Professor Emeritus, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
In memoriam
Dr. John Baker is Professor Emeritus of Law, and previously the Dale E. Bennett Professor of Law, at Louisiana State University Law School. He is currently Visiting Professor at Peking University School of Transnational Law (via Zoom) and has been Visiting Professor at The Center for the Constitution, Georgetown Law School (2013-2020). He has also been a Visiting Fellow at Oriel College, the University of Oxford (2012-2014) and taught at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford in 2014. Dr. Baker has also been an adjunct Fellow at the Heritage Foundation (Spring, 2008) and a Distinguished Scholar at the Catholic University of America Law School (2011-12). He has taught at Tulane Law School, George Mason Law School, Pepperdine Law School, New York Law School, Hong Kong University, and the University of Dallas, School of Management and also taught and/or lectured in 17 foreign countries. Notable among his foreign visits are the
following: Visiting Professor at the University of Lyon III (France) (1999-2011); Visiting Professor at the Universidad de los Andes, Chile (2012), as a Fulbright Specialist (2006); and a Fulbright Scholar at various universities in the Philippines. Dr. Baker received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Michigan Law School and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Dallas. He also earned a Ph.D. in Political Thought from the University of London. Baker has taught over a dozen different subjects, mostly courses in public law. His main areas of interest are Constitutional Law (particularly federalism and separation of powers), Criminal Law, Anti-Terrorism Law, International Law, Health Care Law, Mediation, and Comparative Law.
In addition to law review articles and book chapters, Dr. Baker’s academic publications include Hall's Criminal Law: Cases and Materials (with Benson, Force and George; 5th ed. Michie, 1993); An Introduction to the Law of the United States (ed. with Levasseur; University Press of America, 1992). He has also published on Forbes.com, FoxNews.com, in The Washington Times, and a number of times in The Wall Street Journal. He argues in federal court, including two oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court. For many years, he co-taught courses for the Federalist Society on separation of powers with the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. In September 2016, he co-taught a Supreme Court seminar in China with Justice Samuel Alito. Following law school, he served as a law clerk in federal district court and as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans before joining LSU in 1975. While a professor, he has been as a consultant to USAID, USIA (since rolled into the State Department), the Justice Department, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, and the Office of Planning in the White House. He served on an ABA Task Force which issued the report, The Federalization of Crime (1998) and later as a consultant to the “Bi-Partisan Task Force on the Over- federalization of Crime” (2012-2014) created by the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. Dr. Baker was a co-founder of the first iteration (1995) of Stratfor Inc., a global intelligence agency. He co-authored its first book: The Intelligence Edge (with Friedman, Friedman and Chapman; Crown Books/Random House 1997). In 2022, he began a short, weekly video podcast available on YouTube and Rumble, The Baker Brief.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (ret.) and former U.S. Senator
James L. Buckley was born in New York City in 1923, grew up in rural Connecticut, and received his B.A. degree from Yale. Following service as a naval officer in World War II, he returned to New Haven to secure his law degree. After several years in private practice, he joined a group of small companies engaged in oil exploration abroad. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1970 as the candidate of New York's Conservative Party. He failed of re-election; but he has since served as an under secretary of state in the Reagan administration, as president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Munich, Germany, and, most recently, as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He retired in 2000 and now resides in Bethesda, Maryland.
Robert E. Scott Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, University of Virginia School of Law; Alice McKean Young Regents Chair in Law Emeritus, University of Texas
Douglas Laycock is perhaps the nation’s leading authority on the law of religious liberty and also on the law of remedies. He has taught and written about these topics for more than four decades at the University of Chicago, the University of Texas, the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia. He retired from teaching at UVA Law School in May 2023.
Laycock has testified frequently before Congress and has argued many cases in the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, where he has served as lead counsel in six cases and has also filed influential amicus briefs. He is the author (co-author in the most recent edition) of the leading casebook Modern American Remedies, the award-winning monograph The Death of the Irreparable Injury Rule and many articles in leading law reviews. He co-edited a collection of essays, Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty.
His many writings on religious liberty have been republished in a five-volume collection:
Laycock resigned from the council and as first vice president of the American Law Institute to become co-reporter for the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Remedies. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He earned his B.A. from Michigan State University and his J.D. from the University of Chicago.
Stuyvesant P. Comfort Professor of Law; Director, Center for Financial Institutions; and Co-Director, Center for Civil Justice, New York University School of Law
Geoffrey Miller is an author or editor of a dozen books and more than 200 articles in the fields of financial institutions, contract law, corporate and securities law, constitutional law, civil procedure, legal history, jurisprudence, and ancient law. He has taught a wide range of subjects including law and economics, corporations, compliance and risk management, property, regulation of financial institutions, land development, securities law, the legal profession, and legal theory. Miller received his BA magna cum laude from Princeton in 1973 and his JD from Columbia in 1978, where he was a Stone Scholar and editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review. He clerked for Judge Carl McGowan of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and Justice Byron White of the US Supreme Court. After two years as an attorney adviser at the Office of Legal Counsel of the US Department of Justice and one year with a Washington, DC, law firm, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School in 1983 and NYU School of Law in 1995.
Miller has been a visiting professor or visiting scholar at Columbia University, Harvard University, University of Minnesota, University of Basel (Switzerland), University of Genoa (Italy), Collegio Carlo Alberto (Italy), Study Center Gerzensee (Switzerland), Vanderbilt University, University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), University of Frankfurt (Germany), University of Sydney (Australia), University of Auckland (New Zealand), and the Bank of Japan. Miller is a founder of the Society for Empirical Legal Studies, a scholarly organization devoted to promoting statistical and other empirical techniques in the study of legal institutions. He is founder and director of NYU School of Law’s Center for Financial Institutions, co-director of the Center for Civil Justice, co-founder of and Senior Academic Fellow at NYU's Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, co-convener of the Global Economic Policy Forum, a member of the board of directors of State Farm Bank, and a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Earl Warren Professor of Public Law (Emeritus), UC Berkeley School of Law
Jesse Choper served as law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren of the U.S. Supreme Court following graduation from law school. He taught at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1960, and at the University of Minnesota Law School from 1961 to 1965. He joined the Berkeley Law faculty in 1965. Choper has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, Fordham Law School, University of Milan, Free University in Amsterdam, Autonoma University in Barcelona, University of New South Wales in Sydney, University of Lucerne in Switzerland, and Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon and Porto. He served as Berkeley Law’s dean from 1982 to 1992.
From 1979 to 1998, Choper was one of the three major lecturers at U.S. Law Week’s Annual Constitutional Law Conference in Washington, D.C. He has delivered 20 titled lectures at major universities throughout the country, including the Cooley Lectures at Michigan, the Stevens Lecture at Cornell, the Baum Lecture at Illinois, and the Lockhart Lecture at Minnesota. He has served on the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools, and on the executive council of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (of which he was vice president for more than ten years). He was national president of the Order of the Coif and is a member of the American Law Institute. In 1998 he received the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award and the Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction at Berkeley Law in 2006. In 2005 the Berkeley Law Alumni Association presented Choper with the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award and the University of Pennsylvania Law School gave him the James Wilson Award, its highest award for alumni.
Choper’s major publications include the books, Judicial Review and the National Political Process: A Functional Reconsideration of the Role of the Supreme Court, which received the Order of the Coif Triennial Book Award in 1982, and Securing Religious Liberty: Principles for Judicial Interpretation of the Religion Clauses. His recent publications include the thirteenth edition of his Constitutional Law casebooks; the eighth edition of his Corporations casebook; the second edition of The Supreme Court and Its Justices; “The Political Question Doctrine: Suggested Criteria,” in Duke Law Journal (2005); “Wartime Process: A Dialogue on Congressional Power to Remove Issues From the Federal Courts,” in California Law Review (2007) (co-author); and “Who’s Afraid of the Eleventh Amendment? The Limited Impact of the Court’s Sovereign Immunity Rulings,” in Columbia Law Review (2006) (co-author).
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Frank H. Easterbrook is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a Senior Lecturer at the Law School of the University of Chicago. He was Chief Judge from 2006–2013. Before joining the court in 1985, he was the Lee andBrena Freeman Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, where he taught and wrote in antitrust, securities, corporate law, jurisprudence, and criminal procedure. He has published The Economic Structure of Corporate Law (with Daniel R. Fischel) and about 100 scholarly articles. He served as Co-Editor of the Journal of Law and Economics from 1982 to 1991 and as a member of the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure from 1991 to 1997. Before joining the faculty of the Law School in 1979, Judge Easterbrook was Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College (B.A. with high honors, 1970) and the University of Chicago (J.D. cum laude, 1973), and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Law Institute, the Mont Pelerin Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Order of the Coif.
Author
David F. Epstein is the author of The Political Theory of The Federalist.
Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law, Yale Law School
Jonathan R. Macey is Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law at Yale University, and Professor in the Yale School of Management. From 1991 – 2004, Professor Macey was J. DuPratt White Professor of Law, Director of the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics at Cornell Law School, and Professor of Law and Business at the Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Business. Professor Macey earned his B.A. cum laude from Harvard in 1977, and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1982, where he was Article and Book Review editor of The Yale Law Journal. In 1996, Professor Macey received a Ph.D. honoris causa from the Stockholm School of Economics. Following law school, Professor Macey was law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Professor Macey is the author of several books including the two-volume treatise, Macey on Corporation Laws, published in 1998 (Aspen Law & Business), and co-author of two leading casebooks, Corporations: Including Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies (2003 Thomson West), which is in its eighth edition, and Banking Law and Regulation (2002 Aspen Law & Business), which is now in its third edition. He also is the author of over 100 scholarly articles. His recent articles have appeared in the Banking Law Journal, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, The Yale Law Journal, the Cornell Law Review, the Journal of Law and Economics, and the Brookings Wharton Papers on Financial Institutions. He has published numerous editorials in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, and The National Law Journal.
Professor Macey has taught at major universities throughout the world, including Bocconi University (Milan), the University of Tokyo; the University of Toronto; the University of Turin, the University of Amsterdam Department of Finance, and the Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Law. He also has been Professor of Law at the University of Chicago (1990) and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (1999). Professor Macey is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Economic Research (ICER) in Turin, Italy. Professor Macey also serves on the Academic Advisory Board (Comitato Scientifico) of the Associazione Disiano Preite for the study of corporate law (per lo studio del diritto dell’impresa). In 1995, Professor Macey was awarded the Paul M. Bator prize for excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Public Service by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. In 1996, he received a Ph.D., honoris causa from the Stockholm School of Economics. And in 1998, he received the D.P. Jacobs prize for the most significant paper in volume 6 of the Journal of Financial Intermediation for his paper (co-authored with Maureen O’Hara), “The Law & Economics of Best Execution.”
In 1999 Professor Macey was made an honorary Fellow of the Society For Advanced Legal Studies. In 2000, Professor Macey became a member of the Legal Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange. In 2001 Professor Macey was appointed a Bertil Daniellson Distinguished Visiting Professor in Banking and Finance at the Stockholm School of Economics. In 2002 Professor Macey was appointed to the Economic Advisory Board of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). In 2004 Professor Macey was awarded a Teaching Award by the Yale Law Women in recognition of his “commitment to excellence in teaching, mentoring and inspiring.” In 2005 Professor Macey became a member of the Board of Editors of Thomson West Publishing Company.
Judge (ret.), United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
James Leo Ryan is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He joined the court in 1985 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan.
Earl Warren Professor of Public Law (Emeritus), UC Berkeley School of Law
Jesse Choper served as law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren of the U.S. Supreme Court following graduation from law school. He taught at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from 1957 to 1960, and at the University of Minnesota Law School from 1961 to 1965. He joined the Berkeley Law faculty in 1965. Choper has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School, Fordham Law School, University of Milan, Free University in Amsterdam, Autonoma University in Barcelona, University of New South Wales in Sydney, University of Lucerne in Switzerland, and Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon and Porto. He served as Berkeley Law’s dean from 1982 to 1992.
From 1979 to 1998, Choper was one of the three major lecturers at U.S. Law Week’s Annual Constitutional Law Conference in Washington, D.C. He has delivered 20 titled lectures at major universities throughout the country, including the Cooley Lectures at Michigan, the Stevens Lecture at Cornell, the Baum Lecture at Illinois, and the Lockhart Lecture at Minnesota. He has served on the executive committee of the Association of American Law Schools, and on the executive council of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (of which he was vice president for more than ten years). He was national president of the Order of the Coif and is a member of the American Law Institute. In 1998 he received the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award and the Rutter Award for Teaching Distinction at Berkeley Law in 2006. In 2005 the Berkeley Law Alumni Association presented Choper with the Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award and the University of Pennsylvania Law School gave him the James Wilson Award, its highest award for alumni.
Choper’s major publications include the books, Judicial Review and the National Political Process: A Functional Reconsideration of the Role of the Supreme Court, which received the Order of the Coif Triennial Book Award in 1982, and Securing Religious Liberty: Principles for Judicial Interpretation of the Religion Clauses. His recent publications include the thirteenth edition of his Constitutional Law casebooks; the eighth edition of his Corporations casebook; the second edition of The Supreme Court and Its Justices; “The Political Question Doctrine: Suggested Criteria,” in Duke Law Journal (2005); “Wartime Process: A Dialogue on Congressional Power to Remove Issues From the Federal Courts,” in California Law Review (2007) (co-author); and “Who’s Afraid of the Eleventh Amendment? The Limited Impact of the Court’s Sovereign Immunity Rulings,” in Columbia Law Review (2006) (co-author).
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Frank H. Easterbrook is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a Senior Lecturer at the Law School of the University of Chicago. He was Chief Judge from 2006–2013. Before joining the court in 1985, he was the Lee andBrena Freeman Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, where he taught and wrote in antitrust, securities, corporate law, jurisprudence, and criminal procedure. He has published The Economic Structure of Corporate Law (with Daniel R. Fischel) and about 100 scholarly articles. He served as Co-Editor of the Journal of Law and Economics from 1982 to 1991 and as a member of the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure from 1991 to 1997. Before joining the faculty of the Law School in 1979, Judge Easterbrook was Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College (B.A. with high honors, 1970) and the University of Chicago (J.D. cum laude, 1973), and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Law Institute, the Mont Pelerin Society, Phi Beta Kappa, and the Order of the Coif.
Author
David F. Epstein is the author of The Political Theory of The Federalist.
Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law, Yale Law School
Jonathan R. Macey is Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance, and Securities Law at Yale University, and Professor in the Yale School of Management. From 1991 – 2004, Professor Macey was J. DuPratt White Professor of Law, Director of the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics at Cornell Law School, and Professor of Law and Business at the Cornell University Johnson Graduate School of Business. Professor Macey earned his B.A. cum laude from Harvard in 1977, and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1982, where he was Article and Book Review editor of The Yale Law Journal. In 1996, Professor Macey received a Ph.D. honoris causa from the Stockholm School of Economics. Following law school, Professor Macey was law clerk to Judge Henry J. Friendly on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Professor Macey is the author of several books including the two-volume treatise, Macey on Corporation Laws, published in 1998 (Aspen Law & Business), and co-author of two leading casebooks, Corporations: Including Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies (2003 Thomson West), which is in its eighth edition, and Banking Law and Regulation (2002 Aspen Law & Business), which is now in its third edition. He also is the author of over 100 scholarly articles. His recent articles have appeared in the Banking Law Journal, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Stanford Law Review, The Yale Law Journal, the Cornell Law Review, the Journal of Law and Economics, and the Brookings Wharton Papers on Financial Institutions. He has published numerous editorials in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Los Angeles Times, and The National Law Journal.
Professor Macey has taught at major universities throughout the world, including Bocconi University (Milan), the University of Tokyo; the University of Toronto; the University of Turin, the University of Amsterdam Department of Finance, and the Stockholm School of Economics, Department of Law. He also has been Professor of Law at the University of Chicago (1990) and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School (1999). Professor Macey is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for Economic Research (ICER) in Turin, Italy. Professor Macey also serves on the Academic Advisory Board (Comitato Scientifico) of the Associazione Disiano Preite for the study of corporate law (per lo studio del diritto dell’impresa). In 1995, Professor Macey was awarded the Paul M. Bator prize for excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Public Service by the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. In 1996, he received a Ph.D., honoris causa from the Stockholm School of Economics. And in 1998, he received the D.P. Jacobs prize for the most significant paper in volume 6 of the Journal of Financial Intermediation for his paper (co-authored with Maureen O’Hara), “The Law & Economics of Best Execution.”
In 1999 Professor Macey was made an honorary Fellow of the Society For Advanced Legal Studies. In 2000, Professor Macey became a member of the Legal Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange. In 2001 Professor Macey was appointed a Bertil Daniellson Distinguished Visiting Professor in Banking and Finance at the Stockholm School of Economics. In 2002 Professor Macey was appointed to the Economic Advisory Board of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). In 2004 Professor Macey was awarded a Teaching Award by the Yale Law Women in recognition of his “commitment to excellence in teaching, mentoring and inspiring.” In 2005 Professor Macey became a member of the Board of Editors of Thomson West Publishing Company.
Judge (ret.), United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
James Leo Ryan is a federal judge on senior status with the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. He joined the court in 1985 after being nominated by President Ronald Reagan.
Chairman, The Ashcroft Law Firm LLC, and former United States Attorney General
Former U.S. Attorney General, Governor and U.S. Senator John Ashcroft serves as the firm’s founder and chairman. As Attorney General, and the U.S. Justice Department’s CEO, Mr. Ashcroft led the world’s largest and foremost international law firm and law enforcement agency—an organization larger than most Fortune 500 companies, with over 122,000 employees. Mr. Ashcroft integrated strategic planning, budgeting, and performance measures, which resulted in the DOJ earning a clean audit for the first time in its history.
Mr. Ashcroft boldly led the Department of Justice through the transformational period after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He subsequently reorganized the Department to focus on its number one priority: preventing terrorism. The tough antiterrorism campaign he directed helped keep America safe throughout his tenure and resulted in the dismantling of terrorist cells across America and the disruption of over 150 terrorist plots worldwide.
Within two months of the attacks, and with financial markets still reeling, the unprecedented corporate scandals at ENRON, WorldCom and dozens more unfolded, further destabilizing the weakened economy. John Ashcroft was called upon to restore America’s faith in the integrity of our marketplace. He marshaled the resources of the federal government to bring to justice those guilty of massive corporate fraud. At all times, he demanded that cases be brought swiftly, with appropriate serious penalties—always taking into account the best interests of the employees and shareholders whose lives were most directly affected.
From 1985 to 1993, as Governor of Missouri, Ashcroft balanced eight consecutive budgets, built a $120 million budget surplus and established a $190 million operating reserve. His management and fiscal integrity helped generate 338,000 new jobs state-wide, a triple-A bond rating from the three major Wall Street rating agencies, a per capita state and local tax burden ranked 49th in the United States and a 12 percent increase in personal income. His new education performance standards led Fortune magazine to name him as one of the nation’s top ten Education Governors. In 1991, the non-partisan National Governors Association voted him Chairman.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, he brought his management skills to Washington where he authored budget rules protecting Social Security and Medicare and helped balance the federal budget for the first time in decades. As a member of the Senate Judiciary, Foreign Relations and Commerce Committees, he worked to reform laws regulating the banking, telecommunications, aviation, transportation and information technology industries.
In 1973, Mr. Ashcroft served as Missouri Auditor, followed by two terms as Missouri Attorney General. He was raised in Springfield, Missouri, received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.
Founding Partner, PNT Law Firm
Austin R. Nimocks has litigated in state and federal courts across the country. Mr. Nimocks focuses his practice on civil litigation (plaintiff and defense), commercial litigation, corporate matters, federal compliance, internal investigations, government relations, white-collar criminal defense, and religious freedom.
Litigating for over 25 years, including three as a public defender, Mr. Nimocks has practiced law within the private, government, and non-profit sectors, geographically spanning the United States and beyond.
Prior to starting the PNT Law Firm (www.pntlawfirm.com), Mr. Nimocks worked for former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in the Ashcroft Law Firm in Austin, Texas. For General Ashcroft, Mr. Nimocks litigated cases against all levels of government (federal, state, and local).
Prior to joining General Ashcroft, Mr. Nimocks served in the Executive Administration of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as both Special Counsel and the Associate Deputy Attorney General for Special Litigation. During his time with General Paxton, Mr. Nimocks coordinated and led myriad multi-state lawsuits and strategic litigation against the federal government, other states, and local government entities. On behalf of Texas (and other states), Mr. Nimocks’ teams achieved many victories against the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies
Before joining the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Nimocks served as Senior Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (“ADF”) in Washington, D.C. While at ADF, Mr. Nimocks handled appeals and litigated constitutional cases in state and federal courts across the country, including matters regarding marriage, parental rights, voters’ rights, and religious freedom. Mr. Nimocks also authored several pieces of legislation and policy memoranda and testified before numerous state legislatures, as well as Congress. While with ADF, Mr. Nimocks made regular public appearances, speaking at numerous events and participating in hundreds of television, radio, and newspaper interviews with all major national media outlets.
Mr. Nimocks began practicing law on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In addition to his time spent as a public defender, Mr. Nimocks’ law practice in Mississippi was extremely diverse, involving personal injury, commercial litigation, appellate, contracts, real estate, administrative law, bankruptcy, libel & defamation, insurance defense, general civil litigation, and other matters.
In addition to his state bar admissions (TX, DC, MI, AZ, AL, MS), Mr. Nimocks is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C., First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as numerous federal district courts.
Mr. Nimocks is a native Texan, born and raised in the Fort Worth area. Mr. Nimocks resides and attends church in Dripping Springs, Texas, along with his wife and three daughters.
Partner, Troutman Pepper Locke
Lu is a former senior U.S. government official with a wealth of experience advising U.S. and international clients with complex regulatory and enforcement challenges. He has extensive experience representing clients facing state or federal government investigations and enforcement actions, conducting internal investigations, and advising corporate clients on regulatory compliance practices and in crisis response scenarios. As an accomplished legal strategist, Lu provides counsel to CEOs, CLO’s, and other executives, as well as boards of directors across various industries on a myriad of complex issues.
Lu’s clients benefit from his decades of experience providing strategic advice to top-tier government leaders, including the President of the United States and multiple United States Attorneys General. His career is marked by significant roles in federal and state government.
As Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush, he was a chief advisor to the President and a member of the White House Senior Staff. In that role he provided strategic and human capital related policy advice directly to the President regarding all legal, national security, and international affairs, and presidential appointments administration-wide.
As Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, he served as Chief of Staff to the Associate Attorney General and had oversight of litigation emanating from the Tax, Civil Rights, Civil, and Community Relations Service Divisions of the agency. At the Department, he also previously served as Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, and as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, the division responsible for representing the U.S. in all constitutional challenges to U.S. law and defending the U.S. on all torts, federal programs, and immigration-related litigation.
Prior to joining private practice, Lu also served as the General Counsel for the federal law enforcement agency charged with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse of the $50+ billion appropriated for the reconstruction of Iraq where he oversaw several federal fraud prosecutions in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Frauds Section.
Earlier in his career, Lu served as an Assistant Attorney General and Trial Attorney for the Office of the Texas Attorney General, where he handled a robust civil litigation practice at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal court.
Chairman, The Ashcroft Law Firm LLC, and former United States Attorney General
Former U.S. Attorney General, Governor and U.S. Senator John Ashcroft serves as the firm’s founder and chairman. As Attorney General, and the U.S. Justice Department’s CEO, Mr. Ashcroft led the world’s largest and foremost international law firm and law enforcement agency—an organization larger than most Fortune 500 companies, with over 122,000 employees. Mr. Ashcroft integrated strategic planning, budgeting, and performance measures, which resulted in the DOJ earning a clean audit for the first time in its history.
Mr. Ashcroft boldly led the Department of Justice through the transformational period after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He subsequently reorganized the Department to focus on its number one priority: preventing terrorism. The tough antiterrorism campaign he directed helped keep America safe throughout his tenure and resulted in the dismantling of terrorist cells across America and the disruption of over 150 terrorist plots worldwide.
Within two months of the attacks, and with financial markets still reeling, the unprecedented corporate scandals at ENRON, WorldCom and dozens more unfolded, further destabilizing the weakened economy. John Ashcroft was called upon to restore America’s faith in the integrity of our marketplace. He marshaled the resources of the federal government to bring to justice those guilty of massive corporate fraud. At all times, he demanded that cases be brought swiftly, with appropriate serious penalties—always taking into account the best interests of the employees and shareholders whose lives were most directly affected.
From 1985 to 1993, as Governor of Missouri, Ashcroft balanced eight consecutive budgets, built a $120 million budget surplus and established a $190 million operating reserve. His management and fiscal integrity helped generate 338,000 new jobs state-wide, a triple-A bond rating from the three major Wall Street rating agencies, a per capita state and local tax burden ranked 49th in the United States and a 12 percent increase in personal income. His new education performance standards led Fortune magazine to name him as one of the nation’s top ten Education Governors. In 1991, the non-partisan National Governors Association voted him Chairman.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, he brought his management skills to Washington where he authored budget rules protecting Social Security and Medicare and helped balance the federal budget for the first time in decades. As a member of the Senate Judiciary, Foreign Relations and Commerce Committees, he worked to reform laws regulating the banking, telecommunications, aviation, transportation and information technology industries.
In 1973, Mr. Ashcroft served as Missouri Auditor, followed by two terms as Missouri Attorney General. He was raised in Springfield, Missouri, received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.
Founding Partner, PNT Law Firm
Austin R. Nimocks has litigated in state and federal courts across the country. Mr. Nimocks focuses his practice on civil litigation (plaintiff and defense), commercial litigation, corporate matters, federal compliance, internal investigations, government relations, white-collar criminal defense, and religious freedom.
Litigating for over 25 years, including three as a public defender, Mr. Nimocks has practiced law within the private, government, and non-profit sectors, geographically spanning the United States and beyond.
Prior to starting the PNT Law Firm (www.pntlawfirm.com), Mr. Nimocks worked for former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in the Ashcroft Law Firm in Austin, Texas. For General Ashcroft, Mr. Nimocks litigated cases against all levels of government (federal, state, and local).
Prior to joining General Ashcroft, Mr. Nimocks served in the Executive Administration of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as both Special Counsel and the Associate Deputy Attorney General for Special Litigation. During his time with General Paxton, Mr. Nimocks coordinated and led myriad multi-state lawsuits and strategic litigation against the federal government, other states, and local government entities. On behalf of Texas (and other states), Mr. Nimocks’ teams achieved many victories against the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other federal agencies
Before joining the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Nimocks served as Senior Counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (“ADF”) in Washington, D.C. While at ADF, Mr. Nimocks handled appeals and litigated constitutional cases in state and federal courts across the country, including matters regarding marriage, parental rights, voters’ rights, and religious freedom. Mr. Nimocks also authored several pieces of legislation and policy memoranda and testified before numerous state legislatures, as well as Congress. While with ADF, Mr. Nimocks made regular public appearances, speaking at numerous events and participating in hundreds of television, radio, and newspaper interviews with all major national media outlets.
Mr. Nimocks began practicing law on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In addition to his time spent as a public defender, Mr. Nimocks’ law practice in Mississippi was extremely diverse, involving personal injury, commercial litigation, appellate, contracts, real estate, administrative law, bankruptcy, libel & defamation, insurance defense, general civil litigation, and other matters.
In addition to his state bar admissions (TX, DC, MI, AZ, AL, MS), Mr. Nimocks is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the D.C., First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits, as well as numerous federal district courts.
Mr. Nimocks is a native Texan, born and raised in the Fort Worth area. Mr. Nimocks resides and attends church in Dripping Springs, Texas, along with his wife and three daughters.
Partner, Troutman Pepper Locke
Lu is a former senior U.S. government official with a wealth of experience advising U.S. and international clients with complex regulatory and enforcement challenges. He has extensive experience representing clients facing state or federal government investigations and enforcement actions, conducting internal investigations, and advising corporate clients on regulatory compliance practices and in crisis response scenarios. As an accomplished legal strategist, Lu provides counsel to CEOs, CLO’s, and other executives, as well as boards of directors across various industries on a myriad of complex issues.
Lu’s clients benefit from his decades of experience providing strategic advice to top-tier government leaders, including the President of the United States and multiple United States Attorneys General. His career is marked by significant roles in federal and state government.
As Deputy Assistant to President George W. Bush, he was a chief advisor to the President and a member of the White House Senior Staff. In that role he provided strategic and human capital related policy advice directly to the President regarding all legal, national security, and international affairs, and presidential appointments administration-wide.
As Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, he served as Chief of Staff to the Associate Attorney General and had oversight of litigation emanating from the Tax, Civil Rights, Civil, and Community Relations Service Divisions of the agency. At the Department, he also previously served as Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, and as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, the division responsible for representing the U.S. in all constitutional challenges to U.S. law and defending the U.S. on all torts, federal programs, and immigration-related litigation.
Prior to joining private practice, Lu also served as the General Counsel for the federal law enforcement agency charged with rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse of the $50+ billion appropriated for the reconstruction of Iraq where he oversaw several federal fraud prosecutions in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Frauds Section.
Earlier in his career, Lu served as an Assistant Attorney General and Trial Attorney for the Office of the Texas Attorney General, where he handled a robust civil litigation practice at the trial and appellate levels in both state and federal court.
Federal Judge, Western District of Texas, Waco Division
Judge Alan Albright is the federal district judge for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. Judge Albright was nominated by President Trump on January 24, 2018 and confirmed on September 6, 2018. He was sworn in on September 18, 2018.
Prior to taking the bench, Judge Albright was a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell LLP. He practiced IP litigation and handled trials in both federal court and the ITC. Before practicing law in Austin, he earned a BA in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he was a member of the Texas Law Review. Following law school, Judge Albright clerked for The Honorable James R. Nowlin in Austin, Texas. Judge Albright later served as a United States Magistrate Judge from 1992–99. He has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at The University of Texas School of Law. Judge Albright was recently inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has two sons and he is an avid runner and cyclist.
Partner, Jackson Walker
Arthur offers clients a winning combination of trial and appellate experience gained as a federal prosecutor and more than 20 years of experience in handling patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets litigation.
While his practice concentrates on intellectual property litigation, Arthur also has significant experience in internal investigations, False Claims Act suits, partnership and breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and employment litigation. Arthur also has represented clients testifying before Congressional committees.
Arthur writes and speaks frequently on topics ranging from the case against Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to patent litigation reform.
Prior to joining Michael Best, Arthur served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was the lead prosecutor in criminal trials, including federal intellectual property crimes. He also argued numerous appeals.
U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Jurist-In-Residence Professor of Law, The University of Akron School of Law
Judge Ryan T. Holte was sworn in as a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims in July 2019. Prior to confirmation he served as the David L. Brennan Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology at The University of Akron School of Law (2017-2019) and an assistant professor of law at Southern Illinois University School of Law (2013-2017). Judge Holte has written and presented widely on patent law subjects and empirical legal studies of Federal Circuit and district court patent law cases. His most recent articles were published in the Iowa Law Review (2019), George Mason Law Review (2018), and Washington Law Review (2017).
In practice, Judge Holte served for six years as general counsel and partner of an electrical engineering technology company and is co-inventor of multiple patents related to Systems and Methods for Countering Satellite-Navigated Munitions. Prior to entering academia, Judge Holte practiced as a litigation attorney at the Federal Trade Commission and an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Jones Day. Prior to practice, he served as a law clerk to Judge Stanley F. Birch, Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and as a law clerk to Judge Loren A. Smith on the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Judge Holte received his JD from the University of California Davis School of Law and his BS, magna cum laude, in engineering from the California Maritime Academy where he was a First Class graduate of the Corps of Cadets Third Engineering Division and sailed as a U.S. Merchant Marine oiler.
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law; Director, Classical Liberal Institute, Civitas Institute University of Texas at Austin
Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, at New York University, a senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas Austin, and a senior Lecturer, the University of Chicago. He received an LL.D., h.c . from the University of Ghent, 2003 , and an LLD h.c . from the University of Siegen in 2018 and the Bradley Prize in 2011. He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1985. He has edited both the Journal of Legal Studies (1981-1991) and the Journal of Law and Economics (1991-2001). He is also a founder and director of the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU Law School. His most recent book is The Classical Liberal Constitution: The Uncertain Quest for Limited Government (2014). His other books include Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain ( 1985); Bargaining with the State (1993); Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995); Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty and the Common Good (1998); Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Theory of Classical Liberalism (2003); Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration and the Rule of Law (2011), and most recently, The Myth of Birthright citizenship—and Beyond (2026). He has taught courses in , administrative law, antitrust, constitutional, contracts, environmental law, land use planning; real property, torts and water law. He has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of topics, and is writes a regular column for Defining Ideas.
Research Director, Civitas Institute
Michael Toth is the research director at the Civitas Institute, where he focuses on the legal and policy developments reshaping global markets, from energy to emerging technology. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Bloomberg, among other major outlets. A graduate of Stanford and the University of Virginia, his analysis is informed by his firsthand experience as general counsel to several early-stage companies, where he navigated the complex regulatory environments at the core of today’s policy debates.
Federal Judge, Western District of Texas, Waco Division
Judge Alan Albright is the federal district judge for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. Judge Albright was nominated by President Trump on January 24, 2018 and confirmed on September 6, 2018. He was sworn in on September 18, 2018.
Prior to taking the bench, Judge Albright was a partner in the Austin office of Bracewell LLP. He practiced IP litigation and handled trials in both federal court and the ITC. Before practicing law in Austin, he earned a BA in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio and a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he was a member of the Texas Law Review. Following law school, Judge Albright clerked for The Honorable James R. Nowlin in Austin, Texas. Judge Albright later served as a United States Magistrate Judge from 1992–99. He has also taught as an adjunct professor of law at The University of Texas School of Law. Judge Albright was recently inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has two sons and he is an avid runner and cyclist.
Partner, Jackson Walker
Arthur offers clients a winning combination of trial and appellate experience gained as a federal prosecutor and more than 20 years of experience in handling patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secrets litigation.
While his practice concentrates on intellectual property litigation, Arthur also has significant experience in internal investigations, False Claims Act suits, partnership and breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, and employment litigation. Arthur also has represented clients testifying before Congressional committees.
Arthur writes and speaks frequently on topics ranging from the case against Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to patent litigation reform.
Prior to joining Michael Best, Arthur served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was the lead prosecutor in criminal trials, including federal intellectual property crimes. He also argued numerous appeals.
U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Jurist-In-Residence Professor of Law, The University of Akron School of Law
Judge Ryan T. Holte was sworn in as a judge on the United States Court of Federal Claims in July 2019. Prior to confirmation he served as the David L. Brennan Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology at The University of Akron School of Law (2017-2019) and an assistant professor of law at Southern Illinois University School of Law (2013-2017). Judge Holte has written and presented widely on patent law subjects and empirical legal studies of Federal Circuit and district court patent law cases. His most recent articles were published in the Iowa Law Review (2019), George Mason Law Review (2018), and Washington Law Review (2017).
In practice, Judge Holte served for six years as general counsel and partner of an electrical engineering technology company and is co-inventor of multiple patents related to Systems and Methods for Countering Satellite-Navigated Munitions. Prior to entering academia, Judge Holte practiced as a litigation attorney at the Federal Trade Commission and an associate in the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Jones Day. Prior to practice, he served as a law clerk to Judge Stanley F. Birch, Jr. on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and as a law clerk to Judge Loren A. Smith on the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Judge Holte received his JD from the University of California Davis School of Law and his BS, magna cum laude, in engineering from the California Maritime Academy where he was a First Class graduate of the Corps of Cadets Third Engineering Division and sailed as a U.S. Merchant Marine oiler.
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law; Director, Classical Liberal Institute, Civitas Institute University of Texas at Austin
Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, at New York University, a senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas Austin, and a senior Lecturer, the University of Chicago. He received an LL.D., h.c . from the University of Ghent, 2003 , and an LLD h.c . from the University of Siegen in 2018 and the Bradley Prize in 2011. He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1985. He has edited both the Journal of Legal Studies (1981-1991) and the Journal of Law and Economics (1991-2001). He is also a founder and director of the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU Law School. His most recent book is The Classical Liberal Constitution: The Uncertain Quest for Limited Government (2014). His other books include Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain ( 1985); Bargaining with the State (1993); Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995); Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty and the Common Good (1998); Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Theory of Classical Liberalism (2003); Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration and the Rule of Law (2011), and most recently, The Myth of Birthright citizenship—and Beyond (2026). He has taught courses in , administrative law, antitrust, constitutional, contracts, environmental law, land use planning; real property, torts and water law. He has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of topics, and is writes a regular column for Defining Ideas.
Research Director, Civitas Institute
Michael Toth is the research director at the Civitas Institute, where he focuses on the legal and policy developments reshaping global markets, from energy to emerging technology. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Bloomberg, among other major outlets. A graduate of Stanford and the University of Virginia, his analysis is informed by his firsthand experience as general counsel to several early-stage companies, where he navigated the complex regulatory environments at the core of today’s policy debates.
Panel III: Liberty and Constitutional Architecture [Archive Collection]
John S. Baker, James L. Buckley, Douglas Laycock, Geoffrey P. Miller
On February 28-29, 1992, the Federalist Society held its eleventh annual National Student Symposium at...
Panel II: To Govern and Be Governed: The Federalist's Vision of Representative Democracy [Archive Collection]
Jesse H. Choper, Frank H. Easterbrook, David F. Epstein, Jonathan R. Macey, James L. Ryan
On February 28-29, 1992, the Federalist Society held its eleventh annual National Student Symposium at...
Panel II: To Govern and Be Governed: The Federalist's Vision of Representative Democracy [Archive Collection]
Jesse H. Choper, Frank H. Easterbrook, David F. Epstein, Jonathan R. Macey, James L. Ryan
On February 28-29, 1992, the Federalist Society held its eleventh annual National Student Symposium at...
Fourth Annual Gregory S. Coleman Memorial Lecture & Luncheon
John Ashcroft, Austin R. Nimocks, Lu A. Reyes
On September 17-18, 2021, The Federalist Society's Texas chapters sponsored the seventh annual Texas Chapters...
Fourth Annual Gregory S. Coleman Memorial Lecture & Luncheon
John Ashcroft, Austin R. Nimocks, Lu A. Reyes
On September 17-18, 2021, The Federalist Society's Texas chapters sponsored the seventh annual Texas Chapters...
Happy Hour & BBQ on the Lake
Austin Lawyers Chapter Event
Austin, TXPatent Litigation in the Western District of Texas: An Afternoon Discussion with Judge Alan Albright and a New Take on Patent Case Procedures
Alan D. Albright, Arthur Gollwitzer, Ryan T. Holte
The Federalist Society’s Intellectual Property Practice Group will host a conversation with the Hon. Alan D. Albright of...
Patent Litigation in the Western District of Texas: An Afternoon Discussion with Judge Alan Albright and a New Take on Patent Case Procedures
TeleforumHome Economics: Real Estate Exchanges and the Future of Homebuying
Richard A. Epstein, Michael Toth
Join us as Richard Epstein and Michael Toth discuss how digital innovation is changing the...
Home Economics: Real Estate Exchanges and the Future of Homebuying
Teleforum