Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP
Steven Krane joined Proskauer upon his graduation from New York University School of Law in 1981, taking a year off in 1984-85 to serve as law clerk to Judge Judith S. Kaye of the New York Court of Appeals. He became a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department in 1989, and is the chair of the firm’s Law Firm Advisory Practice Group, concentrating in the field of legal ethics and professional responsibility, while continuing to represent commercial clients in a broad range of civil litigation matters.
Steven represents law firms and individual lawyers in a variety of professional matters, including rendering opinions and counseling them on a daily basis on a broad range of professional matters including conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, cross-border legal practice issues, partnership disputes, and internal investigations. In addition, he defends law firms in litigated proceedings involving legal malpractice and other civil claims; represents individual lawyers before grievance and disciplinary committees; and assists lawyers in disputes concerning admission to the Bar. He has served as a litigation consultant and expert witness testifying on a variety of issues such as conflicts of interest, litigation conduct, legal malpractice, billing disputes, and solicitation of clients by lawyers leaving a law firm.
Steven is among the nation’s leaders in developing and interpreting the rules governing the professional conduct of lawyers. He is chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and has served on that committee since 2004. He has led the New York State Bar Association's Committee on Standards of Attorney Conduct, and its predecessor, since 1995. That committee is responsible for formulating the ethical rules governing New York lawyers. He served as a member of the NYSBA Committee on Professional Ethics for four years (1990-94), and spent nine of the 11 years from 1985 to 1996 associated in various capacities with the Committee on Professional and Judicial Ethics of the New York City Bar, including three years as the chair (1993-96). He was recently appointed by Chief Judge Kaye as co-chair of the New York Judicial Institute on Professionalism in the Law. He served as vice-chair of the NYSBA Special Committee on the Law Governing Firm Structure and peration (the “MacCrate Committee”), and chaired the successor to that committee, the Special Committee on Multidisciplinary Practice.
Steven has had a distinguished career as a bar leader outside of the field of legal ethics as well, most notably serving as President of the NYSBA in 2001-02; the youngest person to hold that post. He coordinated the efforts of the organized bar in responding to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; initiated the NYSBA’s successful lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission challenging the application of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s privacy provisions to the legal profession (serving as counsel to the NYSBA in the District of Columbia Circuit and as a member of the ABA’s Gramm-Leach-Bliley Task Force); and created and now chairs the Student Loan Assistance for the Public Interest program, which provides grants to lawyers in public interest jobs to help them defray their educational debts. Active in the community, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the John Jay Homestead (Katonah, NY) and a Trustee of the New York Bar Foundation.
Steven is active in the development of law and policy relating to cross-border legal practice, and serves as one of the principal negotiators for the ABA and NYSBA in their efforts to achieve agreements with foreign governments to liberalize restrictions on lawyers engaged in international practice. In that regard, he chairs the NYSBA Special Committee on Crossborder Legal Practice; is a vice-chair of the NYSBA Section on International Law and Practice; and Liaison to International Bar Associations; and is an Advisor to the ABA Task Force on International Trade in Legal Services.
Steven served as a Hearing Panel Chair for both the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial Department (1996-99) and the Committee on Grievances of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1995-2000). He currently serves as a Special Referee for the Grievance Committee for the Ninth Judicial District (Second Department) in New York.
For several years, Steven taught legal ethics at Columbia University School of Law as a member of its adjunct faculty. He continues to be a frequent lecturer on ethics, and has written extensively on issues of professional responsibility.
Associate Professor of Law and Director, Religious Liberty Clini, Stanford Law School
Jim Sonne is a professor at law at Stanford Law School, and is the founding director of the law school’s Religious Liberty Clinic, the only full-time program in the country where students learn the practice of law through supervised litigation in that field. He is an experienced and award-winning teacher, practitioner, and scholar, with expertise in law and religion issues.
Professor Sonne received his BA with honors from Duke University and his JD with honors from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Judge Edith Brown Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before joining the law school in 2012, Sonne was an appellate lawyer at Horvitz & Levy in Los Angeles.
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.
Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Erika C. Birg is a partner based out of the Atlanta office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. She focuses her practice on helping companies protect their businesses before, during, and after litigation, with experience in resolving business-to-business disputes through litigation, alternative dispute resolution, and state and federal appeals involving business torts, contract disputes, trade secrets, misappropriation, computer fraud, and non-compete matters.
Partner, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Lee A. Casey focuses on federal environmental, constitutional and international law and Alien Tort Statute issues. He also advises clients on compliance issues under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), U.S. trade sanctions regimes, and federal ethics requirements. Mr. Casey’s practice includes federal, district and appellate court litigation, as well as matters before federal agencies. Prior to joining BakerHostetler, Mr. Casey was an associate with Hunton & Williams, practicing in international, environmental and constitutional law. From 2004 through 2007 he served as an member of the United Nations Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
From 1986 to 1993, Mr. Casey served in various capacities in the federal government, including the Office of Legal Policy (1986-90) and the Office of Legal Counsel (1992-93) at the U.S. Department of Justice and served as Deputy Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy (1990-92). The Office of Legal Counsel is responsible for advising the Attorney General and the White House on issues of constitutional law and statutory interpretation. The Office of Legal Policy served as a strategic “think tank” for the Reagan Justice Department and was responsible for reviewing candidates for appointments to the federal bench.
Before joining the government in 1986, Mr. Casey was an associate in the Los Angeles firm of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, practicing in the litigation section, with an emphasis on copyright, contract and First Amendment issues. From 1984 to 1985, Mr. Casey served as Law Clerk to the Honorable Alex Kozinski, then Chief Judge of the United States Claims Court. From 1982 to 1984, he practiced at the Detroit firm of Dykema Gossett, focusing on corporate, securities, commercial and intellectual property litigation, and from 1990 through 1994, he served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law in Arlington, Virginia.
Among the chapters, articles and papers that Mr. Casey has authored or co-authored are: “International Law and the Nation-State at the U.N.,” Reclaiming the Language of Freedom at the United Nations: A Guide for U.S. Policymakers, The Heritage Foundation (2006) (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “The Dangerous Myth of Universal Jurisdiction,” A Country I Do Not Recognize (ed. Robert H. Bork) (2005) (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “Leashing the Dogs of War,” The National Interest (Fall 2003) (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “The Limits of Legitimacy: The Rome Statute’s Unlawful Application to Non-State Parties,” 44 Va.J.Int’l L. 63 (Fall 2003) (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “Devil’s Advocates: The Danger of Judging Lawyers By Their Clients,” Policy Review (Feb. and Mar. 2002) (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “The Case Against the International Criminal Court,” 25 Fordham Int’l L.J. 840 (2002); “Europe in the Balance: The Alarmingly Undemocratic Drift of the European Union,” Policy Review (June and July 2001) (with David B. Rivkin Jr.); “Against an International Criminal Court,” Commentary, May 1998 (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “Federalism (Cont’d.),” Commentary, December 1996 (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “Presidents and War Powers: Another View,” Common Sense, Winter 1996 (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); “How Binding Are Contracts?” The American Enterprise, Nov./Dec. 1993 (with David B. Rivkin, Jr.); and “Pirate Constitutionalism: An Essay in Self-Government,” 8 J. of L. & Politics 477 (1992).
Mr. Casey is a member of the California, Michigan and District of Columbia Bar Associations.
It's Not Our Job
Steven C. Krane
Lawyers have traditionally been able to provide their clients with dispassionate legal advice based on...
The ABA's Attack on "Unauthorized" Practice of Law and Consumer Choice
George W.C McCarter
Judge Posner is not alone in observing that the legal profession is “a cartel of...
Faith, Funds, and Freedom: Restoring Religious Liberties for Care Act Employers
James A. Sonne
It is no secret that President Bush has made it a priority of his administration...
Are Class Actions Lawyers Systematically Targeting Regulated Industries?
William P. Barr, Barbara Hart
MR. WILLIAM BARR: On June 20 of this year, the Second Circuit decided a case...
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: A Leading Example of What’s Wrong with International Law
Melana Vickers
Much political hay is made of the fact that the United States has not become...
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Ottawa Convention)
Burrus M. Carnahan
The modern anti-personnel land mine was invented by the Confederate Torpedo Bureau during the American...
Is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Constitutional?
Erika C. Birg
In the highly publicized and recently enacted Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act...
The Human Rights Record of the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Lee A. Casey
One of the most common arguments advanced to support American participation in the new International...
State Court Docket Watch February 2003
Table of Contents
Sexual Harassment Law (Michigan) Mass Torts (Mississippi) Judicial Ethics (Alabama) Judicial Ethics (Mississippi)
International Law, Social Change and the Family
Richard G. Wilkins
The last half of the past century has manufactured more social change than perhaps any...