Partner and Co-Chair, Public Policy Group, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook's Washington, DC-based Public Policy Practice Group and is a leading national expert on civil justice issues with over thirty years of experience. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion.
Mark is actively involved in civil justice reform efforts at the federal and state levels. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures on behalf of business and civil justice organizations. Mark also has an active amicus brief practice specializing in tort liability and civil justice issues. He has authored or co-authored over 150 amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations. In addition, Mark routinely files comments on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations regarding potential changes to federal and state court rules. He chairs the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Civil Justice Response Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ).
Mark is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). He received his J.D. in 1990 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1987.
Member, Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC
Currently a litigator in private practice, Carmine has served the public as counsel and director for executive and regulatory agencies in Kentucky. Most recently as Chief of Staff and as General Counsel to the Kentucky Attorney General, he provided comprehensive strategic, policy, political, and legal advice and counsel to the Attorney General and the office’s divisions on issues involving complex litigation, government law, ethics, and compliance.
He previously served as Executive Director of the Attorney General’s Office of Civil & Environmental Law, where he oversaw trial litigation throughout the Commonwealth as well as appeals under the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts, and Opinions of the Attorney General. In this role, he was chiefly responsible for defending state statutes challenged as unconstitutional and for the defense of executive and judicial branch officials. While at the Attorney General’s office, he authored an Opinion of the Attorney General which concluded that ESG investment practices are inconsistent with Kentucky law governing public pensions—the first such opinion in the country.
Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Carmine served as Governor-appointed General Counsel of the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, where he was chief counsel to the Cabinet and its 12 agencies charged with regulating horse racing, financial institutions, insurance, alcoholic beverages, construction, professional licensing, and charitable gaming. While at the Cabinet, he litigated throughout state and federal court, including a case defending the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s declaration of the winner of the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Wendell H. Ford Professor of Law, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Paul E. Salamanca graduated from Dartmouth College in 1983 and Boston College Law School in 1989, where he was a note editor for the Boston College Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
Professor Salamanca served as a law clerk to Judge David H. Souter of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and subsequently clerked for Justice Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced law with the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton in New York from 1991 to 1994 and was a visiting assistant professor of law at Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans before joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Law in June 1995.
Professor Salamanca writes in the areas of separation of powers, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and privacy. He has published articles on these subjects in the University of Cincinnati Law Review, the Missouri Law Review, the Georgia Law Review and the Kentucky Law Journal, among other places.
From 2019 until 2021, Professor Salamanca served as a Senior Counsel and then as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the United States Department of Justice. His duties included supervision of the Natural Resources and Land Acquisition Sections of ENRD.
Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Misha leads Troutman Peppers' national appellate and Supreme Court practice. Most recently, he successfully obtained orders from the Supreme Court blocking an unconstitutional restriction on places of worship, as well as overturning a lower court order that had blocked several state election laws. He has also argued and prevailed before the Supreme Court in Gill v. Whitford, one of the most significant redistricting cases in decades, as well as Murr v. Wisconsin, a high-stakes regulatory taking case.
Before joining Troutman, Misha served as Solicitor General of the State of Wisconsin. Misha previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court, Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit, and Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was President of the Federalist Society Chapter.
Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove has served as a District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky since his confirmation by the United States Senate on December 21, 2005. Prior to his appointment to the Court, Judge Van Tatenhove served over four years as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He has been an adjunct professor at the College of Law since the Spring Semester of 2017, where he teaches Crime and Punishment: Sentencing Policy and Procedure (LAW 902). Judge Van Tatenhove is presently a member of the University of Kentucky College of Law Board of Visitors as well as the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation board. Past service includes a term as President of the Asbury University Alumni Board and Vice-Chair of the Asbury Board of Trustees. He is also a Member of the Kentucky Bar Association Commission on the Future of Law Practice.
Member, Sturgill, Turner, Barker & Moloney, PLLC
Currently a litigator in private practice, Carmine has served the public as counsel and director for executive and regulatory agencies in Kentucky. Most recently as Chief of Staff and as General Counsel to the Kentucky Attorney General, he provided comprehensive strategic, policy, political, and legal advice and counsel to the Attorney General and the office’s divisions on issues involving complex litigation, government law, ethics, and compliance.
He previously served as Executive Director of the Attorney General’s Office of Civil & Environmental Law, where he oversaw trial litigation throughout the Commonwealth as well as appeals under the Open Meetings and Open Records Acts, and Opinions of the Attorney General. In this role, he was chiefly responsible for defending state statutes challenged as unconstitutional and for the defense of executive and judicial branch officials. While at the Attorney General’s office, he authored an Opinion of the Attorney General which concluded that ESG investment practices are inconsistent with Kentucky law governing public pensions—the first such opinion in the country.
Before joining the Office of the Attorney General, Carmine served as Governor-appointed General Counsel of the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet, where he was chief counsel to the Cabinet and its 12 agencies charged with regulating horse racing, financial institutions, insurance, alcoholic beverages, construction, professional licensing, and charitable gaming. While at the Cabinet, he litigated throughout state and federal court, including a case defending the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s declaration of the winner of the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby.
Wendell H. Ford Professor of Law, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Paul E. Salamanca graduated from Dartmouth College in 1983 and Boston College Law School in 1989, where he was a note editor for the Boston College Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
Professor Salamanca served as a law clerk to Judge David H. Souter of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and subsequently clerked for Justice Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced law with the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton in New York from 1991 to 1994 and was a visiting assistant professor of law at Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans before joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Law in June 1995.
Professor Salamanca writes in the areas of separation of powers, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and privacy. He has published articles on these subjects in the University of Cincinnati Law Review, the Missouri Law Review, the Georgia Law Review and the Kentucky Law Journal, among other places.
From 2019 until 2021, Professor Salamanca served as a Senior Counsel and then as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the United States Department of Justice. His duties included supervision of the Natural Resources and Land Acquisition Sections of ENRD.
Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Misha leads Troutman Peppers' national appellate and Supreme Court practice. Most recently, he successfully obtained orders from the Supreme Court blocking an unconstitutional restriction on places of worship, as well as overturning a lower court order that had blocked several state election laws. He has also argued and prevailed before the Supreme Court in Gill v. Whitford, one of the most significant redistricting cases in decades, as well as Murr v. Wisconsin, a high-stakes regulatory taking case.
Before joining Troutman, Misha served as Solicitor General of the State of Wisconsin. Misha previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court, Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit, and Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was President of the Federalist Society Chapter.
Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky
Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove has served as a District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Kentucky since his confirmation by the United States Senate on December 21, 2005. Prior to his appointment to the Court, Judge Van Tatenhove served over four years as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He has been an adjunct professor at the College of Law since the Spring Semester of 2017, where he teaches Crime and Punishment: Sentencing Policy and Procedure (LAW 902). Judge Van Tatenhove is presently a member of the University of Kentucky College of Law Board of Visitors as well as the Henry Clay Memorial Foundation board. Past service includes a term as President of the Asbury University Alumni Board and Vice-Chair of the Asbury Board of Trustees. He is also a Member of the Kentucky Bar Association Commission on the Future of Law Practice.
Auditor of Public Accounts, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Allison Ball is the 48th Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Prior to being elected Auditor, Ball served two terms as Kentucky State Treasurer. Before that, she spent four years as Assistant Floyd County Attorney, prosecuting child abuse and juvenile delinquency cases. When first appointed to office, Ball was the youngest statewide elected official in the country.
Ball has a rich Kentucky history; her family has been in Eastern Kentucky since the 1790s, and she holds a degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
She is a fierce watchdog for Kentucky taxpayer dollars. As Auditor, Ball protects against waste, fraud, and abuse.
As Treasurer, she returned more unclaimed property than any Treasurer in state history and established a savings and investment program for people with disabilities. She has been a national leader for improved financial literacy; Ball established the Kentucky Financial Empowerment Commission, and she successfully advocated for a financial literacy high school graduation requirement.
A Floyd County native, Ball and her husband, Dr. Asa James Swan, have two children, Levi and Marigold. Upon birth of her son, she was the first Kentucky Constitutional Officer to give birth while in office.
Chief of Staff, Office of the Kentucky State Treasurer
Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Victor "Vic" Maddox heads the Civil Branch in the Office of the Attorney General. Maddox co-founded the Louisville firm known today as Fultz Maddox Dickens, PLC, where he represented clients in constitutional, administrative, business, and personal injury matters. Maddox is an expert in litigation matters and has represented elected officials and Kentucky citizens in his nearly four decades of legal experience, including vast experience at both the trial and appellate level. He was previously a partner with the predecessor firm to Frost Brown Todd, LLC, where he served in the firm's litigation practice and was involved in cases regarding securities fraud, product liability, trade secrets, and engineering liability. During his early career, Maddox worked in Washington, D.C., as a trial attorney with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice. He later served as Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Mitch McConnell, where he oversaw judicial and Justice Department nominations. Maddox was also appointed to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, a federally-chartered non-profit that provides funding for legal aid in civil cases to low-income Americans by President Obama on the recommendation of Senator McConnell. In that capacity, Maddox served as chairman of the Audit Committee and co-chaired the organization's Opioid Task Force. Maddox is a graduate of Ohio University and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Partner, Wyant, Tarrant & Combs LLP
Douglas McSwain is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team at Wyant, Tarrant & Combs LLP. He has been a litigator, legal advisor, speaker, and writer for more than 30 years. He concentrates his practice in constitutional law, business, professional, employment, civil rights, data privacy & security, and trade law. Mr. McSwain also has experience in health care, administrative and equine law.
Mr. McSwain has handled numerous multi-party wage and hour cases both administratively and in litigation. He has conducted auditing and investigative cases involving the U.S. Department of Labor and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, as well as multi-Plaintiff cases individually suing or class and collective actions.
Executive General Counsel, First Liberty Institute
Hiram Sasser is Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, where he oversees First Liberty’s litigation and media efforts. Sasser’s practice focuses on First Amendment and other constitutional and civil rights issues relating to religious liberty. Sasser served as co-counsel in seven victories before the United States Supreme Court, including Groff v. DeJoy (landmark case overturning the “de minimis cost” test for Title VII in place almost 50 years), Kennedy v. Bremerton (landmark case overturning 50 years of Establishment Clause precedent), Carson v. Makin (overturning 40 years of Maine’s discrimination against parents choosing faith-based schools), American Legion v. American Humanist Association (landmark case ending Establishment Clause attacks on veterans’ memorials with religious imagery), Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (granted, vacated, and remanded (twice) in religious wedding service case), and Sause v. Bauer (summary reversal revoking qualified immunity for police who ordered a citizen not to pray in her own home).
In addition to his legal duties, Sasser develops, coordinates, and implements successful media strategies on behalf of his clients. This includes numerous appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, and the BBC as well as being heard on various radio stations throughout the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
In 2016, Sasser took a leave of absence to serve a temporary assignment as the Chief of Staff for the Attorney General of Texas. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at both The University of Texas at Austin School of Law (teaching Religious Liberty) and Oklahoma City University School of Law (teaching Civil Rights Procedure).
General Counsel, University of Kentucky & Former Solicitor General of Virginia, University of Kentucky
William E. Thro, the General Counsel of the University of Kentucky, is an accomplished university attorney, appellate advocate, and legal scholar.
As the Chief Legal Officer for the University of Kentucky, he provides proactive strategic advice on critical legal and policy issues confronting a public flagship land grant research university with an integrated academic medical center and a high profile athletics program. Before assuming his present position in 2012, he spent more than twenty years representing public universities including eight years as the first in-house counsel at Christopher Newport University.
As Solicitor General of Virginia for four years, he was responsible for the Virginia State Government’s U.S. Supreme Court litigation (except capital cases) as well as lower court appeals involving the constitutionality of statutes or politically sensitive issues. He argued two cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous cases in the lower appellate courts. He co-authored seven U.S. Court merits briefs, eleven U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs, and more than fifty briefs at the petition stage. He received two Best Brief Awards from the National Association of Attorneys General.
As a legal scholar, he focuses on constitutional law in educational contexts. He has more than sixty publications in law reviews or peer reviewed journals as well as numerous monographs, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. In recognition of his scholarly work, he received Stetson University’s Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law & Policy Scholarship (2014) and became a Fellow of both the National Education Finance Conference (2012) and the National Association of College and University Attorneys (2007).
He has served as President of the Education Law Association, Chair of the Virginia Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section, Board Chair for a local Red Cross Chapter, on the Boards of both the National Association of College & University Attorneys and the National Education Finance Academy, and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
A native of Kentucky, he received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Hanover College. In addition to receiving the Crowe Citation as the outstanding male in his class, he was the first Hanover student to become a Harry S. Truman Scholar. He earned a graduate degree with honours from the University of Melbourne while attending as a Rotary Foundation International Ambassadorial Scholar. His law degree is from the University of Virginia where he was a published member of the VIRGINIA LAW REVIEW and research assistant to constitutional law professor A.E. Dick Howard. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the late Judge Ronald E. Meredith of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in Louisville.
He is married to the Rev. Dr. Julie Urback Thro and has two children in college (Sandra, Will) and one in high school (Noah).
Auditor of Public Accounts, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Allison Ball is the 48th Auditor of Public Accounts for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Prior to being elected Auditor, Ball served two terms as Kentucky State Treasurer. Before that, she spent four years as Assistant Floyd County Attorney, prosecuting child abuse and juvenile delinquency cases. When first appointed to office, Ball was the youngest statewide elected official in the country.
Ball has a rich Kentucky history; her family has been in Eastern Kentucky since the 1790s, and she holds a degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law.
She is a fierce watchdog for Kentucky taxpayer dollars. As Auditor, Ball protects against waste, fraud, and abuse.
As Treasurer, she returned more unclaimed property than any Treasurer in state history and established a savings and investment program for people with disabilities. She has been a national leader for improved financial literacy; Ball established the Kentucky Financial Empowerment Commission, and she successfully advocated for a financial literacy high school graduation requirement.
A Floyd County native, Ball and her husband, Dr. Asa James Swan, have two children, Levi and Marigold. Upon birth of her son, she was the first Kentucky Constitutional Officer to give birth while in office.
Chief of Staff, Office of the Kentucky State Treasurer
Assistant Deputy Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Victor "Vic" Maddox heads the Civil Branch in the Office of the Attorney General. Maddox co-founded the Louisville firm known today as Fultz Maddox Dickens, PLC, where he represented clients in constitutional, administrative, business, and personal injury matters. Maddox is an expert in litigation matters and has represented elected officials and Kentucky citizens in his nearly four decades of legal experience, including vast experience at both the trial and appellate level. He was previously a partner with the predecessor firm to Frost Brown Todd, LLC, where he served in the firm's litigation practice and was involved in cases regarding securities fraud, product liability, trade secrets, and engineering liability. During his early career, Maddox worked in Washington, D.C., as a trial attorney with the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice. He later served as Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Mitch McConnell, where he oversaw judicial and Justice Department nominations. Maddox was also appointed to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, a federally-chartered non-profit that provides funding for legal aid in civil cases to low-income Americans by President Obama on the recommendation of Senator McConnell. In that capacity, Maddox served as chairman of the Audit Committee and co-chaired the organization's Opioid Task Force. Maddox is a graduate of Ohio University and the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
Partner, Wyant, Tarrant & Combs LLP
Douglas McSwain is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team at Wyant, Tarrant & Combs LLP. He has been a litigator, legal advisor, speaker, and writer for more than 30 years. He concentrates his practice in constitutional law, business, professional, employment, civil rights, data privacy & security, and trade law. Mr. McSwain also has experience in health care, administrative and equine law.
Mr. McSwain has handled numerous multi-party wage and hour cases both administratively and in litigation. He has conducted auditing and investigative cases involving the U.S. Department of Labor and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, as well as multi-Plaintiff cases individually suing or class and collective actions.
Executive General Counsel, First Liberty Institute
Hiram Sasser is Executive General Counsel for First Liberty Institute, where he oversees First Liberty’s litigation and media efforts. Sasser’s practice focuses on First Amendment and other constitutional and civil rights issues relating to religious liberty. Sasser served as co-counsel in seven victories before the United States Supreme Court, including Groff v. DeJoy (landmark case overturning the “de minimis cost” test for Title VII in place almost 50 years), Kennedy v. Bremerton (landmark case overturning 50 years of Establishment Clause precedent), Carson v. Makin (overturning 40 years of Maine’s discrimination against parents choosing faith-based schools), American Legion v. American Humanist Association (landmark case ending Establishment Clause attacks on veterans’ memorials with religious imagery), Klein v. Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (granted, vacated, and remanded (twice) in religious wedding service case), and Sause v. Bauer (summary reversal revoking qualified immunity for police who ordered a citizen not to pray in her own home).
In addition to his legal duties, Sasser develops, coordinates, and implements successful media strategies on behalf of his clients. This includes numerous appearances on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, and the BBC as well as being heard on various radio stations throughout the United States, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
In 2016, Sasser took a leave of absence to serve a temporary assignment as the Chief of Staff for the Attorney General of Texas. He currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at both The University of Texas at Austin School of Law (teaching Religious Liberty) and Oklahoma City University School of Law (teaching Civil Rights Procedure).
General Counsel, University of Kentucky & Former Solicitor General of Virginia, University of Kentucky
William E. Thro, the General Counsel of the University of Kentucky, is an accomplished university attorney, appellate advocate, and legal scholar.
As the Chief Legal Officer for the University of Kentucky, he provides proactive strategic advice on critical legal and policy issues confronting a public flagship land grant research university with an integrated academic medical center and a high profile athletics program. Before assuming his present position in 2012, he spent more than twenty years representing public universities including eight years as the first in-house counsel at Christopher Newport University.
As Solicitor General of Virginia for four years, he was responsible for the Virginia State Government’s U.S. Supreme Court litigation (except capital cases) as well as lower court appeals involving the constitutionality of statutes or politically sensitive issues. He argued two cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous cases in the lower appellate courts. He co-authored seven U.S. Court merits briefs, eleven U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs, and more than fifty briefs at the petition stage. He received two Best Brief Awards from the National Association of Attorneys General.
As a legal scholar, he focuses on constitutional law in educational contexts. He has more than sixty publications in law reviews or peer reviewed journals as well as numerous monographs, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. In recognition of his scholarly work, he received Stetson University’s Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law & Policy Scholarship (2014) and became a Fellow of both the National Education Finance Conference (2012) and the National Association of College and University Attorneys (2007).
He has served as President of the Education Law Association, Chair of the Virginia Bar Association’s Appellate Practice Section, Board Chair for a local Red Cross Chapter, on the Boards of both the National Association of College & University Attorneys and the National Education Finance Academy, and an Elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
A native of Kentucky, he received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from Hanover College. In addition to receiving the Crowe Citation as the outstanding male in his class, he was the first Hanover student to become a Harry S. Truman Scholar. He earned a graduate degree with honours from the University of Melbourne while attending as a Rotary Foundation International Ambassadorial Scholar. His law degree is from the University of Virginia where he was a published member of the VIRGINIA LAW REVIEW and research assistant to constitutional law professor A.E. Dick Howard. He began his legal career as a judicial clerk to the late Judge Ronald E. Meredith of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in Louisville.
He is married to the Rev. Dr. Julie Urback Thro and has two children in college (Sandra, Will) and one in high school (Noah).
Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Brian L. Frye joined the faculty of the College of Law in 2012. He teaches classes in civil procedure, intellectual property, copyright, and nonprofit organizations, as well as a seminar on law and popular culture. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law, and a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He clerked for Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court. He received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 2005, an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1997, and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1995. His research focuses on intellectual property and charity law, especially in relation to artists and arts organizations.
Professor Frye is also a filmmaker. He produced the documentary Our Nixon (2013), which was broadcast by CNN and opened theatrically nationwide. His short films and videos have shown in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, the New York Film Festival, and the San Francisco International Film Festival, among other venues, and are in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. His critical writing on film and art has appeared in October, The New Republic, Film Comment, Cineaste, Senses of Cinema, and Incite! among other journals.
Additionally, Professor Frye also produces a podcast, Ipse Dixit https://shows.pippa.io/ipse-dixit
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in post-conflict countries, fragile states, and states in transition.
As the founding CEO of the Truman National Security Project, she spent nearly a decade leading a movement of national security, political, and military leaders working to promote people and policies that strengthen security, stability, rights, and human dignity in America and around the world. In 2011, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton appointed Kleinfeld to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board, which advises the secretary of state quarterly, a role she served through 2014.
Kleinfeld has consulted on rule of law reform for the World Bank, the European Union, the OECD, the Open Society Institute, and other institutions, and has briefed multiple government agencies in the United States and abroad. She is the author of Advancing the Rule of Law Abroad: Next Generation Reform (Carnegie, 2012), which was chosen by Foreign Affairs magazine as one of the best foreign policy books of 2012. Her writings have appeared in Relocating the Rule of Law (Hart, 2009), Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law: American and European Strategies (Palgrave, 2009), The Future of Human Rights (Philadelphia UP, 2008), Promoting the Rule of Law: The Problem of Knowledge (Carnegie Endowment, 2006), With All Our Might (Rowen and Littlefield, 2006) and other publications. She has also co-authored Let There Be Light: Electrifying the Developing World with Markets and Distributed Generation (Truman Institute, 2012).
Named one of the top 40 Under 40 Political Leaders in America by Time magazine in 2010, Kleinfeld has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and other national television, radio, and print media. You can find out more about her work and activities on her website, rachelkleinfeld.com.
Partner, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP
Thomas Travis is a member of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs' Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team. He assists with the representation of a broad range of clients in a variety of cases, including appellate practice, constitutional law, commercial litigation and transactional matters.
He was a clerk for Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr., Supreme Court of Kentucky, and a legal fellow for United States Senator Rand Paul.
Secretary of State, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Brian L. Frye joined the faculty of the College of Law in 2012. He teaches classes in civil procedure, intellectual property, copyright, and nonprofit organizations, as well as a seminar on law and popular culture. Previously, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Hofstra University School of Law, and a litigation associate at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. He clerked for Judge Andrew J. Kleinfeld of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court. He received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 2005, an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1997, and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1995. His research focuses on intellectual property and charity law, especially in relation to artists and arts organizations.
Professor Frye is also a filmmaker. He produced the documentary Our Nixon (2013), which was broadcast by CNN and opened theatrically nationwide. His short films and videos have shown in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, the New York Film Festival, and the San Francisco International Film Festival, among other venues, and are in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. His critical writing on film and art has appeared in October, The New Republic, Film Comment, Cineaste, Senses of Cinema, and Incite! among other journals.
Additionally, Professor Frye also produces a podcast, Ipse Dixit https://shows.pippa.io/ipse-dixit
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Dr. Rachel Kleinfeld is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in post-conflict countries, fragile states, and states in transition.
As the founding CEO of the Truman National Security Project, she spent nearly a decade leading a movement of national security, political, and military leaders working to promote people and policies that strengthen security, stability, rights, and human dignity in America and around the world. In 2011, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton appointed Kleinfeld to the Foreign Affairs Policy Board, which advises the secretary of state quarterly, a role she served through 2014.
Kleinfeld has consulted on rule of law reform for the World Bank, the European Union, the OECD, the Open Society Institute, and other institutions, and has briefed multiple government agencies in the United States and abroad. She is the author of Advancing the Rule of Law Abroad: Next Generation Reform (Carnegie, 2012), which was chosen by Foreign Affairs magazine as one of the best foreign policy books of 2012. Her writings have appeared in Relocating the Rule of Law (Hart, 2009), Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law: American and European Strategies (Palgrave, 2009), The Future of Human Rights (Philadelphia UP, 2008), Promoting the Rule of Law: The Problem of Knowledge (Carnegie Endowment, 2006), With All Our Might (Rowen and Littlefield, 2006) and other publications. She has also co-authored Let There Be Light: Electrifying the Developing World with Markets and Distributed Generation (Truman Institute, 2012).
Named one of the top 40 Under 40 Political Leaders in America by Time magazine in 2010, Kleinfeld has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, and other national television, radio, and print media. You can find out more about her work and activities on her website, rachelkleinfeld.com.
Partner, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP
Thomas Travis is a member of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs' Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team. He assists with the representation of a broad range of clients in a variety of cases, including appellate practice, constitutional law, commercial litigation and transactional matters.
He was a clerk for Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr., Supreme Court of Kentucky, and a legal fellow for United States Senator Rand Paul.
Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Daniel Cameron is the CEO of the 1792 Exchange, working to protect free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise and help American corporations return to the winning formula of producing great products and services, not pushing agendas.
Daniel previously served as the 51st Attorney General of Kentucky from 2019 to 2023. He was the first black American elected to a standalone statewide office in Kentucky’s history. Daniel then went on to win the Republican nomination for governor of Kentucky.
He grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and attended the University of Louisville, where he played football for the Cardinals. After graduating from Brandeis School of Law, he clerked for a federal judge. Daniel later served as legal counsel to United States Senator Mitch McConnell.
Daniel and his wife are blessed with two sons: Theodore and Bennett. They reside in Louisville, Kentucky, a place they proudly call home.
Partner, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP
Thomas Travis is a member of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs' Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team. He assists with the representation of a broad range of clients in a variety of cases, including appellate practice, constitutional law, commercial litigation and transactional matters.
He was a clerk for Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr., Supreme Court of Kentucky, and a legal fellow for United States Senator Rand Paul.
Attorney General, Commonwealth of Kentucky
Daniel Cameron is the CEO of the 1792 Exchange, working to protect free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise and help American corporations return to the winning formula of producing great products and services, not pushing agendas.
Daniel previously served as the 51st Attorney General of Kentucky from 2019 to 2023. He was the first black American elected to a standalone statewide office in Kentucky’s history. Daniel then went on to win the Republican nomination for governor of Kentucky.
He grew up in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and attended the University of Louisville, where he played football for the Cardinals. After graduating from Brandeis School of Law, he clerked for a federal judge. Daniel later served as legal counsel to United States Senator Mitch McConnell.
Daniel and his wife are blessed with two sons: Theodore and Bennett. They reside in Louisville, Kentucky, a place they proudly call home.
Partner, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP
Thomas Travis is a member of Wyatt Tarrant & Combs' Litigation & Dispute Resolution Service Team. He assists with the representation of a broad range of clients in a variety of cases, including appellate practice, constitutional law, commercial litigation and transactional matters.
He was a clerk for Chief Justice John D. Minton, Jr., Supreme Court of Kentucky, and a legal fellow for United States Senator Rand Paul.
Senior Counsel, Husch Blackwell
Lane helps clients navigate state and federal political campaign finance law along with other election matters.
She advises professional associations and clubs, corporations and political campaigns, including presidential, congressional, gubernatorial, state Supreme Court candidates and political action committees (PACs). Clients rely on her guidance for issues of political giving, campaign finance, election law and legislative matters. Her experience includes serving on the team that represented the Republican National Committee (RNC) in the 2016 presidential election recount in Wisconsin. Lane also developed a comprehensive election integrity program for the state of Wisconsin during Governor Scott Walker's 2014 re-election campaign, and she has assisted in drafting more than 100 legislative proposals. Her current guidance to clients spans:
Lane enjoys helping clients navigate the intersection of law, politics and media awareness. She understands that due diligence in this legal sector must go beyond compliance and encompass campaign image. In addition to a focus on campaign finance matters, her career has centered on navigating the complex administrative rulemaking process, which has given her a unique knowledge of where administrative law and legislative matters align. Legal teams and clients appreciate her as a team player who always has candidates and end goals in mind.
Partner, Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP
Misha leads Troutman Peppers' national appellate and Supreme Court practice. Most recently, he successfully obtained orders from the Supreme Court blocking an unconstitutional restriction on places of worship, as well as overturning a lower court order that had blocked several state election laws. He has also argued and prevailed before the Supreme Court in Gill v. Whitford, one of the most significant redistricting cases in decades, as well as Murr v. Wisconsin, a high-stakes regulatory taking case.
Before joining Troutman, Misha served as Solicitor General of the State of Wisconsin. Misha previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court, Janice Rogers Brown of the D.C. Circuit, and Alex Kozinski of the 9th Circuit. He graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was President of the Federalist Society Chapter.
Partner, Eimer Stahl LLP
Ryan is a partner at Eimer Stahl LLP and is based in the firm’s Madison office. He focuses his practice on appellate and complex litigation in a wide variety of areas, including antitrust, constitutional law, corporate law, environmental, ERISA, products liability, and white collar. As part of his practice, Ryan devotes significant time to matters of legal strategy and the art of written and oral advocacy.
Ryan previously served as Chief Deputy Solicitor General of Wisconsin, securing numerous wins in the Supreme Court of the United States, in three federal courts of appeal, and in the state supreme court. Ryan built national, bipartisan coalitions of attorneys general and agencies in support of several lawsuits and briefing efforts, including a Wisconsin-led, 12-state coalition whose suit against the Federal Communications Commission prompted that agency to reverse a major new rule. When he left government, Ryan had a perfect win record in all of his cases to have reached final judgment.
Earlier in his career, Ryan worked in Washington D.C. as an associate in the appellate group of one of the world’s largest law firms.
Ryan also served as a law clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court for the Honorable Antonin Scalia and on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the Honorable Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain.
Ryan was named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30: Law and Policy” list in 2017. His briefing has won awards from the National Association of Attorneys General and the International Municipal Lawyers Association. He has also won a “best brief” accolade from the State Bar of Wisconsin in the civil category for his written work defending Wisconsin’s right-to-work law.
State Court Docket Watch: McClay v. Airport Management Services, LLC
Mark A. Behrens
In McClay v. Airport Management Services, LLC,[1] the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the state’s $750,000...
A Discussion on Nationwide Injunctions
Carmine G. Iaccarino, Paul E. Salamanca, Misha Tseytlin, Gregory F. Van Tatenhove
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
A Discussion on Nationwide Injunctions
Carmine G. Iaccarino, Paul E. Salamanca, Misha Tseytlin, Gregory F. Van Tatenhove
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Covid-19 & Constitutional Law
Allison Joy Ball, Lesley Bilby, Victor B. Maddox, Douglas McSwain, Hiram Sasser, William Thro
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Covid-19 & Constitutional Law
Allison Joy Ball, Lesley Bilby, Victor B. Maddox, Douglas McSwain, Hiram Sasser, William Thro
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Issues in Election Law & Election Integrity
Michael G. Adams, Brian L. Frye, Rachel Kleinfeld, Thomas E. Travis
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Issues in Election Law & Election Integrity
Michael G. Adams, Brian L. Frye, Rachel Kleinfeld, Thomas E. Travis
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Opening Remarks by Attorney General Daniel Cameron
Daniel Cameron, Thomas E. Travis
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Opening Remarks by Attorney General Daniel Cameron
Daniel Cameron, Thomas E. Travis
2020 Kentucky Chapters Conference
On October 14-15, the Federalist Society's Kentucky lawyers chapters hosted their annual conference via online...
Wisconsin Supreme Court 2019-2020 Term in Review
Lane Ruhland, Misha Tseytlin, Ryan J. Walsh
Madison Lawyers Chapter
On October 7, 2020, the Federalist Society's Madison Lawyers Chapter hosted a webinar panel to...