Legal Director & General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
Kent S. Scheidegger has been the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation since December 1986. He also served as Chairman of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society 2003 to 2005. His articles on criminal and constitutional law have been published in law reviews, national legal publications, and congressional reports. Legal arguments authored by Mr. Scheidegger have been cited and incorporated in several precedent-setting United States Supreme Court decisions.
After receiving a degree in physics with honors from New Mexico State University in 1976, Mr. Scheidegger served for six years in the United States Air Force as a Nuclear Research Officer. He took his law degree with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982 and practiced civil law in Northern California. He was general counsel of California Cooler, Inc. from 1984 until 1986, when he joined the Foundation.
Director of Litigation and Senior Attorney, Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute
Theodore H. Frank is director at the Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute and the Center for Class Action Fairness. Frank founded and ran CCAF as a non-profit, public interest law firm in 2009.
Frank has won several landmark appeals and tens of millions of dollars for consumers and other plaintiffs through his class action work. Adam Liptak of The New York Times calls Frank “the leading critic of abusive class action settlements” and the American Lawyer Litigation Daily referred to him as “the indefatigable scourge of underwhelming class action settlements.”
Previously, Frank clerked for the Honorable Frank H. Easterbrook on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and was a litigator at firms in Washington and Los Angeles and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Frank is a frequent public speaker and has testified before Congress multiple times on legal issues. He has been profiled by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, GQ, and the ABA Journal, among other publications.
In 2008, Frank was elected to membership in the American Law Institute. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society Litigation Practice Group. Frank graduated from The University of Chicago Law School in 1994 with high honors and as a member of the Order of the Coif and the Law Review. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the state bars of California and Illinois.
Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Orin S. Kerr is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches and writes in the areas of criminal procedure and computer crime law. Kerr earned mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton University and Stanford University before graduating with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the United States Supreme Court and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Legal Advisor, Reason Foundation and Ge, Individual Rights Foundation
Manuel "Manny" Klausner was one of the founding partners in Reason Enterprises, which began publishing Reason magazine in 1971, three years after the publication's creation. He became editor in the summer of 1972 and a senior editor in June 1978. In 1978 he co-founded the Reason Foundation with Tibor Machan and Bob Poole. He remains on the board of the Reason Foundation today, is a stalwart supporter of the Federalist Society, and a libertarian lawyer extraordinaire.
Executive Director, Society for the Rule of Law
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Samuel Romero Ramer, who has served at the highest levels of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the United States Government and held many positions relevant to federal investigations of businesses, is a partner in Norton Rose Fulbright's regulations, investigations, securities, compliance and white collar crime teams in Washington, DC. Mr. Ramer guides clients through all aspects of criminal and civil investigations and congressional inquiries. He also represents individuals facing criminal investigation.
Mr. Ramer's government experience includes, most recently, serving as Senior Associate Counsel to the President of the United States. In that capacity, he provided advice to senior White House policymakers on the most important issues facing the Nation and guided them through congressional and other inquiries. He also led one of the Department of Justice's 12 major divisions as Acting Assistant Attorney General. Among his responsibilities was serving as the Department's principal liaison with Congress, guiding the most senior officials in the Department through the Senate confirmation process, and consulting with the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on the Department's policy positions and enforcement priorities.
From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Ramer served as Senior Majority Counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. In that position, he was responsible for oversight of all matters regarding the Department of Justice and led several of the Committee's most important legal reform initiatives. Previously, he served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he also played a key role in oversight of the Department of Justice.
Prior to his time serving in the Legislative Branch, Mr. Ramer was an accomplished prosecutor. As an assistant United States attorney in Washington, DC and an assistant district attorney in the Bronx and Manhattan, he tried dozens of cases to jury verdict, and conducted a large number of complex investigations.
Mr. Ramer's in-house industry experience includes being the General Counsel and VP of Government Relations at Symplicity, a cutting-edge software company. During his tenure, he successfully guided the company through debarment proceedings, multiple investigations, and a government monitor program. As part of the management team, he directed the development of a best-in-class compliance program, culminating in the successful sale of the company to a large private investment fund.
Ramer is an active member of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and a member of the prestigious Edward Bennett Williams American Inn of Court. He is licensed in New York and the District of Columbia.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLP
Jeremy Rosen is nationally renowned for his proficiency in numerous issues arising under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP law. Using that knowledge, Jeremy has helped a wide variety of clients – including churches, private businesses, and individuals – defeat lawsuits that seek to impose liability on clients for exercising their rights of petition, free speech, and free exercise of religion. He has also handled hundreds of appeals in numerous appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and California’s intermediate appellate courts. In addition to First Amendment and anti-SLAPP cases, his cases have involved numerous important issues regarding anti-trust, class actions, wage and hour law, employment law, breach of contract, California’s Unfair Competition Law, CEQA, the enforceability of arbitration clauses, hospital peer review, the scope of public employee whistleblower protection, and the application of the primary assumption of risk doctrine.
Jeremy is a partner at the firm, which he joined in 2001. He is a California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialist and a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Jeremy directed the Pepperdine University School of Law Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic for 6 years. The Clinic represents individuals in the Ninth Circuit who are identified by the court as needing pro bono counsel. Jeremy also previously served a three-year term where he was appointed by the Ninth Circuit to serve as one of 18 appellate lawyer representatives to the court.
Jeremy is a member of the National Chamber Litigation Center’s California Litigation Advisory Committee. Before joining the firm, Jeremy was a Litigation Associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Orin S. Kerr is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches and writes in the areas of criminal procedure and computer crime law. Kerr earned mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton University and Stanford University before graduating with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the United States Supreme Court and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Legal Advisor, Reason Foundation and Ge, Individual Rights Foundation
Manuel "Manny" Klausner was one of the founding partners in Reason Enterprises, which began publishing Reason magazine in 1971, three years after the publication's creation. He became editor in the summer of 1972 and a senior editor in June 1978. In 1978 he co-founded the Reason Foundation with Tibor Machan and Bob Poole. He remains on the board of the Reason Foundation today, is a stalwart supporter of the Federalist Society, and a libertarian lawyer extraordinaire.
Executive Director, Society for the Rule of Law
Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP
Samuel Romero Ramer, who has served at the highest levels of the Executive and Legislative Branches of the United States Government and held many positions relevant to federal investigations of businesses, is a partner in Norton Rose Fulbright's regulations, investigations, securities, compliance and white collar crime teams in Washington, DC. Mr. Ramer guides clients through all aspects of criminal and civil investigations and congressional inquiries. He also represents individuals facing criminal investigation.
Mr. Ramer's government experience includes, most recently, serving as Senior Associate Counsel to the President of the United States. In that capacity, he provided advice to senior White House policymakers on the most important issues facing the Nation and guided them through congressional and other inquiries. He also led one of the Department of Justice's 12 major divisions as Acting Assistant Attorney General. Among his responsibilities was serving as the Department's principal liaison with Congress, guiding the most senior officials in the Department through the Senate confirmation process, and consulting with the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on the Department's policy positions and enforcement priorities.
From 2011 to 2014, Mr. Ramer served as Senior Majority Counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives. In that position, he was responsible for oversight of all matters regarding the Department of Justice and led several of the Committee's most important legal reform initiatives. Previously, he served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he also played a key role in oversight of the Department of Justice.
Prior to his time serving in the Legislative Branch, Mr. Ramer was an accomplished prosecutor. As an assistant United States attorney in Washington, DC and an assistant district attorney in the Bronx and Manhattan, he tried dozens of cases to jury verdict, and conducted a large number of complex investigations.
Mr. Ramer's in-house industry experience includes being the General Counsel and VP of Government Relations at Symplicity, a cutting-edge software company. During his tenure, he successfully guided the company through debarment proceedings, multiple investigations, and a government monitor program. As part of the management team, he directed the development of a best-in-class compliance program, culminating in the successful sale of the company to a large private investment fund.
Ramer is an active member of the Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia, and a member of the prestigious Edward Bennett Williams American Inn of Court. He is licensed in New York and the District of Columbia.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLP
Jeremy Rosen is nationally renowned for his proficiency in numerous issues arising under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP law. Using that knowledge, Jeremy has helped a wide variety of clients – including churches, private businesses, and individuals – defeat lawsuits that seek to impose liability on clients for exercising their rights of petition, free speech, and free exercise of religion. He has also handled hundreds of appeals in numerous appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and California’s intermediate appellate courts. In addition to First Amendment and anti-SLAPP cases, his cases have involved numerous important issues regarding anti-trust, class actions, wage and hour law, employment law, breach of contract, California’s Unfair Competition Law, CEQA, the enforceability of arbitration clauses, hospital peer review, the scope of public employee whistleblower protection, and the application of the primary assumption of risk doctrine.
Jeremy is a partner at the firm, which he joined in 2001. He is a California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialist and a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Jeremy directed the Pepperdine University School of Law Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic for 6 years. The Clinic represents individuals in the Ninth Circuit who are identified by the court as needing pro bono counsel. Jeremy also previously served a three-year term where he was appointed by the Ninth Circuit to serve as one of 18 appellate lawyer representatives to the court.
Jeremy is a member of the National Chamber Litigation Center’s California Litigation Advisory Committee. Before joining the firm, Jeremy was a Litigation Associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Senior Associate General Counsel/Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Management and Budget/CFPB
Victoria Dorfman is a Senior Associate General Counsel at the Office of Management and Budget and is a Senior Legal Advisor at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. At the OMB, she advises on constitutional and statutory issues. At the CFPB, she is primarily responsible for Enforcement, Supervision, Fair Lending, Oversight, and the Bureau’s litigation.
Prior to entering government service, Victoria was a partner at Jones Day, in Washington, D.C. and in New York, where she represented clients in appellate and complex commercial litigation in U.S. courts and in international arbitration. She has successfully briefed cases at all stages of litigation and argued before federal and state courts of appeals.
Victoria's areas of in-depth experience include jurisdiction and civil procedure, arbitration, bankruptcy, antitrust, and general commercial litigation. She maintained an active First Amendment Establishment and Free Exercise practice and represents religious institutions. Victoria's representations included obtaining unanimous victories in intergovernmental tax immunity and forum non conveniens cases in the U.S. Supreme Court; bankruptcy confirmations, including in appellate and Supreme Court proceedings, of Chrysler, the City of Detroit, Caesar's, Adelphia, and Relativity Media; UNCITRAL and BIT arbitrations; victories for Bayer in antitrust patent challenges to agreements regarding a blockbuster drug's production; and a damages award for Chevron against the government, including a sanction for bad faith litigation conduct.
Prior to joining Jones Day, Victoria clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Michael J. Luttig of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Victoria received her A.B. from Harvard College (cum laude) and J.D. from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude), where she was Articles, Books and Commentaries editor on Harvard Law Review.
Victoria is a native speaker of Russian, and is proficient in French and Portuguese. She published articles on Religion Clauses, bankruptcy, federal jurisdiction and statutory interpretation, and is a contributing author and editor of The Practitioner's Guide to Appellate Advocacy.
Professor Emeritus, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
In memoriam
Dr. John Baker is Professor Emeritus of Law, and previously the Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law, at Louisiana State University Law School. He is currently Visiting Professor at Peking University School of Transnational Law (via Zoom) and has been Visiting Professor at The Center for the Constitution, Georgetown Law School (2013-2020). He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Oriel College, the University of Oxford (2012-2014) and taught at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford in 2014. Dr. Baker has also been an adjunct Fellow at the Heritage Foundation (Spring, 2008) and a Distinguished Scholar at the Catholic University of America Law School (2011-12). He has taught at Tulane Law School, George Mason Law School, Pepperdine Law School, New York Law School, Hong Kong University, and the University of Dallas, School of Management and also taught and/or lectured in 17 foreign countries. Notable among his foreign visits are the
following: Visiting Professor at the University of Lyon III (France) (1999-2011); Visiting Professor at the Universidad de los Andes, Chile (2012), as a Fulbright Specialist (2006); and a Fulbright Scholar at various universities in the Philippines. Dr. Baker received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Dallas. He also earned a Ph.D. in Political Thought from the University of London. Baker has taught over a dozen different subjects, mostly courses in public law. His main areas of interest are Constitutional Law (particularly federalism and separation of powers), Criminal Law, Anti-Terrorism Law, International Law, Health Care Law, Mediation, and Comparative Law.
In addition to law review articles and book chapters, Dr. Baker’s academic publications include Hall's Criminal Law: Cases and Materials (with Benson, Force and George; 5th ed. Michie, 1993); An Introduction to the Law of the United States (ed. with Levasseur; University Press of America, 1992). He has also published on Forbes.com, FoxNews.com, in The Washington Times, and a number of times in The Wall Street Journal. He argues in federal court, including two oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court. For many years, he co-taught courses for the Federalist Society on separation of powers with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In September 2016, he co-taught a Supreme Court seminar in China with Justice Samuel Alito. Following law school, he served as a law clerk in federal district court and as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans before joining LSU in 1975. While a professor, he has been as a consultant to USAID, USIA (since rolled into the State Department), the Justice Department, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, and the Office of Planning in the White House. He served on an ABA Task Force which issued the report, The Federalization of Crime (1998) and later as a consultant to the “Bi-Partisan Task Force on the Over- federalization of Crime” (2012-2014) created by the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. Dr. Baker was a co-founder of the first iteration (1995) of Stratfor Inc., a global intelligence agency. He co-authored its first book: The Intelligence Edge (with Friedman, Friedman and Chapman; Crown Books/Random House 1997). In 2022, he began a short, weekly video podcast available on YouTube and Rumble, The Baker Brief.
Legal Director & General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
Kent S. Scheidegger has been the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation since December 1986. He also served as Chairman of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society 2003 to 2005. His articles on criminal and constitutional law have been published in law reviews, national legal publications, and congressional reports. Legal arguments authored by Mr. Scheidegger have been cited and incorporated in several precedent-setting United States Supreme Court decisions.
After receiving a degree in physics with honors from New Mexico State University in 1976, Mr. Scheidegger served for six years in the United States Air Force as a Nuclear Research Officer. He took his law degree with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982 and practiced civil law in Northern California. He was general counsel of California Cooler, Inc. from 1984 until 1986, when he joined the Foundation.
Torres v. Madrid - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Kent Scheidegger
featuring Kent Scheidegger
On March 25, 2021, the Supreme Court decided Torres v. Madrid. This case arises out...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez
Theodore "Ted" Frank
On March 30, 2021, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case of TransUnion...
The Trump Presidency’s Impact on the Future of the Conservative/Libertarian Legal Movement
Orin S. Kerr, Manuel S. Klausner, Gregg Thomas Nunziata, Samuel Ramer, Jeremy B. Rosen
Los Angeles Lawyers Chapter
Five leading conservative and libertarian lawyers assess the impact of the Trump presidency on the...
The Trump Presidency’s Impact on the Future of the Conservative/Libertarian Legal Movement
Orin S. Kerr, Manuel S. Klausner, Gregg Thomas Nunziata, Samuel Ramer, Jeremy B. Rosen
Los Angeles Lawyers Chapter
Five leading conservative and libertarian lawyers assess the impact of the Trump presidency on the...
Doctrine Briefing: The Ministerial Exception
Victoria Dorfman
In Our Lady of Guadalupe v. Morrissey-Berru (2020), the Supreme Court expanded on the ministerial exception doctrine it...
Topics
Government Speech: From Courtesy to Coercion?
Can a college student demand that a professor address them using “preferred personal pronouns”? Do...
Federalist Papers Book Club: The Federalist [Session 10]
John S. Baker
Federalist ##78, 81, and 84 (The Judiciary and a bill of rights)
Slide deck I Federalist Papers Book Club will run weekly on Tuesday evenings for 10...
Deep Dive Episode 169 – Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
In Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, the Supreme Court will decide whether a California “Access...
Courthouse Steps Decision Teleforum: Torres v. Madrid
Kent Scheidegger
On Thursday, March 25, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Torres v. Madrid. The...
Topics
The FCC's Legal Authority to Regulate Platforms as Common Carriers
In the net neutrality debate, there have been a wide array of articles outlining the...