Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resort
1700 Epcot Resorts Blvd
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
1700 Epcot Resorts Blvd
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
This event is not open to the Press.
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
January 30 - January 31, 2026
The Federalist Society is thrilled to host our 12th Annual Florida Chapters Conference on January 30 - January 31, 2026. Join lawyers chapters and student chapters from across Florida for our marquee statewide event.
CONFERENCE PRICING
Prices will increase by $50 per ticket after Sunday, January 18.
- Student Member: $150
- Member: $400
- Non-Member: $650
All Conference tickets include a ticket to the banquet.
- Guest Banquet Ticket: $250
Intended for plus ones of conference attendees. Does not grant access to panel discussions.
Dessert + Fireworks Reception*:
- $75 Adult
- $50 Child - Children under two years of age are free
Golf Outing*:
- Disney’s Palm Golf Course: $189.09
Join us on Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. before the conference kicks off. Price includes greens fees, cart fees, and a warmup bucket of range balls.
Childcare*:
First child: $40 | Second child: $20 | Each additional child: $10
Register your child HERE.
Childcare will be available onsite at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort on Friday, January 30 from 5:30 - 10:00 p.m. Cost includes arts and crafts, games, and dinner and snacks. Pre-registration is required by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 23rd. Cribs will be available for infants.
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*Not included in conference tickets. Tickets sold separately.
CLE AND CJE
CLE and CJE credit in Florida expected. Details linked in the button below.
SEATING REQUESTS
Email seating requests for the banquet dinner to [email protected].
Requests will be considered until Wednesday, January 21.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
The deadline to reserve a hotel room has passed.
Please direct any questions regarding hotel rooms to [email protected].
REGISTRATION DEADLINE AND REFUNDS
Registration will close at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 26. This is also the deadline to receive a refund for a cancellation. No refunds will be given after the deadline has passed.
This event is closed to the press.
Agenda and schedule subject to change.
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1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Registration
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
2:00 p.m. - 2:05 p.m.
Welcome
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
Featuring:
- Charbel Barakat, Vice President, Tampa Bay Lawyer Chapter
Speakers
2:05 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Opening Remarks
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
Featuring:
- Hon. Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Speakers
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Panel 1: Litigating the Culture War: Winning Legal Battles Against the Woke Agenda in Florida and Beyond
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
Starting in Florida but now across the country, lawmakers and citizens are pushing back against the spread of radical progressive ideology in corporations and government. This panel will examine the wave of high-profile lawsuits aimed at dismantling race and gender-based mandates, curbing DEI programs, redistricting, removing woke prosecutors, and defending laws that challenge the woke ideology. Our panelists will explore key legal strategies, judicial trends, and constitutional challenges at both the state and federal levels.
Featuring:
- Gene Hamilton, President & Co-Founder, America First Legal
- Dean Meritt McAlister, Interim Dean and Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
- Ryan Newman, General Counsel, Governor Ron DeSantis
- Katherine Robertson, Chief Counsel, Alabama Office of the Attorney General
- Bryan Weir, Partner, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
- Moderator: Hon. Gregory Katsas, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
Speakers
3:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Break
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
4:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Panel 2: Federalism, Freedom, and the Future of the Classroom: A Review of the Florida Model of Education Policy and Jurisprudence
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
This panel will explore the shift in American education policy and legal interpretation since President Trump took office, focusing on analyzing policies aimed at enhancing parental rights, academic excellence, and fiscal responsibility. They will discuss the Florida model, namely, the state’s educational reforms over the last seven years, including its expansion of school choice, emphasis on civics, and promotion of curriculum transparency, as a blueprint for successful state-level educational governance.
Featuring:
- Introductory Remarks: Anastasios Kamoutsas, Commissioner, Florida Department of Education
- Ryan Bangert, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Special Counsel to the President, Alliance Defending Freedom
- Prof. Derek Black, Professor of Law and the Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law, University of South Carolina School of Law
- Prof. Nicole Stelle Garnett, John P. Murphy Foundation Professor of Law and Associate Dean for External Engagement, University of Notre Dame Law School
- Zack Smith, Senior Legal Fellow and Manager, Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation
- Moderator: Hon. Jamie Grosshans, Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Speakers
5:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Cocktail Reception
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Banquet Dinner
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
Featuring welcome remarks by:
- Hon. Ashley Moody, U.S. Senator, Florida
...And a conversation with Governor Ron Desantis
- Hon. Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida
- Hon. Jeanette Nuñez, President, Florida International University and Former Lieutenant Governor of Florida
Speakers
8:15 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Breakfast
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Panel 3: Federal Law, State Action: Analyzing the Legal and Practical Challenges of Immigration Enforcement in Florida
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
This panel will examine the current federal immigration policy landscape with particular emphasis on the laws and regulations surrounding border security, immigrant detentions, and immigrant removal proceedings. The panel members will explore the legal and constitutional questions immigration policies raise and also address the practical challenges of implementing such policies in states like Florida. Using Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” detention site as a case study, the discussion will consider immigration enforcement, federal-state cooperation, and reflect on broader trends in immigration law including executive discretion, federalism, and the scope of due process in immigration proceedings.
Featuring:
- Hon. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, Senior Fellow for Immigration and Homeland Security, Center for Renewing America and former Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Hon. James Percival, General Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Prof. Ilan Wurman, Professor of Law, Julius E. Davis Professor of Law, University of Minnesota School of Law
- Moderator: Hon. Raymond Treadwell, Judge, Florida First District Court of Appeal
Speakers
10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Break
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Panel 4: When Science Becomes Dogma: COVID-19, Gender Medicine, and Vaccines
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
In recent years, the country has witnessed an unsettling trend: the medical establishment, often in lockstep with government and media, has increasingly rejected open debate in favor of consensus at the expense of truth, patient welfare, and basic civil liberties. What happens when judges defer too readily to medical associations that suppress scientific dissent? When does medical guidance become ideological enforcement? This panel will reflect on how courts, legislatures, and institutions have responded to COVID-19 policy, vaccines, and transgender medicine, and explore how society should respond in the future.
Featuring:
- Benjamin Flowers, Partner, Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC
- Mohammad O. Jazil, Partner, Holtzman Vogel
- Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida Surgeon General
- Emily Mimnaugh, Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Moderator: Hon. Norma Lindsey, Judge, Florida Third District Court of Appeal
Speakers
12:15 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Luncheon
2026 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Description
Remarks by:
- Hon. Adam S. Tanenbaum, Justice, Florida Supreme Court
"A Discussion with the Florida Attorney General"
- Hon. James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Florida
- Moderator: David Dewhirst, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Florida
