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2024 Florida Chapters Conference

February 2 — 3, 2024
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REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Join us on February 2-3, 2024 for the 10th Annual Florida Chapters Conference!

 

CONFERENCE PRICING

Register by December 1, 2024 to receive a $50 discount on the prices below (members only)

  • Student Members: $300
  • Government Employees: $350
  • Members: $400
  • Non-Members: $600
  • Guest Banquet Ticket: $200
  • Dessert Reception (not included in conference tickets):
    • $75 Adult
    • $50 Child - children under two years of age are free

 

HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS

Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center

Reservations can be made HERE.

The deadline to reserve a room is Wednesday, January 10th, 2024. Rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis and will likely sell out before the deadline.

Please note the hotel block is sold out on Saturday, February 3rd. Rooms are still available on Friday, February 2nd.

 

SPONSORSHIPS

If you are intersted in sponsoring the Federalist Society's activity in Florida, please reach out to Abbie Kepto at abbie.kepto@fedsoc.org.

 

SEATING REQUESTS

Please direct all seating requests for the banquet to Abbie Kepto at abbie.kepto@fedsoc.org.

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1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Registration

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Welcome Remarks

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Panel I: What is General Common Law and How do Originalist/Textualist Judges Use It?

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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Description

Justice Antonin Scalia succeeded in making textualism the predominant method of legal interpretation. But now that an increasing number of jurists are committed to that method, the question of how to do it well has acquired an even greater urgency. However, there are fundamental disagreements. According to Professor Will Baude, textualists risk arriving at “incomplete or misleading answers to important questions about the law” unless they learn to “supplement” plain text with “unwritten law, law that governs both interpretation and background principles against which interpretation takes place.” Is this “unwritten” law simply the canons of construction as articulated by the Supreme Court, pre-Erie General Law, the Natural Law, the Anglo-American legal tradition, the common law of the States, or something else? The answer certainly has important implications for judges, and it might vary depending on whether a litigant is in a federal or state forum, or whether the text to be interpreted is a statute, constitution, or a private-law matter like a contract. For textualists, determining if, when, and how these unwritten sources of law should be consulted are among the most pressing issues of the day. Panelists will consider these questions from their various perspectives from academia and from the bench.

 

Featuring:

  • Prof. Emily Bremer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame School of Law
  • Prof. Robert Leider, Assistant Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
  • Hon. Amul Thapar, U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
  • Moderator: Hon. Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit 

Speakers

4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Panel II: Amending the Florida Constitution: Ballot Initiatives and Judicial Review

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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Description

The citizen-initiative process allows the People of Florida to propose amendments to the state constitution, subject to Supreme Court review. But what is the appropriate scope of judicial review of such ballot initiatives? Does the single-subject rule enable outcome-driven judicial decision-making? This panel will discuss these questions and others in the context of the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana and the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion initiatives.

Featuring:

  • Daniel Bell, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Office of Florida Attorney General
  • Hon. Alan Lawson, Shareholder, Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC
  • Prof. Jonathan Marshfield, Associate Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

Speakers

6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Cocktail Reception

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Banquet Dinner

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Breakfast

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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8:15 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Young Lawyers Special Session: Making Winning Arguments

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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Description

The state and federal bench has transformed in recent years, with more textualist/originalist judges appointed or elected. These changes are influencing how advocates should prepare to make winning arguments. A panel of jurists and leading litigators will offer their best advice to young advocates in making successful oral arguments and incorporating originalism and textualism into their briefs. They will offer their perspectives on how litigation tactics might change, if at all, at the appellate or trial court levels. They will also discuss why litigators play such a key role in encouraging textualist and originalist decisions.

Featuring:

  • Sarah Harris, Partner, Williams & Connolly
  • Hon. Bobby Long, Judge, 1st District Court of Appeal, Florida
  • Hon. Jay Mitchell, Associate Justice, Alabama Supreme Court
  • Ed Wenger, Partner, Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC
  • Moderator: Hon. Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida 

Speakers

9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Panel III: Race in Admissions: How SFFA v. Harvard and SFFA v. UNC are Changing Higher Education and the Legal Profession

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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Description

The panel will discuss how these decisions are transforming the admissions process in higher education and the impact on the legal profession.  Included in the discussion will be the response from academia, the permissible limits of the use of race in admissions after these decisions, and what impact this is expected to have on corporate America and the legal profession. 

Featuring:

  • Prof. Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky, Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in U.S. Constitutional Law, UF Levin College of Law
  • Cameron Norris, Partner, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
  • Devon Westhill, President and General Counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity
  • Moderator: Hon. Meredith Sasso, Justice, Florida Supreme Court

Speakers

11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Panel IV: Florida’s Tort and Insurance Reform: Past, Present, and Future
Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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Description

Lawmakers and courts have been reforming Florida’s tort and insurance laws for decades.  From expansion of insurance bad faith and contraction of comparative fault in the 1990’s, to restrictions on medical malpractice suits in the 2000’s, to changes in tort and insurance litigation in the 2020’s, the legal landscape shifted dramatically.  This panel will examine the latest reforms in the context of recent history, and it will debate where Florida policy should go from here.

Featuring:

  • Kansas R. Gooden, Shareholder & Practice Group Leader, Boyd & Jenerette, PA
  • William Large, President, Florida Justice Reform Institute
  • Hon. Paul Renner, Speaker, Florida House of Representatives
  • Prof. Jay Tidmarsh, Judge James J. Clynes, Jr. Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
  • Moderator: Pat Kilbane, Partner, General Counsel & Wealth Advisor, Ullmann Wealth Partners, President of Jacksonville Lawyers Chapter

Speakers

12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Remarks

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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12:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Luncheon

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Gaylord Palms Resort
6000 W Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34746

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6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Dessert Reception

2024 Florida Chapters Conference

Universal Studios
6000 Universal Boulevard
Orlando, FL 32819

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Description

Dessert reception and VIP viewing of the 2024 Mardi Gras Parade!
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