Partner at K&L Gates, Former OFCCP Director, and President-Elect of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia
Biography
Craig E. Leen is a partner in the Washington, DC office of K&L Gates, where he is a member of the Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice group. Mr. Leen is also the President-Elect of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Mr. Leen was formerly the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he reported directly to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Mr. Leen serves as a Professorial Lecturer in Law and Professor of Government Lawyering at The George Washington University Law School, as Vice Chair of the District of Columbia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, as Co-Chair of the DC Family Support Council, and as Chair of the Civil and Human Rights Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Prior to his federal service at OFCCP, Mr. Leen was the City Attorney of the City of Coral Gables, and before that was Chief of the Appeals Section and then Chief of the Federal Litigation Section at the Miami-Dade County Attorney's Office. Earlier in his career, Mr. Leen served as a law clerk to the Honorable Robert E. Keeton, United States District Judge, District of Massachusetts.
In recognition of his public service, Mr. Leen received the Secretary's Exceptional Achievement Award - Professional while at the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Paul S. Buchman Award for Outstanding Contribution in the Area of Legal Public Service while in local government.
Mr. Leen is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York, and is also board certified by The Florida Bar in city, county, and local government law.
Mr. Leen received his Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School, graduating as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and having served as a teaching fellow in both Contracts and Torts. Mr. Leen received his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Georgetown University, where he majored in both Government and Economics.
Robert E. Lighthizer was sworn in as the 18th United States Trade Representative (USTR) on May 15, 2017.
An experienced trade negotiator and litigator, Ambassador Lighthizer brings a history of tough U.S. trade enforcement and a record of standing up for American workers, farmers, manufacturers, and businesses.
At the time he was chosen by President Trump to serve as USTR, Ambassador Lighthizer was a partner at the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Skadden), where he practiced international trade law for over 30 years. His work there on behalf of American workers and businesses in the heavy manufacturing, agricultural, high-tech, and financial services industries opened markets to U.S. exports and defended U.S. industries from unfair trade practices. He was lead counsel for scores of trade enforcement cases and was a well-known advocate for the type of “America First” trade policies supported by President Trump.
Before joining Skadden, Ambassador Lighthizer served as Deputy USTR for President Ronald Reagan. During his tenure, Ambassador Lighthizer negotiated over two dozen bilateral international agreements, including agreements on steel, automobiles, and agricultural products. As Deputy USTR, he also served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Prior to becoming Deputy USTR, Ambassador Lighthizer was Chief of Staff of the United States Senate Committee on Finance for Chairman Bob Dole. In this position, he was a key player in enacting the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, which was the most significant tax reform in decades, as well as the other basic elements of the Reagan economic program.
Ambassador Lighthizer earned a Bachelor’s degree at Georgetown University and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a native of Ashtabula, Ohio and has two children.
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Biography
Hester M. Peirce was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was sworn in on January 11, 2018.
Prior to joining the SEC, Commissioner Peirce conducted research on the regulation of financial markets at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She was a Senior Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where she advised Ranking Member Richard Shelby and other members of the Committee on securities issues. Commissioner Peirce served as counsel to SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins. She also worked as a Staff Attorney in the SEC’s Division of Investment Management. Commissioner Peirce was an associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale) and clerked for Judge Roger Andewelt on the Court of Federal Claims.
Commissioner Peirce earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School.
Chief Counsel, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Deputy General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services
Biography
Stacy Cline Amin serves as Chief Counsel of the Food and Drug Administration and Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services. Stacy serves as the senior legal advisor to the Commissioner, FDA leadership, the HHS General Counsel and Departmental leadership on FDA regulatory and litigation matters. Stacy leads an office of 165 lawyers and support staff that provide counseling and litigation support to the agency.
Stacy previously served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Counsel to the President, serving as the senior legal advisor on matters relating to the Department of Health and Human Services. In that role, Stacy advised on critical matters arising under the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, helped lead the Administration's efforts to combat the opioid crisis, led multi-agency teams in the evaluation of high profile administrative actions, and successfully coordinated litigation strategy with the Department of Justice.
Prior to joining the White House, Stacy served as the Chief Counsel of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and as a Counsel for the House Energy & Commerce Committee. In Congress, Stacy frequently advised on Food Drug and Cosmetic Act issues and led bipartisan and bicameral investigations to promote patient safety and global public health. These efforts supported a number of legislative accomplishments, including passage of the Drug Quality and Security Act of 2013 and the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.
Earlier in her career, she served as an Associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and as a law clerk to the Hon. John R. Gibson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and summa cum laude from The George Washington University.
Stephen J. Cox serves as the 28th Attorney General of the State of Alaska, where he oversees the state’s legal affairs and serves as the chief prosecutor with oversight of all district attorneys, general counsel to the Governor and executive branch, and represents the State in all civil and criminal cases in federal and state court. He brings to the role a proven record of public service at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of Justice, combined with deep experience in Alaska’s private sector and community life.
Before his appointment, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Legal and Strategy Officer of Bristol Bay Industrial—an investment platform of the Bristol Bay Native Corporation—acting as the chief legal officer for the industrial services portfolio on behalf of the Alaska Native shareholders in the Bristol Bay region. In that role, he led legal, compliance, and strategic planning for major energy, infrastructure, and utility projects across the State and in the Lower 48.
Earlier in his career, beginning in 2011, Cox served as in-house counsel for Apache Corporation, where he was the principal attorney for Apache Alaska and focused on new ventures and exploratory work in Cook Inlet, including seismic initiatives and ongoing regulatory coordination with state agencies.
Cox is deeply rooted in Anchorage’s community and faith life. He and his family attend Holy Family Old Cathedral in downtown Anchorage and support Mission Alaska, the Dominican friars’ outreach ministry under the Western Dominican Province. He was the founding board president and chairman of a new classical school in South Anchorage.
On the national stage, Cox held senior leadership roles in the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump Administration. As Deputy Associate Attorney General, he co-chaired the DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and the Working Group on Corporate Enforcement and Accountability, and helped implement landmark policies aimed at curbing regulatory overreach and aligning enforcement with fairness and oversight. Later, as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, he oversaw prosecutions and civil litigation spanning 43 counties, prioritizing healthcare fraud, elder fraud, and violent crime while ensuring enforcement remained transparent and fair.
Earlier in his career, Cox practiced complex litigation at a major international law firm, served as counselor to the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and helped lead the William H. Webster Commission, which reviewed FBI counterterrorism intelligence and operations following the Fort Hood tragedy.
He began his legal career with a clerkship for Judge J. L. Edmondson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Cox earned a B.S. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center. He and his wife, Cristina, are raising their three children in Anchorage, and have made Alaska their home.
Anand Shah, MD, is an Operating Advisor at private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. Dr. Shah develops and identifies potential investment opportunities in the healthcare industry with a focus on health care services, including the provider, payer, and HCIT sectors. He also serves as an advisor to the firm’s portfolio companies.
A nationally recognized physician leader and health policy expert, Dr. Shah has extensive healthcare experience in the senior-most levels of the U.S. government, private sector, and as a physician. He was previously the Deputy Commissioner for Medical and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Shah led consensus policy development for fit-for-purpose programs including Advanced Manufacturing, the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program, Covid vaccine development, digital health, consumer protection, and decentralized clinical trials. During the Covid pandemic, he led FDA’s policy development for preparedness and recovery efforts. Dr. Shah represented FDA with top-level policy makers of the White House and Cabinet, Governors and local governments, and regularly led briefings with Congressional leadership.
He previously served in two senior leadership roles at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). As Senior Medical Advisor, he was the primary counselor for agency-wide policy related to medical and scientific innovation. Dr. Shah established consensus on several critical policy initiatives including aligning payment and prevention to increase Medicare beneficiaries’ access to novel antimicrobials, expanding patients’ access to cell and gene therapies, and streamlining Medicare access to breakthrough technologies. As the Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), Dr. Shah led the clinical design of novel value-based payment and service delivery models including those for primary and specialty care.
Dr. Shah specializes in the early detection, surveillance, and treatment of prostate cancer, and previously developed and led a survivorship clinic for patients on cancer clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. His scientific track record includes publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Health Affairs, Cancer, and Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. Dr. Shah is an Adjunct Professor with the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Shah was chief resident during his radiation oncology residency at Columbia University. He concurrently earned his MD from the University of Pennsylvania and an MPH in health care management and policy from the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Shah graduated with honors from Duke University with a degree in economics. He also served as a Canada-U.S. Fulbright Scholar.
Michael R. Pompeo was sworn in as Secretary of State on April 26, 2018. He previously served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 2017 to April 2018.
Prior to joining the Trump Administration, Mr. Pompeo was serving in his fourth term as congressman from Kansas’ 4th District. He served on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee and House Select Benghazi Committee.
Prior to his service in Congress, Mr. Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace, where he served as CEO for more than a decade. He later became President of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution, and service company.
Mr. Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the US Army’s Fourth Infantry Division.
After leaving active duty, Mr. Pompeo graduated from Harvard Law School, having been an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
Noah Joshua Phillips is Co-Chair of the Antitrust Practice and previously served as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. He advises clients on a range of antitrust issues, including mergers and acquisitions, business conduct and compliance, litigation and investigations, and data security and privacy.
On the FTC, Mr. Phillips played an integral role in precedent setting enforcement actions and regulatory efforts concerning antitrust, consumer protection and privacy. He decided dozens of merger and other antitrust enforcement matters across the economy, including in the consumer product, defense, energy, entertainment, healthcare, technology, pharmaceutical and retail industries. Mr. Phillips’ written antitrust opinions were consistently upheld by federal appellate courts.
As Commissioner, Mr. Phillips frequently testified before Congress and represented the FTC before international bodies, including the G7, the Competition Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners. He speaks and writes frequently on a range of antitrust, consumer protection and privacy issues.
Prior to the FTC, Mr. Phillips served as Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator John Cornyn, of Texas, on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He advised Senator Cornyn on a variety of legal and policy issues, as well as judicial nominations.
Mr. Phillips received an A.B. magna cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2000 and a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2005. He began his career at a New York-based investment bank. After law school, Mr. Phillips clerked for Hon. Edward C. Prado of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and joined Cravath’s Litigation Department in 2006. He left the Firm in 2010, and he rejoined Cravath as a partner in December 2022.
Acting Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Biography
Uttam Dhillon was appointed Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on July 2, 2018. As Acting Administrator, Mr. Dhillon leads a workforce of over 15,000 and oversees a budget of $3.2 billion. He is responsible for DEA’s enforcement, intelligence, administrative, and regulatory activities worldwide. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and is co-chair of the IACP Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee.
Before joining DEA, Mr. Dhillon served as Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States.
In 2006, Mr. Dhillon was confirmed by the United States Senate as the first Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In that role, he worked closely with other federal agencies to coordinate the federal government’s anti-drug efforts. Prior to DHS, Mr. Dhillon served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Dhillon served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California. In that role, he successfully prosecuted complex investigations involving drug trafficking, money laundering, alien smuggling, and gun possession. He also argued multiple appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Dhillon also has significant experience in the Legislative Branch, holding several senior roles, including Chief Oversight Counsel for the House Financial Services Committee, Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, and Senior Investigative Counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Mr. Dhillon graduated from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a Master of Arts degree in psychology from the University of California, San Diego and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from California State University, Sacramento. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.
Ajit Pai, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on issues pertaining to technology and innovation, telecommunications regulatory policy, and market-based incentives for investment in broadband deployment. Concurrently, he is a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, a global investment firm.
Mr. Pai’s distinguished career at the FCC includes two leadership roles following presidential appointments. He was appointed commissioner by President Barack Obama in 2012, designated chairman by President Donald Trump in 2017, and twice confirmed by the US Senate. While at the helm of the FCC, Mr. Pai had a transformative impact on the future of US technology and communications policy, implementing major initiatives to help close the digital divide; advance US leadership in 5G and other wireless technologies; promote innovation; protect consumers, public safety, and national security; and make the agency itself more open, transparent, and data-driven.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Pai served in various public-sector positions in the FCC’s Office of General Counsel, the US Department of Justice, the US Senate Judiciary Committee, and the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He also worked as a partner at Jenner & Block and associate general counsel at Verizon Communications.
Mr. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree, and from the University of Chicago Law School, where he received a law degree and was an editor on the University of Chicago Law Review.
Eric D. Hargan is the Founder and CEO of The Hargan Group, a healthcare consulting firm. Eric previously served as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2017 to 2021; he also served as Acting Secretary for several months in 2017-2018. HHS is the largest department in the federal government and has an annual budget of more than $1.3 trillion and over 80,000 employees across 26 divisions. As Deputy Secretary, he oversaw the development and approval of all HHS, CMS and FDA regulations and significant guidances, as well as the day-to-day operations and management of the department, and he led policy and strategy development. From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Hargan also served at HHS in a variety of capacities, including holding the position of Acting Deputy Secretary.
Andrei Iancu is a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell and one of the leading voices in intellectual property law and innovation policy. He is a former Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a position to which he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. Andrei has decades of experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in IP matters across the technical and scientific spectra, including medical devices, genetic testing, therapeutics, the Internet, telephony, TV broadcasting, video game systems and computer peripherals. He represents clients in litigation and trials before the district courts, the U.S. International Trade Commission and the USPTO, the Federal Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court, and also counsels clients on obtaining, licensing, enforcing and defending against IP rights globally.