Founder, Libertas-West Project
Karen Lugo is a constitutional law consultant and national security analyst. She was Director of the Center for Tenth Amendment at Texas Public Policy Foundation from 2013 to 2015. When living in California, she was Co-Director of the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence Center. From 2005 – 2012, she was a clinical visiting and adjunct professor at Chapman University School of Law where she co-taught the advanced Constitutional Law Clinic. Karen has co-authored and written circuit-level and Supreme Court amicus briefs on such issues as FISA Surveillance, Healthcare Reform, Arizona’s Border Security, Gay Marriage, The Ten Commandments, Eminent Domain, Christian Clubs on University Campuses, and Material Support for Terrorists.
Karen is the founder of the Libertas-West Project, a center for study Islamic integration and radicalization issues. In this capacity, she consulted with the Center for Security Policy to write a book on local over-watch of mosque construction and community engagement called: Mosques in America: A Guide to Accountable Permit Hearings and Continuing Citizen Oversight.
Karen writes and speaks for European and American groups on the importance of basing assimilation efforts on principles of Western exceptionalism. She presented a policy brief to the French Conseil d’Etat analyzing the legal implications of banning the burqa. Ms. Lugo has written one of the most comprehensive overviews of sharia law in American courts, American Family Law and Sharia-Compliant Marriages, for the Federalist Society law journal, Engage. She has written several white papers on the American Law for American Courts legislation and sharia tribunals in America.
Ms. Lugo was an appointee to the California Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She also taught a Human Rights law course on the contrast between French and English Enlightenment theories in Strasbourg, France.
Until moving from California, Ms. Lugo was a member of the David Horowitz Freedom Center Board of Directors. She was also a regular guest on the Orange County PBS local issues debate program, Inside OC, and she is a contributor to Pajamas Media, National Review Online, City Journal, American Spectator, American Greatness, Townhall.com, American Thinker, Daily Caller, and Family Security Matters. She has been interviewed by dozens of radio hosts and has spoken for civic groups on constitutional and cultural concerns.
Attorney at Law, Solo Practitioner
Herb Grey was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 1981 and for the first 14 years practiced mostly insurance defense litigation in state and federal courts. Since 1994 he has been a solo practitioner in Beaverton with a general civil practice that includes estate planning, probate, protective proceedings, general business matters and a variety of litigation in both state and federal courts. Herb also has extensive experience in litigation of constitutional and civil rights claims with an emphasis on religious liberty and conscience matters. He is admitted to practice before all Oregon trial and appellate courts, as well as the U.S. District Court for Oregon, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
Senior Counsel, Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement, Alliance Defending Freedom
Jeremy Tedesco serves as senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement for Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, Tedesco leads ADF’s efforts to combat corporate cancel culture and build a business ethic that respects free speech, religious freedom, and human dignity.
Immediately preceding his current role, Tedesco served as senior vice president for communications, during which time he was a lead convener of the Philadelphia Statement, a movement dedicated to restoring free speech and civil discourse. Tedesco also launched a regular video series called Freedom Matters, profiling ADF clients, cases, and issues. The program included 24 videos in its first year, which more than 31 million people viewed.
Previously, Tedesco litigated First Amendment cases at the highest levels. He was part of the legal team that represented cake artist Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued Phillips’ case at the Colorado Court of Appeals. He was also the lead brief writer in two other U.S. Supreme Court wins, Reed v. Town of Gilbert and Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn. Tedesco has also argued six times before five different federal appellate courts and founded and directed the ADF Center for Conscience Initiatives, where he led efforts to protect individuals from government-coerced speech.
Numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, PBS, NPR, and National Review, have interviewed Tedesco or published his comments.
Tedesco earned his Juris Doctor in 2004 from the Regent University School of Law.
Professor of Law and Co-Director, High Tech Law Institute, Santa Clara University School of Law
Eric Goldman is a Professor of Law, and Co-Director of the High Tech Law Institute, at Santa Clara University School of Law. Before he became a full-time academic in 2002, he practiced Internet law for 8 years in the Silicon Valley. His research and teaching focuses on Internet, IP and advertising law topics, and he blogs on these topics at the Technology & Marketing Law Blog [http://blog.ericgoldman.org]. Managing IP magazine has twice named him to a shortlist of North American “IP Thought Leaders,” and he has been named an “IP Vanguard” by the California State Bar’s IP Section.
Senior Fellow and Academic Director, Penn Carey Law School
Gus Hurwitz is a Senior Fellow and the Academic Director of the Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School where he is working to develop academic and scholarly programs at the intersecution of law, technology, and policy.
He is also Director of Law & Economics Programs at the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE), a think tank based in Portland, Oregon, where he directs its law and economics-focused research program and helps to translate academic research into applied policy issues.
Hurwitz's research focuses on the regulation of technology, including administrative and regulatory law, antitrust law, torts and products liability, and media law - alongside cognate fields. Inrecent years he has worked on an AI standardization initiative with Seoul National University, a UNICEF-organized study of broadband deployment to public schools in Rwanda, and a book on conglomerate and ecosystems theories of antitrust.
He has published over 30 articles and book chapters, two books (one on cybersecurity law & policy, one on media regulation in the digital era) and have two more in process, over 100 shorter writings (op-eds, shorter analyses, blog posts, &c), hosted over 100 podcast episodes, and regularly appear or am quoted in popular media (including the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Associated Press). His work has been cited by legislators, federal courts of appeals, and federal regulatory agencies.
He was previously a full professor and founding director of the Governance & Technology Center at the University of Nebraska, prior to which he was the inaugural research fellow at the Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition (CTIC). From 2007 to 2010, he was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division in the Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section.
He also is, or has been, affiliated with the Classical Liberal Institute at New York University School of Law, the National Security Institute at George Mason University, and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI).
Before attending law school, Hurwitz worked at Los Alamos National Lab and interned at the Naval Research Lab. During this time his work was recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium, Los Alamos National Lab, IEEE & ACM, Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, R&D Magazine, and even the Guinness Book of World Records.
A current list of Hurwitz’s publications is available on his website: GusHurwitz.net.
Partner, Covington & Burling
As Partner, Covington & Burling, Lindsey Tonsager helps national and multinational clients in a broad range of industries anticipate and effectively evaluate legal and reputational risks under federal and state data privacy and communications laws. She co-chairs the firm’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative.
In addition to assisting clients engage strategically with the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Congress, and other federal and state regulators on a proactive basis, she has experience helping clients respond to informal investigations and enforcement actions, including by self-regulatory bodies such as the Digital Advertising Alliance and Children’s Advertising Review Unit.
Ms. Tonsager’s practice focuses on helping clients launch new products and services that implicate the laws governing the use of artificial intelligence, data processing for Internet of Things devices, behavioral advertising, endorsements and testimonials in advertising and social media, the collection of personal information from children and students online, e-mail marketing, telecommunications, and new technologies.
Ms. Tonsager also conducts privacy and data security diligence in complex corporate transactions and negotiates agreements with third-party service providers to ensure that robust protections are in place to avoid unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of customer data and other types of confidential information. She regularly assists clients in developing clear privacy disclosures and policies―including website and mobile app disclosures, terms of use, and internal social media and privacy-by-design programs.
Partner, Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC
Ben Flowers, a partner at Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC, is an accomplished litigator with experience briefing, arguing, and winning high-stakes cases in courts throughout the country.
Before joining the law firm, Ben served as Ohio's 10th Solicitor General. In that role he regularly represented the State of Ohio before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Ohio. Most prominently, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Ben led a multi-state challenge to OSHA's vaccine mandate, ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court.
Ben is a graduate of The Ohio State University and the University of Chicago Law School. Following law school, Ben clerked for Judge Sandra Ikuta of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of this United States. Ben lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio with his wife Denise and their three very active children.
Partner, Worrell Sides LLP
Denton focuses his law practice in the area of estates and trusts, including estate administration and private wealth planning, as well as asset protection, business succession, general business, and corporate-related matters. His extensive business, financial, and legal background brings a unique perspective for his clients.
Prior to his current practice, Denton handled complex business litigation for a boutique Raleigh firm, ranging in matters from shareholder and fiduciary litigation, to contractual disputes, to state constitutional law issues. Denton clerked for Justice Paul M. Newby on the Supreme Court of North Carolina, primarily handling Business Court and complex civil appeals. His litigation experience provides valuable insight to his clients, especially in drafting and creating plans to avoid future litigation issues.
During law school, Denton had the privilege to serve as Editor-In-Chief of the Wake Forest Law Review, and was also selected by the faculty for the prestigious Dean’s Leadership Award. Prior to practicing law, he worked in wealth management and finance in Charlotte for over ten years, helping to establish and develop an independent registered investment advisory firm. As a Certified Financial Planner, he represented clients throughout the Southeast on various financial transactions, estate and trust matters, securities and investments, and corporate matters. He has extensive insurance experience and practiced as a Chartered Life Underwriter with the American College. He has represented families and their companies throughout the country.
Shareholder, Baker Do`nelson
John is a complex-problem solver and seasoned litigator who has successfully represented clients in a wide range of commercial litigation matters for almost 20 years. He frequently advocates for clients in cases involving contract and corporate ownership issues, real estate and eminent domain disputes, and claims of unfair competition or fraud. John regularly practices in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout North Carolina, including the North Carolina Business Court. He has been admitted pro hac in a number of states in the South and the Midwest, and he handles binding arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association and other quasi-judicial bodies. In addition to his advocacy work, John serves as a trusted advisor for his clients, providing strategic, solution-oriented advice both before and after disputes arise.
John also maintains an active constitutional and political law practice. His clients have included multiple presidential, senatorial, and congressional campaigns; gubernatorial and other statewide candidates and campaigns; legislative, judicial, and local candidates; and national- and state-level political party committees. He has represented legislative officers in multiple states and defended state agencies' actions when challenged on constitutional or statutory grounds. John previously served as General Counsel for the North Carolina Republican Party and as both chairman and a member of the North Carolina State Board of Ethics and Election Enforcement.
John also counsels his clients on various employment and education law issues, including discrimination and wage and hour claims, as well as school choice and charter school issues.
After law school, John served as a law clerk for the Honorable Glen M. Williams, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Virginia. He has lived in Raleigh since completing his clerkship.
General Counsel, James Madison Center for Free Speech
United States District Judge, Southern District of Ohio
Douglas R. Cole was nominated for the position in May 2019 by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by the Senate in December 2019. Immediately before joining the bench, Judge Cole was a founding partner at Organ Cole, a litigation boutique in Columbus, Ohio.
Judge Cole received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated with High Honors and Order of the Coif, was an Olin Fellow in Law & Economics, and was a member of the editorial board of the University of Chicago Law Review. He clerked for Judge Frank H. Easterbrook on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit before joining Kirkland & Ellis in its Chicago office. He has served as a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and at the Michael E. Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University, where he taught in the fields of business law, law & economics, and intellectual property. From 2003-2006, he was the State Solicitor for the State of Ohio. In that capacity, he argued five cases at the United States Supreme Court, and multiple cases in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Ohio Supreme Court. Before joining Organ Cole, Judge Cole was a litigation partner at the Columbus office of Jones Day, where he practiced in the Issues & Appeals group and the Intellectual Property group.
Judge Cole has undergraduate degrees in electrical engineering, mathematics, and physics, and worked as an electrical engineer before attending law school.
Ohio Deputy Attorney General for Major Litigation, Office of the Ohio Attorney General
Erik Clark oversees major litigation in the Office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, the State's chief law-enforcement officer. He also oversees the Office's antitrust, charitable-law, constitutional-offices, and consumer-protection sections.
As part of his role, Erik personally appears in court on behalf of the State of Ohio in select cases. He also advises the Attorney General on critical matters.
Previously, Erik was a partner for over ten years at Organ Law LLP, a Columbus litigation boutique. There, he frequently served as special counsel to the Ohio Attorney General, representing state-government clients. His cases included a challenge (by ECOT) to Ohio's school-funding system for virtual charter schools, a challenge to The Ohio State University's rules governing students' possession of firearms, a First-Amendment challenge to a law prohibiting targeted picketing at public officials' homes, and a challenge to congressional and Statehouse redistricting following the 2020 census.
Erik also represented large and small businesses and individuals in litigation, arbitration, and mediation. Among other matters, he represented Uber in cases brought by authorities seeking city-wide injunctions that would have blocked Uber from operating its then-nascent ride-sharing service in several major cities, including Columbus, St. Louis, and Tampa.
Erik has argued several appeals in federal and state appellate courts, including three cases in the Ohio Supreme Court. He has served as lead counsel in dozens of trial-court cases (including bench and jury trials), administrative hearings, and arbitrations.
Erik graduated summa cum laude from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Law Journal.
After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Erik then served as the Simon Karas Fellow in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, where he worked with the Ohio State Solicitor on high-profile appeals before the Ohio Supreme Court, the Sixth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
Before joining Organ Cole LLP in 2012, Erik was a business litigator at Jones Day, one of the largest law firms in the world.
Civil Rights Commissions: Enforcers of Social Justice
Karen J. Lugo, Herbert G. Grey, Jeremy Tedesco
Whether called Human Rights, Human Relations, or Civil Rights Commissions, many cities and counties and...
Examining the California Consumer Privacy Act
Eric Goldman, Justin (Gus) Hurwitz, Lindsey L. Tonsager
Regulatory Transparency Project Teleforum
On June 28, 2018, the California legislature enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018...
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On the Future of the Chevron Doctrine
Joel Nolette is a litigation attorney at Mintz Levin in Boston, and an active member...
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The Third Annual Mike Lewis Memorial Teleforum
There is broad agreement that international law applies to cyber conflict. There is less agreement...
Exploring Federalist 51: Legislative Power
Article I Initiative Video
Who should exercise lawmaking power in a constitutional republic? The United States Constitution broke precedent...
Standing in Ohio – Preterm-Cleveland, Inc. v. Kasich
Benjamin M. Flowers
Preterm-Cleveland, Inc., v. Kasich,[1] establishes two important issues of Ohio constitutional law. First, a litigant who wishes...
Standing in Ohio – Preterm-Cleveland, Inc. v. Kasich
Preterm-Cleveland, Inc., v. Kasich,[1] establishes two important issues of Ohio constitutional law. First, a litigant...
Cooper v. Berger
H. Denton Worrell, John E. Branch
Constitutionally Required Executive Control of the Board of Elections and the Abrogation of the Non-Justiciable Political Question Doctrine in North Carolina.
In State ex rel. Cooper v. Berger, No. 52PA17-2 (N.C. Jan. 26, 2018), the Supreme Court...
Ted Suhl Litigation Update
James Bopp
Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group Teleforum
On July 20, 2016, Ted Suhl, a former head of a behavioral health company in...
Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow v. Ohio Department of Education
Douglas R. Cole, Erik J. Clark
In Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow v. Ohio Department of Education, the Ohio Supreme Court held that...