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2007 National Lawyers Convention

Shining City Upon a Hill: American Exceptionalism

November 15 — 17, 2007

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Federalist Society and on November 15-17 we will be celebrating this milestone during our Annual National Lawyers Convention.  The theme for this year's convention is "Shining City Upon a Hill: American Exceptionalism."  In addition to the numerous panels containing noted legal experts and scholars from across the political spectrum, The convention will also feature the Seventh Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture, to be delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts. The highlight of the convention will be the 25th Anniversary Gala, attended by many more special guests, which will be held in the Main Hall of Washington, DC's Union Station.

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9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
C. Boyden Gray Address at the 2007 National Lawyers Convention

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalist Society • Founding Era & History • International Law & Trade • International & National Security Law
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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Opening remarks at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention by Federalist Society Executive Vice President Leonard A. Leo followed by an address by Ambassador C. Boyden Gray.

9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Grand Ballroom

Welcome and Opening Address

  • Hon. C. Boyden Gray, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union
  • Introduction: Mr. Leonard A. Leo, Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society

Mayflower Hotel
Washington, DC

Speakers

9:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Beacon of Freedom: Does America Have a Special Mission?

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Founding Era & History • Philosophy
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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This panel examines the question whether there is an American ideology of exceptionalism that is deeply rooted in 400 years of our history.  Have Americans from John Winthrop to the Founding Fathers to Abraham Lincoln to Ronald Reagan believed that we are a shining city on a hill – a beacon of liberty and democracy for the rest of the world?  How has the idea of American exceptionalism changed and evolved from John Winthrop’s Biblical vision of the country as an exemplar of Protestantism to the Framers’ vision of us as an exemplar of liberty and democracy?  Do we still believe in the creed affirmed by the Statue of Liberty that America is the light of the world and the natural home of all who are oppressed?  Many historians have claimed that the belief that Americans are special people with a special mission in a special place is a recurrent theme in our history.  In the words of President Reagan’s Farewell Address, we are “still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places are hurtling through darkness toward home.”  Is the United States a country organized around an ideology of belief in freedom, democracy, social equality, and individualism and, if so, is that a good thing?  Has America in fact been a revolutionary force for liberty and democracy in the world or has the shining city on the hill become, as critics on both the left and the right claim, just another fallen Sodom and Gomorrah?

9:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Grand Ballroom
 

Showcase Panel I: Beacon of Freedom: Does America Have a Special Mission?

  • Mr. Michael Barone, U.S. News and World Report 
  • Prof. Richard A. Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
  • Prof. Charles Fried, Harvard Law School
  • Prof. Gordon S. Wood, Brown University
  • Moderator: Hon. James Harvie Wilkinson, III, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

Speakers

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Clarence Thomas Address at the 2007 National Lawyers Convention

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalist Society • Jurisprudence • Supreme Court
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas delivered this address at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on Thursday, November 15.

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Address & Book Signing

  • Hon. Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court and Author, My Grandfather's Son
  • Introduction: Hon. Lee Liberman Otis, Facutly Division Director and Senior Vice President, The Federalist Society
  • Introduction: Hon. C. Boyden Gray, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union

 

Speakers

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Independence of Federal Prosecutors

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Criminal Law & Procedure • Federalism
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Criminal Law Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 15, 2007.

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
East Room

Criminal Law: The Independence of Federal Prosecutors

  • Hon. Bob Barr, President and CEO, Liberty Strategies LLC, and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Georgia
  • Hon. Jamie Gorelick, Wilmer Hale, and former Deputy U.S. Attorney General
  • Mr. Andrew C. McCarthy, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
  • Prof. John C. Yoo, University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law
  • Moderator: Hon. Merrick B. Garland, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

 

Speakers

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
The Role of Religion in Public Debate

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Religious Liberty • Free Speech & Election Law • Religious Liberties
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Religious Liberties Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 15, 2007.

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
State Room

Religious Liberties: The Role of Religion in Public Debate

  • Prof. Robert Audi, University of Notre Dame
  • Prof. R. Kent Greenawalt, Columbia University School of Law
  • Hon. Michael W. McConnell, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit
  • Dr. James W. Skillen, Center for Public Justice
  • Moderator: Hon. Diane S. Sykes, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit

Speakers

2:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Religion, Early America and the Fourteenth Amendment

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalism • Fourteenth Amendment • Religious Liberty • Federalism & Separation of Powers
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 15, 2007.

2:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Federalism: Religion, Early America and the Fourteenth Amendment

  • Dean John C. Eastman, Chapman University School of Law
  • Prof. Philip A. Hamburger, Columbia University School of Law
  • Prof. Marci A. Hamilton, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
  • Moderator: Hon. William H. Pryor Jr., U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

Speakers

2:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Is the U.S. Legal Regime Undermining American Competitiveness

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Corporations, Securities & Antitrust
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Corporations Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 15, 2007.

2:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
State Room

Corporations: Is the U.S. Legal Regime Undermining American Competitiveness?

  • Hon. David D. Aufhauser, UBS Global General Counsel and Former General Counsel, Department of the Treasury
  • Prof. Richard A. Epstein, University of Chicago Law School
  • Prof. Douglas W. Kmiec, Pepperdine University School of Law
  • Hon. George J. Terwilliger, III, White & Case LLP, and former Deputy U.S. Attorney General
  • Moderator: Mr. François-Henri Briard, Delaporte, Briard & Trichet and President, The Federalist Society, Paris Chapter

Speakers

6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
President George W. Bush Address

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federal Courts • Federalism • Federalist Society • Supreme Court
Union Station
50 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002

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United States President George W. Bush delivered this address during the 25th Anniversary Gala on Thursday, November 15, as part of the 2007 National Lawyers Convention.

Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Gala

Featured Guest:

  • Hon. George W. Bush, President of the United States

Speakers

7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
25th Anniversary Gala

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalist Society
Union Station
50 Massachusetts Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002

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The Federalist Society's 25th Anniversary Gala was held on Thursday, November 15, 2007.

Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Gala

  • Hon. E. Spencer Abraham, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Co-Founder, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
  • Hon. Samuel A. Alito, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court
  • Prof. Steven G. Calabresi, Northwestern University School of Law and Chairman, The Federalist Society Board of Directors
  • Mr. Leonard A. Leo, Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
  • Hon. David M. McIntosh, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP and Vice Chairman, Federalist Society Board of Directors
  • Hon. Edwin Meese III, Heritage Foundation
  • Mr. Eugene B. Meyer, President, The Federalist Society
  • Hon. Theodore B. Olson, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher
  • Hon. Lee Liberman Otis, Senior Vice President and Faculty Director, The Federalist Society
  • Hon. Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court
  • Hon. Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court

25th Anniversary Tribute Video

Speakers

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9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Is Overlawyering Overtaking Democracy

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Litigation • Professional Responsibility & Legal Education
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Litigation and Professional Responsibility Practice Groups presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 16, 2007.

9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Grand Ballroom

Litigation & Professional Responsibility: Is Overlawyering Overtaking Democracy?

  • Prof. Theodore Eisenberg, Cornell Law School
  • Mr. Walter K. Olson, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
  • Mr. Victor E. Schwartz, Shook, Hardy & Bacon
  • Prof. David C. Vladeck, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Moderator: Dean David M. Schizer, Columbia University School of Law

Speakers

9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
The Labor Movement, NGOs, International Labor Standards and American Values

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: International Law & Trade • Labor & Employment Law
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Labor & Employment Law Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 16, 2007.

9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
East Room

Labor: The Labor Movement, NGOs, International Labor Standards and American Values

  • Prof. Samuel Estreicher, New York University School of Law
  • Mr. Adam B. Greene, U.S. Council for International Business
  • Ms. Deborah Greenfield, Associate General Counsel, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
  • Moderator: Hon. David B. Sentelle, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Speakers

11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Senator Mitch McConnell Address

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federal Courts • Federalist Society • Supreme Court
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky delivered this address at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on Friday, November 16.

11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
Grand Ballroom
 

Address

  • Hon. Mitch McConnell, United States Senator, Kentucky
  • Introduction: Mr. Leonard A. Leo, Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society

Speakers

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Property Rights in the United States

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Philosophy • Property Law • Environmental Law & Property Rights • Founding Era & History
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Environmental Law & Property Rights Practice Group presented this debate at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 16, 2007.

12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
East Room

Environmental Law: Property Rights in the United States

  • Hon. Alex Kozinski, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • Hon. Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • Moderator: Mr. James S. Burling, Pacific Legal Foundation

Speakers

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Restricting Parental Speech

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Free Speech & Election Law
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Free Speech & Election Law Practice Group presented this debate at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 16, 2007.

12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Free Speech & Election Law: Restricting Parental Speech

  • Prof. James G. Dwyer, College of William & Mary School of Law
  • Dr. Jay Alan Sekulow, American Center for Law & Justice
  • Prof. Eugene Volokh, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law
  • Moderator: Hon. Michael W. McConnell, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

Speakers

1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Immigration, Amnesty, and the Rule of Law

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Administrative Law & Regulation • Federal Courts • Foreign Policy • International & National Security Law
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Administrative Law Practice Group presented this debate at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 16, 2007.

1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Administrative Law: Immigration, Amnesty, and the Rule of Law

  • Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Prof. John Baker, Louisiana State University
  • Prof. Kris W. Kobach, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law
  • Prof. Gerald L. Newman, Harvard Law School
  • Moderator: Hon. Carlos T. Bea, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Speakers

1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
The Regulatory State and American Technology

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Telecommunications & Electronic Media
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Telecommunications Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 16, 2007.

1:15 p.m. - 2:15 p.m.
East Room

Telecommunications: The Regulatory State and American Technology

  • Amb. David A. Gross, U.S. Department of State
  • Mr. Roy E. Hoffinger, Qualcomm, Inc.
  • Hon. James C. Miller, III, formerly of the U.S. Office of Management & Budget
  • Hon. Robert M. McDowell, U.S. Federal Communications Commission
  • Moderator: Hon. Stephen F. Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Speakers

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Rudy Giuliani Address at the 2007 National Lawyers Convention

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federal Courts • Federalist Society
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani delivered this address at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on Friday, November 16.

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom
 

Address

  • Hon. Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor, New York City
  • Introduction: Hon. Theodore B. Olson, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Speakers

3:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Is America Different from Other Major Western Democracies

2007 National Lawyer Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalism • Founding Era & History
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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How different is America in reality from the rest of the developed Western world?  Are Americans exceptionally libertarian, religious, patriotic, optimistic, individualistic, and moralistic as compared to British, Canadian, French, German, or Japanese citizens?  What does comparative polling data show?  Are we exceptional in our views about the role and size of government or of labor unions?  What is the role religion plays in American life and how does it differ from the role religion plays in the public life of other major Western democracies?  Are we, in fact as well as in ideology, all that different from the rest of the developed Western world?  Are these differences ideological or do they stem from the availability of wide open spaces of land in the New World and the recent immigrant background of many Americans?  Are second and third generation Americans different from those in the first generation and how?  Why does America spend so much more on national defense and foreign policy than do other nations?  Why is the birthrate so much higher in the U.S. than in other developed nations?  Do we still do a better job of assimilating our immigrants than Western Europeans do in assimilating theirs?  Does our relative geographical isolation from the rest of the world still give us a unique outlook and perspective?

3:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Grand Ballroom

Showcase Panel II: Is America Different from Other Major Western Democracies?

  • Prof. Randy E. Barnett, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Prof. James Lindgren, Northwestern University School of Law
  • Mr. Bruce Stokes, National Journal
  • Prof. Graham K. Wilson, Boston University
  • Moderator: Hon. Ronald A. Cass, President, Cass & Associates, PC and Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Law

Speakers

5:45 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
7th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalist Society • Founding Era & History • Supreme Court
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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On September 11, 2001, at the age of 45 and at the height of her professional and personal life, Barbara Olson was murdered in the terrorist attacks against the United States as a passenger on the hijacked American Airlines flight that was flown into the Pentagon. The Federalist Society established this annual lecture in Barbara's memory because of her enormous contributions as an active member, supporter, and volunteer leader. Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson delivered the first lecture in November 2001. The lecture series continued in following years with other notable individuals. In 2007, Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. delivered the lecture.

7th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture
When: Friday, November 16, 2007
Where: Mayflower Hotel
- Washington, DC

Hon. John G. Roberts Jr.
Chief Justice of the United States

For information about Barbara Olson and this lecture series, click HERE.

For a list of past lecturers, click HERE.

Speakers

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9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
The Constitution & American Exceptionalism: Citation of Foreign Law

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Founding Era & History
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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What relationship is there between the ideology and reality of American exceptionalism and our ideas about the Constitution?  Is the U.S. Constitution a symbol of the United States' status as a Shining City on a Hill – a kind of Ark of the Covenant of the New Israel that is America?  How different is the U.S. Constitution from the Constitutions of other Western democracies and are those differences a good thing?  How different is Supreme Court constitutional case law from the comparable case law of other major Western democracies?  Why is the U.S. so much more enthusiastic about freedom of speech and of the press than are other Western democracies?  What explains America's unique fascination with the separation of church and state, the exclusionary rule, the death penalty, jury trials, and property rights?  Why is the abortion issue so much more controversial in the U.S. than it is in other Western democracies?  Are we unique in the power we give to our Supreme Court to decide controversial issues of domestic policy?  Do these differences suggest that the U.S Supreme Court ought not to rely on foreign law in interpreting the U.S. Constitution, since the United States is such a different country from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, and Japan?

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Grand Ballroom

Showcase Panel III: The Constitution & American Exceptionalism: Citation of Foreign Law

  • Prof. Akhil Reed Amar, Yale Law School
  • Hon. Frank H. Easterbrook, U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • Prof. Vicki C. Jackson, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Prof. Nicholas Quinn Rosenkranz, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Moderator: Hon. Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit

Speakers

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Amending State & Federal Constitutions to Prohibit Sex Discrimination

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Civil Rights • Constitution • State Governments
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Civil Rights Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 17, 2007.

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
East Room

Civil Rights: Amending State & Federal Constitutions to Prohibit Sex Discrimination

  • Prof. Martha F. Davis, Northeastern University School of Law
  • Prof. Gail Heriot, University of San Diego School of Law
  • Mrs. Phyllis M. Schlafly, Eagle Forum
  • Moderator: Hon. Jerry E. Smith, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Speakers

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Borrowing in America: Home Mortgages, Foreclosures and Predatory Lending

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Financial Services • Financial Services & E-Commerce
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 17, 2007.

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
State Room

Financial Services: Borrowing in America: Home Mortgages, Foreclosures and Predatory Lending

  • Ms. Anne Canfield, Executive Director, Consumer Mortgage Coalition
  • Mr. Allen Fishbein, Consumer Federation of America 
  • Mr. Alex J. Pollock, Resident Fellow, The American Enterprise Institute
  • Mrs. Montrice Yakimov, Office of Thrift Supervision
  • Moderator: Hon. Edith H. Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Speakers

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Intellectual Property: American Exceptionalism or International Harmonization?

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Intellectual Property • International Law & Trade
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Intellectual Property Practice Group presented this panel discussion at the 2007 Annual National Lawyers Convention on November 17, 2007.

10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Chinese Room

Intellectual Property: Intellectual Property: American Exceptionalism or International Harmonization?

  • Prof. Shubha Ghosh, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
  • Prof. F. Scott Kieff, Washington University in St. Louis
  • Prof. Adam Mossoff, Michigan State University College of Law
  • Prof. Steven M. Tepp, Assistant General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office
  • Moderator: Hon. Brett Kavanaugh, U. S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

Speakers

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
The Conservative and Libertarian Legal Movement: A 25 Year Retrospective

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: Constitution • Federalist Society • Founding Era & History • Philosophy • Politics
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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The Federalist Society's Annual Convention Luncheon was held on November 17, 2007.

12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Grand Ballroom
 

Annual Convention Luncheon: The Conservative and Libertarian Legal Movement: A 25 Year Retrospective

  • Opening Remarks: Hon. E. Spencer Abraham, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Co-Founder, Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy
     
  • Mr. Manuel S. Klausner, Reason Foundation
  • Hon. Edwin Meese III, Heritage Foundation
  • Moderator: Mr. Alfred Regnery, The American Spectator

Speakers

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
American Exceptionalism, the War on Terror and the Rule of Law in the Islamic World

2007 National Lawyers Convention

Topics: International Law & Trade • Security & Privacy • International & National Security Law
The Mayflower Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036

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Since at least the time of the American Revolution, America has been a revolutionary force for democracy and liberty in world affairs.  Some have called us a dangerous and revolutionary nation.  American ideas about democracy and liberty have played a role over the last 200 years in the French Revolution, the Latin American wars of independence from Spain and Portugal, reform efforts in Britain, the revolutions of 1848, Woodrow Wilson's war to make the world safe for democracy, the Second World War struggle against the Nazis and fascists, and the cold war struggle against communist totalitarianism.  Is it fair to say that Americans have spread our system of government to Western and Eastern Europe, to Latin America, to Japan, and to much of the rest of the world?  If so, what role, if any, should America play in spreading democracy and liberty to the Islamic World?  Do we have a special responsibility in Iraq or elsewhere to spread our ideas about freedom, self-government, and the rule of law? What are the limits on America's foreign policy responsibilities?  Should we be an exemplar of liberty and democracy only, or should we actively seek to spread our way of life around the world?  Can or should a country that believes in liberty and democracy ever engage in imperialism?

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
East & State Rooms

Showcase Panel IV: American Exceptionalism, the War on Terror and the Rule of Law in the Islamic World

  • Prof. Neal K. Katyal, Georgetown University Law Center
  • Prof. Michael S. Paulsen, University of Saint Thomas School of Law
  • Mr. David B. Rivkin, Jr., Baker & Hostetler
  • Prof. Nadine Strossen, New York Law School
  • Moderator: Prof. Steven G. Calabresi, Northwestern University School of Law and Chairman, The Federalist Society Board of Directors

Speakers

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