Amicus Attorney, The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
Abby joined FIRE after her tenure at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where she litigated First Amendment student group cases from coast to coast. She also worked at a trial litigation boutique in southern California. Abby has filed briefs on the First Amendment in state and federal court at the trial and appellate court levels, including before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Abby received her B.S. in economics and her B.A. in Chinese language and literature from the University of Pittsburgh, where she graduated summa cum laude. During college, she also spent a year at Tsinghua University as a Boren Fellow. She later received her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where she won the 2018 Hinton Moot Court Competition. After law school, Abby clerked for the Honorable Michael B. Brennan on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is admitted to practice in New York and California, as well as several federal appellate courts and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Abby lives outside Dallas, Texas, with her husband and family. They enjoy reading together, volunteering with their local church, and continuing to fix their leaky pool.
General Counsel, xAI and X
Former Solicitor General of Texas
Jonathan F. Mitchell is Principal at Mitchell Law PLLC. He received his law degree with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an articles editor of The University of Chicago Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Mitchell clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He then served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice from 2003 through 2006. After leaving the Department of Justice, Mr. Mitchell served as a Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University Law Center, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 2006 through 2008, and an Assistant Professor of Law at George Mason University from 2008 through 2010.
In 2010, Mr. Mitchell was appointed Solicitor General of Texas, a position he held until January 2015. After leaving the Texas Solicitor General’s office, Mr. Mitchell served as the Searle Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law before joining the Hoover Institution as a Visiting Fellow from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Mitchell also served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford Law School before opening his own law firm in 2018.
Mr. Mitchell has published numerous works of scholarship in top-10 law journals, and he has written articles on textualism, national-security law, criminal law and procedure, judicial review and judicial federalism, and the legality of stare decisis in constitutional adjudication.
Mr. Mitchell has argued eight times before the Supreme Court of the United States, and more than 20 times in the federal courts of appeals. He has also argued before Supreme Court of Texas and in numerous trial courts. Mr. Mitchell has authored the principal merits brief in 11 Supreme Court cases, and has written and submitted more than 20 amicus curiae briefs in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Mitchell devised the novel enforcement mechanism in the Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as Senate Bill 8, which avoids pre-enforcement judicial review by prohibiting government officials from enforcing the statute and empowering private citizens to bring lawsuits against those who violate it. This produced an end-run around Roe v. Wade and allowed Texas and other states to impose pre-viability abortion bans despite the continued existence of Roe.
Former Solicitor General of Texas
Jonathan F. Mitchell is Principal at Mitchell Law PLLC. He received his law degree with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an articles editor of The University of Chicago Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Mitchell clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He then served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice from 2003 through 2006. After leaving the Department of Justice, Mr. Mitchell served as a Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University Law Center, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 2006 through 2008, and an Assistant Professor of Law at George Mason University from 2008 through 2010.
In 2010, Mr. Mitchell was appointed Solicitor General of Texas, a position he held until January 2015. After leaving the Texas Solicitor General’s office, Mr. Mitchell served as the Searle Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law before joining the Hoover Institution as a Visiting Fellow from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Mitchell also served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford Law School before opening his own law firm in 2018.
Mr. Mitchell has published numerous works of scholarship in top-10 law journals, and he has written articles on textualism, national-security law, criminal law and procedure, judicial review and judicial federalism, and the legality of stare decisis in constitutional adjudication.
Mr. Mitchell has argued eight times before the Supreme Court of the United States, and more than 20 times in the federal courts of appeals. He has also argued before Supreme Court of Texas and in numerous trial courts. Mr. Mitchell has authored the principal merits brief in 11 Supreme Court cases, and has written and submitted more than 20 amicus curiae briefs in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Mitchell devised the novel enforcement mechanism in the Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as Senate Bill 8, which avoids pre-enforcement judicial review by prohibiting government officials from enforcing the statute and empowering private citizens to bring lawsuits against those who violate it. This produced an end-run around Roe v. Wade and allowed Texas and other states to impose pre-viability abortion bans despite the continued existence of Roe.
General Counsel, xAI and X
Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Professor Derek Muller is a nationally-recognized scholar in the field of election law. His research focuses on the role of states in the administration of federal elections, the constitutional contours of voting rights and election administration, the limits of judicial power in the domain of elections, and the Electoral College.
He has published more than two dozen academic works, and his op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has testified before Congress, and he is a contributor at the Election Law Blog. He is a co-author on a Federal Courts casebook published by Carolina Academic Press. He is also the co-reporter on a new Restatement of the Law, Election Litigation, an effort led by the American Law Institute.
Professor Muller teaches Election Law, Civil Procedure, and Evidence.
Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Professor Derek Muller is a nationally-recognized scholar in the field of election law. His research focuses on the role of states in the administration of federal elections, the constitutional contours of voting rights and election administration, the limits of judicial power in the domain of elections, and the Electoral College.
He has published more than two dozen academic works, and his op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has testified before Congress, and he is a contributor at the Election Law Blog. He is a co-author on a Federal Courts casebook published by Carolina Academic Press. He is also the co-reporter on a new Restatement of the Law, Election Litigation, an effort led by the American Law Institute.
Professor Muller teaches Election Law, Civil Procedure, and Evidence.
Partner, Donahue & Goldberg LLP
Megan M. Herzog is a Massachusetts-based attorney whose practice is focused on environmental, natural resources, and energy litigation and administrative advocacy. She is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and practices in state and federal appellate courts.
Megan is a 2011 graduate of Stanford Law School, where she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law, Science & Policy. She also holds an M.S. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University. Megan began her legal career with fellowships at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C. and at UCLA Law School's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, where she advised state and local governments on climate change mitigation and adaptation policy. From 2016 to 2018, she served as staff attorney at Conservation Law Foundation's Boston office, where she worked on clean energy, ocean, and fisheries matters, including litigation in federal courts and before state public utilities commissions. Megan then spent nearly five years in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Energy and Environment Bureau, advocating before federal agencies and litigating cases concerning state and federal air, climate, energy, and natural resources laws. She led state government coalitions in several actions in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Megan has published on a variety of environmental law topics, including climate change adaptation and federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. She has taught courses in environmental law, climate law, and ocean and coastal law at UCLA Law School and Tufts University. She has testified before legislative committees and given dozens of presentations on critical issues in environmental law, including for the American Law Institute, Energy Bar Association, California State Bar Association Environmental Law Section, and multiple law review symposia.
Solicitor General of Kentucky
Matt Kuhn serves as the Solicitor General of Kentucky. As Solicitor General, he oversees the office's civil and criminal appellate litigation and supervises the office's filing of amicus briefs. Since joining the Attorney General's office, he has argued in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Before joining the Attorney General's office, he served as Chief Deputy General Counsel to the Governor of Kentucky. He also worked in private practice at Jones Day in Washington, D.C. and Stoll Keenon Ogden in Louisville, and served as a law clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a graduate of Furman University and Columbia Law School.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
Regulatory Affairs Director, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Viktoria Seale is a regulatory affairs director for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) which represents nearly 900 not-for-profit electric cooperatives and other rural electric utilities. She advocates before the federal government for NRECA members on environmental, permitting, and other regulatory issues.
Viktoria has extensive federal government experience and has worked on a wide range of complex legal, regulatory, legislative and policy matters. Prior to joining NRECA, she served as general counsel and chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and helped lead significant initiatives including the comprehensive update and modernization of CEQ’s National Environmental Policy Act regulations in 2020. Viktoria also has worked for two chairmen of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. In addition, she has served as director of regional affairs and special assistant to the chief counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.
Viktoria received a B.A. in international studies from Rhodes College and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. She is admitted to practice law in Texas. Viktoria resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and daughter.
Partner, Donahue & Goldberg LLP
Megan M. Herzog is a Massachusetts-based attorney whose practice is focused on environmental, natural resources, and energy litigation and administrative advocacy. She is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and practices in state and federal appellate courts.
Megan is a 2011 graduate of Stanford Law School, where she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law, Science & Policy. She also holds an M.S. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University. Megan began her legal career with fellowships at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C. and at UCLA Law School's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, where she advised state and local governments on climate change mitigation and adaptation policy. From 2016 to 2018, she served as staff attorney at Conservation Law Foundation's Boston office, where she worked on clean energy, ocean, and fisheries matters, including litigation in federal courts and before state public utilities commissions. Megan then spent nearly five years in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Energy and Environment Bureau, advocating before federal agencies and litigating cases concerning state and federal air, climate, energy, and natural resources laws. She led state government coalitions in several actions in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Megan has published on a variety of environmental law topics, including climate change adaptation and federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. She has taught courses in environmental law, climate law, and ocean and coastal law at UCLA Law School and Tufts University. She has testified before legislative committees and given dozens of presentations on critical issues in environmental law, including for the American Law Institute, Energy Bar Association, California State Bar Association Environmental Law Section, and multiple law review symposia.
Solicitor General of Kentucky
Matt Kuhn serves as the Solicitor General of Kentucky. As Solicitor General, he oversees the office's civil and criminal appellate litigation and supervises the office's filing of amicus briefs. Since joining the Attorney General's office, he has argued in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Before joining the Attorney General's office, he served as Chief Deputy General Counsel to the Governor of Kentucky. He also worked in private practice at Jones Day in Washington, D.C. and Stoll Keenon Ogden in Louisville, and served as a law clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a graduate of Furman University and Columbia Law School.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
Regulatory Affairs Director, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Viktoria Seale is a regulatory affairs director for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) which represents nearly 900 not-for-profit electric cooperatives and other rural electric utilities. She advocates before the federal government for NRECA members on environmental, permitting, and other regulatory issues.
Viktoria has extensive federal government experience and has worked on a wide range of complex legal, regulatory, legislative and policy matters. Prior to joining NRECA, she served as general counsel and chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and helped lead significant initiatives including the comprehensive update and modernization of CEQ’s National Environmental Policy Act regulations in 2020. Viktoria also has worked for two chairmen of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. In addition, she has served as director of regional affairs and special assistant to the chief counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.
Viktoria received a B.A. in international studies from Rhodes College and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. She is admitted to practice law in Texas. Viktoria resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and daughter.
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