Dennis Saffran is an appellate attorney and political and policy writer based in Queens, NY. He has served as chief of appellate litigation for Nassau County, NY, chief lawyer of the New York State Division of Housing, and a Special Assistant to the New York State Attorney General, and was the founder of the New York office and then national Executive Director of the Center for the Community Interest, a public interest group that supported anti-crime and quality-of-life initiatives like those of the Giuliani and Bloomberg Administrations in New York City.
Dennis has litigated constitutional and municipal law cases in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the New York State Court of Appeals, and other appellate courts, and has submitted amicus briefs to the Supreme Court and other courts supporting the plaintiffs in the landmark case of Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, as well as in the pending case before SCOTUS of Chiles v. Salazar concerning the constitutionality of bans on so-called "conversion therapy." He has also written on legal, political and public policy issues for various publications including the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Daily News and New York Post, Newsweek, RealClear Policy and Quillette, and has been a guest on various television and radio news and talk shows.
In 2001 and 2013, Dennis was the Republican candidate for the New York City Council from Northeast Queens, one of the few competitive districts in the city, receiving 48% of the vote and losing by a 1% margin in 2001 in the closest election in the city that year.
Dennis grew up in Queens and is an honors graduate of Forest Hills High School, Harvard College and New York University Law School. He and his wife Jane Stewart Saffran live in Douglaston, NY, where they raised their two children: Kristina, the founder of Equip, a telehealth treatment program for eating disorders, and Nick, a senior editor at the Manhattan Institute.
Noel Francisco served as the 47th Solicitor General of the United States in the Trump Administration, from 2017 to 2020. He has argued some of the most important cases the Supreme Court has heard in recent years on a wide array of issues.
For example, as Solicitor General, he argued Trump v. Hawaii, where he successfully defended the president's orders restricting travel from countries deemed to present security risks; Janus v. AFSCME, which upheld the First Amendment rights of public employees who decline to join labor unions; Kisor v. Wilkie, which adopted his argument that the "Auer deference doctrine" should be significantly curtailed but retained in its core applications; Apple Inc. v. Pepper, which addressed whether Apple's App Store customers had standing to sue the company for antitrust violations; Knick v. Township of Scott, which held that property owners could sue state and local governments in federal court to vindicate Fifth Amendment takings claims; and Seila Law LLC v. CFPB, which invalidated restrictions on the president's authority to remove the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
He also spearheaded the government's general strategy to seek emergency relief in the appellate courts and the Supreme Court when lower courts issued nationwide injunctions against important government programs.
Noel's service as Solicitor General built on his previous tenure at Jones Day, during which he argued McDonnell v. United States, which reversed the federal bribery conviction of the governor of Virginia; NLRB v. Noel Canning, which limited the president's constitutional recess appointments power; and Zubik v. Burwell, which challenged federal insurance coverage regulations that violated Catholic organizations' religious beliefs.
Benjamin joined the 1889 Institute in October, 2018. He is also Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute for the Study of Free Enterprise at Oklahoma State University. Benjamin has practiced in both the public and private sectors in Oklahoma and Texas, most recently serving as the Chief of the Civil Division in an Oklahoma district attorney’s office where he was responsible for providing advice and counsel to 24 elected officials across three counties. Prior to that, he was in private practice, first with a large law firm in Dallas, Texas and later with a firm that he co-founded in Norman, Oklahoma.
Benjamin is a recognized expert in the law surrounding local governments in Oklahoma, and has broad experience analyzing and influencing issues at the intersection of law and public policy within the state. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Oklahoma, where he graduated with distinction, and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame, where he served as an Articles Editor on the Notre Dame Law Review.
Benjamin and his wife, Sarah, recently welcomed their first child, Teddy. They live in Tulsa.
Adjunct Professor of Law, Scalia Law; Google, Corporate Counsel
Biography
Kathryn Ciano Mauler currently serves as a Corporate Counsel at Google. Prior to Google, Kathryn was Senior Regulatory Counsel at Uber Technologies, and also spent three years at i360, LLC as General Counsel. Before this, she also worked at a boutique law firm in Washington, D.C. and at the Institute for Justice.
She received her B.A. from the University of Florida. She also received her business degree from the University of Florida - Warrington College of Business, studying at the Ecole supérieure de Commerce de Toulouse in France. Kathryn's J.D. is from the George Mason University School of Law.
A licensed U.S. Customs broker and Certified Customs Specialist, Joseph is a logistics and international trade attorney who advises clients on:
Anti-dumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) programs
Cargo loss, theft and recovery
Classification and valuation
C-TPAT programs
Duty drawbacks and protests
Fines, penalties and forfeitures
Free trade agreements and preference programs
Foreign trade zones and duty deferral programs
Import/export compliance
Intellectual property protection
Prior disclosures
Regulatory and C-TPAT audit
Rules of origin and country of origin marking
He regularly counsels clients on various matters pertaining to Customs and trade, representing both domestic and foreign importers and exporters in multiple aspects of international trade transactions. Joseph works diligently and closely with clients to identify and implement systems aimed at maximizing landed cost savings through duty reduction or deferral, as well as utilization of trade preference programs. Joseph also works alongside clients to assist them through regulatory and C-TPAT program audits; fines, penalties and forfeiture actions; and the filing and perfection of prior disclosures.
Caleb Watney is the co-founder and co-CEO of the Institute for Progress.
Caleb manages the metascience and immigration policy teams at IFP. His research focuses on policy levers the U.S. could use to rebuild state capacity and increase long-term rates of innovation.
Previously, Caleb worked as the director of innovation policy at the Progressive Policy Insitute, a technology policy fellow at the R Street Institute, and a graduate research fellow at the Mercatus Center. His commentary has been published in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Politico, Lawfare, and the National Review. He has also been cited in the New York Times, The Economist, Vox, Ars Technica, and the National Journal. He received his master’s in economics from George Mason University and a bachelor of business administration from Sterling College.
Chief Oversight Counsel, Senate Committee on Finance
Biography
Chris Armstrong is Deputy Chief Oversight Counsel to Chairman Orrin G. Hatch on the Senate Committee on Finance. He previously worked for Chairman Dave Camp on the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senator Charles E. Grassley. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s Federalism & Separation of Powers Practice Group. The views expressed herein are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those of Chairman Hatch or the Finance Committee.
Alyssa DaCunha leads the Strategic Response and Crisis Management group at WilmerHale and is co-chair of the firm's Congressional Investigations practice. Her practice focuses on government and internal investigations and crisis management assistance. She counsels companies, boards, and individuals facing complex regulatory, legal and policy issues, often in the glare of the media spotlight.
Alyssa’s clients include pharmaceutical, healthcare, energy, industrials, technology, and media companies, as well as banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, and professional sports leagues. She has prepared dozens of CEOs and corporate executives to testify before Congress, and has counseled many more on strategies for responding to congressional inquiries. She has represented major corporations and individuals in congressional, white collar, and civil matters, and has extensive experience representing companies facing parallel proceedings, including cross-border investigations, civil and criminal litigation, and state attorney general inquiries.
Alyssa’s work has earned her a reputation of being “responsive, knowledgeable, professional, and wired into the DC oversight community—the best in her field,” according to reviewers from Chambers, which ranks her as a leader in Government Relations: Congressional Investigations. She has been quoted in The New York Times, Law360, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Hill, and American Law Journal as an expert in the field.
Amanda H. Neely is of counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and is a member of the Public Policy, Congressional Investigations, White Collar, and National Security practice groups.
Ms. Neely has extensive experience working on Capitol Hill. She leverages that expertise to advise clients regarding their interactions with Congress and the executive branch. Over the course of ten years, Ms. Neely held several senior staff positions in Congress. She served as Director of Governmental Affairs for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and General Counsel to Senator Rob Portman. Under Senator Portman’s chairmanship, she also served as Deputy Chief Counsel for the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In those roles, she managed Senator Portman’s regulatory reform agenda and led oversight of federal government agencies and investigations into private entities. She previously served in several other Capitol Hill offices including as Oversight Counsel for the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means.
Congressional Investigations: At Gibson Dunn, Ms. Neely has represented clients undergoing investigations by numerous congressional committees, including the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; Senate Finance Committee; Senate Judiciary Committee; Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee; House Committee on Oversight and Accountability; House Judiciary Committee; and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In the course of those representations, Ms. Neely assists clients in all stages of investigations, including responding to letter requests and subpoenas to preparing witnesses for interviews, depositions, and congressional hearings. She also has assisted clients appearing before independent commissions such as the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and the Commission on Wartime Contracting.
Public Policy: Ms. Neely also works with clients to advance their legislative interests on Capitol Hill by gathering intelligence, formulating strategic plans, and executing lobbying campaigns. In those matters, she has represented a wide range of clients from the fields of technology, healthcare, finance, and energy.
Regulatory Counseling: Ms. Neely regularly advises clients regarding their interests before regulatory agencies. Her expertise in the CHIPS and Science Act allows her to help clients comply with the Department of Commerce’s regulations and assist them in commenting on agency rules and applying for funding. She also works with clients to engage in the rulemaking process at agencies ranging from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ms. Neely also has participated in a variety of litigation matters before state and federal trial and appellate courts, including several class action defense and False Claims Act cases.
Ms. Neely clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle, then-Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She earned her law degree cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she served as the Articles Editor for both the Alaska Law Review and the Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy. She was a member of the Duke Law Moot Court Board and served on the executive board of the Duke Law Federalist Society.
Ms. Neely graduated cum laude from Princeton University, where she majored in English and earned a certificate in Medieval Studies. She served for two years on United States Senator Elizabeth Dole’s staff as a legislative correspondent, focusing on banking, housing, budget, and tax issues. Ms. Neely is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and before the United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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.
Internet Policy Counsel and Director of Appellate Litigation, TechFreedom
Biography
Corbin Barthold is TechFreedom's Internet Policy Counsel and Director of Appellate Litigation.
Corbin clerked for the Hon. Steven D. Merryday (M.D. Fla.) and the Hon. Robert H. Cleland (E.D. Mich.). After his clerkships, he became an associate, and later a partner, in the Los Angeles office of Browne George Ross LLP, where he engaged in high-stakes complex litigation. He then served as Senior Litigation Counsel at Washington Legal Foundation, a D.C. public-interest firm, where his practice focused on appeals involving administrative law, the separation of powers, antitrust, and tech policy.
Corbin received his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He also holds a B.A., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of California, San Diego, and an Msc., with distinction, from the London School of Economics.
Vice President of Law & Policy, Property and Environment Research Center
Biography
Jonathan Wood is vice president of law and policy at the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC). An attorney, Jonathan has litigated environmental and property-rights cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, federal and state appellate courts, and trial courts across the country. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, National Review, Reason, and other outlets. And his research has been published in journals such as Environmental Law Reporter, Yale Journal on Regulation Notice & Comment, Pace Environmental Law Review, and California Western Law Review.
Prior to coming to PERC, Jonathan was a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, where he litigated cases concerning the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and other federal environmental laws. He was co-counsel for forest landowners in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in which the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that private land could not be arbitrarily regulated as critical habitat under the ESA. He also led a successful effort to reform regulation of threatened species to better align the incentives of private landowners with the interests of rare species.
Jonathan has testified before several congressional committees on wildlife conservation and endangered species topics. He has also appeared on national television and radio, including NPR’s All Things Considered, C-Span’s Washington Journal, Stossel, Fox News, and Hill.TV.
Jonathan has a law degree from the New York University School of Law, a masters degree in economic policy from the London School of Economics, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Texas. He is on the executive committee for the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Practice Group and a steering committee member for the Environmental Law Institute’s Emerging Leaders Initiative.
Professor Derek Muller is a nationally-recognized scholar in the field of election law. His research focuses on the role of states in the administration of federal elections, the constitutional contours of voting rights and election administration, the limits of judicial power in the domain of elections, and the Electoral College.
He has published more than two dozen academic works, and his op-eds have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has testified before Congress, and he is a contributor at the Election Law Blog. He is a co-author on a Federal Courts casebook published by Carolina Academic Press. He is also the co-reporter on a new Restatement of the Law, Election Litigation, an effort led by the American Law Institute.
Professor Muller teaches Election Law, Civil Procedure, and Evidence.
