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2021 Texas Chapters Conference

February 18 — 20, 2021

 

Attendees interested in donating blood at the Emergency Blood Drive at NRG Park, can sign up here

 

Sixth Annual Texas Chapters Conference
Houston, Texas
February 19-20, 2021 

with a virtual panel on Thursday, February 18

 

Third Annual Gregory S. Coleman Memorial Lecture:

Edith H. Jones
Hon. Edith H. Jones
United States Circuit Judge,
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

The Houston Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society is pleased to host the sixth annual Texas Chapters Conference at the Houstonian Hotel in Houston, TX on February 19-20, 2021.  There will be a virtual panel on Thursday, February 18. 

TX CLE credit will be available to attendees for the virtual panel and in-person panel.

Registration Details:

Members - $50
Non-Members - $100

Attendance will be limited to ensure social distancing.  

 Registration has closed. There will be limited on-site registration.

Hotel Accommodations:

Rooms can be reserved at the Houstonian Hotel at the FedSoc hotel room block rate, $209/night.
Click HERE to reserve a room online.

We are no longer accepting refund requests.

 

Click HERE for information on the Houstonian's COVID-19 policies and Health and Sanitization Program. Masks are required, and all attendees will receive a FedSoc branded mask.

 

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12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Virtual Panel: Sex and Gender Issues Following Bostock

2021 Texas Chapters Conference

Topics: Civil Rights • Education Policy • Labor & Employment Law • Religious Liberty
Zoom Webinar

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Description

It has been an eventful year for the Nation’s venerable civil-rights statutes, including Title VII’s prohibition on workplace race and sex discrimination and Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination in education.  A trio of Supreme Court cases considered whether to “judicially update” the statutes—as Judge Posner candidly put it—to cover sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. Meanwhile, the Education Department promulgated landmark regulations addressing sexual harassment and assault on campus, which were promptly challenged in court by the ACLU.  And yet another Supreme Court case addressed the scope of the so-called “ministerial exception,” which exempts churches from civil-rights claims relating to the selection of their ministers.  Our expert panel will address all of this and more from the perspective of government, academia, and the front lines of litigation.

Featuring:

  • Prof. Andrew Koppelman, John Paul Stevens Professor of Law, Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University
  • Prof. Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director, James Madison Program, Princeton University 
  • Lori Windham, Senior Counsel, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
  • Moderator: Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, United States District Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Texas
 

Speakers

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11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Law Student Discussion Panel

2021 Texas Chapters Conference

The Hearth Room
The Houstonian Hotel
111 N. Post Oak Ln
Houston, TX 77024

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Description

Featuring: 

  • Hon. Charles Eskridge, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
  • Hon. Jeremy Kernodle, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas
  • Hon. Brantley Starr, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas
  • Judd Stone, Texas Solicitor General

Registration and lunch will begin at 11:30 AM and the panel will begin at 12:00 PM. 

Speakers

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Luncheon

2021 Texas Chapters Conference

Forest Ballroom
The Houstonian Hotel
111 N Post Oak Ln
Houston, TX 77024

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1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Panel: Executive Power in the Trump Administration

2021 Texas Chapters Conference

Topics: Federalism • Separation of Powers • Federalism & Separation of Powers
Grande Ballroom
The Houstonian Hotel
111 N Post Oak Ln
Houston, TX 77024

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Description

Our panel of senior-level Trump administration officials with Texas ties will examine the pros and cons of the administration’s use of executive power.  From the “travel ban” to immigration restrictions to regulatory reform, the Trump administration forcefully deployed executive power while often resisting aggressive legislative overseers.  Did the administration shatter important norms governing the Department of Justice and other agencies or did it properly seek to restore executive power to politically accountable officials?  This panel addresses the successes, shortcomings, and lessons learned from an eventful four years.

Featuring:

  • John F. Bash, Partner, Quinn Emanuel, and former Assistant to the Solicitor General and United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, United States Department of Justice
  • Marcella Burke, Partner, King & Spalding, and former Deputy General Counsel, Environmental Protection Agency
  • David Morrell, Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice & former Associate Counsel to the President
  • Moderator: Aaron Streett, Practice Group Chair - Supreme Court and Constitutional Law and Partner, Baker Botts

Speakers

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Third Annual Gregory S. Coleman Memorial Lecture

2021 Texas Chapters Conference

Topics: Constitution • Federalism
Grande Ballroom
The Houstonian Hotel
111 N Post Oak Ln
Houston, TX 77024

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Description

On November 23, 2010, the Lone Star State lost one of its brightest appellate stars: Gregory S. Coleman, the first Solicitor General of the State of Texas, founding partner of Yetter Coleman LLP, distinguished Supreme Court advocate, honors graduate of Texas A&M University (B.S., M.B.A.) and the University of Texas Law School (J.D.), and former law clerk to Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 

In Memoriam

At the age of 47 and at the height of his professional and personal life, Mr. Coleman died in an airplane crash that also claimed the lives of his mother-in-law Charlene Miller and brother-in-law James Black. Tragically, Mr. Coleman was traveling from Texas to Florida to attend a Thanksgiving celebration with the people who mattered most to him and were at the center of his life, love, and devotion: his wife Stephanie and his three sons Chase, Austin, and Reid. 

On September 8, 2018, the Texas Chapters of the Federalist Society inaugurated the Gregory S. Coleman Memorial Lecture Series to honor the life, memory, and legacy of Texas’s first Solicitor General. Justice Clarence Thomas served as the first Lecturer in this series. Each year, the Federalist Society will remember Gregory S. Coleman at its annual Texas Chapters Conference by selecting and presenting a lecturer who exemplifies his commitment to the constitution, the rule of law, and public service.

Featuring:

  • Hon. Edith H. Jones, United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • Introduction by: Kyle Hawkins, Former Solicitor General of Texas

Speakers

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Closing Reception
Forest Ballroom
The Houstonian Hotel
111 N Post Oak Ln
Houston, TX 77024

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