Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
Marcia Madsen was Chair of the Government Contracts practice and co-chair of the National Security Practice at Mayer Brown. She represented contractors in regulatory, policy, transactional, litigation, and investigative matters involving virtually every federal agency. Her clients included defense contractors, information technology and systems integrators, telecommunications companies, engineering firms, insurers, and manufacturing companies. Ms. Madsen's practice included defense of False Claims Act matters, internal investigations, audits, bid protests, claims and disputes before administrative forums and in the federal courts. She was a former Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law and currently co-chairs the Section’s Procurement Fraud Committee. She also is a member of the Federalist Society Administrative Law and Regulation Executive Committee. In addition, Marcia was a member of the Court of Federal Claims Advisory Council - Emeritus, and a recipient of the Court's Golden Eagle award. She was a Past President of the Board of Contract Appeals Bar Association. She was appointed by the Executive Office of the President to chair the Section 1423 Panel which recommended revision of the acquisition laws. She spoke and wrote frequently on government contracts and litigation topics.
Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M., 1980
American University - Washington College of Law, J.D., 1976
University of Utah, B.A., 1972
Associate, Mayer Brown
Peter Schmidt is an associate in Mayer Brown's Washington DC office and a member of the Intellectual Property practice. He focuses on the finance, media, and technology industries, advising and representing clients in patent, copyright, and trade secret matters. Peter’s work focuses on cases involving complex technical and financial issues, where he draws on his previous experience both as a software engineer and as a financial consultant for McKinsey and Company. These cases have covered both hardware and software issues in a range of sectors.
Peter has represented clients in a broad range of types and stages of litigation, and has extensive experience in case assessment; complaints and answers; discovery and fact gathering; non-infringement, infringement, invalidity, and validity contentions; claim construction; expert reports; motion practice (including summary judgment and admissibility of evidence); trial; and appeals. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and first in his class from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering; he also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Counsel, Mayer Brown
Luke Levasseur has been representing clients in complex federal litigation for more than 20 years and currently focuses his practice on government contract matters. He represents clients in large contract disputes and bid protests before the US Court of Federal Claims and the Government Accountability Office. He has represented clients in federal and state False Claims Act cases, presenting arguments in federal court and conducting internal investigations for clients. Luke also has experience handling a variety of other federal court litigation for clients, involving such matters as antitrust claims, trademark disputes, and alleged fraud.
Prior to re-joining Mayer Brown in 2006, Luke represented the federal government as an attorney with the Civil Division of the US Department of Justice from 1997-2006. He served as lead counsel for, or had a significant role during the trial and appeal of, several large cases that were part of the Winstar-related litigation, which involved billions of dollars in claims against the government and were based on legislative and regulatory changes in the financial services industry. In those cases, he was responsible for developing and presenting expert opinion testimony from the government’s witnesses, including a Nobel-prize winning economist, and for cross-examining other parties’ experts. Throughout his career, Luke has focused on expert witness issues in complex litigation.
When he was with the Department of Justice, Luke also represented the government in numerous appeals before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He was awarded the John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement and a Special Commendation Award for exceptional contributions to the defense of the Winstar cases. Luke continues to be an active part of the Court of Federal Claims bar and served as the President of that Court's Bar Association during 2012.
Partner, Mayer Brown
David Dowd is an experienced litigator at Mayer Brown whose practice has a strong emphasis in government contracting issues and controversies. He advises such clients as those involved in health care, information technology, large military systems, engineering services, and other industries regarding federal procurements and related issues. His counsel in this area includes commercial items, conflicts of interest, cost allowability issues, defective pricing, contract and subcontract negotiations, contract financing, assignments and novations, leasing, prime/sub disputes, preparation of claims, and procurement fraud.
David also handles procurement controversies, as he litigates bid protests and disputes before the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, represents contractors in litigation and arbitrations involving government contracts, and tries federal court litigation focused on contract disputes and alleged fraud.
Health care and insurance companies rely on David for advice regarding federal health care and insurance programs, including FEHBA, Medicare, TRICARE, and FEGLI. He represents these industry clients in bid protest and claim litigation regarding federal health care and insurance programs. In related matters, David counsels biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on biodefense purchasing opportunities and applications, including research and development.
David has more than 20 years of practice experience, having joined Mayer Brown’s Washington, DC office in 2001 after practicing with two other national law firms.
Denver Managing Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP
Raymond L. Gifford counsels communications, electric and gas utilities, and information technology companies on state and federal aspects of regulation, administrative law, and competition policy. He is an expert in public utilities law, and the law and economics of regulation of network industries. Mr. Gifford’s law and policy work focuses on the convergence of broadband communications and energy, as well as environmental policy as it applies to the electric industry. He represents clients in state and federal courts and agencies, and serves as an expert witness on utility regulation and its history. He is also a Senior Adjunct Fellow at the Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship, and Co-Directs the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics at University of Colorado Law School.
Mr. Gifford served as Chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission from 1999-2003. Following that, he served as President of The Progress & Freedom Foundation, a Washington DC-based think-tank that studied the digital revolution as it relates to regulation of network industries. He entered the regulatory law world as First Assistant Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. He clerked for the Honorable Richard P. Matsch of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Mr. Gifford has authored a number of articles on communications law, public utility regulation and competition policy in network industries. He is a graduate of University of Chicago Law School and St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute
Under Secretary of Energy, United States Department of Energy
The Honorable Mark Wesley Menezes, Under Secretary of Energy serves as the Department’s principal advisor on energy policy and on a wide array of existing and emerging energy technologies. The Under Secretary is responsible for driving transformative energy policy, and technology solutions through coordinated planning, management and performance of the Department’s energy programs.
Prior to being confirmed as Under Secretary of Energy, Mr. Menezes was an executive with Berkshire Hathaway Energy in its Washington, D.C. office. Before joining BHE, Mr. Menezes was a partner at Hunton & Williams LLP, where he headed the Regulated Markets and Energy Infrastructure practice group. Prior to Hunton, he served as Chief Counsel, Energy and Environment, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, serving as chief negotiator for the House Majority in the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Before his service with House Energy & Commerce, he was Vice President with Central and South West, and upon its merger with American Electric Power, served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for federal and state legislative and regulatory affairs.
Mr. Menezes has been named in National Journal’s “Hill 100”—top Congressional staff for his work on both energy and environmental matters. He has been frequent guest speaker and lecturer before numerous associations and civic groups, including legal education seminars where he has been called on to address the nation’s energy and environmental policies, utility restructuring, telecommunications, ethics, merger and acquisition practices, and regulatory and legislative processes. He has co-authored numerous articles, a practice manual, and been quoted in the New York Times, Law360, Oil and Gas Journal, Politico as well as interviewed by E&ETV. He’s been listed Best Lawyers in America 2013–2016, Corporate Counsel’s Top Lawyers 2006–2011, Washington Post’s Top Lawyers 2008–2016, and DC Super Lawyers 2012–2016.
Mr. Menezes is a graduate of Louisiana State University receiving both his undergraduate and juris doctor degree. Until joining the government he was a charter member of the Advisory Council, Louisiana State University Law John P. Laborde Energy Law Center, and served on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Chorus & American Youth Chorus.
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity
Stephen Moore, who formerly wrote on the economy and public policy for The Wall Street Journal, is the Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth, at The Heritage Foundation. Mr. Moore, who also was a member of The Journal’s editorial board, returned to Heritage in January 2014 -- about 25 years after his tenure as the leading conservative think tank’s Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Budgetary Affairs from 1984 to 1987.
As Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Heritage, Mr. Moore focuses on advancing public policies that increase the rate of economic growth to help the United States retain its position as the global economic superpower. He also works on budget, fiscal and monetary policy and showcases states that get fiscal houses in order.
"One of the projects I’m going to be working on is how President Obama has discredited liberal ideas more than anyone,” Mr. Moore said in an interview with The Foundry upon his return to Heritage. “Everything he’s done has been such a massive failure — from the [economic] stimulus to health-care reform to bailouts to green energy.
Mr. Moore’s early career was shaped by three people who had a profound influence on him: Julian Simon, the late Cato Institute scholar; Edwin J. Feulner, a co-founder of Heritage; and Art Laffer, the economist best known for the Laffer curve.
“What makes them so great is they were willing to take on the conventional wisdom. They were subject to a lot of criticism for doing that,” Mr. Moore told The Foundry. “Those are the real change-makers.”
Mr. Moore calls his creation of the Club for Growth the defining moment of his career. The organization, which he left in 2004, helps elect conservative members of Congress (including Heritage President Jim DeMint when he first ran for Senate).
Mr. Moore next founded the Free Enterprise Fund before joining The Wall Street Journal. As senior economics writer for the newspaper’s editorial board, he covered Washington policy debates and state issues.
“Because I’ve been a consumer of think tank material and policy research, I think I have a pretty good sense of what reporters want and how to get it to them in the way they want it,” Mr. Moore said. “Being timely — and not just offering opinion but giving them the facts and data is really critical.”
Mr. Moore, who grew up in New Trier Township, Ill., received a bachelor of arts degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He holds a master’s of arts in economics from George Mason University.
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
General Counsel, House Committee on Homeland Security
Steven Giaier is General Counsel for the Committee on Homeland Security in the U.S. House of Representative. In this role, he serves as the lead staff member on the Committee for all legal issues and legislation action. Over the past several years, he has written several of the most substantial pieces of legislation to move through the Committee and be enacted into law, including the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Authorization Act. Mr. Giaier formerly served as parliamentary advisor to Congressman Peter King during King’s tenure as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee from 2011-2013. He recently coauthored “Turf Wars: How a Jurisdictional Quagmire in Congress Compromises Homeland Security,” published by the New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy in the summer of 2015.
Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC
Jimmy Conde is partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, specializing in energy, environmental, and administrative law, with particular expertise in the Clean Air Act. He has protected clients against agency overreach in cutting-edge and complex legal proceedings, including challenges to EPA, DOE, DOT, and California rules seeking to compel electrification of motor vehicles, the FCC’s universal service fund, Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division rules, and HHS rules interfering with the practice of medicine and sound insurance practices. His written commentary has been published and referenced in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner, Concurrences (an antitrust publication), and Newsweek, among others.
Mr. Conde began his legal career as an associate with Boyden Gray PLLC. He clerked for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge David J. Porter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Partner, Donahue & Goldberg LLP
Sean H. Donahue's practice is focused on appellate litigation, including environmental cases in federal and state appellate courts, legal counseling, and helping clients communicate effectively to courts, agencies, and other audiences. He is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the State of California.
A 1992 graduate of University of Chicago Law School, Sean served as law clerk to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, then of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and to Justice John Paul Stevens. He entered private practice at Jenner & Block's Washington office, where he worked on civil matters including in telecommunications and First Amendment law. He then spent four years at the Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, Appellate Section, briefing and arguing cases in the United States Courts of Appeals, and state supreme courts concerning federal environmental and natural resources law, federal property law, takings, and Indian law.
Sean has argued approximately 50 cases in federal and state appellate courts. Since first establishing his own practice in 2002, he has represented environmental and public health organization parties in numerous major environmental and clean energy cases in the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals. His current practice includes representation of public interest organizations, governmental bodies, and private entities in environmental, energy, natural resources, and other cases. Sean has taught courses in environmental law, civil procedure, constitutional law and other subjects at Washington & Lee University School of Law, Iowa College of Law, and Georgetown University Law Center, and currently teaches climate change law and policy as a lecturer at Stanford Law School. He has given presentations at law schools including Berkeley, Columbia, Fordham, Harvard, Duke, Georgetown, Maryland, NYU, Northwestern, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Florida, Vermont Law School, and Washington & Lee.
Partner, King & Spalding, LLP
Jacqueline Glassman specializes in motor vehicle and consumer safety, vehicle fuel economy and other transportation issues. She works with companies to resolve enforcement problems, find business opportunities in emerging initiatives and build healthy relations with regulators. Jacqueline frequently works with crisis management teams to find solutions that build consumer confidence and minimize corporate pain. As a partner in King & Spalding's Government Advocacy practice, Jacqueline helps lead the Automotive and Transportation Initiative.
Jacqueline's career has spanned corporate, government and private practice.
While in-house at a major automaker, Jacqueline developed the instinct for finding solutions to legal problems while advancing business objectives. As Chief Counsel at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Jacqueline spearheaded the reform of the vehicle fuel efficiency program. She also oversaw scores of rule-making and enforcement actions, including the initial implementation of the TREAD Act. As NHTSA's Acting Administrator, Jacqueline worked with the White House and congressional staff to develop policy and legislation impacting the auto industry.
Jacqueline has worked with companies to create credit opportunities for frontier technologies in fuel efficiency and safety. She is actively involved with numerous companies developing and implementing automated technology for motor vehicles. Jacqueline has negotiated Consent Orders and helped companies pilot their implementation. Jacqueline frequently works hand-in-glove with litigators, engineers, crisis management firms, congressional relations staff and corporate executives. Jacqueline counsels clients on compliance, government relations, litigation strategy and building robust corporate safety programs.
Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School; CEO, New Civil Liberties Alliance
Philip Hamburger is the Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, and Chief Executive Officer at the New Civil Liberties Alliance. Before coming to Columbia, he was the John P. Wilson Professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
He writes on constitutional law and its history—with particular emphasis on religious liberty, freedom of speech and the press, judicial office, administrative power, and unconstitutional conditions.
His books are Separation of Church and State (Harvard 2002), Law and Judicial Duty (Harvard 2008), Is Administrative Law Unlawful? (Chicago 2014), The Administrative Threat (Encounter 2017), and Liberal Suppression: Section 501(c)(3) and the Taxation of Speech (Chicago 2018). A forthcoming book is Purchasing Submission: Conditions, Power, and Freedom (Harvard 2021).
He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he has served on the board of directors of the American Society for Legal History. He has twice received the Sutherland Prize for the most significant contribution to English legal history, and has been awarded the Henry Paolucci - Walter Bagehot Book Award, the Hayek Book Prize, and the Bradley Prize.
Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence, Independence Institute
Professor Robert G. Natelson is a constitutional scholar and author.
Rob’s constitutional scholarship has been cited repeatedly by justices and parties at the U.S. Supreme Court—as well as by federal appeals courts, and at least 18 state supreme courts.
Rob’s research into the Constitution’s original meaning has carried him to libraries throughout the United States and in Britain, including four months at Oxford University. His books and articles span many different parts of the Constitution, including groundbreaking studies of the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Indian Commerce Clause, federalism, Founding-Era interpretation, regulation of elections, and the amendment process of Article V. He created the first-ever online bibliography for 18th century materials used in constitutional research. He is a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (on Magna Carta). He contributed eight essays to the third edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution: five on the amendment procedure and one each on the Guarantee Clause, the Postal Clause, and the Recess Appointments Clause.
U.S. Supreme Court justices have relied explicitly on Rob’s research in 41 citations in 13 separate cases.
Why DoD Should Adopt a Multi-Cloud IT Strategy
Marcia G. Madsen, Peter O. Schmidt, Luke P. Levasseur, David F. Dowd
Federalist Society Review, Volume 19
Note from the Editor: This article describes how companies approach cloud based services, and it...
The Department of Energy’s Actions to Save Nuclear and Coal
Raymond L. Gifford, Mark W. Menezes, Stephen Moore
Environmental Law & Property Rights Practice Group Teleforum
Last month, Bloomberg News revealed a leaked memorandum from the Department of Energy purporting to...
Courthouse Steps: Gerrymandering in the Supreme Court
Hans A. Von Spakovsky
Free Speech & Election Law Practice Group Teleforum
The U.S. Supreme Court's docket included three cases this term on the legal limits of...
Courthouse Steps: Trump v. Hawaii Decided
Steven S. Giaier
International & National Security Law and Religious Liberties Practice Group Teleforum
Trump v. Hawaii is the latest iteration of Hawaii’s challenge to President Trump’s Executive Order suspending...
Topics
Civil Justice Update - Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Noneconomic Damages Cap
Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Noneconomic Damages Cap On Wednesday, June 27, the Supreme Court of...
The Federalist Paper, Summer 2018
One of our marquee annual events, the National Student Symposium, was held in March at...
EPA’s CAFE: What's on the Menu for Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Standards?
James Conde, Sean H. Donahue, Jacqueline Glassman
Regulatory Transparency Project Teleforum
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao are proposing to roll back...
The Deregulatory Landscape [EBR6]
Philip A. Hamburger
Short video featuring Philip Hamburger
Does the growth of the administrative state threaten our civil liberties? Professor Philip Hamburger of...
Topics
Anyone Know a Good Tailor?
It is difficult to find a public statement by a financial services policymaker these days...
Why Constitutional Lawyers Need to Know Latin
Robert G. Natelson
Federalist Society Review, Volume 19
Note from the Editor: This article discusses the role of the Latin language and other...