General Counsel, Pelican Institute
Sarah Harbison joined the Pelican Institute as General Counsel in January 2020. At the Pelican Institute, Sarah serves in the vital role of defending Louisianians’ First Amendment rights, as well as their right to earn a living. Prior to joining the Pelican Institute, Sarah’s civil defense practice focused on products liability litigation. Because politics is her first love, Sarah left full-time law practice in December 2015 to advise political candidates full time, including candidates for U.S. Senate, treasurer, secretary of state, and governor. A Lafayette, Louisiana native, Sarah is a summa cum laude graduate of Loyola University and Loyola Law School, where she served as a member of the Moot Court staff. She and her husband, Medlock, live in the Garden District in New Orleans with their cats, Beau and Jack. Sarah and Medlock enjoy hiking in our country’s national parks, exploring Civil War battlefields, and renovating their 100-year-old home.
Solicitor General, Alabama Office of the Attorney General
As Solicitor General, Barrett Bowdre serves as Alabama’s chief appellate lawyer, overseeing the state’s cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Alabama Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. His duties include defending Alabama’s interests in courts across the nation and collaborating with other state attorneys general on matters affecting the rule of law.
Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Bowdre clerked for Judge Paul J. Kelly, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; then-Chief Judge W. Keith Watkins of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama; and then-Chief Judge Ed Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
He earned his Juris Doctor, summa cum laude, from the University of Alabama School of Law, and his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Furman University. Prior to law school, Bowdre worked as a research assistant at the American Enterprise Institute, contributing to civic education projects and literary anthologies exploring American values.
Topics
Church Splits, Property Fights, and the Limits of Civil Jurisdiction
In 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court released two cases involving property disputes that were fueled...
IVF and the Original Meaning of "Minor Child" at the Alabama Supreme Court
Sarah R. Harbison
Lepage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine was decided by the Alabama Supreme Court on...
Topics
LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C.
On February 16, 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court held 7-2 in LePage v. Center for...
State Court Docket Watch: Barnett v. Jones
Barrett Bowdre
In its recent opinion in Barnett v. Jones,[1] the Alabama Supreme Court applied textual rules...