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.
Staff Attorney, Shook Hardy & Bacon
Sarah works with Shook Hardy & Bacon’s Public Policy Group, whose aim is to improve civil litigation through judicial education, communications and legal scholarship; she also is a member of the Litigation practice group. Since joining the firm, she also has worked on construction industry-related arbitrations.
Before joining Shook, Sarah worked on litigation and administrative appeals for the Civil Beat Law Center in Hawaii, which provides advice and representation to the public and the media to achieve transparency in government. During law school, Sarah was senior research assistant to Andrew F. Popper during his work on the third edition of Administrative Law: A Contemporary Approach.
Legal Director & General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
Kent S. Scheidegger has been the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation since December 1986. He also served as Chairman of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society 2003 to 2005. His articles on criminal and constitutional law have been published in law reviews, national legal publications, and congressional reports. Legal arguments authored by Mr. Scheidegger have been cited and incorporated in several precedent-setting United States Supreme Court decisions.
After receiving a degree in physics with honors from New Mexico State University in 1976, Mr. Scheidegger served for six years in the United States Air Force as a Nuclear Research Officer. He took his law degree with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982 and practiced civil law in Northern California. He was general counsel of California Cooler, Inc. from 1984 until 1986, when he joined the Foundation.
Jason Bedrick is director of policy for EdChoice. Previously, he was policy analyst with the Cato Institute’s Center for Educational Freedom. He also served as a legislator in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and was an education policy research fellow at the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy.
Bedrick received his master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he was a fellow at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government. His thesis, “Choosing to Learn,” assessed scholarship tax credit programs operating in eight states, including their program design, impact on student performance, fiscal impact, and popularity.
Joseph Tartakovsky, Author of The Lives of the Constitution: Ten Exceptional Minds that Shaped America's Supreme Law.
Joseph Tartakovsky is author of The Lives of the Constitution: Ten Exceptional Minds that Shaped America’s Supreme Law (2018) and the former Deputy Solicitor General of Nevada. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times.
Appellate Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center
Brian Frazelle is Constitutional Accountability Center’s Appellate Counsel. Before joining CAC, Mr. Frazelle was an Attorney-Advisor at the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent, bipartisan agency within the executive branch. Hired as the Board’s first employee in 2013, he helped review the legality, constitutionality, and policy implications of federal antiterrorism measures in order to ensure the adequate protection of civil liberties and privacy; he also contributed to public reports issued by the Board that have influenced recent debates and reforms concerning the government’s surveillance powers. Earlier in his career, Mr. Frazelle was the Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellow at Public Citizen Litigation Group, where he was the lead author of numerous briefs successfully opposing Supreme Court review as well as a merits-stage amicus brief on which the Court’s majority opinion relied. Mr. Frazelle served as a law clerk for Judge Paul L. Friedman of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he was a senior editor for the Yale Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Mary Washington and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Assistant Attorney General, Alabama Attorney General's Office
Laura has been with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office since 2012, where she litigates the defense of state statutes that have been challenged in state or federal court. She was named a Supreme Court Fellow by the National Association of Attorneys General for October Term 2016, for which she wrote the States’ amicus brief in Lee v. United States.
Frank Knaack is the Executive Director of Alabama Appleseed, where he serves as the organization’s chief strategic officer and voice for its mission, vision, values, and programs. Prior to joining Alabama Appleseed, Frank spent nearly eight years with the ACLU and its Virginia and Texas affiliates. Most recently, Frank served as the Director of Public Policy and Communications for the ACLU of Virginia, where he led the organization’s advocacy before state and local government bodies and oversaw the design and implementation of the organization’s communications strategy. Under his leadership the organization secured major public policy victories in the areas of criminal justice, death penalty, government surveillance, reproductive freedom, and immigrants’ rights. Prior to joining the ACLU of Virginia, Frank developed and managed the ACLU of Texas’ statewide campaigns and led the organization’s successful efforts at the Texas Legislature to pass legislation designed to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. Frank began his human rights advocacy career with the national ACLU, where he researched domestic human rights violations and coordinated national advocacy campaigns designed to hold the United States accountable to its international human rights treaty obligations. Frank has also served as a Palestine Works Fellow with Adalah.
Frank has been quoted on human rights issues in a variety of publications including The Washington Post, Slate, and the Associated Press. Frank received his M.A. in International Human Rights Law from The American University in Cairo and B.A. from the University of Vermont.
Former Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, The White House
Jordan is an experienced litigator and public policy leader with significant experience in federal trial and appellate matters. He advises clients on complex federal litigation and appeals informed by senior service in the White House, federal judicial clerkships, and private practice.
Jordan previously served as a Special Assistant to the President on the White House Domestic Policy Council and as an advisor to the White House Office of American Innovation. In those roles, he helped shape federal policy on criminal justice, regulatory reform, and law enforcement matters. He played a central role in implementing the FIRST STEP Act, coordinated review of major executive actions, and oversaw clemency reviews with the Office of White House Counsel and the Department of Justice, working across federal agencies to execute complex policy initiatives.
Earlier, Jordan served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Labor, where he advised on workforce and reentry policy and provided legal review of significant departmental guidance and funding initiatives.
Prior to his federal service, Jordan worked with nonprofit policy organizations in Washington, D.C., including the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Prosperity, focusing on criminal justice reform and constitutional issues. He contributed to policy development efforts and provided testimony and legal briefings to state legislatures. For his accomplishments on these issues, he was named to Forbes 30-Under-30 in Law & Policy in 2018.
Jordan also had the privilege of serving as a judicial law clerk to the Hon. Barbara Lagoa of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Hon. Aileen M. Cannon of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Following his service in the White House, Jordan practiced as a civil litigator in Miami, serving on multiple trial teams and representing clients in complex matters in federal and state courts, with regular appearances in both trial and appellate proceedings.
In 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Jordan to serve on the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, where he currently serves as Vice Chair. In that role, he evaluates applicants for judicial office and participates in the recommendation of nominees to the Governor.
Jordan earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Marshall University and his J.D. from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law.
Appellate Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center
Brian Frazelle is Constitutional Accountability Center’s Appellate Counsel. Before joining CAC, Mr. Frazelle was an Attorney-Advisor at the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent, bipartisan agency within the executive branch. Hired as the Board’s first employee in 2013, he helped review the legality, constitutionality, and policy implications of federal antiterrorism measures in order to ensure the adequate protection of civil liberties and privacy; he also contributed to public reports issued by the Board that have influenced recent debates and reforms concerning the government’s surveillance powers. Earlier in his career, Mr. Frazelle was the Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellow at Public Citizen Litigation Group, where he was the lead author of numerous briefs successfully opposing Supreme Court review as well as a merits-stage amicus brief on which the Court’s majority opinion relied. Mr. Frazelle served as a law clerk for Judge Paul L. Friedman of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He is a graduate of Yale Law School, where he was a senior editor for the Yale Law Journal. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Mary Washington and holds a master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Assistant Attorney General, Alabama Attorney General's Office
Laura has been with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office since 2012, where she litigates the defense of state statutes that have been challenged in state or federal court. She was named a Supreme Court Fellow by the National Association of Attorneys General for October Term 2016, for which she wrote the States’ amicus brief in Lee v. United States.
2017 Civil Justice Update
Mark A. Behrens, Sarah Goggans
This paper reviews key civil justice issues and reforms in 2017. Part I focuses on...
Kernan v. Cuero and Dunn v. Madison - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Kent Scheidegger
On November 6, 2017, the Supreme Court issued per curiam decisions in Kernan v. Cuero...
Civil Asset Forfeiture
Birmingham, ALTopics
Docket Watch: The Constitutionality of School Choice Tax Credits (Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue)
The Georgia Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue continues the...
The Constitutionality of School Choice Tax Credits (Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue)
Jason Bedrick
The Georgia Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Gaddy v. Georgia Department of Revenue continues the unbroken record...
An Evening with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall
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Joseph Tartakovsky
In June 2017, the Supreme Court decided two cases involving habeas corpus petitions filed by...
Lee v. US: Effectiveness of Counsel - Podcast
Brian R. Frazelle, Laura Howell
Jae Lee lived in the United States as a legal permanent resident since 1982. In...
Lee v. US: Effectiveness of Counsel
TeleforumLunch with Attorney General Steve Marshall
Montgomery, Alabama