Senior Fellow and Director of Constitutional Studies, Manhattan Institute
Biography
Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow and director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. Previously he was executive director and senior lecturer at the Georgetown Center for the Constitution, and before that a vice president of the Cato Institute.
Shapiro has testified many times before Congress and state legislatures and has filed more than 500 amicus curiae “friend of the court” briefs in the Supreme Court. He lectures regularly on behalf of the Federalist Society, is a member of the board of fellows of the Jewish Policy Center, was an inaugural Washington Fellow at the National Review Institute, and has been an adjunct law professor at the George Washington University and University of Mississippi. He is also the chairman of the board of advisers of the Mississippi Justice Institute, a barrister in the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, and a former member of the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Earlier in his career, Shapiro was a special assistant/adviser to the Multi-National Force in Iraq on rule-of-law issues and practiced at Patton Boggs and Cleary Gottlieb. Before entering private practice, he clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He holds an AB from Princeton University, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a JD from the University of Chicago Law School.
Tom A. Coburn, M.D. was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2004. Dr. Coburn's priorities in the Senate included reducing wasteful spending, protecting your liberty, balancing the budget, improving health care access and affordability, protecting the sanctity of all human life - including the unborn - and representing traditional, Oklahoma values. As a citizen legislator, Dr. Coburn pledged to serve no more than two terms in the Senate and to continue to care for patients. He was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Committee on Finance.
As a Senator, Dr. Coburn offered more amendments than any of his colleagues. He offered amendments to eliminate funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere," the "Woodstock Museum" in New York and countless other special interests earmarks sponsored by members of both parties. Dr. Coburn also worked to make government more accountable and transparent. In 2006, he teamed up with then-Senator Barack Obama to create http://www.usaspending.gov/, an online database of all federal spending.
Prior to his election to the Senate, Dr. Coburn represented Oklahoma's Second Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1995 through 2001. He was first elected in 1994, then re-elected in 1996 and 1998, becoming the first Republican to hold the seat for consecutive terms. Dr. Coburn retired from Congress in 2001, fulfilling his pledge to serve no more than three terms in the House.
In 1970, Dr. Coburn graduated with an accounting degree from Oklahoma State University. From 1970 to 1978, Dr. Coburn served as manufacturing manager at the Ophthalmic Division of Coburn Optical Industries in Colonial Heights, Virginia. Under his leadership, the Virginia division of Coburn Optical grew from 13 employees to more than 350 and captured 35 percent of the U.S. market.
After the family business was sold, Dr. Coburn changed the course of his life by returning to school to become a physician at the University of Oklahoma Medical School where he graduated in 1983. He then did his internship in general surgery at St. Anthony's Hospital in Oklahoma City and family practice residency at the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith.
Dr. Coburn returned to Muskogee where he specialized in family medicine, obstetrics and the treatment of allergies. Dr. Coburn personally delivered more than 4,000 babies.
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law; Senior Fellow, The Civitas Institute, University of Texas at Austin
Biography
Richard A. Epstein is the inaugural Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. Prior to his joining the faculty, he was a visiting law professor at NYU from 2007 through 2009. He served as the Peter and Kirstin Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution from 2000 to 2024. Since 2024 to the present he is a senior lecturer at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas—Austin. Epstein is also the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law Emeritus and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago. His initial law school appointment was at the University of Southern California from 1968 to 1972. Epstein received an LL.D., h.c. from the University of Ghent, 2003. He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1985 and was a Senior Fellow of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences, also from 1983. to 2022 He served as editor of the Journal of Legal Studies from 1981 to 1991, and of the Journal of Law and Economics from 1991-2001. From 2001 to 2010 he was a director of the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics at the University of Chicago.
His newest book, The Myth of Birthright Citizenship: What the Fourteenth Amendment Really Says was published in 2026 (Encounter Books). Prior to that he has published many books including, The Dubious Morality of the Modern Administrative State (Roman & Littlefield 2020).Earlier he published th Classical Liberal Constitution: The Uncertain Quest for Limited Government (Harvard 2014) iHis previous books include Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration and the Rule of Law (Harvard 2011); The Case Against the Employee Free Choice Act (Hoover 2009); Supreme Neglect: How to Revive the Constitutional Protection of Property Rights (Oxford 2008); Antitrust Decrees in Theory and Practice: Why Less is More (AEI 2007); Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation (Yale University Press. 2006); How Progressives Rewrote the Constitution (Cato 2006); Cases and Materials on Torts (Aspen Law & Business; 8th ed. 2004); Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Case for Classical Liberalism (University of Chicago, 2003); Torts (Aspen Law & Business 1999); Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty with the Common Good (Perseus Books, 1998): Mortal Peril: Our Inalienable Rights to Health Care (Addison-Wesley, 1997); Simple Rules for a Complex World (Harvard, 1995); Bargaining With the State (Princeton, 1993); Forbidden Grounds: The Case Against Employment Discrimination Laws (Harvard , 1992); Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain (Harvard, 1985); and Modern Products Liability Law (Greenwood Press, 1980). He has also edited(with Catherine M. Sharkey) Cases and Materials on the Law of Torts (10th edition 2012).
Professor Epstein has written numerous articles on a wide range of legal and interdisciplinary subjects. He has taught courses in administrative law, antitrust law, civil procedure, communications, constitutional law, contracts, corporations, criminal law, employment discrimination law, environmental law, food and drug law health law and policy, legal history, labor law, property, real estate development and finance, jurisprudence, labor law; land use planning, patents, individual, estate and corporate taxation, Roman Law; torts, and workers' compensation.
Professor Epstein also writes a regular column for Civitas Institute, which also sponsors his podcast, The Libertarian with Charles C.W. Cooke, and Law Talk, with Cooke and John Yoo. He also does a podcast with John Batchelor. And appears regularly on the Freedom File with Judge Andrew Napolitano.
Provost & Chief Academic Officer, Bryant University
Biography
An acclaimed international law and national security expert experienced in academic, law, and government service settings, Provost Glenn M. Sulmasy brings a distinguished record of Higher Education leadership and academic achievement to his position as Bryant’s first university Provost and Chief Academic Officer.
Sulmasy previously served as Deputy University Counsel and later led the Humanities Department atthe United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), in New London, CT. Additionally, he served as Professor of Law at USCGA and has been involved in higher education since 1997.
In addition to serving on the faculties of the Academy and the U.S. Naval War College, Sulmasy has lectured in the fields of International Law, U.S. Constitutional Law, and National Security at numerous universities and think tanks. He has also served as a National Security and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
A former fellow in Homeland Security and National Security Law for the Center for National Policy in Washington D.C., Sulmasy lectures extensively on the law of armed conflict, international law, and national security matters. He is widely published internationally on national security matters, and as an expert has been featured in the LA Times, on CBS News Radio, National Public Radio, CNN International, US News & World Report, the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, Al-Jazeera America, MSNBC, Fox News and numerous other national media outlets. He is the author of The National Security Court System – A Natural Evolution of Justice in an Age of Terror (Oxford University Press) and Co-Editor of International Law Challenges – Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism (2005).
Sulmasy was educated at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, University of Baltimore School of Law (cum laude), UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Provost Sulmasy, his wife Marla, andseven children hail from Old Lyme, CT and Smithfield, RI.
Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School
Biography
Paul Campos left a position with a Chicago law firm to begin his teaching career at Colorado Law School in 1990. As a scholar, he has focused on constitutional law and legal theory. His graduate studies in English literature, which culminated in a thesis on Shakespeare's King Lear, provided him with rigorous training in literary theory that has been helpful in his current work in constitutional interpretation. He has written several well-regarded law review articles in this area, including "Against Constitutional Theory," published in the Yale Journal of Law and Humanities, and "Advocacy in Scholarship," published in the California Law Review. Both of these articles have been noted as major critiques of the political and normative orientation of current constitutional theory. Professor Campos' regular column for the Rocky Mountain News (distributed by the Scripps Howard News Service), written for a general audience on political, social, and legal issues, has developed a considerable following. A packed house, drawn by his provocative take on a wide range of topics, attended his presentation of the 27th Annual Austin W. Scott, Jr. Lecture entitled "The Obesity Myth & The Lewinsky Scandal," which was based on his latest book project. His second book, Jurismania: The Madness of American Law, critiques the American legal system. Professor Campos also served as the first director of CU law school's Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law.
Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Health Law & Policy, Georgetown University
Biography
David A. Hyman, M.D., J.D., is the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Health Law & Policy at Georgetown University. Professor Hyman focuses his research and writing on the regulation and financing of health care. He teaches or has taught health care regulation, civil procedure, insurance, medical malpractice, law & economics, professional responsibility, and tax policy.
While serving as Special Counsel to the Federal Trade Commission, Professor Hyman was principal author and project leader for the first joint report ever issued by the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice, “Improving Health Care: A Dose of Competition” (2004). He is also the author of Medicare Meets Mephistopheles, which was selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce/National Chamber Foundation as one of the top ten books of 2007, and the co-author (with Charles Silver) of Overcharged: Why Americans Pay Too Much for Health Care (2018). He has published widely in student-edited law reviews and peer-reviewed medical, health policy, law, and economics journals.
Provost & Chief Academic Officer, Bryant University
Biography
An acclaimed international law and national security expert experienced in academic, law, and government service settings, Provost Glenn M. Sulmasy brings a distinguished record of Higher Education leadership and academic achievement to his position as Bryant’s first university Provost and Chief Academic Officer.
Sulmasy previously served as Deputy University Counsel and later led the Humanities Department atthe United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), in New London, CT. Additionally, he served as Professor of Law at USCGA and has been involved in higher education since 1997.
In addition to serving on the faculties of the Academy and the U.S. Naval War College, Sulmasy has lectured in the fields of International Law, U.S. Constitutional Law, and National Security at numerous universities and think tanks. He has also served as a National Security and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
A former fellow in Homeland Security and National Security Law for the Center for National Policy in Washington D.C., Sulmasy lectures extensively on the law of armed conflict, international law, and national security matters. He is widely published internationally on national security matters, and as an expert has been featured in the LA Times, on CBS News Radio, National Public Radio, CNN International, US News & World Report, the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, Al-Jazeera America, MSNBC, Fox News and numerous other national media outlets. He is the author of The National Security Court System – A Natural Evolution of Justice in an Age of Terror (Oxford University Press) and Co-Editor of International Law Challenges – Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism (2005).
Sulmasy was educated at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, University of Baltimore School of Law (cum laude), UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall) and the Harvard Kennedy School.
Provost Sulmasy, his wife Marla, andseven children hail from Old Lyme, CT and Smithfield, RI.
Professor of Law; Director, Warrior Defense Project, St. Mary's University School of Law
Biography
Lt. Colonel (U.S. Army, Ret.) Jeffrey F. Addicott is a Distingushed Professor of Law and the Director of the Warrior Defense Project at St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas (2000-current). An active-duty Army officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps for twenty years, Professor Addicott spent a quarter of his career as the senior legal advisor to the United States Army’s Special Forces. As an internationally recognized authority on national security and terrorism law Professor Addicott not only lectures and participates in professional and academic organizations both in the United States and abroad (over 1,000 speeches), but he also testifies before Congress on a variety of legal issues. Dr. Addicott is a regular contributor to national and international news media outlets to include FOX News, MSNBC, OAN, CNN, BBC, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, (over 5,000 interviews). Addicott is a prolific author, publishing over 100 books, articles, and monographs on a variety of legal and policy issues. His most recent book (2026) is entitled: Christian Doctrines.
Among his many contributions to the field, Professor Addicott pioneered the teaching of law of war and human rights courses to the militaries of numerous nascent democracies in Eastern Europe and Latin America. For these efforts he was awarded the Legion of Merit, named the “Army Judge Advocate of the Year,” and honored as a co-recipient of the American Bar Association’s Hodson Award. Addicott has served in senior legal positions in Germany, Korea, Panama, and throughout the United States (1980-2000). Professor Addicott holds a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Virginia School of Law. He also received a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the Army Judge Advocate General’s School, where he was the Deputy Director of the International & Operational Law Division, and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Alabama School of Law. Apart from teaching a variety of courses at the law school to include National Security Law and Terrorism Law, Dr. Addicott served as the Associate Dean for Administration at St. Mary's University School of Law (2006-2007) and as the Director of the Center for Terrorism Law (2005-2018). Dr. Addicott was the 2007 recipient of “St. Mary’s University School of Law Distinguished Faculty Award.” Dr. Addicott also heads Christian Doctrine Ministries, where he teaches non-denominational Bible classes (2009-current) at St. Mary’s University School of Law.