Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Allison Daniel is an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, focusing on cases in which she can help restore the separation of powers between the branches of government and prevent federal agencies from creating laws through regulatory action. Her commitment to liberty began with an interest in politics and philosophy in high school and college. She was particularly inspired by Ron Paul and the works of Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Ayn Rand.
She received her law degree from the Florida State University College of Law, where she served as president of the Federalist Society chapter. She worked as a law clerk for Pacific Legal Foundation in the Sacramento office during her 1L summer. After law school, she joined the Institute for Justice as a staff attorney in the Florida office, where she defended the economic liberty and property rights of clients. Family commitments then led her to Ohio, where she clerked at the Ohio Court of Appeals and served as legal counsel to all statewide elected officeholders at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
She resides in Southwest Ohio with her husband and their four young children.
Of Counsel, Holtzman Vogel
Erielle Azerrad is Of Counsel with Holtzman Vogel and focuses her practice on commercial litigation, appellate law, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Erielle clerked for the Honorable Steven J. Menashi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Erielle is also a co-founder of the Center for the Middle East and International Law through the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer B. Dickey is vice president and deputy chief counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dickey handles a variety of litigation matters for the Chamber.
Dickey joined the Chamber following her service as Acting Assistant Attorney General and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. She also previously served as Deputy Associate Attorney General, providing strategic oversight of the Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, and Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, as well as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President. In the latter capacity, she provided legal advice on a wide array of executive actions and rulemakings, civil litigation, and judicial nominations.
Dickey also practiced law at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before her government service. She was a commercial and appellate litigator, representing businesses in federal and state courts.
Earlier in her career, Dickey served as a law clerk for the Honorable Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Dickey earned her law degree magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she was an Executive Editor of the Duke Law Journal, and her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth College.
Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Elizabeth A. Kiernan is a senior associate in the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing clients in their most consequential, high-stakes, and time-sensitive matters. Elizabeth specializes in appellate advocacy and sophisticated briefing. She has successfully argued before the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court and has supported arguments in various courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and courts across the country.
Elizabeth’s most significant victories include obtaining and preserving at the Texas Supreme Court writs of mandamus directing dismissal of billions of dollars in personal injury and property damage claims across a 200-case, 20,000-plaintiff MDL; securing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory allowing an insurer responsible for millions of dollars in bankruptcy claims to be heard on objections to its insureds’ plan of reorganization; and persuading a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel to uphold dismissal of over $12 million in contractual and tort claims.
Chambers and Partners recently named Elizabeth an “Associate to Watch” for Litigation: Appellate (Texas), and she has been recognized as an Appellate “Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters’s Texas Super Lawyers magazine.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Elizabeth earned her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama and her J.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also served as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley for the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Sarah Welch is an associate in the Firm's Issues & Appeals Practice based in the Cleveland Office of Jones Day.
Ms. Welch's practice focuses on appellate advocacy and significant motions. Before joining Jones Day, she served as a law clerk to the Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
During law school, Ms. Welch participated in briefing cases before the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals through The University of Chicago Law School's Supreme Court and appellate clinic, as well as through internships with the Ohio and United States solicitors general. She volunteers on the case committee for Ohio's high school mock trial competition.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Morgan Ratner is an experienced appellate advocate and legal-issues specialist who handles the most important cases around the country. She has argued ten cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she has had remarkable success at both the certiorari and merits stages.
Morgan regularly briefs and argues appeals and dispositive motions; provides strategic guidance for trial and administrative proceedings; and counsels clients confronting high-stakes legal issues. She has had particular success helping clients navigate—and, when appropriate, challenge—federal regulations. In the last 18 months, she has twice been named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” (and her matters have been named three times more), including for prevailing in a landmark Delaware corporate-governance dispute and striking down the FCC’s net-neutrality rules. The American Lawyer named her the 2024 “Young Lawyer of the Year — Litigation”, and Law360 recently profiled her as one of “12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar.”
Morgan served for more than four years in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued securities regulation, bankruptcy, employment, and intellectual property cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. During her tenure, she also filed more than 150 Supreme Court briefs at the merits and certiorari stages and received a John Marshall Award, DOJ’s highest award offered to lawyers for exceptional service to the Office of the Solicitor General and DOJ.
After graduating Harvard Law School—where she was awarded the Fay Diploma as the top student in her class—Morgan clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, a volunteer with Street Law, Inc., and a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Allison Daniel is an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, focusing on cases in which she can help restore the separation of powers between the branches of government and prevent federal agencies from creating laws through regulatory action. Her commitment to liberty began with an interest in politics and philosophy in high school and college. She was particularly inspired by Ron Paul and the works of Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Ayn Rand.
She received her law degree from the Florida State University College of Law, where she served as president of the Federalist Society chapter. She worked as a law clerk for Pacific Legal Foundation in the Sacramento office during her 1L summer. After law school, she joined the Institute for Justice as a staff attorney in the Florida office, where she defended the economic liberty and property rights of clients. Family commitments then led her to Ohio, where she clerked at the Ohio Court of Appeals and served as legal counsel to all statewide elected officeholders at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
She resides in Southwest Ohio with her husband and their four young children.
Of Counsel, Holtzman Vogel
Erielle Azerrad is Of Counsel with Holtzman Vogel and focuses her practice on commercial litigation, appellate law, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Erielle clerked for the Honorable Steven J. Menashi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Erielle is also a co-founder of the Center for the Middle East and International Law through the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer B. Dickey is vice president and deputy chief counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dickey handles a variety of litigation matters for the Chamber.
Dickey joined the Chamber following her service as Acting Assistant Attorney General and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. She also previously served as Deputy Associate Attorney General, providing strategic oversight of the Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, and Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, as well as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President. In the latter capacity, she provided legal advice on a wide array of executive actions and rulemakings, civil litigation, and judicial nominations.
Dickey also practiced law at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before her government service. She was a commercial and appellate litigator, representing businesses in federal and state courts.
Earlier in her career, Dickey served as a law clerk for the Honorable Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Dickey earned her law degree magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she was an Executive Editor of the Duke Law Journal, and her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth College.
Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Elizabeth A. Kiernan is a senior associate in the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing clients in their most consequential, high-stakes, and time-sensitive matters. Elizabeth specializes in appellate advocacy and sophisticated briefing. She has successfully argued before the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court and has supported arguments in various courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and courts across the country.
Elizabeth’s most significant victories include obtaining and preserving at the Texas Supreme Court writs of mandamus directing dismissal of billions of dollars in personal injury and property damage claims across a 200-case, 20,000-plaintiff MDL; securing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory allowing an insurer responsible for millions of dollars in bankruptcy claims to be heard on objections to its insureds’ plan of reorganization; and persuading a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel to uphold dismissal of over $12 million in contractual and tort claims.
Chambers and Partners recently named Elizabeth an “Associate to Watch” for Litigation: Appellate (Texas), and she has been recognized as an Appellate “Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters’s Texas Super Lawyers magazine.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Elizabeth earned her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama and her J.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also served as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley for the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Sarah Welch is an associate in the Firm's Issues & Appeals Practice based in the Cleveland Office of Jones Day.
Ms. Welch's practice focuses on appellate advocacy and significant motions. Before joining Jones Day, she served as a law clerk to the Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
During law school, Ms. Welch participated in briefing cases before the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals through The University of Chicago Law School's Supreme Court and appellate clinic, as well as through internships with the Ohio and United States solicitors general. She volunteers on the case committee for Ohio's high school mock trial competition.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Morgan Ratner is an experienced appellate advocate and legal-issues specialist who handles the most important cases around the country. She has argued ten cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she has had remarkable success at both the certiorari and merits stages.
Morgan regularly briefs and argues appeals and dispositive motions; provides strategic guidance for trial and administrative proceedings; and counsels clients confronting high-stakes legal issues. She has had particular success helping clients navigate—and, when appropriate, challenge—federal regulations. In the last 18 months, she has twice been named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” (and her matters have been named three times more), including for prevailing in a landmark Delaware corporate-governance dispute and striking down the FCC’s net-neutrality rules. The American Lawyer named her the 2024 “Young Lawyer of the Year — Litigation”, and Law360 recently profiled her as one of “12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar.”
Morgan served for more than four years in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued securities regulation, bankruptcy, employment, and intellectual property cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. During her tenure, she also filed more than 150 Supreme Court briefs at the merits and certiorari stages and received a John Marshall Award, DOJ’s highest award offered to lawyers for exceptional service to the Office of the Solicitor General and DOJ.
After graduating Harvard Law School—where she was awarded the Fay Diploma as the top student in her class—Morgan clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, a volunteer with Street Law, Inc., and a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History at Northwestern University School of Law
Stephen Presser is a leading American legal historian and expert on shareholder liability for corporate debts. He is frequently an invited witness before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on issues of constitutional law. He holds a joint appointment with the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and also teaches in Northwestern's history department.
Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Law
Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Beaton was a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs LLP, where he co-chaired the firm’s Appellate & Supreme Court practice group. Judge Beaton’s represented clients engaged in complex commercial litigation in Federal and State courts, and before administrative agencies. Judge Beaton also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where he taught constitutional interpretation. Before joining Squire Patton Boggs, Judge Beaton practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin, LLP, and also served as a legal fellow with the International Justice Mission in Kampala, Uganda. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Beaton served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court, and to Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Judge Beaton earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Centre College, and his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he served as an Articles Editor on the Columbia Law Review.
AI Innovation and Law Fellow, University of Texas School of Law
Kevin Frazier is an AI Innovation and Law Fellow with University of Texas School of Law.
Senior Fellow, Foundation for American Innovation
Dean Woodley Ball is a senior fellow at FAI. He most recently served as Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Strategic Advisor for AI at the National Science Foundation. Previously he was a Research Fellow in the Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project at George Mason University's Mercatus Center and a Policy Fellow at Fathom.
Dean is author of Hyperdimensional. His work focuses on emerging technologies and the future of governance, spanning artificial intelligence, manufacturing innovation, neural technology, bioengineering, technology policy, political theory, public finance, urban infrastructure, and criminal justice reform. Outside of FAI, his scholarship has been published by the Mercatus Center, the Hoover Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Federation of American Scientists, the Manhattan Institute, and American Compass.
His writing has appeared in National Affairs, The New Atlantis, Pirate Wires, Lawfare, The Dispatch, The Hill, Tech Policy Press, the Washington Post, the Orange County Register, the Coolidge Quarterly, and National Review. His academic work includes "Neither Harbour nor Floor: Contemplating the Singularity with Michael Oakeshott" in the forthcoming Liberalism Revisited (Palgrave) and "Ideas of Another Order: Michael Oakeshott and Confucius in Conversation" in Collingwood and British Idealism Studies.
Prior to his government service, Dean held senior positions at Stanford's Hoover Institution, the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, and the Manhattan Institute, where he oversaw the Hayek Book Prize. He also consults on passion projects, including on-the-ground policing reform in Argentina and Chile and the restoration of the Florentine guild system for sacred liturgical art.
Dean serves on the Board of Directors of the Alexander Hamilton Institute and was selected as an Aspen Ideas Fellow. He graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College with a B.A. in History and lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Abigail, and their two cats, Io and Ganymede.
Vice President of Political Affairs, Encode
As Vice President of Political Affairs, Sunny led Encode’s co-sponsorship of California’s SB 1047, a landmark AI safety bill that would have required testing of advanced AI systems and created whistleblower protections. The bill passed both chambers of the state legislature with strong bipartisan margins, drawing support from an unlikely coalition including Nobel Laurate Geoffrey Hinton, Elon Musk, and Mark Ruffalo.
He also spearheaded efforts leading to the first U.S. law establishing guardrails for AI use in nuclear weapons systems, ensuring human control while enabling security benefits. At Encode, he has coordinated campaigns to authorize and fund a U.S. AI Safety Institute and advance legislation targeting AI-generated exploitation.
His technical work includes pioneering a benchmark for testing AI legal reasoning capabilities (presented at NeurIPS) and developing systems for rapid cloud deployment of AI services. He has also published research on cross-platform information analysis at AAAI. Before Encode, he served in technical roles at NASA, Deloitte, and a nuclear energy company.
A Seat at the Sitting - March 2025
Allison Daniel, Erielle Azerrad, Jennifer B. Dickey, Elizabeth Kiernan, Sarah Welch, Morgan Ratner
The March Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...
A Seat at the Sitting - March 2025
Allison Daniel, Erielle Azerrad, Jennifer B. Dickey, Elizabeth Kiernan, Sarah Welch, Morgan Ratner
The March Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...
Topics
Navigating a TCPA Minefield: Understanding the “Quiet Hours” Rule
Regulations should be clear and predictable. Businesses should be able to operate with a reasonable...
Daniel Webster Debate Series: Should Judges Employ Natural Law Principles?
The Federalist Society's Georgetown Law Chapter'sDaniel Webster Debate Series presents Daniel Webster Debate Series:Should...
Remembering Manny Klausner
In my early days at the Federalist Society, I sent letters to a few people...
The Past Is Not a Foreign Country: How a Historical Critique of Originalism Misses That the Past Is Prologue
Stephen B. Presser
Federalist Society Review, Volume 26
A review of Jonathan Gienapp, Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique (2024) This review is...
Topics
ABA Responds to AG Bondi on Standard 206
As noted in a previous post, on February 22, the Council of the ABA Section of...
Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc. - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Jake Linford
Jake Linford
On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued their 9-0 opinion in Dewberry Group, Inc....
SOC! SIDEBAR: March Madness
Benjamin Beaton
The Federalist Society's Student Division, Penn Law School Chapter, & University of Virginia School of...
Tech Roundup Episode 25 - How are the States Approaching AI?
Kevin Frazier, Dean W. Ball, Sunny Gandhi
As the second Trump administration kicks off an ambitious AI agenda, individual states have been...