2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#registration-and-breakfast-6
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

• In-Person Event

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#welcome-remarks-10
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

• In-Person Event

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#the-ethics-of-considering-race-after-sffa-v-harvard
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

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)? 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 LLP
• Moderator: Karen Donnelly, Partner, Copilevitz Lam & Raney

 

Speakers

• In-Person Event

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#the-rule-of-law-and-the-role-of-rhetoric
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

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. Steve Clark, Chief Judge, 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 LLP

Speakers

• In-Person Event

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#lunch-29
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

• In-Person Event

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#panel-i-role-of-the-executive-in-reducing-government-administrative-bureaucracy
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

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, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt
• Eli Nachmany, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
• Moderator: Marc Ellinger, Partner, Ellinger Bell

Speakers

• In-Person Event

Share

• Add to Calendar
• Permalink
https://fedsoc.org/conferences/2025-missouri-chapters-conference#keynote-2
• Email
• Facebook Share
• Twitter Share

Description

This session will explore the changing role of state attorneys general and solicitors general under a Republican presidential administration. In light of President Donald Trump's recent inauguration, the panelists will discuss how state legal officers respond to the evolving dynamics between state and federal authority, tackle issues of federal overreach, and shape national legal and policy discussions. Drawing on their deep expertise, the speakers will opine on the opportunities and challenges facing state-level legal leaders as they influence the nation's legal framework.

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

• In-Person Event