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.
Special Counsel, Wiley Rein LLP
Michael Showalter is a Special Counsel at Wiley Rein LLP. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2016.
Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute
Matthew Cavedon is the Director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice. He focuses on reforming plea-driven mass adjudication, ensuring police accountability, and defending constitutional criminal originalism. Cavedon’s scholarship has been published (or is forthcoming in) publications including the Arizona State Law Journal, Cato Supreme Court Review, Seattle University Law Review, and Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy. Formerly a Georgia public defender and fellow at the Institute for Justice, Cavedon has taught law school courses on criminal law and procedure, as well as the First Amendment. Cavedon clerked for a U.S. district court and the Supreme Court of Georgia. He came to Cato following a fellowship at the Emory University Center for the Study of Law and Religion.
Attorney General of Tennessee
Jonathan Skrmetti was sworn in to an eight-year term as Tennessee’s Attorney General and Reporter on September 1, 2022.
Prior to his current role, General Skrmetti served as Chief Counsel to Governor Bill Lee and as Chief Deputy Attorney General to his predecessor, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery.
Before working for the State of Tennessee, General Skrmetti was a partner at Butler Snow LLP in Memphis. His legal career began with nearly a decade as a federal prosecutor. He worked at the Civil Rights Division at Main Justice and then at the Memphis U.S. Attorney’s Office and prosecuted sex traffickers, corrupt government officials, and violent white supremacists. In addition, General Skrmetti taught cyberlaw as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis.
General Skrmetti earned honors degrees from George Washington University, the University of Oxford, and Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Following law school, Jonathan clerked for Judge Steven Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife and four children.
Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Andy excels at solving complex problems for his clients using a variety of effective strategies. As former Chief Deputy Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, Andy Cook has extensive experience representing businesses before state Attorneys General involving investigations and lawsuits. His strong relationships with Attorneys General and their senior staff frequently facilitate the successful resolution of client issues through diplomacy and negotiations. When litigation becomes necessary, Andy effectively advocates for clients throughout the litigation process.
Andy combines his legal expertise in numerous areas of law covered by state Attorneys General, an understanding of how state AG offices operate, and vast knowledge of legal and regulatory issues facing his clients. This substantive and comprehensive legal approach is crucial to effectively representing clients before state Attorneys General. Andy also has substantial experience drafting and enacting complex civil liability reforms before state legislatures to successfully address client goals.
Andy’s main practice focuses on advising Fortune 500 companies before state Attorneys General in the areas of antitrust, consumer protection, False Claims Act, environmental law, and cybersecurity and data privacy. Andy, in collaboration with a team of attorneys, successfully navigated a client through antitrust regulatory review by state Attorneys General in one of the nation’s largest mergers of two major telecommunication companies. Andy also worked with a team of lawyers representing a large corporation involving the multistate opioids litigation brought by state Attorneys General.
Andy gained valuable experience serving as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin where he was the second in command of the 700-plus state agency. In his role as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Andy oversaw the day-to-day operations at the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ); directed the State’s litigation strategy; negotiated, reviewed, and approved all settlements; drafted and reviewed attorney general opinions; managed the agency’s budget; oversaw civil and criminal investigations handled by DOJ; and managed DOJ’s legislative agenda.
Andy played college hockey and remains active by running, cross country skiing, and playing golf. On the weekends, Andy and his wife enjoy watching their kids’ sporting events, including soccer, baseball, gymnastics, and track. In his rare spare time, Andy reads history books.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLP
Jeremy Rosen is nationally renowned for his proficiency in numerous issues arising under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP law. Using that knowledge, Jeremy has helped a wide variety of clients – including churches, private businesses, and individuals – defeat lawsuits that seek to impose liability on clients for exercising their rights of petition, free speech, and free exercise of religion. He has also handled hundreds of appeals in numerous appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and California’s intermediate appellate courts. In addition to First Amendment and anti-SLAPP cases, his cases have involved numerous important issues regarding anti-trust, class actions, wage and hour law, employment law, breach of contract, California’s Unfair Competition Law, CEQA, the enforceability of arbitration clauses, hospital peer review, the scope of public employee whistleblower protection, and the application of the primary assumption of risk doctrine.
Jeremy is a partner at the firm, which he joined in 2001. He is a California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialist and a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Jeremy directed the Pepperdine University School of Law Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic for 6 years. The Clinic represents individuals in the Ninth Circuit who are identified by the court as needing pro bono counsel. Jeremy also previously served a three-year term where he was appointed by the Ninth Circuit to serve as one of 18 appellate lawyer representatives to the court.
Jeremy is a member of the National Chamber Litigation Center’s California Litigation Advisory Committee. Before joining the firm, Jeremy was a Litigation Associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLC
Felix Shafir is a partner at the firm. He has argued appeals in the California Supreme Court and the California Courts of Appeal, and has been lead and amicus counsel in numerous proceedings in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Shafir focuses his practice on two areas at the cutting edge of California law: (1) the law of protected speech, including the First Amendment, defamation, California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and the litigation privilege; and (2) the defense of class and representative actions, often through resisting class certification efforts or the enforcement of arbitration agreements. He has also developed unique expertise in handling appeals involving employment disputes and employer liability, commercial litigation, intellectual property, environmental litigation, unfair competition lawsuits, and federal and state securities issues.
Mr. Shafir often works with clients and trial counsel before an appeal begins, advising them to preserve issues and present evidence in the best posture for appeal. He also prepares amicus briefs seeking to move or clarify the law in ways favorable to his clients and their members.
Mr. Shafir has represented many significant companies and organizations, including American Medical Response, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Omega S.A., See’s Candy Shops, Shell Oil Company, and the Southern California Gas Company.
Mr. Shafir is a past member of the California State Bar Committee on Appellate Courts and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committee.
In 2013, 2014, and 2016, the Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal honored Mr. Shafir by naming him to its list of California’s “Top Labor and Employment Lawyers.” He was also named a Rising Star by California Super Lawyers from 2007 to 2014.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Shafir held judicial clerkships with the Honorable Thomas J. Meskill, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, and the Honorable Whitman Knapp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Mr. Shafir previously practiced at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP and Littler Mendelson, P.C., where he focused on all aspects of labor and employment defense and counseling.
Northwestern University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1999
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., cum laude, 1996
Senior Counselor and Director of Oversight and Investigations, America First Legal Foundation, Cause of Action
Reed D. Rubinstein is Senior Counselor and Director of Oversight and Investigations for the America First Legal Foundation. He has extensive constitutional, administrative, and complex commercial trial and appellate experience, including Executive Branch and Congressional oversight, investigations, and enforcement.
Reed joined the Trump Campaign legal team in February 2016, supported Treasury, DHS, and DOD operations during the Presidential Transition, and entered Federal service in January 2017. As Deputy Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Education General Counsel (acting and delegated), and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, Reed fought to protect free speech, religious liberty, and civil rights; combat anti-Semitism; expose Obama/Biden support for the Iranian regime; and defend the Trump Administration against Congressional overreach and leftist lawfare. He played a material role in many Trump Administration actions and Executive Orders and between June 2019 and January 2021, initiated and led twenty-seven civil investigations of U.S. universities for colluding with the Chinese Communist Party, violating foreign money disclosure laws, misrepresenting free speech policies, failing to provide balance in Middle Eastern studies, making false non-discrimination assurances (the Princeton investigation), and consumer fraud.
Reed is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and has practiced law since 1985. A former AmLaw 10 shareholder, he spent thirty years in the private practice of law representing manufacturing and retail corporations, financial institutions, trade associations, and individuals in a wide range of matters. Notably, he represented the victims of the Fort Hood terrorist attack, overcoming the Obama Administration, the Pentagon, and House Speaker John Boehner to win them Purple Hearts and medical benefits.
Associate, Arent Fox LLP
Christopher Bowen is an attorney with a Arent Fox LLP where he focuses on government contractor litigation and counseling, including bid protests, contract claims, audits, individual and company debarments and suspensions, security clearances, NISPOM compliance during mergers and acquisitions, and False Claims Act lawsuits. Prior to joining the law firm, Mr. Bowen was an attorney with the United States Department of Justice, where he handled government contract litigation, as well as Fifth Amendment Takings Clause and smuggling claims. He has argued before the United States Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He has filed briefs with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States District Courts for the District of Colorado and the Northern District of California, and the United States Court of International Trade. Mr. Bowen attended Dartmouth College and the George Washington University Law School, and clerked for the Honorable Diane S. Sykes on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Super Lawyers has recognized Christopher Bowen as a “Rising Star” for both 2014 and 2015.
Global eDiscovery Counsel, UBS AG
Prior to working at UBS AG, Jamie Brown was the Assistant General Counsel & eDiscover Counsel at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Associate Professor of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law
Dan Epstein is Vice President at America First Legal and an Associate Professor of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida. He also advises individuals and small businesses in affirmative and defensive actions against government overreach. Previously, he advised startups on regulatory matters as Director at a venture capital firm. His federal service includes being a Special Assistant to and Senior Associate Counsel to the President and a counsel for the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Earlier in his career, Mr. Epstein founded and ran Cause of Action, where he represented clients in government investigations and litigated regulatory, constitutional, political, and public law matters.
He holds a Ph.D. from George Washington University in Political Economy, a J.D. from Emory University School of Law, and a B.A. from Kenyon College. He is active in the Palm Beach community as a member of the Fourth Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission in Florida, a transition team member to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, and the Chairman and Trustee of Palm Beach State College.
Partner, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Patrick is a partner in the firm’s General Litigation and Business Services Division where he leads the practice on e-compliance and digital investigations. He is one of the few e-discovery and compliance attorneys in the nation that possesses the tripartite experience of an in-house corporate counsel from a Fortune 16 organization; a senior attorney at a federal regulatory agency; and a partner in a large law firm.
Patrick has extensive experience advising on discovery and investigative matters involving commercial litigation, compliance, regulatory requests, antitrust matters, and personnel issues. Combined with a deep understanding of forensics and enterprise technology platforms, Patrick’s experience advising clients on responding to federal agency requests under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is balanced by his broad-based skill in negotiating enterprise software license agreements for collaboration platforms, e-discovery software and enterprise level computer forensic tools.
Before joining Shook Hardy & Bacon, Patrick served as senior special counsel for electronic discovery in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During his tenure at SEC, Patrick co-chaired of the agency’s cross-divisional Electronic Discovery Action Team and co-authored The SEC Electronic Discovery and Litigation Response Manual. He counseled SEC senior leadership and agency staff on best practices and guidance for discovery and litigation strategy and privilege protections and on strategically significant matters involving forensics, technology and ECPA interpretation for subpoena enforcement.
Patrick appeared twice as SEC’s 30(b)(6) deponent to defend the agency’s discovery practices with favorable outcomes to the agency. He successfully designed and implemented SEC’s preservation process as well as a federal government-wide educational program that includes participation of the federal judiciary.
Prior to serving at SEC, Patrick was an experienced in-house counsel leading Verizon’s electronic discovery practice as Director of Electronic Discovery and Senior Litigation Counsel. Patrick was one of the nation’s first in-house attorneys charged to create and deploy defensible policies, guidelines and procedures for litigation response.
While at Verizon, Patrick testified as the company’s Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6) witness, defending the same policies and guidelines that he helped design and implement. In 2006, he was nominated for the Verizon Excellence Award after playing a key role in the successful completion of Verizon’s response to the Department of Justice’s Second Request for Documents in its acquisition of MCI. As a result of his work, Inside Counsel magazine named Verizon’s e-discovery team as one of the ten most innovative legal groups of 2007, the group’s second year winning the title.
In 2007, Patrick appeared with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at Georgetown University Law Center’s Summit on Electronic Discovery. He has testified before the U.S. Judicial Conference’s Advisory Committee on the Federal Rules of Evidence where he presented his position on Proposed Rule of Evidence 502. The committee included in its draft to the Judicial Conference language incorporating his suggestions.
Outside of work, Patrick volunteers his time as a co-founder at The Electronic Discovery Institute, a non-profit organization that conducts studies of litigation processes for the benefit of the federal and state judiciary.
Patrick lectures regularly at educational events and legal conferences internationally. He has appeared on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and was interviewed for the August 2008 edition of The Economist.
Legal Scholar and Solo Practitioner
Jack received his B.A. in History from the University of Virginia in 1977, graduating with Highest Distinction. After graduating Yale Law School in 1980, he served active duty in the U.S. Army's JAG Corps, rising to the rank of Major, where he represented the United States in more than 250 cases.
He practiced for a decade as an Associate for Bradley Arant in Birmingham, Alabama. He proudly served the State of Alabama in the Office of the Attorney General, both as Deputy and Assistant Attorney General, handling complex civil and criminal litigation cases for the people of Alabama. In 2000, he won the "Best Brief Award" from the National Association of Attorneys General for his brief in a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, James Alexander v. Martha Sandoval – a case he won. He was Special Assistant to the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Visiting Legal Fellow for the Center for Judicial and Legal Studies for the Heritage Foundation, Of Counsel at Strickland Brockington Lewis, a solo practitioner, and General Counsel for Indigo Energy.
Most recently, he "re-upped" for military service, volunteering his legal services to the Georgia State Defense Force where twice each month he provided legal services for National Guardsmen who were being deployed. He wore his military uniform for the last time in October 2024.
Jack Park passed away on March 16, 2026.
Managing Partner, Redgrave LLP
Victoria Redgrave brings to the Firm a unique combination of skills and experience as in-house litigation counsel for two major corporations, outside counsel at an AmLaw 100 firm, and as general counsel at a technology company. She is the Managing Partner of Redgrave LLP.
Vickie served as Vice President, Practice Development & General Counsel for Technology Concepts & Design, Inc. (TCDI). During her tenure with TCDI, she was responsible for providing legal advice and counsel to the corporation on all legal matters, including the negotiation and preparation of master services agreements and RFP responses. Her responsibilities also included providing senior leadership to product development activities and to service delivery teams regarding expectations and needs of in-house counsel to litigation management and discovery.
Before joining TCDI, Vickie was Managing Counsel–Litigation for a Fortune 40 chemical company. In this role, Vickie led the company’s Products Liability Group, supervising a team of attorneys and paralegals responsible for managing all product liability litigation matters in North America. Vickie’s experience also included managing the company’s Discovery Practice Group. Her responsibilities in this role included the global enterprise-wide assessment of the company’s capabilities and exposure regarding compliance with both federal and state procedural rules regarding discovery of electronically stored information, as well as development and implementation of a comprehensive litigation response plan for electronic discovery. Vickie led the selection and implementation of technologies for electronic discovery and matter/information management within the company. She also provided counsel to the company’s information systems team on issues related to email management, server security, and data privacy.
Vickie also worked previously in-house for a Fortune 500 engine design and manufacturing company as Senior Counsel–Litigation and was a Senior Associate at Barnes & Thornburg.
Vickie received a J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis (summa cum laude) and a B.S. from the University of Indianapolis (magna cum laude). Vickie is admitted to practice in Michigan and the District of Columbia.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Judge Smith was appointed U.S. Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit by President Reagan and entered on duty in January 1988. He attended public schools in Lubbock, Texas, and graduated from Yale University, receiving a B.A. in 1969 and a J.D. in 1972.
Judge Smith was a Law Clerk to U.S. District Judge Halbert Woodward, Northern District of Texas, 1972-1973; with the Houston law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski as an Associate, 1973-1981, and as Partner, 1981-1984; and as City Attorney, City of Houston, 1984-1988. He was Chairman, Civil Service Commission, City of Houston, 1982-1984; and a Director, Harris County Housing Authority, 1978-1980.
Judge Smith lives in Houston and is married to Mary Jane Smith and has four children: Ruth Ann, Clark, J.J., and Brandon. He formerly was Chair of the Advisory Committee on Federal Rules of Evidence of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He assists LexisNexis/Matthew Bender & Co. in periodic revisions of several chapters of Moore’s Federal Practice.
Senior Counselor and Director of Oversight and Investigations, America First Legal Foundation, Cause of Action
Reed D. Rubinstein is Senior Counselor and Director of Oversight and Investigations for the America First Legal Foundation. He has extensive constitutional, administrative, and complex commercial trial and appellate experience, including Executive Branch and Congressional oversight, investigations, and enforcement.
Reed joined the Trump Campaign legal team in February 2016, supported Treasury, DHS, and DOD operations during the Presidential Transition, and entered Federal service in January 2017. As Deputy Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Education General Counsel (acting and delegated), and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, Reed fought to protect free speech, religious liberty, and civil rights; combat anti-Semitism; expose Obama/Biden support for the Iranian regime; and defend the Trump Administration against Congressional overreach and leftist lawfare. He played a material role in many Trump Administration actions and Executive Orders and between June 2019 and January 2021, initiated and led twenty-seven civil investigations of U.S. universities for colluding with the Chinese Communist Party, violating foreign money disclosure laws, misrepresenting free speech policies, failing to provide balance in Middle Eastern studies, making false non-discrimination assurances (the Princeton investigation), and consumer fraud.
Reed is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and has practiced law since 1985. A former AmLaw 10 shareholder, he spent thirty years in the private practice of law representing manufacturing and retail corporations, financial institutions, trade associations, and individuals in a wide range of matters. Notably, he represented the victims of the Fort Hood terrorist attack, overcoming the Obama Administration, the Pentagon, and House Speaker John Boehner to win them Purple Hearts and medical benefits.
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