledges "to continue to serve as the eyes and ears of the taxpayers on the City Council."
Outside of his work as a local government watchdog, DeMaio was a businessman who founded two multi-million dollar companies by the age of 30. In 2000, he founded the Performance Institute, a non-partisan, private think tank dedicated to reforming government through the principles of performance, transparency, competition and accountability. DeMaio built the organization into the largest government reform think tank in the nation and the leading authority on performance-based management in government, law enforcement, non-profits and schools.
In 2003, DeMaio founded the American Strategic Management Institute (ASMI), which provides training and education in corporate financial and performance management. DeMaio sold both companies to Thompson Publishing Group in late 2007 so he could focus his efforts on turning the City of San Diego around.
Carl DeMaio is an active member of the community helping with numerous non-profit organizations in San Diego. He serves as Chairman of San Diego Citizens for Accountable Government, helping sponsor ballot initiatives and voter education efforts each election.
DeMaio also serves on the Board of Directors of the SAFENOWProject - a non-profit dedicated to creating, promoting and advocating for community-based strategies and resources to eliminate child sexual abuse. DeMaio also is active in raising money for a number of charitable causes, including Rotary, Mama's Kitchen, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
DeMaio has put constituent service as a top priority in his Council office and is working to improve the quality of neighborhoods in his District, which include Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, San Pasqual Valley, and Sorrento Mesa.
Dr. John Eastman is the former Henry Salvatori Professor of Law & Community Service and former Dean at Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law, where he had been a member of the faculty since 1999, specializing in Constitutional Law, Legal History, and Property. He is a founding director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, a public interest law firm affiliated with the Claremont Institute that he founded in 1999. He has a Ph.D. in Government from the Claremont Graduate School and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, and a B.A. in Politics and Economics from the University of Dallas. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of the National Organization for Marriage.
Prior to joining the Chapman law faculty, Dr. Eastman served as a law clerk to the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, and to the Honorable J. Michael Luttig, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and practiced law with the national law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Dr. Eastman has also represented numerous clients in important constitutional law matters and has argued before the Supreme Court. On behalf of the Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence, he has participated as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Courts of Appeals, and State Supreme Courts in more than one hundred cases of constitutional significance, including Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (the school vouchers case), Kelo v. New London, Ct. (eminent domain), and Van Orden v. Perry (the 10 Commandments case). He has also appeared as an expert legal commentator on numerous television and radio programs, including C-SPAN, Fox News, PBS, NewsHour, and The O'Reilly Factor.
San Diego City Attorney
Jan Goldsmith has been an attorney since 1976 specializing in business litigation. He was appointed San Diego Superior Court Judge in 1998 and retired in December of 2008 to assume the office of San Diego City Attorney. Mr. Goldsmith spent his first 6 years on the Bench handling criminal and civil trials and his final years assigned to an independent civil calendar.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Goldsmith served three terms in the California State Assembly representing the Northern San Diego City District stretching from Mira Mesa to the Escondido border. During his career in the Assembly, he held various leadership positions including Majority Floor Leader, Member of Rules Committee, Chairman of the Banking and Finance Committee and Vice Chairman of Judiciary. Jan has taught as Adjunct Professor of Law at three San Diego law schools on subjects including municipal government law and prosecution of political crimes. He also served as Mayor of Poway.
Mr. Goldsmith graduated magna cum laude from University of San Diego in 1976. He is married to Christine, and they have raised three children, now ages 28, 25 and 20.
Former San Diego Superior Court Judge
Hon. Michael B. Orfield (Ret.) was a jurist for 20 years, mostly as a civil independent calendar judge. His experience and expertise as a civil judge spread widely across such diverse areas as catastrophic personal injury, medical and legal malpractice, product and construction defects, breach of warranties, easements, breach of contract, wrongful death and a variety of business disputes. His strength as a mediator "...comes from being able to call upon a broad plain of knowledge, coupled with an attention to detail, empathy for the participants, and a conviction that the resolution should be their own."
Judge Orfield retired as a member of the statewide Continuing Judicial Education Committee, and still has a passion for teaching. He currently teaches "Trying the Complicated Case: From Trial Readiness to Verdict" as well as the LexisNexis Jury Instruction computer program for both civil and criminal jury instructions. He has also taught "Leading Organizational Change" as well as the week long "Civil Overview for Judges".
Judge Orfield was appointed by Chief Justice Ronald George to the original Task Force on Civil Jury Instructions and then to the Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions. Justice George also appointed him a member of the prestigious Judicial Council of the State of California. Judge Orfield has served as a member of the Judicial Council Presiding Judges and Court Executives Advisory Committee and the Judicial Needs Advisory Committee.
Judge Orfield has served on the Board of the San Diego Humane Society and chaired the North County "Bridging the Gap" program for new lawyers. Before transferring to the Vista Courthouse, he co-moderated the San Diego County Bar Association Bridging the Gap program.
In 1972, Judge Orfield earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from the University of California at San Diego, and obtained his law degree from California Western School of Law in 1977. Judge Orfield also completed one year of graduate study in Microbiology and Immunology at Duke University in 1974.
General Manager, San Diego Municipal Employees Association
Mike joined MEA in 2009 as a negotiations consultant, and became General Manager in October 2009. Mike implements policies as directed by MEA's Officers, Executive Committee and Board of Directors. He also helps develop legal, political and strategic direction for the organization. In addition, Mike oversees staff, works with MEA's legal counsel on legal and negotiation matters and communicates with the City Council and other City officials regarding MEA business.
From 1998-2002, Mike worked as the Government Affairs Director for the San Diego City Fire Fighters Union. Mike then served as the San Diego City Councilmember for the Second District from 2002 to 2005.
Mike graduated from UCSB with degrees in business economics and environmental studies in 1992. He then completed his master's in Environmental Economics at Duke University in 1994.
Showcase Panel III: Equality, Liberty, and Risk
Carl T. Bogus, Frank H. Easterbrook, C. Boyden Gray, Christine Jolls, Barrington D. Parker, Dean Reuter
2010 National Lawyers Convention
Americans historically have favored equality of opportunity and liberty with the knowledge that willingness to...
Showcase Panel III: Equality, Liberty, and Risk
Carl T. Bogus, Frank H. Easterbrook, C. Boyden Gray, Christine Jolls, Barrington D. Parker, Dean Reuter
2010 National Lawyers Convention
Americans historically have favored equality of opportunity and liberty with the knowledge that willingness to...
10th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture
Dennis Jacobs, Eugene B. Meyer
2010 National Lawyers Convention
On September 11, 2001, at the age of 45 and at the height of her...
10th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture
Dennis Jacobs, Eugene B. Meyer
2010 National Lawyers Convention
On September 11, 2001, at the age of 45 and at the height of her...
Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, Inc. - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Mark A. Behrens
SCOTUScast 11-16-10 featuring Mark A. Behrens
On October 12, 2010, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, Inc....
The Supreme Court and the Nature of Man
Meredith J. Duncan, Edith H. Jones
Houston Student Chapter
On November 11, 2010, the Houston Student Chapter of the Federalist Society hosted this event featuring...
The Supreme Court and the Nature of Man
Meredith J. Duncan, Edith H. Jones
Houston Student Chapter
On November 11, 2010, the Houston Student Chapter of the Federalist Society hosted this event featuring...
Staub v. Proctor Hospital - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Victoria Dorfman
SCOTUScast 11-10-10 featuring Victoria Dorfman
On November 2, 2010, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Staub v. Proctor Hospital....
Sossamon v. Texas - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Jacob R. Loshin
SCOTUScast 11-09-10 featuring Jacob R. Loshin
On November 2, 2010, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Sossamon v. Texas. The...
The Public Pension Crisis: Legal Updates on the Challenges and Potential Solutions for the City of San Diego
Carl DeMaio, John C. Eastman, Jan Goldsmith, Michael Orfield, Adam Van Susteren, Michael Zucchet
San Diego Chapter
The San Diego Lawyers Chapter hosted this panel discussion on "The Public Pension Crisis" on...