Cory Liu is a state district judge in Austin, Texas. He previously served as assistant general counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Mr. Liu clerked for Judge Andrew Oldham on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Judge Danny Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy and is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Chicago.
Chairman and Founder, Institute for Free Speech; Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law, Capital University Law School
Biography
Bradley Smith is one of the nation’s foremost experts on campaign finance law. He served as a Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, resigning as of Aug. 21, 2005. Smith was elected as Vice Chairman of the Commission in 2003 and Chairman of the Commission in 2004.
Smith has authored over 40 articles on campaign finance reform, appearing in academic publications such as the Yale Law Journal and Georgetown Law Journal, and popular publications such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and National Review. He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Bill Moyers Journal, the Lehrer News Hour, Fox News Special Report, ABC News, Washington Journal, and numerous other national and local television and radio programs.
As an FEC Commissioner, Smith won plaudits for his integrity and refusal to put partisan interests ahead of his duties, as well as his steadfast support for free speech. For his honesty and integrity, the Wall Street Journal dubbed him, “the only honorable man in this bordello.” Smith now serves as the Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law at Capital University Law School. He has won numerous awards for his scholarship and teaching, and is a past member of the Advisory Committee to the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Election Law. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Election Law Journal, and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. Smith also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Studies, is a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute and is a member of the Board of Scholars of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Smith is a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Kalamazoo College and holds an honorary doctorate from Augustana College.
The New York Times recognized Scott A. Keller as a “legal heavyweight,” who “is praised by opponents as a formidable advocate.”
Mr. Keller has argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and 12 cases before the Texas Supreme Court. He is the only practicing lawyer to have argued at least 10 cases in both courts. Mr. Keller frequently represents parties in high stakes appeals, and he has argued many cases in federal courts of appeals throughout the nation. He has earned individual accolades from Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Chambers, Legal 500, The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, Law360, Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and other publications.
Before founding Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Mr. Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He also has significant experience at the highest levels in all three branches of government. Mr. Keller served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator. He was U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mr. Keller was a law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was also a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Solicitor General.
Mr. Keller represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is crucial, and he has made numerous media appearances in major outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Fox News, NPR, and Politico. As a sought after speaker and writer, Mr. Keller’s articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and Texas Law Review. He has also served as an adjunct professor of constitutional litigation, Supreme Court practice, and federal courts at the University of Texas School of Law.
Mike Berry serves as Chief Counsel for United States Senator Ted Cruz. As Chief Counsel for Senator Cruz, Mike provides advice and counsel to the Senator with special emphasis on the Senate’s advice and consent role pertaining to judicial nominations.
Prior to working on the Hill, Mike spent many years in public interest litigation with various non-profits. Mike served for seven years as an attorney with the U.S. Marine Corps, leaving active duty in 2013. Among his numerous positions within the Marine Corps, Mike deployed to Afghanistan in 2008 and he served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the United States Naval Academy. Mr. Berry continues to proudly serve our nation as a member of the Marine Corps Reserve.
Mr. Berry earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University, and he earned his law degree from The Ohio State University.
Prof. DeBoer joined Faulkner Law School in 2011 as an associate professor of law. He has served as a law clerk to the Honorable Brent E. Dickson of the Indiana Supreme Court and the Honorable Theresa L. Springmann of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. He practiced at Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP (CO) in the health law, labor and employment, litigation, and religious institutions practice groups, and he taught at the law schools at Liberty University (VA) and Valparaiso University (IN). He is admitted to the practice of law in Indiana and Colorado and in various federal district and appellate courts.
Professor DeBoer graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude from Liberty University and with a M.A.R. summa cum laude from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. After earning an M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (NC), he attended Valparaiso University School of Law where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Valparaiso University Law Review and graduated with a J.D. magna cum laude. Later he graduated from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis with an LL.M. summa cum laude in health law, policy, and bioethics.
Professor DeBoer’s teaching and research interests include administrative law, contracts, criminal law/procedure, employment law, federal courts, health care law, jurisprudence, law and religion, state constitutional law, and torts. He and his wife, Jennifer, have four children.
B.A., Liberty University
M.A.R., Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
M.Div., Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
J.D., Valparaiso University School of Law
LL.M., Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis
Professor of Law, University of Minnesota Law School
Biography
Professor James W. Coleman is a scholar of energy law. He specializes in North American energy infrastructure, transport, and trade. He is also a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute focused on energy policy.
Professor Coleman has testified before Congress on steps to speed up energy infrastructure permits. He also worked with a team of experts as part of Alberta's Royalty Review to revise the Canadian province's management of its vast oil and gas resources.
Before joining Minnesota, Professor Coleman taught at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, the University of Calgary’s law and business schools, and Harvard Law School. Earlier, he practiced environmental and appellate law at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., and clerked for the Honorable Steven M. Colloton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Professor Coleman received two degrees from Harvard University—a J.D. (cum laude) and B.A. in biology (magna cum laude with highest honors in the field). As a result of his undergraduate thesis on butterfly genetics, which required fieldwork in Central Asia, a species of lycaenid butterfly was named after him—Agrodiaetus ripartii colemani.
George Fibbe represents clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters, focusing on high-stakes matters across the energy sector. Before joining Baker Botts, he served as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation & Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Fibbe is a commercial trial attorney who practiced with Yetter Coleman, LLP in Houston for over ten years. He then served as head of litigation for the petroleum division of an international mining corporation. Before joining the Department of Energy, he served as General Counsel for a private solar company.
Daniel G. West invests in energy services, equipment, and technology companies at SCF Partners in Houston, Texas. He provides equity capital and strategic growth assistance to entrepreneurs and leaders of both start-up ventures and established, growing businesses.
Prior to joining the private sector, Mr. West served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. As a platoon commander with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Mesa Verde, he led the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel force in support of the NATO aerial campaign over Libya. He then served as executive officer of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines as it mentored Afghan forces to assume lead security responsibility and executed counter-narcotics missions in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He also served as a clerk for Judge Laurence H. Silberman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Mr. West holds degrees in law, business administration, and economics from Harvard University, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and taught undergraduate courses in economics and government. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the International & National Security Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Leo Spitz Professor of International Law, Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar, Professor of Political Science, The University of Chicago Law School
Biography
Prof. Tom Ginsburg is the Leo Spitz Professor of Law and Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar at the University of Chicago Law School. His research focuses on comparative and international law from an interdisciplinary perspective. Currently he is the Co-Director of the Comparative Constitutions Project. His scholarship includes Judicial Review in New Democracies (2003); The Endurance of National Constitutions (2009); Constitutions in Authoritarian Regimes (2014); and Judicial Reputation (2015).
Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio
Biography
Judge J. Philip Calabrese was confirmed to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in December 2020. Previously, he served on the State trial court in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Before taking the bench, he had a complex litigation practice for nearly two decades and was a partner at what is now Squire Patton Boggs and at Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP, where he co-chaired the firm’s class action practice. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Judge Calabrese began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he teaches an advanced course on expert evidence and at the University of Akron School of Law where he teaches the First Amendment’s Speech Clause.
