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2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

February 21, 2025
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Registration is OPEN

Please join the Missouri Lawyers Chapters for their annual Missouri Chapters Conference! 

 

Friday, February 21, 2025

The Missouri Capitol Building

201 W Capitol Ave.

Jefferson City, MO 65101

 

CLE 

Approved for 5.7 hours of Missouri CLE (including 1.5 hours of Ethics and 1.5 hours of Elimination of Bias)

 

SPONSORSHIPS

If you are interested in sponsoring the Federalist Society's activity in Missouri, please reach out to Clare Nalepa at [email protected].

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8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Registration and Breakfast

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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9:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Welcome Remarks

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Panel I: The Ethics of Considering Race after SFFA v. Harvard

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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Description

The Supreme Court’s SFFA v. Harvard decision signaled a major change in university admissions and beyond. But how exactly is that change unfolding, and what role does ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) and Missouri Rule 8.4(g) play in shaping the landscape? Is affirmative action inherently biased and contrary to Rule 8.4(g)? Is Rule 8.4(g) a tool to push back against race-based admissions or hiring in academia and the marketplace? This panel will focus on the ramifications of SFFA for race-conscious practices, the application of Rule 8.4(g), and what future litigation might bring.

Featuring:

  • Prof. Chuck Henson, Interim Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, University of Missouri School of Law
  • Devon Westhill, President and General Counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity
  • Cory Liu, Attorney, Butler Snow
  • Moderator: Karen Donnelly, Partner, Copilevitz Lam & Raney

 

Speakers

11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Panel II: The Rule of Law and the Role of Rhetoric

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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Description

This panel of esteemed judges from across the State (and throughout the courts)  will discuss the role of rhetoric in judging and the law.  That includes persuasive advocacy–what they love to see, what they prefer advocates would avoid, and the best tips to make your case.  They will also discuss the ways in which advocates–and the public–talk about the courts, why that matters to the rule of law, and what the bar can do to support the judiciary by being thoughtful in how we speak about it.

Featuring:

  • Hon. Duane Benton, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • Hon. Ray Gruender, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • Hon. Chief Judge Steve Clark, United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri
  • Hon. Ginger Gooch, Judge, Missouri Supreme Court
  • Moderator: Barbara Smith Tyson, Partner and Co-Chair, Appellate and Supreme Court Group, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Speakers

12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Lunch

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Panel III: Role of the Executive in Reducing Government Administrative Bureaucracy

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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Description

Following up on the SCOTUS decision in Loper Bright v. Department of Interior, this panel will address how the executive branch, focusing on the Governor and the Attorney General, can work to reduce existing rules and regulations, reduce the size of state government, and reduce the creep of state government. Additionally, the panel will discuss how the Attorney General’s role will change with the new administration in DC and ways that new role can reduce and rollback administrative creep.

Featuring:

  • Lowell Pearson, General Counsel, Governor Mike Kehoe
  • Kurt Schaefer, Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
  • Ethan Harper, General Counsel, Senator Eric Schmitt
  • Eli Nachmany, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP.
  • Moderator: Marc Ellinger, Partner, Ellinger Bell

Speakers

2:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Keynote

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

   
The Missouri Capitol Building
201 W Capitol Ave.
Jefferson City, MO 65101

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Description

Featuring:

  • Josh Divine, Solicitor General, Missouri Attorney General's Office
  • Hon. Anthony Powell, Solicitor General, Kansas Attorney General's Office
  • Moderator: Caleb Hunt, Senior Associate, Husch Blackwell

Speakers

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