Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Adam Mossoff is Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. He has published extensively on why patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights have been—and should be—legally secured to innovators and creators as property rights. His scholarship has been relied on by the United States Supreme Court, by lower federal courts, and by U.S. federal agencies. He has been invited to testify numerous times before the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives on intellectual property legislation. His writings on intellectual property policy have also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Forbes, Investors Business Daily, and in other media outlets. His journal articles can be downloaded here.
Professor Mossoff is a longstanding member of the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Practice Group of the Federalist Society, on which he served as Chairperson from 2016-2018, and he is Chair of the Intellectual Property Working Group of the Regulatory Transparency Project of the Federalist Society. He is a Senior Fellow and Chair of the Forum for Intellectual Property at the Hudson Institute, a Visiting Intellectual Property Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Intellectual Property Understanding. He is a member of the Intellectual Property Rights Policy Committee of ANSI and he has served as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee of the IEEE-USA, on which he remains a member in good standing.
Partner, Duane Morris LLP
Brian Pandya is Partner at Duane Morris LLP. A member of the firm’s Trial Practice Group, Brian represents technology, manufacturing, and healthcare companies in high-stakes litigation, arbitrations, investigations and appeals. He has served as lead trial counsel in a range of intellectual property, antitrust, complex commercial and white-collar matters. He also regularly counsels clients on cybersecurity and national security issues, particularly matters concerning emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.
Before joining Duane Morris, Brian served at the U.S. Department of Justice as Deputy Associate Attorney General from 2019-21, where he oversaw investigations and litigation undertaken by the Antitrust Division and Civil Division and served on several high-profile task forces and trial teams. Brian was also previously a litigation and IP partner at another prominent Washington, DC firm.
Brian clerked for Judge Leonard Davis on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He is a two-time recipient of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Pro Bono Advocacy Award for work on behalf of military veterans and has served as volunteer federal public defender in the Eastern District of Virginia, among many other bar and community engagements.
Brian graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was articles editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, and with honors and high distinction in mechanical engineering from Penn State University, where he received the Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Judge Rao was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in March 2019. She graduated from Yale College in 1995 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1999. Following graduation, she served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and, in the 2001 October Term, as law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. Between her clerkships, Judge Rao served as counsel for nominations and constitutional law to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In 2002, she joined the international arbitration group of Clifford Chance LLP in London, England. From 2005-2006, she served as Special Assistant and Associate White House Counsel to President George W. Bush. From 2006 to 2017, Judge Rao was a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where she taught constitutional law, legislation and statutory interpretation, and the history and foundations of the administrative state. In 2014, she founded the Center for the Study of the Administrative State, a non-profit Center that promotes academic scholarship and public policy debates about administrative law. In July 2017, she was appointed to serve as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management Budget. She served in this position until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
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.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Judge Rao was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in March 2019. She graduated from Yale College in 1995 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1999. Following graduation, she served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and, in the 2001 October Term, as law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. Between her clerkships, Judge Rao served as counsel for nominations and constitutional law to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In 2002, she joined the international arbitration group of Clifford Chance LLP in London, England. From 2005-2006, she served as Special Assistant and Associate White House Counsel to President George W. Bush. From 2006 to 2017, Judge Rao was a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where she taught constitutional law, legislation and statutory interpretation, and the history and foundations of the administrative state. In 2014, she founded the Center for the Study of the Administrative State, a non-profit Center that promotes academic scholarship and public policy debates about administrative law. In July 2017, she was appointed to serve as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management Budget. She served in this position until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
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.
Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law (on leave); Senior Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
Professor Dolin’s scholarship centers on patent law with a specific focus on how the patent regime affects innovation, especially in bio-pharmaceutical areas. His work in these areas includes a number of scholarly articles, presentations, amicus briefs, and congressional testimony.
Dr. Dolin is currently on leave from his academic duties while he serves as Senior Counsel in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.
From January 2020 to January 2022, Professor Dolin served as a resident Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau. In this role, he (together with other members of the Court) heard appeals in civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the University of Baltimore School of Law, Professor Dolin held visiting appointments in other law schools. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Pauline Newman, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the late Hon. H. Emory Widener Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Rumors that he has a real Russian bear in his office are entirely true.
Partner, Wiley Rein LLP
Kevin Muhlendorf’s practice focuses on securities fraud, defense procurement fraud, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) matters. As a former Assistant Chief in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Senior Counsel in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Kevin has firsthand knowledge and insight into government operations and processes. He relies on his prosecutorial experience to develop thoughtful investigative and trial strategies.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Independent Consultant
Since 2001, Dr. Richard Belzer has been an independent consultant in regulation, risk, economics and information quality. Previously he was a visiting professor of public policy at Washington University in St. Louis and economist in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget. He received his Ph.D. in public policy from Harvard University (1989), Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government (now Harvard Kennedy School) (1982), and MS and BS degrees in agricultural economics from the University of California at Davis (1979, 1980). He is a regular contributor to scholarly professions through journal peer review and service to professional societies. He was elected Treasurer of the Society for Risk Analysis (1998, 2000) elected Secretary-Treasurer of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis (2008, 2010, 2012). He earned multiple awards for exemplary performance at OMB, the SRA’s Distinguished Service Award (2003), and the SBCA’s Richard O. Zerbe, Jr. Distinguished Service Award (2017). In 1995, he was named a Fellow of the Cecil and Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society. In 2017, Dr. Belzer completed a 2-year term as a member of the USEPA Science Advisory Board Panel on Economy-wide Modeling. He serves as a member of the RTP Energy and Environment Working Group.
Senior Vice President, HSBC Bank USA, N.A.’s Office of Public Affairs
Michael Geffroy is Senior Vice President in HSBC Bank USA, N.A.’s Office of Public Affairs, where he is responsible for public policy and government affairs at the federal level.
Prior to joining HSBC, Mr. Geffroy had extensive experience in the U.S Congress, and in the Executive Branch. Most recently, he was the General Counsel for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (2014-2017), and he previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Counsel to the Committee on Homeland Security (2012-2014).
Mr. Geffroy’s tenure in the Executive branch includes his time as the Assistant Director for Enforcement at the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice, and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia.
Mr. Geffroy is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (ret). His military service includes tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Mr. Geffroy is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Brown University and the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America.
Partner, Eversheds Sutherland LLP
Michael Bahar, a partner in the Washington DC office of Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, is the US leader of the global cybersecurity and privacy practice and a member of the firm’s Litigation practice. As former Deputy Legal Advisor to the National Security Council at the White House, former Minority Staff Director and General Counsel for the US House Intelligence Committee, and as a former Active Duty Navy JAG, Mr. Bahar provides advice on cybersecurity and privacy, international law and national security law. While with the House Intelligence Committee, he was lead drafter and negotiator for the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, the USA Freedom Act (which reformed certain key surveillance authorities) and four annual Intelligence Authorization Acts. More recently, he was a leader of the Committee’s investigation into the Russian hacking of the 2016 election. Michael offers clients a wealth of knowledge about cybersecurity, information sharing, privacy, crisis management and establishing cybersecurity programs that are not only in accordance with evolving laws and regulations but that also find business opportunities.
His in-depth knowledge and deep understanding of these topics—particularly in assessing the appropriate levels of cybersecurity investment based on litigation and regulatory risk analysis—allows Mr. Bahar to effectively advise clients and has made him a sought-after speaker at industry and corporate conferences across the country.
Mr. Bahar’s previous experience includes serving nearly 10 years on Active Duty with the Navy's Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, where he litigated felony court-martials, dealt with cutting-edge legal issues involving the laws of war, led the capture and investigation of the US Navy’s first set of captured pirates in generations, led a team of lawyers deployed to Afghanistan in support of a Special Operations Task Force, and completed two Pentagon tours. He has received two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, six Navy Commendation Medals and one Navy Achievement Medal, in addition to earning his Navy Parachutist Wings.
Mr. Bahar is admitted to the New York State Bar. He has submitted his application to The District of Columbia Bar. His work is supervised by District of Columbia Bar members.
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Gates Corporation
Matthew R. A. Heiman joined the Company in May 2026 and has served as the Company’s Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary since June 2026. As Chief Legal Officer, Mr. Heiman is responsible for all legal functions for Gates, including securities and corporate governance, M&A, litigation, commercial, regulatory, compliance, patents and trademarks, real estate, employment and labor, sustainability and environmental matters. Prior to joining Gates, Mr. Heiman held senior legal leadership roles at Waystar, where he served as Chief Legal & Administrative Officer from 2023 to 2025 and as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from 2020 to 2023. Prior to that, he was with Johnson Controls, where he served as Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and Associate General Counsel. Mr. Heiman has been a Senior Fellow for the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law since 2018.
Senior Vice President, Cornerstone Government Affairs
Heather Molino joined Cornerstone in 2015 after two decades of Capitol Hill and communications experience, where she developed significant expertise in cyber, defense, space, intelligence and national security. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Ms. Molino was the minority staff director for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) under Ranking Member C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD).
As staff director, Ms. Molino helped returned the House Intelligence Committee to the business of passing budget bills and other important legislation. Her achievements include helping pass into law five Intelligence Authorization Acts in four years, for Fiscal Year 2011 through 2015. Heather and her team helped create a coalition of business support to pass the most prominent cyber legislation in the House, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), as well as major intelligence reform legislation, the USA Freedom Act, all by strong bipartisan margins.
In her role, Ms. Molino was also responsible for advising Members of the Committee on policy, politics and communications to ensure U.S. intelligence professionals have the resources, capabilities and authorities needed to keep our country safe. Heather also organized and managed Democratic staff, handled the committee’s budget, oversaw press strategy and ensured proper and efficient oversight of our nation’s intelligence agencies. Before joining the committee, Heather served as deputy chief of staff and director of communications in Congressman Ruppersberger’s personal office.
Prior to Capitol Hill, Ms. Molino worked in broadcast journalism for over 10 years. She was a TV reporter and anchor in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Washington State and North Carolina. Ms. Molino holds a B.A. in Economics and Government from Cornell University. She is married to West Point graduate, Michael Molino. The couple has three small children.
Associate, Wiley Rein LLP
Joel S. Nolette is an associate at Wiley Rein LLP, where he advocates on behalf of corporate and individual clients in a broad spectrum of complex litigation matters. In 2017, Joel graduated cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as the Editor in Chief of Volume 15 of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy. From 2019 to 2021, Joel clerked for the Honorable Raymond W. Gruender of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; and from 2021 to 2022, he clerked for the Honorable Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Before attending law school, Joel graduated summa cum laude from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, with his Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and worked as a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service.
Constitutional Scholarship Director and Senior Legal Analyst, Pacific Legal Foundation
Anastasia Boden is Director of Constitutional Scholarship at Pacific Legal Foundation, where she leads the organization’s Supreme Court commentary and directs scholarly analysis in support of the firm’s litigation. She has represented entrepreneurs and small businesses nationwide in challenges to onerous licensing regimes, anti-competitive titling restrictions, Certificate of Need (“competitor’s veto”) laws, and other forms of unnecessary red tape that block economic opportunity.
Prior to this role, Anastasia developed nearly a dozen constitutional challenges to Certificate of Need laws across the country, helping spur legislative reform in Montana, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Her victories include a ruling invalidating Houston’s busking restrictions, multiple appellate decisions expanding access to the courts for civil rights plaintiffs, and the legislative repeal of Virginia’s happy-hour advertising ban.
Her writings on law and liberty have been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Forbes, and more, and she has appeared on Headline News, CBS News, Fox News, ReasonTV, Newsmax, and John Stossel. In 2020, she was featured on Libertarian Party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen’s Supreme Court shortlist.
Anastasia earned her BA with dean’s honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her JD from Georgetown University Law Center, where she was research assistant to Professor Randy E. Barnett—the “intellectual godfather” of the constitutional challenge to Obamacare. She is the co-creator of the podcast Dissed, about infamous Supreme Court dissents. She authors the biweekly newsletter SCOTUS Scoop and the column, “In Dissent” for SCOTUSblog.
Founder, Chef, Chef Geoff's
Geoff graduated from Georgetown University in 1995 with a degree in theology. He then went on to graduate first in his class at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Geoff opened Chef Geoff’s in 2000 and Chef Geoff’s Downtown in 2002. Both were opened before he reached the age of 30. In 2006 Geoff opened his third restaurant, LIA’S in Chevy Chase, MD. In late 2008 Geoff opened Hank’s Tavern & Eats in Hyattsville, MD. He operates the 200 seat restaurant in partnership with his brother Chris Tracy. Geoff’s fifth restaurant, Chef Geoff’s Tysons Corner opened in 2009 in Vienna, VA. The sixth restaurant, Chef Geoff’s Rockville, opened in 2012.
Geoff, along with a very talented team, oversees restaurant operations as well as managing the concept, menu development, marketing, finances, and growth at each of the restaurants. The restaurants serve 750,000 guests every year and employ more than 400 amazing people.
Geoff is also the co-author of the New York Times Best Seller, Baby Love. Baby Love teaches busy parents how to feed “Healthy, Easy, Delicious Meals for Your Baby and Toddler”. The book is published by St. Martin’s Press.
As an active member of the Washington DC community, Geoff serves as vice chairman on the executive board of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. Additionally, Geoff contributes to more than 150 charities and organization every year in the form of silent auctions, fundraising appearances, and even the Chef Geoff sponsored Little League team. Geoff is also a member of the Washington Baltimore chapter of the Young Presidents Organization.
In 2006 the National Restaurant Association awarded Chef Geoff’s The Best Neighbor Award for its contributions to the community. In 2009 Geoff was awarded the Albert Uster “Chef of the Year Award”. In 2010 Geoff was named one of the top 40 business people under the age of 40 by Washington Business Journal. In 2011 Chef Geoff’s Tysons won the RAMMY award for “Hottest Restaurant Bar Scene”. In 2009 and 2011 Lia’s was selected as “Best Restaurant in Chevy Chase” by Bethesda Magazine in its annual Reader’s Choice Awards. In 2012, the readers of Washingtonian Magazine selected Geoff as “Best Local Chef”.
Geoff is extraordinarily fortunate to be married to the love of his life and CBS This Morning Anchor Norah O’Donnell. They reside in both New York City and Washington DC with their three beautiful children Grace, Henry, and Riley.
Courthouse Steps: Oil States Energy Services v. Greene's Energy Group Decided
Adam Mossoff, Brian Pandya
Intellectual Property Practice Group and Regulatory Transparency Project Teleforum
Under what circumstances may patents be revoked or modified? What process is due? The questions...
Opening Address by Neomi Rao
Neomi Rao, Dean Reuter
Sixth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
The Sixth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at the...
Opening Address by Neomi Rao
Neomi Rao, Dean Reuter
Sixth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
The Sixth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at the...
Courthouse Steps: Lucia v. SEC
Gregory Dolin, Kevin B. Muhlendorf
Administrative Law and Regulation and Litigation Practice Group Teleforum
In Lucia v. SEC, the SEC fined the petitioner Raymond J. Lucia $300,000 and barred...
Topics
Yes, Judge, We Do Think About Reviewability
At the Federalist Society’s Executive Branch Review Conference on April 17, DC Circuit Judge Laurence...
Analyzing how EPA is Addressing “Secret Science”
Daren Bakst, Richard B. Belzer
Regulatory Transparency Project Teleforum
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that his agency would no longer allow the use of...
Topics
Restoring the Constitutional Congress
The Federalist Society's Article I Initiative Writing Contest recently sought submissions from across the country...
The Role of Congressional Intelligence Committees
Michael Geffroy, Michael Bahar, Matthew R. A. Heiman, Heather Molino
International & National Security Law Practice Group and Article I Teleforum
Former Minority Staff Director and General Counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence...
Towards an Administrative Rule of Lenity: Restoring the Constitutional Congress by Reforming Statutory Interpretation
Joel S. Nolette
Federalist Society Review, Volume 19
Note from the Editor: In this article, Joel Nolette proposes an “administrative rule of lenity”...
Virginia’s (Un)happy Hour: Is the State Restricting Ads and Economic Rights?
Anastasia P. Boden, Geoffrey Tracy
Regulatory Transparency Project Teleforum
In Virginia, it’s perfectly legal to have a happy hour; it’s just illegal to talk...