A former Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Keith Blackwell is senior counsel with Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta. His practice is focused principally on the representation of clients in federal and state courts in appeals and litigation involving issues of first impression, the application of settled law to emerging industries and technologies, novel constitutional questions, conflicting precedents, and other complex legal issues. He also represents law firms and lawyers in professional liability matters, and he represents clients in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations and proceedings.
Justice Blackwell served for more than eight years on the Supreme Court, and he previously served as a Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. In the course of his judicial service, he authored more than 400 published opinions and participated in the disposition of approximately 4,500 appeals, as well as 8,000 petitions for writs of certiorari and other applications for leave to appeal. In addition, Justice Blackwell served as the liaison between the Supreme Court and the State Bar of Georgia, the Office of Bar Admissions, the Board of Bar Examiners, and the Board to Determine the Fitness of Bar Applicants. Justice Blackwell retired from judicial service in November 2020 to return to the private practice of law.
Prior to his judicial service, Justice Blackwell practiced law with Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP in Atlanta, where his practice was focused on complex business litigation. He also served for several years as an assistant district attorney in Cobb County, Georgia, where he was responsible for hundreds of felony prosecutions and appeared regularly as lead trial counsel. In addition, he served as a law clerk for Judge J.L. Edmondson at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Justice Blackwell graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law as first honor graduate in 1999. He also received a degree in political science from the University of Georgia in 1996.
Justice Blackwell is a member of the Board of Advisors and a former president of the Atlanta Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society.
Andrew is one of the leading young litigators in the state of Colorado and the West. His practice focuses on the representation of religious institutions, public figures and political organizations, and small and large businesses. He regularly appears in state and federal courts across the country on behalf of clients in a range of complex commercial, constitutional, and civil-rights disputes. His advocacy has been described by commentators as “excellent,” “nothing short of brilliant,” and “compelling.”
Andrew’s approach was formed by his service as a law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and Judge Daniel Domenico of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. Andrew’s clerkships exposed him to nearly every area of law, from election issues, to trade-secret and contract protections, copyright, and First Amendment disputes. His practice is similarly broad. He represents clients at all levels of the judiciary on an array of substantive legal issues, including defamation and reputational torts; religious freedom, and the rights to freedom of speech and association; TABOR; trade secrets; legal ethics; the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; and contractual rights. His clients run the gamut and include large religious institutions; colleges and universities; corporations of all sizes; and public figures.
Andrew graduated first in his class from Tulane University Law School. Before joining First and Fourteenth, he worked for one of the largest law firms in the world, where he litigated large commercial disputes throughout the country.
Andrew is a fourth-generation Coloradan, an adjunct professor of constitutional law at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, a husband to his college sweetheart, a lover of the theology of the Desert Fathers, a board member of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado, a mediocre trout fisherman of the small streams of Colorado’s Greenhorn Valley, an officer of the Colorado Lawyer’s Chapter of the Federalist Society, and a former teacher of ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology at a private school in the Twin Cities.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and former Solicitor General for the State of Colorado, Colorado Attorney General
Biography
Fred Yarger is a partner in the Denver office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where his practice focuses on complex litigation in trial and appellate courts, including cases involving administrative law and regulatory matters. Before joining the firm, Mr. Yarger served as Solicitor General for the State of Colorado, one of the three senior leaders in the 450-person Department of Law. In that role, his primary responsibility was to lead or oversee the most challenging and high-profile trial and appellate litigation facing the state. Mr. Yarger has argued multiple merits cases and filed dozens of briefs before the United States Supreme Court, and many of his cases have received intense national media attention.
Some of Mr. Yarger’s most significant matters have involved complex federal and state regulatory issues. He has successfully challenged several nationwide federal regulations, earning victories at both the preliminary injunction and merits stages. Mr. Yarger’s commercial litigation experience includes transnational business disputes, multi-jurisdiction class actions, and securities matters.
In 2018, Law Week Colorado named Mr. Yarger one of the “Top Litigators” of the year, and the Denver Business Journal recognized him as a “Who’s Who in Energy” for his experience litigating issues affecting the oil and gas industry. He is a three-time winner of the National Association of Attorneys General “Best U.S. Supreme Court Brief” award, which the Colorado Attorney General’s Office had not won before his tenure. He also received two “Exceptional Performance” awards from the Colorado Attorney General.