Partner, Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC
Josh Belinfante represents clients in commercial and administrative disputes, and he is one of Georgia’s most knowledgeable attorneys on appellate matters and questions of governmental law and policy. He represents governmental and non-governmental clients, and those in the highly regulated fields of healthcare, gaming, land use, and energy.
Josh brings to bear his experience in all three branches of government, having served as the Executive Counsel or Chief Legal Advisor to Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia’s 81st Governor (2007-2009), Legal Counsel to the Georgia House Judiciary Committee (2006), and Law Clerk to Judge J.L. Edmondson of the Eleventh Circuit (2004-2005).
In litigation matters, Josh’s practice involves commercial disputes and representation of government and those challenging governmental acts. He has successfully argued cases that have shaped the Georgia healthcare and gaming industries. Josh also represents clients involved in procurement matters and bid protests, cases before the public service commission, and in precedent-setting challenges to annexations and local ordinances. He has long been a go-to lawyer of the State of Georgia in numerous high stakes cases against the United States Department of Justice, and private parties challenging Georgia’s Medicaid and special education programs.
Outside of litigation, Josh has significant experience in in campaign finance and election law matters. He represents entities governed by federal and state campaign finance laws, including campaigns and political action committees. He also has specific experience drafting laws governing Certificate of Need, gaming, the Georgia Lottery, restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements, and eminent domain.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle described Josh as the “go-to guy for Georgia healthcare policy and legislation.” In 2011, the Atlanta Business Chronicle named Josh one of the 40 Under 40 of Atlanta’s Rising and Business Leaders. In 2010, The Fulton County Daily Report named Josh one of 10 attorneys “On the Rise,” and Georgia Trend named him one of Georgia’s “Legal Elite.” Atlanta Magazine named Josh a “Super Lawyer” since 2015, and it frequently named him a Georgia “Rising Star Super Lawyer.” James Magazine has repeatedly identified Josh as one of the “Best Lawyers in Georgia.”
Josh serves on the University of Georgia Law School Alumni Council, the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Chapter of the Federalist Society, and he is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta (2012), Leadership Sandy Springs (2015), and the Coverdell Leadership Institute (2007).
Josh is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia School of Law. He also taught high school at Pace Academy in Atlanta.
Senior Counsel, Alston & Bird, LLP
A former Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Keith Blackwell is senior counsel with Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta. His practice is focused principally on the representation of clients in federal and state courts in appeals and litigation involving issues of first impression, the application of settled law to emerging industries and technologies, novel constitutional questions, conflicting precedents, and other complex legal issues. He also represents law firms and lawyers in professional liability matters, and he represents clients in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations and proceedings.
Justice Blackwell served for more than eight years on the Supreme Court, and he previously served as a Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. In the course of his judicial service, he authored more than 400 published opinions and participated in the disposition of approximately 4,500 appeals, as well as 8,000 petitions for writs of certiorari and other applications for leave to appeal. In addition, Justice Blackwell served as the liaison between the Supreme Court and the State Bar of Georgia, the Office of Bar Admissions, the Board of Bar Examiners, and the Board to Determine the Fitness of Bar Applicants. Justice Blackwell retired from judicial service in November 2020 to return to the private practice of law.
Prior to his judicial service, Justice Blackwell practiced law with Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP in Atlanta, where his practice was focused on complex business litigation. He also served for several years as an assistant district attorney in Cobb County, Georgia, where he was responsible for hundreds of felony prosecutions and appeared regularly as lead trial counsel. In addition, he served as a law clerk for Judge J.L. Edmondson at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Justice Blackwell graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law as first honor graduate in 1999. He also received a degree in political science from the University of Georgia in 1996.
Justice Blackwell is a member of the Board of Advisors and a former president of the Atlanta Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society.
Partner, Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC
Josh Belinfante represents clients in commercial and administrative disputes, and he is one of Georgia’s most knowledgeable attorneys on appellate matters and questions of governmental law and policy. He represents governmental and non-governmental clients, and those in the highly regulated fields of healthcare, gaming, land use, and energy.
Josh brings to bear his experience in all three branches of government, having served as the Executive Counsel or Chief Legal Advisor to Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia’s 81st Governor (2007-2009), Legal Counsel to the Georgia House Judiciary Committee (2006), and Law Clerk to Judge J.L. Edmondson of the Eleventh Circuit (2004-2005).
In litigation matters, Josh’s practice involves commercial disputes and representation of government and those challenging governmental acts. He has successfully argued cases that have shaped the Georgia healthcare and gaming industries. Josh also represents clients involved in procurement matters and bid protests, cases before the public service commission, and in precedent-setting challenges to annexations and local ordinances. He has long been a go-to lawyer of the State of Georgia in numerous high stakes cases against the United States Department of Justice, and private parties challenging Georgia’s Medicaid and special education programs.
Outside of litigation, Josh has significant experience in in campaign finance and election law matters. He represents entities governed by federal and state campaign finance laws, including campaigns and political action committees. He also has specific experience drafting laws governing Certificate of Need, gaming, the Georgia Lottery, restrictive covenants and non-compete agreements, and eminent domain.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle described Josh as the “go-to guy for Georgia healthcare policy and legislation.” In 2011, the Atlanta Business Chronicle named Josh one of the 40 Under 40 of Atlanta’s Rising and Business Leaders. In 2010, The Fulton County Daily Report named Josh one of 10 attorneys “On the Rise,” and Georgia Trend named him one of Georgia’s “Legal Elite.” Atlanta Magazine named Josh a “Super Lawyer” since 2015, and it frequently named him a Georgia “Rising Star Super Lawyer.” James Magazine has repeatedly identified Josh as one of the “Best Lawyers in Georgia.”
Josh serves on the University of Georgia Law School Alumni Council, the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Chapter of the Federalist Society, and he is a graduate of Leadership Atlanta (2012), Leadership Sandy Springs (2015), and the Coverdell Leadership Institute (2007).
Josh is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia School of Law. He also taught high school at Pace Academy in Atlanta.
Senior Counsel, Alston & Bird, LLP
A former Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Keith Blackwell is senior counsel with Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta. His practice is focused principally on the representation of clients in federal and state courts in appeals and litigation involving issues of first impression, the application of settled law to emerging industries and technologies, novel constitutional questions, conflicting precedents, and other complex legal issues. He also represents law firms and lawyers in professional liability matters, and he represents clients in connection with criminal and regulatory investigations and proceedings.
Justice Blackwell served for more than eight years on the Supreme Court, and he previously served as a Judge of the Court of Appeals of Georgia. In the course of his judicial service, he authored more than 400 published opinions and participated in the disposition of approximately 4,500 appeals, as well as 8,000 petitions for writs of certiorari and other applications for leave to appeal. In addition, Justice Blackwell served as the liaison between the Supreme Court and the State Bar of Georgia, the Office of Bar Admissions, the Board of Bar Examiners, and the Board to Determine the Fitness of Bar Applicants. Justice Blackwell retired from judicial service in November 2020 to return to the private practice of law.
Prior to his judicial service, Justice Blackwell practiced law with Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs LLP in Atlanta, where his practice was focused on complex business litigation. He also served for several years as an assistant district attorney in Cobb County, Georgia, where he was responsible for hundreds of felony prosecutions and appeared regularly as lead trial counsel. In addition, he served as a law clerk for Judge J.L. Edmondson at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Justice Blackwell graduated summa cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law as first honor graduate in 1999. He also received a degree in political science from the University of Georgia in 1996.
Justice Blackwell is a member of the Board of Advisors and a former president of the Atlanta Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society.
Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group Member, Bodman PLC
Mr. Rheaume is a member of Bodman's Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group. He represents clients involved in complex commercial litigation matters and serves as local counsel for national and international law firms.
Mr. Rheaume has been selected to the Michigan Super Lawyers® Rising Stars list since 2013 for business litigation. Prior to joining Bodman, he served as a law clerk to Justice Stephen J. Markman of the Michigan Supreme Court. Based on this experience, Mr. Rheaume is an integral team member of the firm's Appellate Law Practice Group. He has written appellate and amicus briefs in state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Rheaume is President of The Federalist Society-Michigan Chapter. He serves on the alumni board of the Sigma Chi Fraternity of Michigan State University. He is also a board member of the Detroit Economic Club's Young Leader Program.
Mr. Rheaume graduated from Michigan State University College of Law ranked first in his class. While there, he served as an associate editor on The Michigan State Law Review and received Jurisprudence Awards for outstanding achievement in Secured Transactions, Professional Responsibility, Insurance Law, Construction Law, Decedents Estates & Trusts, Bankruptcy, Negotiations, and Income Taxation.
Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group Member, Bodman PLC
Mr. Kangas is a member of Bodman PLC’s Litigation and ADR Group. He represents diverse clients in complex commercial disputes in both state and federal courts.
Prior to joining Bodman, Mr. Kangas clerked for Hon. Ralph B. Guy, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Hon. Stephen J. Murphy, III of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. As a law student, he interned with Chief Justice Robert P. Young of the Michigan Supreme Court and Hon. Robert H. Cleland of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
While in law school, Mr. Kangas served as Editor of the Michigan Journal of Gender and Law, as President of the Catholic Law Students Association, and as Publicity Chair of the Federalist Society. He also served as a volunteer Student Attorney with the University of Michigan Law School’s Unemployment Insurance Project. Following law school, Mr. Kangas was accepted into the Georgetown Center for the Constitution's Originalism seminar.
Prior to practicing law, Mr. Kangas founded a presentation consulting firm, advising professionals and organizations on persuasive and impactful presentation skills.
Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute
Matthew Cavedon is the Director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice. He focuses on reforming plea-driven mass adjudication, ensuring police accountability, and defending constitutional criminal originalism. Cavedon’s scholarship has been published (or is forthcoming in) publications including the Arizona State Law Journal, Cato Supreme Court Review, Seattle University Law Review, and Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy. Formerly a Georgia public defender and fellow at the Institute for Justice, Cavedon has taught law school courses on criminal law and procedure, as well as the First Amendment. Cavedon clerked for a U.S. district court and the Supreme Court of Georgia. He came to Cato following a fellowship at the Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion.
Vice President for Legal Affairs, Goldwater Institute
Publius comes from the pen name Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay used when they wrote 85 publicly printed letters now known as the Federalist Papers. Hamilton chose “Publius” as a name that would represent friends of the newly proposed American republic - Publius Valeria Publicola was a Roman general who helped to found the Roman Republic. The Federalist Society continues the tradition of publishing things under the name Publius in celebration of our constitutional roots and recognition that author credit is not always necessary.
United States District Judge, Middle District of Florida
Judge Berger was raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She received her undergraduate degree from The Florida State University in 1990 and her law degree from The Florida State University College of Law in 1992, where she was a member of Law Review. Judge Berger served as an Assistant State Attorney in the Seventh Judicial Circuit from 1993 – 2000. In January 2001, Judge Berger left the State Attorney’s Office to serve as an Assistant General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush. Judge Berger served in Governor Bush’s administration from January 2001 until May 2005, when she was appointed by the governor to serve as a Circuit Judge in the Seventh Judicial Circuit. During her service on the circuit court, Judge Berger presided over the civil and probate divisions (2005-2006) and adult felony division (2006-2012) in St. Augustine. She was also the presiding judge of the St. Johns County Adult Drug Court Program (2005-2012).
Judge Berger is currently a member of the St. Johns County Bar Association, the Orange County Bar Association, The Florida Supreme Court Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, the Florida Bar Criminal Procedure Rules Committee, the Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section’s Executive Council, the Dunn Blount Inn of Court, and the Federalist Society. She has prior service on the Florida Bar’s Judicial Administration and Evaluation Committee (2008 – 2013), the Judicial Administration Selection and Tenure Committee (2001-2004), the Florida Supreme Court Subcommittee on Postconviction Relief (2010-2011), the Statewide Diversity Team (2009-2012), and has been a member of both the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and the Florida Association of Drug Court Professionals.
Judge Berger has lectured on a wide range of topics including practicing with professionalism, judicial diversity, the judicial appointment process, effective oral arguments, fundamentals of extradition, capital cases, gender bias in the media, drug court, and drug and alcohol prevention.
Active in her community, Judge Berger served as a member of the St. Johns County Consortium on Substance Abuse as well as the St. Johns County Public Safety Committee. She is a member of the St. Augustine Rotary Club (Paul Harris Fellow) and is a steering committee member of The Marketplace Christian Professional Resources. She volunteers in the schools, has served as a reading mentor, and participates in the PACT Prevention Coalition’s Safe Prom Event. Judge Berger is also an active member of Trinity Episcopal Parish.
Judge Berger and her husband, Larry, live in St. Augustine with their two children.
Associate Chief Justice, Utah Supreme Court
Thomas R. Lee was appointed to the Utah Supreme Court by Governor Gary Herbert in July 2010. He currently serves as Associate Chief Justice and as a member of the Utah Judicial Council. He also chaired the Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Professionalism and Civility during a time in which the court promulgated Standards of Professionalism and Civility for judges in Utah. Justice Lee is a graduate, with high honors, of the University of Chicago Law School. After law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, III, of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court. Justice Lee then joined the law firm now known as Parr, Brown, Gee & Loveless, where he became a shareholder. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Justice Lee was a full-time professor at the law school at Brigham Young University, where he continues to serve as Distinguished Lecturer. During his years as a full-time law professor, he maintained a part-time intellectual property litigation practice with Howard, Phillips, & Andersen. He also developed a part-time appellate practice, arguing numerous cases in federal courts throughout the country and in the United States Supreme Court. In 2004 - 05, Justice Lee served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Don Forchelli Professor of Law and Director of Graduate Education, Brooklyn Law School
Lawrence Solan holds both a law degree and a Ph.D. in linguistics. His scholarly works are largely devoted to exploring interdisciplinary issues related to law, language and psychology, especially in the areas of statutory and contractual interpretation, the attribution of liability and blame, and linguistic evidence. He is director of the Law School's Center for the Study of Law, Language and Cognition, and his acclaimed book, The Language of Judges, is widely recognized as a seminal work on linguistic theory and legal argumentation. His most recent books are The Language of Statutes: Laws and their Interpretation, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2010, and The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law, co-edited with Peter Tiersma and published in 2012. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters, and regularly lectures in the United States and abroad.
Professor Solan has been a visiting professor in the Council of Humanities and the Psychology Department at Princeton University. He has also been and a visiting professor at Yale Law School. He has served as president of the International Association of Forensic Linguistics, is on the board of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health, and the editorial board of the International Journal of Speech, Language and the Law.
Prior to joining the faculty in 1996, Professor Solan was a partner in the firm of Orans, Elsen and Lupert, where he specialized in complex civil litigation, before which he was a law clerk to Justice Stewart Pollock of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Assistant Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
Professor Tobia’s teaching and scholarship are motivated by a tension between two views of the law. On the first view, law is a system of experts, founded upon knowledge of specialized concepts: dicta, habeas corpus, parol evidence, strict liability. Law students learn these new concepts; treatises and restatements clarify these concepts’ features; and legal scholars debate how these concepts should apply and evolve. On a radically different view, law’s most central concepts are actually ordinary ones. Lay juries regularly evaluate familiar questions like: did he act reasonably; was her act intentional; what caused the outcome; was the agreement formed with consent; what was their motive? Using methods from philosophy, cognitive science, and linguistics, Professor Tobia’s research examines the features of central legal concepts, with the overarching aim of clarifying the relationship between law and the people it governs.
Prof. Tobia received a B.A., summa cum laude, in Philosophy, Mathematics, and Cognitive Science from Rutgers University; a B.Phil. with distinction from Oxford as an Ertegun Scholar; and a J.D. and Ph.D. with distinction from Yale, as an Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal, Coker Teaching Fellow in Torts, and Prize Teaching Fellow in Philosophy. Kevin’s scholarship has appeared in the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, and journals of philosophy and cognitive science (e.g. Analysis; Mind & Language; Cognitive Science) and has been awarded Yale Law School’s Felix S. Cohen prize for legal philosophy and the AALS Section on Jurisprudence “Future Promise Award” for scholarship in legal philosophy.
Professor Tobia teaches in Torts and Section 3’s Legal Justice Seminar at Georgetown and has previously taught Legal Philosophy at Oxford and assisted in the instruction of courses in Contracts, Torts, Health Law & Bioethics, and Law & Economics. Professor Tobia frequently collaborates with scholars from Georgetown and abroad, as a Research Affiliate with the ETH Zurich Center for Law & Economics and collaborator in the Experimental Jurisprudence Cross-Cultural Study exchange.
Special Counsel for the Manufacturers’ Accountability Project (MAP), The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM)
The Supreme Court of Georgia, A Retrospective
Josh B. Belinfante, Keith R. Blackwell
Atlanta Lawyers Chapter
On February 25, 2021, The Federalist Society's Atlanta Lawyers Chapter hosted Hon. Keith Blackwell, Former...
The Supreme Court of Georgia, A Retrospective
Josh B. Belinfante, Keith R. Blackwell
Atlanta Lawyers Chapter
On February 25, 2021, The Federalist Society's Atlanta Lawyers Chapter hosted Hon. Keith Blackwell, Former...
State Court Docket Watch: Council of Organizations and Others for Education About Parochiaid v. State of Michigan
James J. Ryan, Gordon J. Kangas
Michigan’s Supreme Court confirmed that the state’s constitution permits reimbursement to religious schools for costs...
State Court Docket Watch: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Alexander
Matthew P. Cavedon
Pennsylvania’s highest court has extinguished the automobile exception to the warrant requirement. No warrant is...
State Court Docket Watch: State of Arizona v. Mixton
Timothy Sandefur
Note from the Editor: The author of this article, Timothy Sandefur, filed an amicus brief...
State Court Docket Watch: 2020 Edition
Publius
In an effort to increase dialogue about state court jurisprudence, the Federalist Society presents State...
State Court Docket Watch: 2020 Edition
In an effort to increase dialogue about state court jurisprudence, the Federalist Society presents State...
Luncheon Panel: A Virtual Discussion on Corpus Linguistics
Wendy Berger, Thomas Rex Lee, Lawrence Solan, Kevin Tobia
2021 Annual Florida Chapters Conference
Corpus linguistics has recently emerged as a method for addressing problems in the legal/textualist interpretation....
BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Philip S. Goldberg
featuring Philip Goldberg
On January 19, 2021, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in BP P.L.C. v. Mayor...
Topics
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Agrees to Rehear Decision Invalidating Federal Tort Law
The Federalist Society’s 2020 Civil Justice Update, published on December 2, 2020, included a discussion...