Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
Lee Philip Rudofsky is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Prior to his 2019 appointment by President Trump, Judge Rudofsky served as the Solicitor General of Arkansas, an Assistant General Counsel at Walmart, a Senior Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and counsel to several Republican political campaigns. Today, in addition to his judicial service, Judge Rudofsky teaches law school classes on founding-era constitutional history and, separately, speaks to students across the country about the October 7th Massacre and the subsequent Israeli response. In 2024, Judge Rudofsky helped establish an annual judicial education mission to Israel that offers American judges the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Israeli legal system, Israeli society, and legal issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
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.
Of Counsel, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Chris’ public policy work focuses on tort law and civil justice system reform. His work is generally divided among legislative efforts, appellate litigation, and liability counseling. Chris has drafted model legislation to be introduced on the state and federal level, testified on numerous legislative initiatives, and authored amicus briefs to state supreme courts and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He also serves as an adviser to various business groups and trade associations interested in tort liability issues and civil justice system reform.
In addition, Chris is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI), and has assisted in the development of a variety of ALI projects implicating liability law. He has also been a recurrent guest lecturer at the U.S. Department of Justice and Wake Forest University School of Law, as well as a speaker at numerous legal conferences and industry group meetings, on issues related to tort law. Chris has additionally produced significant scholarship in the area of liability law. He has authored more than 50 legal publications on a wide range of liability issues, including articles in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, UPenn Journal of Business Law, and Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy, and has served as a contributor to tort casebooks.
Professor Emeritus of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
In 1994, Professor of Law Michael I. Krauss became the law school's first recipient of the university's "Teacher of the Year" award for his engaging and challenging approach in the classroom. Born in the United States but raised in Canada, Professor Krauss speaks legalese in two languages. He earned his B.A. cum laude from Carleton University, his LL.B. summa cum laude from the Université de Sherbrooke, and his LL.M. from Yale Law School, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar. He was Columbia University's Law and Economics Fellow in 1981. He has been teaching at George Mason since 1987 and also has taught at the law schools of Seattle University, the University of Toronto, and the Université de Sherbrooke.
Hired as a law clerk by Justice Louis-Philippe Pigeon of Canada's Supreme Court, Professor Krauss practiced law for Quebec City's largest law firm before entering academia. He also served for five years on Québec's Human Rights Commission. A Salvatori Fellow of the Heritage Foundation and an academic fellow of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Professor Krauss sits on the advisory boards of several think tanks. He served as president of the Virginia Association of Scholars and on the Board of Governors of the Education Section of the Virginia State Bar, and is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Scholars.
Professor Krauss teaches Torts, Legal Ethics and Jurisprudence, and has a strong interest in national security issues. His research on torts and ethics is nationally known. He co-authored the first edition of Legal Ethics in a Nutshell in May 2003. This book digests the Model Rules in an engaging and often critical fashion. The second edition was published in 2006. Professor Krauss is now under contract with West Publications to produce an innovative textbook on Products Liability in late 2008.
Professor Krauss received his B.A. cum laude from Carleton University, his LL.B. summa cum laude from the Université de Sherbrooke, and his LL.M. from Yale Law School.
J.D. Candidate, George Mason University
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, UpStream Healthcare
William S.W. Chang is the Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at UpStream Healthcare, having previously served in senior roles at McKesson Corporation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
At McKesson, Chang was Vice President of Regulatory Policy and Chief Legal Counsel. He led cross-functional teams that focused on enterprise priorities in key regulatory spaces. Chang advised the wide spectrum of McKesson’s businesses, including U.S. pharmaceutical distribution, medical-supply distribution, specialty and independent-community pharmacy, physician-practice management, prescription-technology services, medication access-and-adherence programs, and electronic health records.
At HHS, Chang served as Deputy General Counsel for public health, litigation, and investigations. Chang was one of the lead attorneys supporting Operation Warp Speed, working with public and private partners to build nationwide distribution and administration solutions for COVID-19 vaccines. Chang worked closely with the Deputy Secretary, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the HHS Office of the Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Justice to reform the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law in order to facilitate value-based care.
At the Department of Justice, Chang led healthcare-fraud investigations of public and private companies and individuals, and his cases spanned several districts and involved multiple state and federal agencies as well as parallel civil proceedings.
Chang has been repeatedly recognized for his contributions to healthcare. In 2022, he was the National Winner of the American Pharmacists Association Friend of Pharmacy Immunization Champion Award. The award recognized Chang for his extraordinary contributions toward fully enfranchising the pharmacy workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. For his public-health service, including during the pandemic, Chang received the Assistant Secretary for Health Exceptional Service Medal. The Medal is the highest decoration awarded to a civilian by the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. For his service at the Department of Justice, Chang received numerous accolades. Among those accolades, he twice received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service; the HHS Inspector General’s Award for Excellence in Fighting Fraud, Waste, and Abuse; and the Commendation for Demonstrated Excellence from the FBI Director.
Judge, Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal
In April 2023, Judge Jordan E. Pratt was commissioned as a member of the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal following his appointment by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Before joining the court, Judge Pratt worked as senior counsel at First Liberty Institute and served in various roles in state and federal government: as senior counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice, deputy general counsel in the U.S. Small Business Administration, and deputy solicitor general in the Florida Office of the Attorney General. As a deputy solicitor general, he defended significant Florida legislation and executive actions at every level of the state and federal court systems, with successful arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, the Florida Supreme Court, and Florida’s First District Court of Appeal.
Judge Pratt graduated as a co-valedictorian of his undergraduate class at the University of Florida. He then received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Florida College of Law, where he was a law review editor and president of the school’s Federalist Society and Christian Legal Society chapters. During law school, he interned for the Hon. Jeffrey S. Sutton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
After his graduation from law school, Judge Pratt served as a law clerk to the Hon. Harvey E. Schlesinger on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division. He then clerked for the Hon. Jennifer W. Elrod on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Judge Pratt has held several fellowships, including an Olin–Searle Fellowship at Florida State University’s College of Law, and has published scholarship in the Tennessee Law Review, the Nebraska Law Review, and the Mississippi Law Journal. He is a member of the Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies, and he has held several leadership roles in the organization, including service as president of its Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter from 2016 to 2019.
Solicitor General, Louisiana
In 2016, Attorney General Jeff Landry appointed Liz Murrill as the first Solicitor General for Louisiana. She has more than 25 years of experience working in diverse state and federal government legal environments and has experience handling complex litigation, state and federal appeals, and complex government transactions. Liz most recently served as the Louisiana Department of Justice's Director of Administration and, before that, Director of the Civil Division. She previously served former Governor Bobby Jindal as Executive Counsel and was Executive Counsel to the Commissioner of Administration. Liz was counsel for the Office of the Governor in the BP Oil Spill litigation and has served as a member and counsel to several state boards and commissions. She was a United States Supreme Court Judicial Fellow in 2007-08 at the Federal Judicial Center and taught appellate advocacy and legal writing at the Louisiana State University Law Center for more than ten years. Liz earned her bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University, law degree from the Louisiana State University Law Center where she was Editor-In-Chief of the Law Review, and Master of Laws in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University School of Law. She clerked for U.S. District Judge Frank J. Polozola and Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Melvin Shortess. Liz has argued three cases at the United States Supreme Court (including June Medical v. Russo and Ramos v. Louisiana) and many others at the Louisiana Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the District of Columbia Circuit, and multiple state and federal courts. Additionally, she has filed briefs in courts across the country on a wide variety of constitutional issues.
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
Lee Philip Rudofsky is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Prior to his 2019 appointment by President Trump, Judge Rudofsky served as the Solicitor General of Arkansas, an Assistant General Counsel at Walmart, a Senior Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and counsel to several Republican political campaigns. Today, in addition to his judicial service, Judge Rudofsky teaches law school classes on founding-era constitutional history and, separately, speaks to students across the country about the October 7th Massacre and the subsequent Israeli response. In 2024, Judge Rudofsky helped establish an annual judicial education mission to Israel that offers American judges the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Israeli legal system, Israeli society, and legal issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Associate Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court
Justice Wood is in her 16th year on the bench. She has been on the Supreme Court since 2015. Prior to that, she served 2 years on the Court of Appeals and 6 years on the trial court. She was appointed by then Gov. Mike Huckabee and subsequently elected to the trial, intermediate and Supreme Courts of Arkansas.
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
Lee Philip Rudofsky is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Prior to his 2019 appointment by President Trump, Judge Rudofsky served as the Solicitor General of Arkansas, an Assistant General Counsel at Walmart, a Senior Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and counsel to several Republican political campaigns. Today, in addition to his judicial service, Judge Rudofsky teaches law school classes on founding-era constitutional history and, separately, speaks to students across the country about the October 7th Massacre and the subsequent Israeli response. In 2024, Judge Rudofsky helped establish an annual judicial education mission to Israel that offers American judges the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Israeli legal system, Israeli society, and legal issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
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.
Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas v. Matthew Andrews
Lee Rudofsky
Article 5, section 20 of the Arkansas Constitution declares that “[t]he State of Arkansas shall...
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Docket Watch: Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas v. Matthew Andrews
Article 5, section 20 of the Arkansas Constitution declares that “[t]he State of Arkansas...
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Michael I. Krauss, Samantha Rocci
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Jordan E. Pratt
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