Executive Director, Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society, The Ohio State University
Professor Lee J. Strang serves as the inaugural executive director of the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at The Ohio State University.
Initiated in 2023 by the state of Ohio, the Chase Center will be an academic home at Ohio State for teaching, research, and programing on the foundations of the American constitutional order and its impact on society. As executive director, Professor Strang is responsible for organizing the center, overseeing the hiring and appointment of the center’s faculty, developing curriculum, and delivering student and academic programming. He also holds a faculty appointment in the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State.
Professor Strang is a nationally recognized legal scholar who has published dozens of articles in leading journals in the fields of constitutional law and interpretation, property law, and religion and the First Amendment. He co-edits the textbook Federal Constitutional Law, and his most recent book, Originalism’s Promise: A Natural Law Account of the American Constitution is the first book-length, natural law justification for originalism. He currently is writing on civic thought and leadership, and he is finalizing a book on the history of American Catholic legal education (with John M. Breen).
Before joining Ohio State, Professor Strang served as the inaugural director of the University of Toledo’s Institute of American Constitutional Thought & Leadership. He joined the Toledo College of Law faculty in 2008, was granted tenure in 2010, and was named John W. Stoepler Professor of Law & Values in 2015. The University of Toledo awarded Professor Strang its Outstanding Faculty Research and Scholarship Award in 2017. Before that, he was a visiting professor at Michigan State University College of Law. A graduate of the University of Iowa, where he was articles editor of the Iowa Law Review and Order of the Coif, Professor Strang holds an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School.
Professor Strang has been a visiting scholar at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution and a visiting fellow at the James Madison Program at Princeton University. In 2016, he was appointed to the Ohio Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and reappointed as chair in 2023.
Prior to teaching, Professor Strang served as a judicial clerk for Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was also an associate for Jenner & Block LLP in Chicago, where he practiced in general and appellate litigation.
Professor Strang is a frequent presenter at scholarly conferences. He is the president of the Board of Trustees of Northwest Ohio Classical Academy, Ohio’s first classical charter school. He is also a regular participant in debates at law schools across the country, a contributor to the media, and a speaker to political, civic, and religious groups.
Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Stewart Baker is a partner in the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he was the first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. His law practice covers cybersecurity, data protection, homeland security, and travel and foreign investment regulation; he has been awarded one patent.
Mr. Baker has been General Counsel of the National Security Agency and General Counsel of the commission that investigated WMD intelligence failures prior to the Iraq war. He is the author of Skating on Stilts, a book on terrorism, cybersecurity, and other technology issues; he also hosts the weekly Cyberlaw Podcast.
Professor of Law, Michigan State University (currently serving as FCC General Counsel)
Professor Candeub joined the MSU Law faculty in fall 2004. He is also a Fellow with MSU's Institute of Public Utilities. Prior to joining MSU, he served as an advisor at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). From 1998 to 2000, Professor Candeub was a litigation associate for the Washington D.C. firm of Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue and also has served as a corporate associate with Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, also in Washington, D.C. Immediately following law school, he clerked for Chief Judge J. Clifford Wallace, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. While in law school, Professor Candeub was an articles editor for the University of Pennsylvania Law Review.
Professor Candeub's scholarly interests focus on the law and regulation of communications, internet, technology. His numerous law review articles and scholarly papers have placed him at the center of legal and policy controversies, and he often writes for popular outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and US News. Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have cited and relied upon his work.
He joined the Trump administration in 2019 as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Telecommunications and Information and assumed the role of Acting Assistant Secretary. He later joined the Department of Justice as Deputy Associate Attorney General.
Professor Candeub is a senior fellow at the D.C.-based Center of Renewing America.
Partner, Stris & Maher LLP, Fellow, Constitutional Law Center, Stanford Law School
Matthew A. Seligman is a lawyer and legal scholar based in Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C. His academic research focuses on election law, with a particular emphasis on disputed presidential elections. He is a partner at Stris & Maher LLP and a fellow at the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School. His broader research interests span constitutional law, federal courts, contracts, and private law theory.
His scholarship has appeared in the Stanford Law Review, the Michigan Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, Philosophy and Public Affairs, and elsewhere. His work on disputed presidential elections has received extensive coverage in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and dozens of other venues. He is a frequent commentator on election law issues, including numerous appearances on CNN, MSNBC, and other news channels.
He was previously a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, a Fellow at the Center for Private Law at Yale Law School, and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Prior to his academic appointments, he practiced Supreme Court litigation at a boutique litigation firm in Washington, D.C. He clerked for the Honorable Douglas H. Ginsburg on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
He received a J.D. from Stanford Law School; a Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University, focusing on political and moral philosophy; an M.A. in philosophy from Stanford, and dual undergraduate degrees in mathematics and philosophy from Stanford.
Judge, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida
On April 4, 2019, Judge Altman was confirmed to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. At 36, he became the youngest federal district court judge in the country—and the youngest federal judge ever appointed in the Southern District of Florida.
Judge Altman received a BA from Columbia University, where he played quarterback on the football team and pitched for the baseball team—earning All-Ivy honors. Judge Altman received his JD from the Yale Law School, where he was projects editor of the Yale Law Journal. After law school, the Judge clerked on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for the Honorable Stanley Marcus.
Judge Altman then became a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, where he twice received the Director of the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys’ Award for Superior Performance by a federal prosecutor. In 2013, Judge Altman was named “Federal Prosecutor of the Year” by the Miami-Dade Chiefs of Police and the Law Enforcement Officers’ Charitable Foundation.
In 2014, Judge Altman became a partner at the Miami law firm of Podhurst Orseck, where he represented the victims of airplane crashes and bank fraud conspiracies.
Chairman, The Ashcroft Law Firm LLC, and former United States Attorney General
Former U.S. Attorney General, Governor and U.S. Senator John Ashcroft serves as the firm’s founder and chairman. As Attorney General, and the U.S. Justice Department’s CEO, Mr. Ashcroft led the world’s largest and foremost international law firm and law enforcement agency—an organization larger than most Fortune 500 companies, with over 122,000 employees. Mr. Ashcroft integrated strategic planning, budgeting, and performance measures, which resulted in the DOJ earning a clean audit for the first time in its history.
Mr. Ashcroft boldly led the Department of Justice through the transformational period after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He subsequently reorganized the Department to focus on its number one priority: preventing terrorism. The tough antiterrorism campaign he directed helped keep America safe throughout his tenure and resulted in the dismantling of terrorist cells across America and the disruption of over 150 terrorist plots worldwide.
Within two months of the attacks, and with financial markets still reeling, the unprecedented corporate scandals at ENRON, WorldCom and dozens more unfolded, further destabilizing the weakened economy. John Ashcroft was called upon to restore America’s faith in the integrity of our marketplace. He marshaled the resources of the federal government to bring to justice those guilty of massive corporate fraud. At all times, he demanded that cases be brought swiftly, with appropriate serious penalties—always taking into account the best interests of the employees and shareholders whose lives were most directly affected.
From 1985 to 1993, as Governor of Missouri, Ashcroft balanced eight consecutive budgets, built a $120 million budget surplus and established a $190 million operating reserve. His management and fiscal integrity helped generate 338,000 new jobs state-wide, a triple-A bond rating from the three major Wall Street rating agencies, a per capita state and local tax burden ranked 49th in the United States and a 12 percent increase in personal income. His new education performance standards led Fortune magazine to name him as one of the nation’s top ten Education Governors. In 1991, the non-partisan National Governors Association voted him Chairman.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, he brought his management skills to Washington where he authored budget rules protecting Social Security and Medicare and helped balance the federal budget for the first time in decades. As a member of the Senate Judiciary, Foreign Relations and Commerce Committees, he worked to reform laws regulating the banking, telecommunications, aviation, transportation and information technology industries.
In 1973, Mr. Ashcroft served as Missouri Auditor, followed by two terms as Missouri Attorney General. He was raised in Springfield, Missouri, received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.
Former United States Attorney General
William P. Barr was born on May 23, 1950 in New York City. Mr. Barr received his A.B. in government from Columbia University in 1971 and his M.A. in government and Chinese studies in 1973. From 1973 to 1977, he served in the Central Intelligence Agency before receiving his J.D. with highest honors from George Washington University Law School in 1977.
In 1978, Mr. Barr served as a law clerk under Judge Malcolm Wilkey of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Following his clerkship, Mr. Barr joined the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge as an associate. He left the firm to work in the White House under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 to 1983 on the domestic policy staff, then returned to the law firm and became a partner in 1985.
Under President George H.W. Bush, Mr. Barr served as the Deputy Attorney General from 1990 to 1991; the Assistant Attorney General of the Office of Legal Counsel from 1989 to 1990; and the 77th Attorney General of the United States from 1991 to 1993. While serving at the Department, Mr. Barr helped create programs and strategies to reduce violent crime and was responsible for establishing new enforcement policies in a number of areas including financial institutions, civil rights, and antitrust merger guidelines. Mr. Barr also led the Department’s response to the Savings & Loan crisis; oversaw the investigation of the Pan Am 103 bombing; directed the successful response to the Talladega prison uprising and hostage taking; and coordinated counter-terrorism activities during the First Gulf War.
From 1994 to 2000, Mr. Barr served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for GTE Corporation. Mr. Barr then served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Verizon from 2000 to 2008. At both GTE and Verizon, Mr. Barr led the legal, regulatory, and government affairs activities of the companies.
After retiring from Verizon in 2008, Mr. Barr advised major corporations on government enforcement matters, as well as regulatory litigation. Mr. Barr served as Of Counsel at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in 2009 and rejoined the firm in 2017.
President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Mr. Barr on December 7, 2018, and he was confirmed as the 85th Attorney General of the United States by the U.S. Senate on February 14, 2019. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office. Mr. Barr joins John Crittenden (1841 and 1850-1853) as one of only two people in U.S. history to serve twice as Attorney General.
Former United States Attorney General
Jeff Sessions served as the 84th Attorney General of the United States from February 9, 2017 until November 7, 2018.
Prior to becoming Attorney General, Mr. Sessions served as a United States Senator for Alabama since 1996. As a United States Senator, he focused his energies on maintaining a strong military, upholding the rule of law, limiting the role of government, and providing tax relief to stimulate economic growth and to empower Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.
Mr. Sessions was born in Selma, Alabama on December 24, 1946, and grew up in Hybart, the son of a country store owner. Growing up in the country, Sessions was instilled with certain core values – honesty, hard work, belief in God and parental respect – that define him today. In 1964, he became an Eagle Scout and thereafter received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. After attending school in nearby Camden, Sessions attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969. He received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Alabama in 1973. Sessions served in the United States Army Reserve from 1973 to 1986, ultimately attaining the rank of Captain. He still considers that period to be one of the most rewarding chapters of his life.
Sessions’ interest in the law led to a distinguished legal career, first as a practicing attorney in Russellville, Alabama, and then in Mobile. Following a two-year stint as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama (1975-1977), Sessions was nominated by President Reagan in 1981 and confirmed by the Senate to serve as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, a position he held for 12 years. Sessions was elected Alabama Attorney General in 1995, serving as the State’s chief legal officer until 1996, when he entered the United States Senate.
Sessions and his wife, Mary Blackshear Sessions, originally of Gadsden, Alabama, have three children, Mary Abigail Reinhardt, Ruth Sessions Walk, and Sam. They have seven granddaughters, Jane Ritchie, Alexa, Gracie, Sophia, Hannah, Joanna, and Phoebe, and three grandsons, Jim Beau, Lewis, and Nicholas.
Board Member, U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
Beth A. Williams is a Board Member of the United States Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an agency whose mission is to ensure that the federal government's efforts to prevent terrorism are balanced with the need to protect privacy and civil liberties.
Prior to her Board service, Ms. Williams was the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the United States Department of Justice from August 2017 to December 2020. In that role, she served as the primary policy advisor to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, and as the Chief Regulatory Officer for the Department. Ms. Williams also led the judicial nomination process for the Department, assisting in the selection and confirmation of more than 230 Article III judges to the bench.
Prior to becoming Assistant Attorney General, Ms. Williams was a litigation and appellate partner at a national law firm, where her practice focused on complex commercial, securities, appellate, and First Amendment litigation. From 2005-2006, Ms. Williams served as Special Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she assisted with the confirmation of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Williams clerked for the Hon. Richard C. Wesley on the United State Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude, with a degree in History and Literature, and she earned her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Judge, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal
Judge Kansas R. Gooden serves on Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal.
Prior to her appointment by Governor Ron DeSantis in June 2024, Judge Gooden was in private practice for 16 years. She was an equity shareholder in her firm, chaired its appellate department, and served as the firm’s general counsel. She handled all types of civil appellate proceedings, including oral argument, before all of Florida’s district courts of appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She was counsel in over 400 civil appeals and extraordinary writ proceedings. She is one of the few attorneys to argue back-to-back cases on the same day before the Florida Supreme Court.
In addition, Judge Gooden provided trial and litigation support to attorneys throughout the state. She assisted in devising litigation strategy, argued evidentiary hearings and dispositive motions, and often attended trials to help preserve errors for appellate review.
Judge Gooden is a Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice and was rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. She was consistently recognized for appellate practice by Florida Super Lawyers, Florida Trend, and U.S. News’ Best Lawyers in America. She received awards from the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, such as the Amicus Award, James A. Dixon Young Lawyer Award, Joseph P. Metzger Outstanding Achievement Award, and President’s Award. Florida’s Guardian ad Litem Program awarded her the Children’s Champion Award in 2019 for her appellate pro bono work.
Throughout her career, Judge Gooden has been active in the legal community. She chaired the Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, its Appellate Board Certification Committee, and its Board of Legal Specialization and Education. She was the president of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, served on the board of directors of the Third District Court of Appeal Historical Society, and was elected to the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. She is a member of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, and she has spoken at several of its events.
Judge Gooden was a commissioner and vice chair on Florida’s Eleventh Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission and a commissioner on U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s Judicial Advisory Commission for the Southern District of Florida.
Judge Gooden frequently presents and speaks at legal and judicial conferences. She has spoken on a wide range of topics, including appellate practice, civil trial practice, and insurance law.
Judge Gooden received her J.D. magna cum laude from St. Thomas University School of Law. She was an Articles Editor on the St. Thomas Law Review, a member of the mock trial team, a research assistant, and a teaching assistant for Civil Procedure. She interned at the Third District Court of Appeal with Judge David Gersten. She received her B.B.A. in Finance from James Madison University. She was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Judge Gooden played nationally competitive junior, amateur, and collegiate golf. While in undergraduate school, Judge Gooden was a member of the two-time CAA Conference Champion women’s golf team and was named to the All-Conference Team. She is the 1997 and 1999 Virginia State Girls Golf Champion and was awarded the Marion Miley Bracelet by the Western Women’s Golf Association in 1997.
Shareholder & Chair, Global Insurance Regulatory & Transactions Practice, Greenberg Traurig
Fred E. Karlinsky is a Shareholder and Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice Group. He also serves on Greenberg Traurig’s Executive Committee. With more than 30 years of experience, Fred represents the interests of insurers, reinsurers and a broad range of insurance-related entities on complex regulatory and transactional matters. A nationally recognized authority on insurance regulation and compliance, Fred has held leadership positions in numerous industry trade organizations and frequently advises on emerging trends shaping the insurance sector. Under Fred’s leadership, Greenberg Traurig’s Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice was named “Legal Services Provider of the Year” by Insurance Insider at the 2024 U.S. Honors Awards and was a finalist for “Legal Team of the Year” at Business Insurance’s 2025 U.S. Insurance Awards.
Fred is consistently recognized as a foremost insurance regulatory attorney. He is the only Band 1 Florida insurance lawyer by Chambers & Partners, earning that distinction for 15 years. His honors include listings in The Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, Florida Trend’s Florida 500, Insurance Business America’s “Hot 100,” Daily Business Review’s “Distinguished Leaders” and Influence Magazine’s “Insurance Lobbyist of the Year.” He has also been named an Insurance Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal and listed as one of Florida’s 100 Most Influential People in State Politics in multiple consecutive editions of Influence Magazine
In addition to his role with Greenberg Traurig, Fred has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Florida State University College of Law since 2008 and currently chairs the College of Law’s Board of Visitors. Since 2014 Fred has served on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC), where six of the seven sitting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court have been appointed during Fred’s tenure on the JNC. Fred previously chaired the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission from 2022-2025. Fred proudly holds key leadership roles in numerous civic and professional organizations, including the Florida Supreme Court Historical Society, Board of Directors of the World Trade Center Miami, Leadership Florida’s Board of Directors, Board of Directors of the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center, is an active member of the Orange Bowl Committee and was a Board Member of the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship Host Committee.
President, Florida Justice Reform Institute
William W. Large is the president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute (FJRI), an organization dedicated to restoring fairness and personal responsibility to Florida's civil justice system.
Under his leadership, FJRI has delivered notable successes on numerous and complex legislative, regulatory, and judicial issues. These have included repealing Florida’s one-way attorney fee statute and reforming the contingency risk fee multiplier, strengthening the rules of evidence for medical damages, providing COVID liability protections for health care workers, and adopting the Federal summary judgment standard, among many others.
Prior to serving as president, Mr. Large served as Governor Bush's deputy chief of staff responsible for a portfolio of health and human service agencies.
Before that, Mr. Large served as general counsel for the Florida Department of Health, and during that time served as director of the Governor's Task Force on Professional Liability Insurance. Prior to working for the state, Mr. Large was a partner practicing in professional malpractice litigation defense.
Mr. Large is admitted to practice before all Florida courts and U.S. District Courts in Florida, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Large is "AV" rated by Martindale-Hubbell and a member of the Federalist Society, the Florida Defense Lawyers Association and the Defense Research Institute.
Mr. Large holds B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Florida, and an M.B.A, an M.S in Political Science, and an M.S. in Risk Management and Insurance from The Florida State University.
Member, Florida House of Representatives
Rep. Paul Renner (R-Palm Coast) serves as State Representative to District 24 in the Florida House of Representatives and is slated to become House Speaker in 2022. He is currently Chair of the Rules Committee and also serves on the Appropriations Committee. Rep. Renner is a military veteran, former prosecutor, and business attorney. He began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney, during which he prosecuted serious felony offenses. Since 1998, he has represented individuals and businesses as their advocate in a broad range of commercial settings.
In addition to his legal practice, Rep. Renner has served as a naval officer, both on active duty and in the reserves. Earlier in his career, he served in Operation Desert Storm during combat operations onboard the USS McInerney (FFG-8) and later during combat operations in Afghanistan in 2011.
Rep. Renner was raised in Northeast Florida, where he attended public school. He earned his Juris Doctorate at the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and his Bachelor of Arts in history at Davidson College in North Carolina. He lives in Palm Coast with his wife and daughter.
Judge James J. Clynes, Jr., Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
Professor Jay Tidmarsh, an expert in complex civil litigation and civil procedure, joined the faculty of the Notre Dame Law School in 1989. He earned an A.B. with highest honors from Notre Dame in 1979 and a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1982. A member of the Wisconsin Bar, he practiced as a trial attorney with the Torts Division of the United States Department of Justice from 1982 to 1989. He served as a visiting professor of law at Michigan Law School in 2000 and at Harvard Law School in 2003. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the American Law Institute.
He teaches principally in the areas of civil procedure, complex civil litigation, federal courts, torts, products liability, and remedies. He is the author or co-author of thirteen books, including casebooks in the fields of civil procedure and complex litigation, as well as numerous law-review articles in the fields of civil procedure, complex litigation, federal courts, and torts. He has served as Chair of the AALS Section on Civil Procedure, and as a member of the AALS Committee on Professional Development.
General Counsel & Wealth Advisor, Ullmann Wealth Partners
Patrick Kilbane is the General Counsel and a Wealth Advisor for Ullmann Wealth Partners headquartered in Jacksonville Beach, FL. Ullmann Wealth Partners is an independent wealth management firm that manages half a billion dollars of client assets in custody at Fidelity. Before joining Ullmann Wealth Partners, Pat was a Shareholder at Gray Robinson, P.A. where he had a thriving specialty litigation practice. Pat was recognized multiple times by Florida Trend and Super Lawyers Magazine for his skills and professionalism.
Pat serves the Northeast Florida Region in several roles. He’s received five gubernatorial appointments to the Judicial Nominating Commission for Florida’s Fourth Judicial Circuit and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority Board of Directors. His fellow board members elected him Chairman of both boards. Further, Pat is the President of the Jacksonville Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. In 2014-2015, Pat was elected President of the Young Lawyers Section of the Jacksonville Bar Association.
In 2005, Pat received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Notre Dame. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, summa cum laude, from Adrian College, where he earned the full-ride, merit-based Dawson Scholarship and was named the Outstanding Graduate by faculty vote for the Class of 2002.
Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in US Constitutional Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Tracey Maclin is Professor of Law and Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Eminent Scholar Chair. Prior to joining the University of Florida faculty, he was a professor of law and Joseph Lipsitt Faculty Research Scholar at Boston University School of Law. He has also taught at Cornell Law School, Harvard Law School and the University of Kentucky College of Law. Before entering law teaching, Professor Maclin served as a law clerk to Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and worked at Cahill, Gordon & Reindel.
Professor Maclin teaches courses in Constitutional Law and Constitutional Criminal Procedure. He also teaches a seminar on the Supreme Court’s cases in criminal procedure, criminal law, habeas corpus and the death penalty. His scholarship focuses on the Fourth Amendment and the Self-Incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment. He has published many law review articles and book chapters on constitutional criminal procedure topics. He is the author of The Supreme Court and the Fourth Amendment’s Exclusionary Rule (Oxford University Press 2013). In addition to his legal scholarship, Professor Maclin has authored over a dozen amicus curiae briefs and served as counsel of record for the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Cato Institute in Fourth Amendment cases in the United States Supreme Court.
Partner, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
Mr. Norris helps clients win important questions of federal law in trial and appellate courts across the country. He has represented prominent nonprofits, many States, the Republican Party, and the former President of the United States. He has argued in eight of the twelve federal circuits and twice at the U.S. Supreme Court, including the landmark case Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
Mr. Norris is barred in Tennessee and Virginia, and is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Mr. Norris lives with his family in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Justice, Florida Supreme Court
On May 23, 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Justice Meredith L. Sasso to be the 93rd justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.
Justice Sasso was raised in Tallahassee. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 2005 and her law degree from the University of Florida in 2008, where she was a member of the Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Board. She began her career in private practice, representing clients in large loss general liability, auto negligence, and complex commercial claims in state and federal courts at trial and on appeal. She also served as guardian ad litem, representing abused or neglected children.
In August 2016, Justice Sasso joined the Office of the General Counsel to Governor Rick Scott, serving as Chief Deputy General Counsel. In this role, she represented the Governor in litigation before the Florida Supreme Court, the First District Court of Appeal, and state and federal trial courts, among other duties. In January 2019, Governor Rick Scott appointed her to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. Governor Ron DeSantis recommissioned her to the newly created Sixth District Court of Appeal on January 1, 2023, where she was elected by her colleagues to serve as its first Chief Judge.
She is an appointed member of the Florida Bar Appellate Court Rules Committee. She is also a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network and the Federalist Society.
Devon Westhill is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Westhill on October 7, 2025.
Westhill returns to the USDA where he previously headed the civil rights office as Deputy Assistant Secretary in President Trump’s first term. His previous government appointments also include service at the U.S. Department of Labor, liaison to the Administrative Conference of the U.S., and liaison to the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to returning to government service, Westhill was President and General Counsel of a nonprofit civil rights organization.
Westhill has testified on civil rights matters before Congress, federal agencies, and as an expert witness in federal court. He has spoken hundreds of times at college campuses, conferences, and on radio and TV programs, and he is frequently quoted in print publications, and his writing has appeared in numerous national outlets. A U.S. Navy veteran, Westhill earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Florida.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
The Honorable Whitney Hermandorfer is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on May 12, 2025, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 14, 2025.
Prior to her appointment, she worked in the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General as Director of the Strategic Litigation Unit. In that role, Whitney focused on leading constitutional, statutory, and administrative-law challenges to federal agency action, as well as on defending the State in complex matters at the trial and appellate level.
Whitney previously worked at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC, where she focused on appellate and administrative-law litigation. Whitney clerked for Justice Samuel Alito in the OT 2018 Supreme Court term and for Justice Amy Coney Barrett during her inaugural OT 2020 term. Prior to that, Whitney clerked for then-Judge Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Richard Leon on the U.S. District Court for D.C. Whitney is a graduate of Princeton University and George Washington University Law School.
Judge, Florida First District Court of Appeal
Judge Robert “Bobby” E. Long, Jr., was appointed to the First District Court of Appeal on June 10th, 2020, by Governor Ron DeSantis. Prior to joining the Court of Appeal, Judge Long served as a trial court judge on Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit Court. He was appointed to the Circuit Court on June 26th, 2016, by Governor Rick Scott.
Prior to joining the Circuit Court, he was the General Counsel and a Major on the Executive Command Staff at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. A law enforcement officer and an attorney, he oversaw the operations of the Legal and Professional Service Division at the Sheriff’s Office. In that capacity he ran internal affairs, all law enforcement and corrections professional training, supervised all litigation, managed legislative affairs, handled employment matters, and provided counsel to the Office of the Sheriff. Prior to that, he worked in private practice at a statewide law firm where he handled diverse civil litigation matters.
Judge Long started his legal career as an active duty Judge Advocate with the United States Navy. He is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. He also served as a Naval Officer in the pacific area of operations. He currently serves as a Commander in the United States Navy Reserves.
As an attorney, his civil and criminal litigation experience ranged from wrongful death to murder. Prior to attending law school, Judge Long worked as a law enforcement officer at the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
Judge Long has served on the Boards of Directors for the Legal Aid Foundation, the Rotary Club of Tallahassee, and the American Inn of Court. He is a member of the Economic Club of Florida, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Leadership Tallahassee.
Judge Long and his wife have four sons. He is a volunteer coach for their baseball, soccer, basketball, and football teams. He and his wife lead children’s Sunday School at their church. He is the Chairman of his sons’ Cub Scout Pack and an Assistant Scoutmaster with their Boy Scout Troop.
Judge Long holds a law degree from the University of Florida, College of Law, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the Florida State University, College of Business.
Associate Justice, Alabama Supreme Court
James L. “Jay” Mitchell was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2018.
Prior to serving on the Supreme Court, Justice Mitchell was an accomplished litigation attorney with Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C. During his time in private practice, he tried a number of complex cases to verdict, successfully handled appeals, and obtained favorable settlements for clients. He was rated as one of the top litigators in the United States and Alabama, and received the highest possible rating for professional ethics. He also served on Maynard, Cooper & Gale’s executive committee, helping to lead strategic and growth initiatives for the firm.
Justice Mitchell was born in Mobile and grew up in South Alabama and in Homewood. He is a graduate of Homewood High School and received his Bachelor of Arts with honors from Birmingham-Southern College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, served as president of the student body, and played forward on the school’s 1995 national championship basketball team. He holds a Master of Arts from University College in Dublin, Ireland, and received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Justice Mitchell has long been active in organizations that benefit the community and enhance the legal profession. In addition to his service with other organizations, he is a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham and serves on the board of directors at Cornerstone School, an inner city Christian school. He is also a member of the Federalist Society.
Justice Mitchell and his wife, Elizabeth, have been married for 20 years and have four children. They reside in Homewood and are longtime members of Church of the Highlands.
United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
In November 2020, the Senate confirmed Kathryn Kimball Mizelle as a United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida. At age 33, she became the youngest Article III judge in the country. Prior to her confirmation, Judge Mizelle was in private practice at Jones Day, where she focused on complex civil and criminal litigation and appeals. Judge Mizelle previously served at the United States Department of Justice in the Office of the Associate Attorney General, in the Southern Criminal Enforcement Section of the Tax Division, and in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Mizelle has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
Judge Mizelle earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Covenant College, and her J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. After graduation, Judge Mizelle served as a law clerk at every level of the federal judiciary: at the Supreme Court for Justice Clarence Thomas, at the D.C. Circuit for Judge Gregory G. Katsas, at the Eleventh Circuit for Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr., and at the Middle District of Florida for Judge James S. Moody Jr.
Partner, Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC
Ed Wenger, a partner at Holtzman Vogel and Florida Bar board certified in appellate law, has successfully handled every stage of litigation, from the initial complaint-drafting stage all the way through United States Supreme Court review. Experienced in skills covering, among other things, state-court administrative hearings to expert-witness cross-examination, Ed has focused the bulk of his career on appellate and constitutional litigation, as well as critical motions practice.
His appellate experience began, first, as a law clerk for the Honorable Edward C. Prado of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and it continued as a law clerk for the Honorable Karen LeCraft Henderson of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He has since served as the Chief Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Florida (the number two appellate litigator for the State) and the General Counsel to the West Virginia Attorney General.
Drawing on the work ethic that once earned him a two-year stint as captain of FIU’s football team, Ed has presented oral argument in state and federal courts throughout the country, submitted scores of briefs in courts throughout the nation (and roughly two dozen with the Supreme Court of the United States), and represented, among others, the Office of Governor Ron DeSantis and Former United States Attorney General Edwin Meese III.
When Ed isn’t writing briefs, he can be found studying political philosophy and American statesmanship at Hillsdale College or boxing for charity (no wins yet, but we’re optimistic)!
Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Office of Florida Attorney General
Daniel Bell serves as Chief Deputy Solicitor General in the Florida Office of the Attorney General. He has also served as General Counsel to the Florida House of Representatives, and took a leave of absence from government service to manage Blake Masters' U.S. Senate campaign in 2020.
Before government service, Mr. Bell was a litigator at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Florida State University with degrees in economics and history and from Stanford Law School, after which he clerked for Judges Alex Kozinski and Paul Watford of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr, Bell is a Florida native, husband, and father of three girls.
Constitutional Scholarship Director and Senior Legal Analyst, Pacific Legal Foundation
Anastasia Boden is Director of Constitutional Scholarship at Pacific Legal Foundation, where she leads the organization’s Supreme Court commentary and directs scholarly analysis in support of the firm’s litigation. She has represented entrepreneurs and small businesses nationwide in challenges to onerous licensing regimes, anti-competitive titling restrictions, Certificate of Need (“competitor’s veto”) laws, and other forms of unnecessary red tape that block economic opportunity.
Prior to this role, Anastasia developed nearly a dozen constitutional challenges to Certificate of Need laws across the country, helping spur legislative reform in Montana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Her victories include a ruling invalidating Houston’s busking restrictions, multiple appellate decisions expanding access to the courts for civil rights plaintiffs, and the legislative repeal of Virginia’s happy-hour advertising ban.
Her writings on law and liberty have been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Forbes, and more, and she has appeared on Headline News, CBS News, Fox News, ReasonTV, Newsmax, and John Stossel. In 2020, she was featured on Libertarian Party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen’s Supreme Court shortlist.
Anastasia earned her BA with dean’s honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was research assistant to Professor Randy E. Barnett—the “intellectual godfather” of the constitutional challenge to Obamacare. She is the co-creator of the podcast Dissed, about infamous Supreme Court dissents. She authors the biweekly newsletter SCOTUS Scoop and the column, “In Dissent” for SCOTUSblog.
Founding Partner, Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC
Alan Lawson retired from the Florida Supreme Court in late 2022 after a 35-year legal and judicial career, founding the firm with his partners in early 2023.
Earlier in his legal career, Alan practiced as an associate and partner with a major Florida law firm, Steel Hector & Davis, and with the Orange County Attorney’s Office. In these capacities, Alan handled a wide array of case types in state and federal court, and before administrative agencies, including construction, government procurement, eminent domain, contract claims, public utility regulatory proceedings, business disputes, and class action defense, attaining a Martindale-Hubbell “AV” rating. This rating reflects a peer-review ranking at the highest level of professional excellence for legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.
In 2002, Alan was appointed by then-Governor Jeb Bush as a Judge of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and served there for four years, presiding over more than 100 jury trials. Alan was then appointed by Governor Bush to the Fifth District Court of Appeal, where he served for eleven years, including a term as Chief Judge. In 2016, Governor Rick Scott appointed Alan to the Florida Supreme Court, where he served until his retirement from the bench. Throughout his career, Alan received numerous awards and recognitions, and has maintained a reputation for diligence, excellence, skill and professionalism.
Associate Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Professor Marshfield teaches and writes in the areas of local government law, state constitutional law, and constitutional change. His research has appeared in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Northwestern University Law Review, Boston University Law Review and the Michigan Law Review, among others. His state constitutional law research has been cited by the New Jersey Supreme Court, and his research into constitutional change has been cited by leading scholars in law reviews, textbooks, and academic journals. Professor Marshfield has also served as a consultant to foreign officials regarding issues of constitutional revision, and he has advised public policy groups regarding voter awareness and ballot issues.
Before joining the University of Florida, Professor Marshfield taught at the University of Nebraska College of Law, where he twice won Professor of the Year for this teaching. Professor Marshfield also taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law and practiced as a commercial litigator with Latham & Watkins LLP and Saul Ewing LLP. He clerked for Judge Robert B. Kugler, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, and Chief Justice James R. Zazzali of the Supreme Court of the State of New Jersey.
Professor Marshfield grew up in Durban, South Africa.
Judge, Florida Second District of Appeal
Judge Moe currently serves in the Civil Division of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit.
At the time then-Governor Rick Scott appointed her to the bench in 2017, Judge Moe was an equity shareholder at Bush Ross, P.A. She was AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and was recognized by Best Lawyers in America, Florida Trend: Legal Elite, and Florida Super Lawyers in the field of commercial litigation. As a lawyer, her trial experience included jury and non-jury cases in state and federal court and in arbitration. Her last trial in private practice involved a dispute between the State of Florida and the Seminole Indian Tribe over the Tribe’s Class III gaming compact. While her clients were most often business people engaged in or trying to avoid business disputes, she also handled pro bono cases on behalf of a nun, a convicted murderer serving three life sentences in federal prison, and a participant in the Middle District of Florida’s Intensive Re-Entry Program. She is a past president of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and a past chair of a Florida Bar Grievance Committee.
Prior to entering private practice, she clerked for United States District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington in the Middle District of Florida. During law school, she was editor-in-chief of the law review and interned for Justice Kenneth B. Bell during his service on the Florida Supreme Court and the Honorable Jeffrey Hotham on the Maricopa County Superior Court. She is an honors graduate of the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, Furman University, and Cambridge Christian School (formerly known as Seminole Presbyterian School).
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Stephanos Bibas is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Bibas was previously a professor of law and criminology at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. As director of the Penn Law Supreme Court Clinic, he argued six cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and filed briefs in dozens of others. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 1989 with a B.A. in political theory and from Oxford University in 1991 with a B.A. in jurisprudence. He then earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1994.
After graduating from Yale Law, Judge Bibas clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court and was a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. Thereafter, Judge Bibas served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he successfully prosecuted the world’s leading expert in Tiffany stained glass for hiring a grave robber to steal priceless Tiffany windows from cemeteries. Before his tenure at Penn Law, Judge Bibas taught at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Iowa College of Law and was a research fellow at Yale Law School. He has published two books and seventy scholarly articles.
Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law and Deputy Dean, Harvard Law School
Molly Brady is the Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, where she teaches property law and related subjects. Her scholarship uses historical analyses of property institutions and land use doctrines to explore broader theoretical questions. Her current research projects involve the relationship between covenants and zoning, the persistence of community knowledge in property doctrine, and the uses of history in state constitutional law. She is also an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute’s Fourth Restatement of Property.
Previously, Professor Brady taught at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she received the 2019 UVA Student Council Distinguished Teaching Award, the 2018 Z Society Distinguished Faculty Award for “one outstanding member of the University’s faculty who has positively impacted the student body,” and an invitation to the Seven Society 27th Annual Monticello Dinner Series for “exemplary scholarship and transformative instruction of students.” Her recent article, “The Forgotten History of Metes and Bounds,” won both the Association of American Law Schools’ Scholarly Papers Prize for junior faculty members in their first five years of law teaching and the American Society for Legal History’s William Nelson Cromwell Article Prize for the year’s best paper by an early-career scholar.
Professor Brady received an AB summa cum laude in history from Harvard College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was awarded the Harvard-Radcliffe Foundation for Women’s Athletics Prize for the top female scholar-athlete. Professor Brady then obtained her JD from Yale Law School, where she was the two-time recipient of the Parker Prize for legal history scholarship and was awarded the Quintin Johnstone Prize in Real Property Law, the Jewell Prize for an outstanding contribution to a Yale Law School journal, and the Cullen Prize for the best paper written by a first-year student. Following graduation, she served as a clerk to Judge Bruce M. Selya on the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and practiced at Ropes and Gray in Boston as a corporate associate focusing on intellectual property transactions. After leaving practice, she was in the first graduating class of the PhD in Law program at Yale University.
Justice, Supreme Court of Tennessee
Justice Sarah Campbell was confirmed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2022. She previously served as an Associate Solicitor General in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and as an associate at the law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC. Justice Campbell earned her law degree from Duke University School of Law, a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee, where she received the Torchbearer Award. She served as a law clerk for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the United States Supreme Court and Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Lecturer, Harvard Law School
James E. Tierney is the former Attorney General of Maine and a Lecturer at Harvard Law School where he teaches a course on the role of state attorneys general while directing the Harvard Attorney General clinic. For thirteen years he was the Director of the National State Attorneys General Program at Columbia Law School, and he has also taught courses at Boston College Law School, Northeastern Law School and the University of Maine School of Law.
Mr. Tierney served as the Attorney General of Maine from 1980 until 1990. During his ten years as Attorney General of Maine, Mr. Tierney played an active role in the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and has instructed newly elected state Attorneys General on the effective performance of their office. Mr. Tierney has also served as a Special Prosecutor in Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Vermont and, on behalf of NAAG, has authored an analysis of the operations of state grand jury practice throughout the United States. He travels regularly to visit in offices of attorney general where he conducts ethics seminars for incumbent attorneys general and their staffs.
Tierney has served on the Board of both the American Judicature Society and was a member of the Board of Commentators of the Courtroom Television Network. In April of 2006, Professor Tierney was selected as the Columbia Law School Public Interest Professor of the Year. This award, which is given to the faculty member or administrator who has most supported and inspired a significant portion of the public interest law student community, is selected by a vote of students.
Tierney is married to Maine author Elizabeth Strout. He has five children and eight grandchildren.
Alston & Bird Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law
Professor Young teaches constitutional law, federal courts, and foreign relations law. He is one of the nation's leading authorities on the constitutional law of federalism, having written extensively on the Rehnquist Court's "Federalist Revival" and the difficulties confronting courts as they seek to draw lines between national and state authority. He also is an active commentator on foreign relations law, where he focuses on the interaction between domestic and supranational courts and the application of international law by domestic courts. Professor Young also writes on constitutional interpretation and constitutional theory. He has been known to dabble in maritime law and comparative constitutional law.
A native of Abilene, Texas, Professor Young joined the Duke Law faculty in 2008, after serving as the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, where he had taught since 1999. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1990 and Harvard Law School in 1993. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Michael Boudin of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (1993-94) and to Justice David Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court (1995-96). Professor Young practiced law at Cohan, Simpson, Cowlishaw, & Wulff in Dallas, Texas (1994-95) and at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C. (1996-98), where he specialized in appellate litigation. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School (2004-05) and Villanova University School of Law (1998-99), as well as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center (1997).
Elected to the American Law Institute in 2006, Professor Young is an active participant in both public and private litigation in his areas of interest. He has been the principal author of amicus briefs on behalf of leading constitutional scholars in several recent Supreme Court cases, including Medellin v. Texas(concerning presidential power and the authority of the International Court of Justice over domestic courts) and Gonzales v. Raich (concerning federal power to regulate medical marijuana).
Chief Counsel, FIRE
Robert Corn-Revere joined FIRE from the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine where he was a partner for 20 years specializing in freedom of expression and communications law. Before his time at DWT, he was a partner at Hogan & Hartson and served as legal advisor and later chief counsel to Federal Communications Commission Chairman James H. Quello.
Corn-Revere is a prominent writer, thinker, and advocate on free expression issues. In 2021, Cambridge University Press published his book, “The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: The First Amendment and the Censor’s Dilemma,” which explores how free expression became a part of America’s identity. He also co-authored the three-volume treatise, “Modern Communication Law,” published by West Group. In 2003, he successfully petitioned Governor George E. Pataki to grant the first posthumous pardon in New York history to the late comedian Lenny Bruce, who was convicted for “obscene” comedy routines.
Before joining FIRE full-time, Corn-Revere was a volunteer on FIRE’s Advisory Council. He also served as outside counsel for FIRE’s Stand Up For Speech Litigation Project, successfully litigating on behalf of college students and faculty whose First Amendment rights were violated.
He is regularly listed as a leading First Amendment and media law practitioner by The Best Lawyers in America, SuperLawyers Washington, D.C., and by Chambers USA. Best Lawyers in America named him as Washington, D.C.’s 2017 “Lawyer of the Year” in the areas of First Amendment Law and Litigation – First Amendment. He was again named as Best Lawyers’ “Lawyer of the Year” for First Amendment Law for 2019 and 2021, and in Media Law for 2022.
Partner, First & Fourteenth PLLC
Michael Francisco is a public and commercial litigator with extensive appellate experience who often serves as a strategic advisor to clients facing acute legal challenges. He has represented clients nationally for public impact litigation, bet-the-company lawsuits, and in defense of constitutional rights. Michael served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Judge Timothy Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Michael regularly takes on challenging matters where citizens must rely on the judiciary to vindicate their rights. His experience runs the gambit from successfully seeking injunctive relief, winning critical legal motions, defending judgments on appeal, overturning multi-million-dollar judgments, and obtaining discretionary high court review. He relishes the opportunity to develop a well-crafted legal strategy to solve the most novel and complex problems that may arise.
Michael has deep experience with political litigation representing candidates, voters, political parties, and advocacy organizations for ballot access, election administration, campaign finance, and for the unfortunate trend of criminalization of political activity.
After deciding to pursue a legal career to defend religious liberty, Michael has regularly engaged in constitutional litigation under the religion clauses and the free speech clause. He has been involved in many recent U.S. Supreme Court cases involving these core freedoms, including Groff v. DeJoy, 303 Creative v. Elenis, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, National Institute of Family & Life Advocates v. Becerra, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, and similar cases in lower courts on topics ranging from the ministerial exception, church property disputes, to religious land use disputes.
As an appellate advocate Michael frequently handles matters before the U.S. Supreme Court, federal courts of appeals, and Colorado appellate courts. He has argued four times before the Colorado Supreme Court and briefed 19 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Michael also frequently advises clients on strategic public matters challenging federal government authority and overreach. He has regularly litigated business disputes, employment matters, as well as represented clients before state and federal administrative agencies or arbitration panels.
Prior to joining First & Fourteenth, Michael was a partner at McGuireWoods, LLP in Washington D.C., representing litigation, white collar, and government investigation clients.
At home Michael is married with four children and he enjoys many outdoor activities, ranging from competitive shooting to fixing his jeep.
Partner, Briscoe Prows Kao Ivester & Bazel LLP
Tony Francois is experienced in Water and Real Property Law, Land Use and Zoning, Environmental Regulation, Natural Resources Development, Agricultural Law, and Constitutional Law. He has represented homeowners, builders, farmers and ranchers, trade associations, and water districts in administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings before state and federal administrative agencies and state and federal trial and appellate courts. He is a member of the California State Bar and the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California and the Districts of New Mexico and North Dakota, and has litigated cases in federal courts in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He has appeared before the Supreme Courts of California, Idaho, Nevada, and the United States.
Prior to attending law school, he served as an infantry officer in the United States Army, and was stationed in the former West Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Tony was an Attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation from 2012 to 2021. He was a lobbyist for 10 years, first with California Farm Bureau Federation from 2003 to 2007, and then with KP Public Affairs from 2007 to 2012. He was an attorney at McQuaid, Bedford & Van Zandt in San Francisco from 1999 – 2003.
Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Eli Nachmany is an associate at Covington & Burling LLP in the Washington, DC, office. He clerked for Judge Steven J. Menashi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Eli graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Prior to law school, Eli served as the speechwriter to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and as a domestic policy aide in the White House Office of American Innovation. He graduated summa cum laude from New York University with a B.S. in Sports Management. Eli’s scholarship on administrative law and executive power has appeared in the BYU Law Review, George Mason Law Review, Wake Forest Law Review, and Yale Law Journal Forum.
Senior Attorney, Institute for Free Speech
Brett Nolan is a Senior Attorney at the Institute for Free Speech, a public interest law firm that defends the First Amendment rights of those engaged in political speech and advocacy around the country.
Before joining the Institute, Brett served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of Kentucky, where he represented the Commonwealth in a wide variety of high-stakes litigation at every level of state and federal court. In that role, Brett led a successful challenge against the Department of Treasury over the constitutionality of a federal law limiting the ability of states to modify their tax codes, and he helped secure a U.S. Supreme Court victory that upheld a state’s constitutional right to defend its interests in federal court.
Prior to that, Brett served as the Deputy General Counsel to the former Governor of Kentucky, where he advised the governor and other executive branch officials on legal and policy issues and represented them in litigation. Brett clerked for Judge John Nalbandian of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Between clerkships, he worked in private practice. Brett received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated with High Honors and was an editor of The University of Chicago Law Review.
Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
Jennifer Weddle is the Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig's American Indian Law Practice and has wide-ranging experience in complex regulatory and jurisdictional issues, with a focus in Indian law, handling a variety of matters for tribal and non-tribal clients. She has a dynamic, inter-disciplinary practice that centers on providing strategies for resolving complex jurisdictional problems. Much of her practice focuses in the areas of tribal economic development and natural resources development. Jennifer also has U.S. Supreme Court experience, including serving as one of the attorneys for the respondent in Nevada v. Hicks (2001) and representing the petitioners in Ute Mountain Ute Tribe v. Padilla (2012) and Grand Canyon Skywalk Development, LLC v. Grand Canyon Resort Corporation (2013) and cert stage amici in Saginaw-Chippewa Tribe v. NLRB (2016) and United States v. Cooley (2020) and amici on the merits in Lewis v. Clarke (2017), U.S. v. Washington (2018), Carpenter v. Murphy (2018), McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020), and United States v. Cooley (2021).
Jennifer's work also includes negotiations for mineral leasing employment matters and representation before federal agencies. She has also been involved in civil litigation, working on numerous complex federal, state and tribal litigation matters, including class action tort litigation and large commercial disputes. Her transactional experience includes oil and gas renewables projects throughout the west, as well as Endangered Species Act work. Jennifer frequently assists tribes, banks and non-bank entities with financing and regulatory matters with Indian law components. Jennifer has wide-ranging project siting experience, including the application of NEPA, NHPA, and other environmental laws on tribal and public lands, including with respect to large linear multi-state energy and infrastructure projects. Jennifer has deep transactional, regulatory and litigation experience involving very complex matters with both legal and policy components.
Jennifer is past President of the National Native American Bar Association and past two-term Chair of the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Section. She currently serves as the Tenth Circuit Representative on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, a role she has held since 2018, spanning the evaluations for more than two dozen federal judicial nominees at every level of the federal courts. She is a ’00 graduate of Harvard Law School and a ’97 graduate of the University of Michigan (Classical Languages and Literature).
Challenges to Originalism VII: Originalism is Inconsistent with Democracy
Lee J. Strang
The Federalist Society's Student Division & Berkeley Law Student Chapterpresent Challenges to Originalism VII:...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Murthy v. Missouri
Stewart A. Baker, Adam Candeub, Matthew Seligman
Murthy v. Missouri, originally filed as Missouri v. Biden, concerns whether federal government officials had...
Luncheon & Remarks
Roy Kalman Altman
2024 Florida Chapters Conference
Zionism: An Indigenous People’s Fight for its Ancient Homeland Judge Altman led us on a...
Banquet Dinner
John Ashcroft, William P. Barr, Jefferson B. Sessions, Beth A. Williams
2024 Florida Chapters Conference
Perspectives on the Role of the Nation’s Chief Legal Officer A Conversation with Three U.S. Attorneys...
Panel IV: Florida’s Tort and Insurance Reform: Past, Present, and Future
Kansas R. Gooden, Fred E. Karlinsky, William Large, Paul Renner, Jay Tidmarsh, Patrick J. Kilbane
Lawmakers and courts have been reforming Florida’s tort and insurance laws for decades. From expansion...
Panel III: Race in Admissions: How SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC are Changing Higher Education and the Legal Profession
Tracey Maclin, Cameron T. Norris, Meredith Sasso, Devon Westhill
2024 Florida Chapters Conference
The panel will discuss how these decisions are transforming the admissions process in higher education...
Young Lawyers Special Session: Making Winning Arguments
Whitney D. Hermandorfer, Robert E. Long, Jay Mitchell, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, Edward Mark Wenger
2024 Florida Chapters Conference
The state and federal bench has transformed in recent years, with more textualist/originalist judges appointed...
Panel II: Amending the Florida Constitution: Ballot Initiatives and Judicial Review
Daniel Bell, Anastasia P. Boden, Alan Lawson, Jonathan L. Marshfield, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe
2024 Florida Chapters Conference
The citizen-initiative process allows the People of Florida to propose amendments to the state constitution,...
Panel I: Federalism and the Separation of Powers
Stephanos Bibas, Maureen Brady, Sarah Keeton Campbell, James E. Tierney, Ernest Young
2024 National Student Symposium
It has been said that American-style split sovereignty provides the people a “double security” for...
A Seat at the Sitting - March 2024
Robert Corn-Revere, Michael Francisco, Tony Francois, Eli Nachmany, Brett Nolan, Jennifer H. Weddle
The March Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...