Senior Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP and Executive Chairma, The Chertoff Group
Michael Chertoff concentrates in the area of White Collar Defense and Investigations. In recent years, he has handled a series of federal investigations, including complex criminal and civil regulatory matters. He has advised major clients on SEC and Justice Department investigations and successfully served as the independent monitor of a major national healthcare company under criminal and civil investigation.
In addition to his legal work, Mr. Chertoff is Founder and Chairman of The Chertoff Group, a security and risk management firm, where he provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues, from risk identification and prevention to preparedness, response and recovery.
In April of 2012, Mr. Chertoff was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of BAE Systems, Inc. He also sits on the board of directors or board of advisors of a number of companies and nonprofits.
Previously, Mr. Chertoff served as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As Secretary, he led a 218,000 person department with a budget of $50 billion. Mr. Chertoff developed and implemented border security and immigration policy; promulgated homeland security regulations; and spearheaded a national cyber security strategy. He also served periodically on the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, and on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Prior to his appointment to the Cabinet, Mr. Chertoff served from 2003 to 2005 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge, Mr. Chertoff was the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position, he oversaw the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and formed the Enron Task Force, which produced more than 20 convictions, including those of CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay.
Mr. Chertoff’s career includes more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, including service as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Chertoff investigated and personally prosecuted significant cases of political corruption, organized crime, and corporate fraud.
From 1994-2001, Mr. Chertoff represented major corporations and individuals in numerous white collar investigations and trials. Among other matters, he successfully represented the nation’s largest hospital company in a four year, multi-jurisdictional criminal and civil investigation, represented major corporations in corruption scandals, and obtained acquittals at trial for individual criminal defendants.
Mr. Chertoff has received numerous awards including the Department of Justice Henry E. Petersen Memorial Award (2006); the Department of Justice John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation (1987); NAACP Benjamin L. Hooks Award for Distinguished Service (2007); European Institute Transatlantic Leadership Award (2008); and two honorary doctorates. His trial experiences have been featured in over half a dozen books and many news articles.
Former EVP and GC, CSRA Inc; former EVP and GC, SIGA Technologies; former Chief Corporate Counsel, Chevron Corporation; former GC of the Dept of Defense
Jim Haynes is a corporate executive advising early-stage companies in emerging technologies.
Mr. Haynes has served at the highest levels in the private sector (as executive vice president and chief legal officer of two publicly traded corporations) and the public sector (with senateconfirmed appointments by two United States presidents.) Most recently, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of CSRA Inc., a next generation information technologies solutions and services company, until CSRA was acquired by General Dynamics Corporation for $9.7 billion.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president and general counsel of SIGA Technologies, Inc. (biotechnology); chief corporate counsel of Chevron Corporation (energy); and staff vice president and associate general counsel of General Dynamics Corporation (government contractor).
Mr. Haynes is the longest serving General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2001-2008), holding that office under Secretaries Donald H. Rumsfeld and Robert M. Gates during the administration of President George W. Bush. From 1990-1993, Mr. Haynes served as General Counsel of the Department of the Army during the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
Mr. Haynes was twice a partner in Jenner & Block, a national law firm. Mr. Haynes also was a volunteer in central Asia for Mercy Corps International, helping manage a micro-credit program.
After graduating from Davidson College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Haynes clerked for Judge James B. McMillan in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Haynes then served four years active duty as a captain in the U. S. Army.
Mr. Haynes has earned numerous honors and awards, including various medals from the Department of Defense; the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; and the Department of Justice. Mr. Haynes holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from Stetson University Law School. Mr. Haynes is a member of the advisory committee of the National Security Institute of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University; a member of the advisory council of the United States Court of Federal Claims; a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society; and a trustee of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.
Former United States Attorney General
Michael B. Mukasey is the former Attorney General of the United States, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. As Attorney General from November 2007 to January 2009, he oversaw the U.S. Department of Justice and advised on critical issues of domestic and international law.
From 1988 to 2006, Judge Mukasey served as a district judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming Chief Judge in 2000.
From 1972 to 1976, Judge Mukasey served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as Chief of the Official Corruption Unit from 1975 to 1976. His practice consisted of criminal litigation on behalf of the government, including investigation and prosecution of narcotics, bank robbery, interstate theft, securities fraud, fraud on the government and bribery. From 1976 to 1987 and from 2006 to 2007 he was in private practice.
Judge Mukasey has received numerous honors, including the Federal Bar Council’s Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Access to Information and Proceedings of the New York Bar Association from 1984 to 1987. He served on the Federal Courts Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 1979 to 1982 and its Communications Law Committee from 1983 to 1986. Judge Mukasey was also a part-time lecturer at Columbia School of Law from January 1993 to May 2007, teaching trial advocacy.
He received his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1967 and his B.A. from Columbia College in 1963.
Senior Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
John Rizzo is Senior Counsel in Steptoe's Washington office, where he is a member of the National and Homeland Security practice and the firm’s International Department.
Mr. Rizzo provides legal advice and policy counsel to clients on matters related to national security. His work includes advising companies on the business risks related to their international operations; counseling companies involved in international mergers and acquisitions on the foreign investment review process conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; and advising clients on the legal and policy-related aspects of working with the Intelligence Community.
Prior to joining Steptoe, Mr. Rizzo spent 34 years in the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where he provided legal counsel, policy guidance, and leadership on the most difficult and time sensitive national security issues facing the United States. From 2001 until 2002 and from 2004 to 2009, he served as the Chief Legal Officer at CIA and dealt with the most challenging legal issues in the post 9/11 era. During that time, he was responsible for all legal matters at CIA including national security and international law; administrative and contract law; and criminal and civil litigation. Also during his tenure, he served as the Deputy Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs and was the principal interlocutor with the House and Senate Congressional Committees investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. Early in his career, he was the principal drafter of the CIA regulations for the conduct of intelligence activities in the United States – regulations which remain in effect today.
He was the recipient of the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the highest recognition accorded to a career CIA officer. In 1996, he was awarded the Thomas C. Clark Award from the Federal Bar Association as the most outstanding lawyer in government, to date he was the only Intelligence Community attorney to receive the award.
Mr. Rizzo is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is a frequent speaker and has served as a guest lecturer at a number of law schools around the country.
President, George W. Bush Presidential Center
Margaret Spellings is the president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. She oversees all aspects of Bush Center activities, including leadership of the George W. Bush Institute, management of Bush Center business operations, and collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration, which operates the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Previously Spellings was president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm that provided strategic guidance to philanthropic and private sector organizations. She also served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Prior to that, Spellings served in a variety of positions in the Bush Administration.
She served as U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009. In that role, she oversaw an agency with a nearly $70 billion budget and more than 10,000 employees and contractors. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a historic national initiative to provide enhanced accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students.
In 2005, Spellings launched a higher education national policy debate and action plan to improve accessibility, affordability and accountability in our Nation’s colleges and universities. Spellings initiated international outreach and collaboration by leading delegations on behalf of the President of the United States as well as overseeing the development and implementation of international education agreements with such countries as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
As White House Domestic Policy Advisor, from 2001 to 2005, she managed the development of the President’s domestic policy agenda. Her achievements include oversight of the development of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the development of a comprehensive immigration plan to ensure long-term economic stability and to secure U.S. borders, and numerous other initiatives on health and human services, transportation, labor, justice and housing.
Prior to her service in the White House, Spellings was senior advisor to then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas, led governmental and external relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, and has served in key positions at Austin Community College and with the Texas Legislature.
She graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in political science.
John A. Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law, The University of Georgia School of Law
Larry D. Thompson has served on the University of Georgia School of Law’s faculty as the holder of the John A. Sibley Chair of Corporate and Business Law since 2011, noting he was on a leave of absence from June 2012 through 2014. He is presently a member of the Faculty Division of the law school's Dean Rusk International Law Center Council.
Thompson first retired from PepsiCo in May 2011. In June 2012, he rejoined the company as executive vice president, government affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary. His responsibilities included leading PepsiCo’s worldwide legal function, as well as its global government affairs and public policy group and its global citizenship and sustainability team. Thompson again retired from PepsiCo in December 2014.
Thompson has extensive leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. In 2001, Thompson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy attorney general of the United States. As deputy attorney general, Attorney General John Ashcroft named Thompson in 2002 to lead the Department of Justice’s National Security Coordination Council. Also in 2002, President George W. Bush named Thompson to head the government-wide Corporate Fraud Task Force.
From 1982 to 1986, he served as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia where he led major political corruption and drug trafficking prosecutions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As U.S. attorney, Thompson also led the Southeastern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Thompson has held other significant leadership positions in the public sector. In 1995, he was named independent counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation. In 2000, he was selected by the U.S. Congress to chair the bi-partisan Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control.
In the private sector, in addition to his leadership roles at PepsiCo, Thompson was a partner in the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding. He was the founding co-chair of the firm’s special matters and government investigations practice.
Thompson has received numerous awards for his professional achievements, including the Edmund Jennings Randolph Award for outstanding contributions to the accomplishment of the Department of Justice’s mission, the Outstanding Litigator Award from the Federal Bar Association and a Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pace University in New York. He has also been recognized by Atlanta’s Gate City Bar Association as a member of its hall of fame.
Thompson is an elected Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. In 2014, Ethisphere magazine recognized him by noting that as “the outgoing General Counsel of one of the world’s most well-recognized corporations [Thompson] has set the bar high for GC’s everywhere. [His] background in both public and private sectors earned him the trust and respect of his peers worldwide as he demonstrated how ethics and integrity are essential components of business success.”
In 2004, Thompson served as a Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Thompson speaks and writes frequently on a number of legal topics. His recent publications include:
● “The Responsible Corporation: Its Historical Roots and Continuing Promise" in 29 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 199 (2015).
● “In-sourcing Corporate Responsibility for Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" in 51 American Criminal Law Review 199 (2014).
● “Keynote Speech: The Reality of Overcriminalization” in 7 George Mason University Journal of Law, Economics and Policy 577 (2011).
Thompson holds a B.A. from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, a M.A. from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
Senior Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP and Executive Chairma, The Chertoff Group
Michael Chertoff concentrates in the area of White Collar Defense and Investigations. In recent years, he has handled a series of federal investigations, including complex criminal and civil regulatory matters. He has advised major clients on SEC and Justice Department investigations and successfully served as the independent monitor of a major national healthcare company under criminal and civil investigation.
In addition to his legal work, Mr. Chertoff is Founder and Chairman of The Chertoff Group, a security and risk management firm, where he provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues, from risk identification and prevention to preparedness, response and recovery.
In April of 2012, Mr. Chertoff was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of BAE Systems, Inc. He also sits on the board of directors or board of advisors of a number of companies and nonprofits.
Previously, Mr. Chertoff served as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As Secretary, he led a 218,000 person department with a budget of $50 billion. Mr. Chertoff developed and implemented border security and immigration policy; promulgated homeland security regulations; and spearheaded a national cyber security strategy. He also served periodically on the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, and on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Prior to his appointment to the Cabinet, Mr. Chertoff served from 2003 to 2005 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge, Mr. Chertoff was the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position, he oversaw the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and formed the Enron Task Force, which produced more than 20 convictions, including those of CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay.
Mr. Chertoff’s career includes more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, including service as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Chertoff investigated and personally prosecuted significant cases of political corruption, organized crime, and corporate fraud.
From 1994-2001, Mr. Chertoff represented major corporations and individuals in numerous white collar investigations and trials. Among other matters, he successfully represented the nation’s largest hospital company in a four year, multi-jurisdictional criminal and civil investigation, represented major corporations in corruption scandals, and obtained acquittals at trial for individual criminal defendants.
Mr. Chertoff has received numerous awards including the Department of Justice Henry E. Petersen Memorial Award (2006); the Department of Justice John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation (1987); NAACP Benjamin L. Hooks Award for Distinguished Service (2007); European Institute Transatlantic Leadership Award (2008); and two honorary doctorates. His trial experiences have been featured in over half a dozen books and many news articles.
Former EVP and GC, CSRA Inc; former EVP and GC, SIGA Technologies; former Chief Corporate Counsel, Chevron Corporation; former GC of the Dept of Defense
Jim Haynes is a corporate executive advising early-stage companies in emerging technologies.
Mr. Haynes has served at the highest levels in the private sector (as executive vice president and chief legal officer of two publicly traded corporations) and the public sector (with senateconfirmed appointments by two United States presidents.) Most recently, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of CSRA Inc., a next generation information technologies solutions and services company, until CSRA was acquired by General Dynamics Corporation for $9.7 billion.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president and general counsel of SIGA Technologies, Inc. (biotechnology); chief corporate counsel of Chevron Corporation (energy); and staff vice president and associate general counsel of General Dynamics Corporation (government contractor).
Mr. Haynes is the longest serving General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2001-2008), holding that office under Secretaries Donald H. Rumsfeld and Robert M. Gates during the administration of President George W. Bush. From 1990-1993, Mr. Haynes served as General Counsel of the Department of the Army during the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
Mr. Haynes was twice a partner in Jenner & Block, a national law firm. Mr. Haynes also was a volunteer in central Asia for Mercy Corps International, helping manage a micro-credit program.
After graduating from Davidson College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Haynes clerked for Judge James B. McMillan in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Haynes then served four years active duty as a captain in the U. S. Army.
Mr. Haynes has earned numerous honors and awards, including various medals from the Department of Defense; the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; and the Department of Justice. Mr. Haynes holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from Stetson University Law School. Mr. Haynes is a member of the advisory committee of the National Security Institute of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University; a member of the advisory council of the United States Court of Federal Claims; a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society; and a trustee of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.
Former United States Attorney General
Michael B. Mukasey is the former Attorney General of the United States, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. As Attorney General from November 2007 to January 2009, he oversaw the U.S. Department of Justice and advised on critical issues of domestic and international law.
From 1988 to 2006, Judge Mukasey served as a district judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming Chief Judge in 2000.
From 1972 to 1976, Judge Mukasey served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as Chief of the Official Corruption Unit from 1975 to 1976. His practice consisted of criminal litigation on behalf of the government, including investigation and prosecution of narcotics, bank robbery, interstate theft, securities fraud, fraud on the government and bribery. From 1976 to 1987 and from 2006 to 2007 he was in private practice.
Judge Mukasey has received numerous honors, including the Federal Bar Council’s Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Access to Information and Proceedings of the New York Bar Association from 1984 to 1987. He served on the Federal Courts Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 1979 to 1982 and its Communications Law Committee from 1983 to 1986. Judge Mukasey was also a part-time lecturer at Columbia School of Law from January 1993 to May 2007, teaching trial advocacy.
He received his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1967 and his B.A. from Columbia College in 1963.
Senior Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
John Rizzo is Senior Counsel in Steptoe's Washington office, where he is a member of the National and Homeland Security practice and the firm’s International Department.
Mr. Rizzo provides legal advice and policy counsel to clients on matters related to national security. His work includes advising companies on the business risks related to their international operations; counseling companies involved in international mergers and acquisitions on the foreign investment review process conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; and advising clients on the legal and policy-related aspects of working with the Intelligence Community.
Prior to joining Steptoe, Mr. Rizzo spent 34 years in the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where he provided legal counsel, policy guidance, and leadership on the most difficult and time sensitive national security issues facing the United States. From 2001 until 2002 and from 2004 to 2009, he served as the Chief Legal Officer at CIA and dealt with the most challenging legal issues in the post 9/11 era. During that time, he was responsible for all legal matters at CIA including national security and international law; administrative and contract law; and criminal and civil litigation. Also during his tenure, he served as the Deputy Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs and was the principal interlocutor with the House and Senate Congressional Committees investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. Early in his career, he was the principal drafter of the CIA regulations for the conduct of intelligence activities in the United States – regulations which remain in effect today.
He was the recipient of the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the highest recognition accorded to a career CIA officer. In 1996, he was awarded the Thomas C. Clark Award from the Federal Bar Association as the most outstanding lawyer in government, to date he was the only Intelligence Community attorney to receive the award.
Mr. Rizzo is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is a frequent speaker and has served as a guest lecturer at a number of law schools around the country.
President, George W. Bush Presidential Center
Margaret Spellings is the president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. She oversees all aspects of Bush Center activities, including leadership of the George W. Bush Institute, management of Bush Center business operations, and collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration, which operates the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Previously Spellings was president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm that provided strategic guidance to philanthropic and private sector organizations. She also served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Prior to that, Spellings served in a variety of positions in the Bush Administration.
She served as U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009. In that role, she oversaw an agency with a nearly $70 billion budget and more than 10,000 employees and contractors. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a historic national initiative to provide enhanced accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students.
In 2005, Spellings launched a higher education national policy debate and action plan to improve accessibility, affordability and accountability in our Nation’s colleges and universities. Spellings initiated international outreach and collaboration by leading delegations on behalf of the President of the United States as well as overseeing the development and implementation of international education agreements with such countries as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
As White House Domestic Policy Advisor, from 2001 to 2005, she managed the development of the President’s domestic policy agenda. Her achievements include oversight of the development of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the development of a comprehensive immigration plan to ensure long-term economic stability and to secure U.S. borders, and numerous other initiatives on health and human services, transportation, labor, justice and housing.
Prior to her service in the White House, Spellings was senior advisor to then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas, led governmental and external relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, and has served in key positions at Austin Community College and with the Texas Legislature.
She graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in political science.
John A. Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law, The University of Georgia School of Law
Larry D. Thompson has served on the University of Georgia School of Law’s faculty as the holder of the John A. Sibley Chair of Corporate and Business Law since 2011, noting he was on a leave of absence from June 2012 through 2014. He is presently a member of the Faculty Division of the law school's Dean Rusk International Law Center Council.
Thompson first retired from PepsiCo in May 2011. In June 2012, he rejoined the company as executive vice president, government affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary. His responsibilities included leading PepsiCo’s worldwide legal function, as well as its global government affairs and public policy group and its global citizenship and sustainability team. Thompson again retired from PepsiCo in December 2014.
Thompson has extensive leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. In 2001, Thompson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy attorney general of the United States. As deputy attorney general, Attorney General John Ashcroft named Thompson in 2002 to lead the Department of Justice’s National Security Coordination Council. Also in 2002, President George W. Bush named Thompson to head the government-wide Corporate Fraud Task Force.
From 1982 to 1986, he served as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia where he led major political corruption and drug trafficking prosecutions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As U.S. attorney, Thompson also led the Southeastern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Thompson has held other significant leadership positions in the public sector. In 1995, he was named independent counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation. In 2000, he was selected by the U.S. Congress to chair the bi-partisan Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control.
In the private sector, in addition to his leadership roles at PepsiCo, Thompson was a partner in the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding. He was the founding co-chair of the firm’s special matters and government investigations practice.
Thompson has received numerous awards for his professional achievements, including the Edmund Jennings Randolph Award for outstanding contributions to the accomplishment of the Department of Justice’s mission, the Outstanding Litigator Award from the Federal Bar Association and a Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pace University in New York. He has also been recognized by Atlanta’s Gate City Bar Association as a member of its hall of fame.
Thompson is an elected Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. In 2014, Ethisphere magazine recognized him by noting that as “the outgoing General Counsel of one of the world’s most well-recognized corporations [Thompson] has set the bar high for GC’s everywhere. [His] background in both public and private sectors earned him the trust and respect of his peers worldwide as he demonstrated how ethics and integrity are essential components of business success.”
In 2004, Thompson served as a Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Thompson speaks and writes frequently on a number of legal topics. His recent publications include:
● “The Responsible Corporation: Its Historical Roots and Continuing Promise" in 29 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 199 (2015).
● “In-sourcing Corporate Responsibility for Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" in 51 American Criminal Law Review 199 (2014).
● “Keynote Speech: The Reality of Overcriminalization” in 7 George Mason University Journal of Law, Economics and Policy 577 (2011).
Thompson holds a B.A. from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, a M.A. from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
Managing Director, Lexpat Global Services
Adam R. Pearlman is the Founder and Managing Director of Lexpat Global Services, an international law and consulting services firm specializing in security, defense, investigations, compliance, and training. A Special Advisor to and member of the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s International and National Security Law Practice Group, he is National Security Law expert and a proven senior leader with more than fifteen years of experience across the U.S. Departments of Justice, Defense, and State, in the White House, and with the U.S. Federal Judiciary.
Most recently, he served as the Senior Advisor for Legal Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, where he counseled senior officials on matters covering the entire spectrum of programs and operations to counter terrorism and violent extremism. While participating in sensitive diplomatic engagements and helping to coordinate military operations, he also advised in the development of sanctions policy and initiatives to build legal and operational capacity in partner nations. Mr. Pearlman also managed the Bureau’s participation in federal litigation and led U.S. delegations in multilateral forums concerning criminal justice and rule of law.
A former Associate Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Mr. Pearlman was agency counsel for complex civil and criminal national security matters in federal and military courts, and led the Supreme Court and appellate unit of the team dedicated to litigating classified counterterrorism cases. His earlier service in the Department of Justice spanned four litigating divisions and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. His diverse experience included reviewing complex international transactions and mergers, and advising on immigration removal proceedings, human rights abuses, and terrorist financing investigations. Mr. Pearlman also served with distinction in Iraq as an early advisor to the Iraqi High Tribunal’s prosecution of Saddam Hussein. He was a law clerk for The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth, and during law school interned in the White House Counsel’s Office.
Mr. Pearlman is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, a member of the American Bar Association’s Africa Law Initiative Council, and a member of the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ Project on Nuclear Issues. He is a former National Security Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, vice chairman of the ABA Section of International Law’s committees on national security, and aerospace and defense, and also previously served as a liaison to the Board of Directors of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative. He has been co-editor of the U.S. Intelligence Community Law Sourcebook since 2011 and has published articles in the Harvard National Security Journal, Stanford Law & Policy Review, and Intelligence & National Security.
Mr. Pearlman earned his B.A., with honors, from UCLA, and his J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the International Law Review. He also earned a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degree from the National Intelligence University, where he was the inaugural recipient of the Kornblum Award for national security law and ethics. Mr. Pearlman speaks and reads Portuguese at the intermediate level and holds certificates in international human rights law from the University of Oxford and in U.S. and international anti-corruption law from American University’s Washington College of Law. He is admitted to the State Bars of California and Virginia, as well as to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.
Partner, Steptoe LLP
Shannen W. Coffin is a partner in Steptoe’s Washington office, where co-chairs the firm’s appellate practice and is a member of the regulatory litigation practice group. He frequently represents clients in trial and appellate courts in matters involving constitutional and administrative law challenges to state and federal government regulatory action.
Mr. Coffin previously served as a senior lawyer in the Executive Branch. He was Counsel to Vice President Cheney in the Office of the Vice President of the United States, where, among other things, he served on the White House’s judicial selection committee. Before that, Mr. Coffin served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the US Justice Department’s Civil Division, where he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating trial litigation on behalf of the federal government for constitutional challenges to federal statutes, statutory and constitutional challenges to agency programs, and defense of national security and anti-terrorism programs.
Founder and Principal, Fillmore Global Strategies LLC
Ambassador Nathan A. Sales is the founder and principal of Fillmore Global Strategies LLC, a consultancy that provides legal and strategic advisory services on matters at the intersection of law, policy, and diplomacy.
From 2017 to 2021, Ambassador Sales served at the U.S. Department of State as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (acting). He oversaw nine bureaus and offices led by Senate-confirmed principals, with 1,300 employees and a combined foreign assistance budget of more than $5 billion annually, and the mission of preventing and countering threats to civilian security, including terrorism, mass atrocities, and violations of human rights and the rule of law.
Concurrently, Ambassador Sales was Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism. After being nominated by the President and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he was sworn in on August 10, 2017. He served as the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters, and led the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, a 200-person team with an annual foreign assistance budget of $400 million. He was also the Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, leading U.S. relations with the 83-member Coalition and efforts to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS in the Middle East and around the world.
While at the State Department, Ambassador Sales led the elements of the U.S. government’s China strategy promoting democratic values and human rights, including with respect to Hong Kong and Xinjiang. He oversaw the development and implementation of a wide range of U.S. government sanctions, including Global Magnitsky actions and Executive Order 13,936, targeting those responsible for undermining Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy. Ambassador Sales was the architect of the landmark 2017 UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on terrorist travel, and successfully pressed NATO to make counterterrorism a core Alliance mission. He led diplomatic engagements to persuade a dozen key partners in Europe and the Americas to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization in its entirety. He launched the Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial, in which heads of state and minister-level officials meet bianually to coordinate efforts against terrorist threats in the region. He led the U.S. government’s international efforts to combat white supremacist terrorism. Under his leadership, the State Department imposed terrorism sanctions on the Russian Imperial Movement – the first-ever U.S. designation of white supremacist terrorists.
Before joining the State Department, Ambassador Sales was Of Counsel at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP (formerly Bancroft PLLC). He was also a tenured law professor, teaching and writing in the fields of administrative law, constitutional law, and national security law. His scholarship has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court multiple times.
Ambassador Sales previously was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He led DHS’s efforts to draft and implement legislation that strengthened the security of and expanded the Visa Waiver Program (which allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States without a visa). He headed the U.S. delegation in talks with seven countries to implement the new security measures and was the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Special Envoy to South Korea.
Ambassador Sales also served at the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on regulatory initiatives, counterterrorism, and judicial confirmations. In 2005, he managed DOJ’s “war room” for the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service – the Justice Department’s highest honor – for his role in drafting the USA PATRIOT Act, as well as the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his work on judicial confirmations.
In addition to his work at Fillmore Global Strategies, Ambassador Sales is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a senior advisor at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy. He serves on a number of advisory boards, including for the Counter-Extremism Project (a nonprofit and nonpartisan international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideologies), the Secure Community Network (the official safety and security organization for the North American Jewish community), and the Sue J. Henry Center for Pre-Law Education at Miami University.
An Ohio native, Ambassador Sales received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke Law School, where he was Research Editor of the Duke Law Journal and joined the Order of the Coif. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Adjunct Fellow, Manhattan Institute
Judith Miller is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor. A best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter formerly with the New York Times, she has won numerous awards for her articles and her defense of the First Amendment.
Since 2008, Ms. Miller has been a commentator for Fox News, speaking on terrorism and other national security issues, the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy, and the need to strike a delicate balance between protecting both national security and civil liberties in a post-9/11 world.
Prior to leaving the Times in October, 2005, she spent 85 days in jail to defend a reporter's right to protect confidential sources. That year she received the Society of Professional Journalists' "First Amendment Award" for her defense of an independent press. Since leaving jail, she has been advocating the enactment of a Federal shield law to protect the relationship between reporters and their sources and the public's right to know.
Ms. Miller has written four books and contributed chapters to several others. Her most recent book, "Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War" (Simon & Schuster, 2001), written with two Times colleagues, topped the best seller's list in the wake of 9/11 and the anthrax letter terrorist attacks. Her previous book, "God Has Ninety-Nine Names", (Simon & Schuster, 1996) explores the spread of Islamic extremism in ten Middle Eastern countries, including Israel and Iran. "One, By One, By One" (Simon & Schuster, 1990) is a highly praised account of how people in six nations have distorted the memory of the Holocaust. That same year, she co-authored "Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf" (Times Books), which also topped The Times Best Seller list during the 1991 Gulf war. Her new book, “The Story, A Reporter’s Journey,” is being published by Simon & Schuster this spring.
In 2002, Ms. Miller was part of a small team that won a Pulitzer Prize for "explanatory journalism" for her January, 2001 series on Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. That same year, she won an Emmy for her work on a Nova/New York Times documentary based on articles for her book, "Germs." She was part of the Times team that won the prestigious DuPont award for a series of programs on terrorism for PBS's "Frontline."
Ms. Miller holds a bachelor's degree from Barnard and a master's from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She resides in New York City and Sag Harbor with her husband, Jason Epstein, a publisher and writer.
Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Dr. Arthur Herman (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, 1985) is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestselling How the Scots Invented the Modern World (2001); the Pulitzer Prize Finalist Gandhi and Churchill (2008); To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World (nominated for the UK’s Mountbatten Prize); and the highly acclaimed Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, which The Economist magazine picked as one of the Best Books of 2012.
His most recent work, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization, was published by Random House in 2013.
Educated at the University of Minnesota and Johns Hopkins University in history and classics, Dr. Herman is a frequent contributor on defense, energy, and technology issues to Commentary magazine, the New York Post, National Review, and the Wall Street Journal. He was also the first non-British citizen to be named to the Scottish Arts Council from 2007 to 2009.
Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Stewart Baker is a partner in the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he was the first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. His law practice covers cybersecurity, data protection, homeland security, and travel and foreign investment regulation; he has been awarded one patent.
Mr. Baker has been General Counsel of the National Security Agency and General Counsel of the commission that investigated WMD intelligence failures prior to the Iraq war. He is the author of Skating on Stilts, a book on terrorism, cybersecurity, and other technology issues; he also hosts the weekly Cyberlaw Podcast.
Associate Professor of Law, Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
Eric Talbot Jensen teaches and writes in the areas of Public International Law, Criminal Law, The Law of Armed Conflict, International Criminal Law, and National Security Law. His recent scholarship has appeared in the Texas, Temple, Houston, and Israel Law Reviews, as well as the Stanford Law and Policy Review, Virginia Journal of International Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, and Stanford Journal of International Law. Professor Jensen is a co-author on an Oxford University text analyzing application of the laws of war to the war on terror and is also co-authoring a law school casebook on the Law of Armed Conflict for Aspen Publishing.
Prior to joining the BYU law faculty in 2011, Professor Jensen spent 2 years teaching at Fordham Law School in New York City and 20 years in the United States Army as both a Cavalry Officer and as a Judge Advocate. During his time as a Judge Advocate, Professor Jensen served in various positions including as the Chief of the Army’s International Law Branch; Deputy Legal Advisor for Task Force Baghdad; Professor of International and Operational Law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School; legal advisor to the US contingent of UN Forces deployed to Skopje, Macedonia as part of UNPREDEP; and legal advisor in Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Endeavor/Guard.
Director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security a, Georgetown University
Professor Catherine Lotrionte is the Director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Professor Lotrionte teaches courses on national security law, U.S. intelligence law, and international law. In addition to teaching, Professor Lotrionte coordinates research projects and events for the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security at Georgetown. She is the Institute Liaison for the Program on Nonproliferation Policy and Law, funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, in cooperation with the Monterey Institute for International Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Professor Lotrionte is also the Director of the CyberProject. Professor Lotrionte and the Institute focus on the role of international and domestic law in recent and upcoming developments in cyber technology and cyber threats.
In 2002 she was appointed by General Brent Scowcroft to be Counsel to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the White House, a position she held until 2006. In 2002 she served as a legal counsel for the Joint Inquiry Committee of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Prior to that, Professor Lotrionte was Assistant General Counsel with the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she provided legal advice relating to information warfare, foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities, and international terrorism. Before working in the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, Professor Lotrionte served in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Professor Lotrionte earned her Ph.D. from Georgetown University and her J.D. from New York University and is the author of numerous publications, including a forthcoming book concerning U.S. national security law in the post-Cold War era. She is a frequent speaker at cyber conferences held by academic, military, government, and media organizations. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Professor Emeritus of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Jeremy A. Rabkin is a Professor Emeritus of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Before joining the faculty in June 2007, he was for over two decades a professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Professor Rabkin serves on the board of directors of the Center for Individual Rights, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C. Previously he was a board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the board of academic advisors of the American Enterprise Institute.
Professor Rabkin’s books include Law Without Nations? (Princeton University Press, 2005). He authored “If You Need a Friend, Don’t Call a Cosmopolitan,” a chapter in Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship (Sigal R. Ben-Porath & Rogers M. Smith eds., University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012). His articles have appeared in major law reviews and political science journals and his journalistic contributions in a range of magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley; Senior Research Fellow, School of Civic Leadership, Civitas Institute, University of Texas at Austin; Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
John Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Professor of Law. He is also Distinguished Visiting Scholar, School of Civic Leadership and Senior Research Fellow, Civitas Institute, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
His most recent book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court, co-authored with Robert Delahunty, was published in 2023. Professor Yoo’s other books include Defender-in-Chief: Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power; Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules for War, Point of Attack: Preventive War, International Law, and Global Welfare, and Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George Bush.
Professor Yoo has published more than 100 articles in academic journals on subjects including national security, constitutional law, international law, and the Supreme Court. He also regularly contributes to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and National Review, among others.
Professor Yoo has served in all three branches of government. He was an official in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on national security and terrorism issues after the 9/11 attacks. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He has been a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and federal appeals Judge Laurence Silberman. He has been a visiting professor at Seoul National University in South Korea, the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, Keio University in Japan, Trento University in Italy, the University of Chicago, and the Free University of Amsterdam.
Professor Yoo supervises the Public Law and Policy Program and the California Constitution Center. He also serves on the boards of the Pacific Legal Foundation, the Federalist Society’s Separation of Powers and Federalism Division, the Universidad Cientifica del Sur Law School, and the Asia-Pacific Law Institute at Seoul National University. He is a winner of the Federalist Society’s Paul Bator award and been the Edwin Meese III Originalism Lecturer at the Heritage Foundation.
Professor Yoo graduated from Yale Law School and summa cum laude from Harvard College.
Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Stewart Baker is a partner in the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he was the first Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Homeland Security. His law practice covers cybersecurity, data protection, homeland security, and travel and foreign investment regulation; he has been awarded one patent.
Mr. Baker has been General Counsel of the National Security Agency and General Counsel of the commission that investigated WMD intelligence failures prior to the Iraq war. He is the author of Skating on Stilts, a book on terrorism, cybersecurity, and other technology issues; he also hosts the weekly Cyberlaw Podcast.
Associate Professor of Law, Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School
Eric Talbot Jensen teaches and writes in the areas of Public International Law, Criminal Law, The Law of Armed Conflict, International Criminal Law, and National Security Law. His recent scholarship has appeared in the Texas, Temple, Houston, and Israel Law Reviews, as well as the Stanford Law and Policy Review, Virginia Journal of International Law, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, and Stanford Journal of International Law. Professor Jensen is a co-author on an Oxford University text analyzing application of the laws of war to the war on terror and is also co-authoring a law school casebook on the Law of Armed Conflict for Aspen Publishing.
Prior to joining the BYU law faculty in 2011, Professor Jensen spent 2 years teaching at Fordham Law School in New York City and 20 years in the United States Army as both a Cavalry Officer and as a Judge Advocate. During his time as a Judge Advocate, Professor Jensen served in various positions including as the Chief of the Army’s International Law Branch; Deputy Legal Advisor for Task Force Baghdad; Professor of International and Operational Law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School; legal advisor to the US contingent of UN Forces deployed to Skopje, Macedonia as part of UNPREDEP; and legal advisor in Bosnia in support of Operation Joint Endeavor/Guard.
Director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security a, Georgetown University
Professor Catherine Lotrionte is the Director of the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Professor Lotrionte teaches courses on national security law, U.S. intelligence law, and international law. In addition to teaching, Professor Lotrionte coordinates research projects and events for the Institute for Law, Science and Global Security at Georgetown. She is the Institute Liaison for the Program on Nonproliferation Policy and Law, funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, in cooperation with the Monterey Institute for International Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Professor Lotrionte is also the Director of the CyberProject. Professor Lotrionte and the Institute focus on the role of international and domestic law in recent and upcoming developments in cyber technology and cyber threats.
In 2002 she was appointed by General Brent Scowcroft to be Counsel to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the White House, a position she held until 2006. In 2002 she served as a legal counsel for the Joint Inquiry Committee of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Prior to that, Professor Lotrionte was Assistant General Counsel with the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she provided legal advice relating to information warfare, foreign intelligence and counterintelligence activities, and international terrorism. Before working in the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, Professor Lotrionte served in the U.S. Department of Justice.
Professor Lotrionte earned her Ph.D. from Georgetown University and her J.D. from New York University and is the author of numerous publications, including a forthcoming book concerning U.S. national security law in the post-Cold War era. She is a frequent speaker at cyber conferences held by academic, military, government, and media organizations. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Professor Emeritus of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Jeremy A. Rabkin is a Professor Emeritus of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Before joining the faculty in June 2007, he was for over two decades a professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Professor Rabkin serves on the board of directors of the Center for Individual Rights, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C. Previously he was a board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the board of academic advisors of the American Enterprise Institute.
Professor Rabkin’s books include Law Without Nations? (Princeton University Press, 2005). He authored “If You Need a Friend, Don’t Call a Cosmopolitan,” a chapter in Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship (Sigal R. Ben-Porath & Rogers M. Smith eds., University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012). His articles have appeared in major law reviews and political science journals and his journalistic contributions in a range of magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley; Senior Research Fellow, School of Civic Leadership, Civitas Institute, University of Texas at Austin; Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
John Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Professor of Law. He is also Distinguished Visiting Scholar, School of Civic Leadership and Senior Research Fellow, Civitas Institute, at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
His most recent book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Supreme Court, co-authored with Robert Delahunty, was published in 2023. Professor Yoo’s other books include Defender-in-Chief: Trump’s Fight for Presidential Power; Striking Power: How Cyber, Robots, and Space Weapons Change the Rules for War, Point of Attack: Preventive War, International Law, and Global Welfare, and Crisis and Command: A History of Executive Power from George Washington to George Bush.
Professor Yoo has published more than 100 articles in academic journals on subjects including national security, constitutional law, international law, and the Supreme Court. He also regularly contributes to the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and National Review, among others.
Professor Yoo has served in all three branches of government. He was an official in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on national security and terrorism issues after the 9/11 attacks. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He has been a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and federal appeals Judge Laurence Silberman. He has been a visiting professor at Seoul National University in South Korea, the Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, Keio University in Japan, Trento University in Italy, the University of Chicago, and the Free University of Amsterdam.
Professor Yoo supervises the Public Law and Policy Program and the California Constitution Center. He also serves on the boards of the Pacific Legal Foundation, the Federalist Society’s Separation of Powers and Federalism Division, the Universidad Cientifica del Sur Law School, and the Asia-Pacific Law Institute at Seoul National University. He is a winner of the Federalist Society’s Paul Bator award and been the Edwin Meese III Originalism Lecturer at the Heritage Foundation.
Professor Yoo graduated from Yale Law School and summa cum laude from Harvard College.
Managing Director, Beacon Global Strategies LLC
From 2011-2013, Mr. Allen served as the Majority Staff Director of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI). Under Chairman Mike Rogers’ (R-MI) direction, the HPSCI restored the process of an annual intelligence authorization bill to fund and give direction to the seventeen elements of the intelligence community, enacting measures for fiscal years 2011, 2012, and 2013. The HPSCI also led the House of Representatives’ consideration of cyber security legislation, passing the Cyber Information Sharing Protection Act (CISPA) with bipartisan majorities in 2012 and 2013.
Prior to joining the HPSCI, he was director for the Bipartisan Policy Center’s successor to the 9/11 Commission, the National Security Preparedness Group, co-chaired by former Congressman Lee Hamilton and former Governor Tom Kean.
Previously, Mr. Allen served in the White House for seven years in a variety of national security policy and legislative roles. At the National Security Council (NSC), he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counter-proliferation Strategy from June 2007 to January 2009 under National Security Advisor Steve Hadley. As Senior Director, he contributed to the development of the U.S. government’s policy on counter-proliferation issues, including on the Iranian, Syrian, and North Korean nuclear files; missile defense; civilian nuclear cooperation including the U.S.-India Civilian Nuclear Cooperation Agreement; U.S. exports controls; bio-defense; and WMD and terrorism.
As the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Legislative Affairs from March 2005 to June 2007, Mr. Allen was the NSC’s chief liaison with the national security committees of Congress and led the confirmation teams of DNI nominees Negroponte and McConnell and CIA Director General Michael Hayden.
From December 2001 to February 2005, Mr. Allen worked in the legislative affairs office of the White House’s Homeland Security Council. As Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, Mr. Allen was part of team that managed the White House effort to enact the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
At the beginning of the Bush Administration, Mr. Allen worked in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the Department of State. Mr. Allen received his L.L.M. with distinction in International Law from the Georgetown University Law Center, his J.D. from the University of Alabama (cum laude), and his B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
In addition to his work at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in 2009, Mr. Allen taught National Security Policymaking at the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and served as an advisor for the congressionally-created Commission on WMD and Terrorism co-chaired by Senators Bob Graham and Jim Talent. Mr. Allen was the Intelligence Team Lead for the Romney for President Transition Team.
Mr. Allen is the author of Blinking Red: Crisis and Compromise in American Intelligence After 9/11. (Potomac Books, September 2013).
Chief Legal + Administrative Officer, Waystar Health
Matthew R. A. Heiman leads all legal and corporate governance matters for Waystar. Over the last two decades, he has worked in corporate and government sectors, gaining deep experience in the areas of corporate governance, litigation, risk management, security, and compliance.
Most recently, Matthew was Vice President, Corporate Secretary & Associate General Counsel at Johnson Controls where he helped establish a new corporate secretary department and led the integration of legal departments following the company’s merger with Tyco International. Prior to its merger with Johnson Controls, Matthew held a number of positions with Tyco International including Vice President, Chief Compliance & Audit Officer. Before Tyco, Matthew was a lawyer with the National Security Division at the U.S Department of Justice. He was a legal advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq and practiced as a trial lawyer with the law firm of McGuireWoods.
Matthew holds a BA and JD from Indiana University and is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He is a Senior Fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute.
Columnist, Bloomberg View
Eli Lake is a Bloomberg View columnist who writes about politics and foreign affairs. He was previously the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast. Lake also covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI, and was a contributing editor at the New Republic. In 2005 and 2006, Lake lived in Cairo as a correspondent for the New York Sun. He has traveled to war zones in Sudan, Iraq and Gaza. Lake is one of the few journalists to report from all three members of President George W. Bush’s axis of evil: Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
Benjamin Powell is widely recognized as one of the country’s top authorities on handling cybersecurity, data breach and related investigation matters. He is a leading attorney in handling complex regulatory matters relating to international investment and mergers, including matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the Defense Security Service (DSS). He also is regularly asked to be lead counsel on major investigations and strategic counseling across a variety of sensitive regulatory matters for the world’s most prominent companies.
Mr. Powell handles matters relating to international investment and mergers, including matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), is widely recognized as one of the country’s top experts on handling cybersecurity, data breach, and related investigation matters, and regularly handles major investigations and strategic counseling for the world’s most prominent companies. He is also frequently retained to perform due diligence on major domestic corporate transactions requiring expertise in government regulatory issues, including government contracting, security clearance issues with the Defense Security Service (DSS), export control and related issues. He is regularly named as one of Washington’s Top Lawyers in surveys of best attorneys in DC. The Wall Street Journal calls him one of Washington’s “big legal guns” and The Legal 500 calls him an “exceptional lawyer” who “provides clear guidance on complex technological issues.” He is recognized as a CFIUS expert in the 2013 and 2014 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers in Business.
Mr. Powell has performed due diligence on some of the largest recent corporate transactions and successfully guided companies through some the most complex CFIUS filings for companies in a range of industries. He has counseled companies and handled investigations for many of the most sensitive cybersecurity and data breach incidents in recent years. He has represented clients in civil and criminal litigation involving privacy and surveillance issues at the state and federal level. He has also served as lead counsel on matters for companies facing difficult regulatory, congressional, and public policy issues across a range of industry sectors and subjects. Mr. Powell regularly handles matters involving the Defense Security Service, including the structuring of Special Security Agreements and Proxy Agreements, related to corporate security clearances and classified government contracting.
Mr. Powell was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate as General Counsel to the Director of National Intelligence. His background includes serving as General Counsel to the first three Directors of National Intelligence, Special Assistant to the President and associate White House Counsel, Air Force officer, work at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, corporate counsel at a software company in Silicon Valley, and part of the trial team that obtained the largest antitrust jury verdict in US history. He joined the firm in 2009.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Senior Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP and Executive Chairma, The Chertoff Group
Michael Chertoff concentrates in the area of White Collar Defense and Investigations. In recent years, he has handled a series of federal investigations, including complex criminal and civil regulatory matters. He has advised major clients on SEC and Justice Department investigations and successfully served as the independent monitor of a major national healthcare company under criminal and civil investigation.
In addition to his legal work, Mr. Chertoff is Founder and Chairman of The Chertoff Group, a security and risk management firm, where he provides high-level strategic counsel to corporate and government leaders on a broad range of security issues, from risk identification and prevention to preparedness, response and recovery.
In April of 2012, Mr. Chertoff was elected as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors of BAE Systems, Inc. He also sits on the board of directors or board of advisors of a number of companies and nonprofits.
Previously, Mr. Chertoff served as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. As Secretary, he led a 218,000 person department with a budget of $50 billion. Mr. Chertoff developed and implemented border security and immigration policy; promulgated homeland security regulations; and spearheaded a national cyber security strategy. He also served periodically on the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council, and on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
Prior to his appointment to the Cabinet, Mr. Chertoff served from 2003 to 2005 on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge, Mr. Chertoff was the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position, he oversaw the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and formed the Enron Task Force, which produced more than 20 convictions, including those of CEOs Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay.
Mr. Chertoff’s career includes more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, including service as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Chertoff investigated and personally prosecuted significant cases of political corruption, organized crime, and corporate fraud.
From 1994-2001, Mr. Chertoff represented major corporations and individuals in numerous white collar investigations and trials. Among other matters, he successfully represented the nation’s largest hospital company in a four year, multi-jurisdictional criminal and civil investigation, represented major corporations in corruption scandals, and obtained acquittals at trial for individual criminal defendants.
Mr. Chertoff has received numerous awards including the Department of Justice Henry E. Petersen Memorial Award (2006); the Department of Justice John Marshall Award for Trial of Litigation (1987); NAACP Benjamin L. Hooks Award for Distinguished Service (2007); European Institute Transatlantic Leadership Award (2008); and two honorary doctorates. His trial experiences have been featured in over half a dozen books and many news articles.
Former EVP and GC, CSRA Inc; former EVP and GC, SIGA Technologies; former Chief Corporate Counsel, Chevron Corporation; former GC of the Dept of Defense
Jim Haynes is a corporate executive advising early-stage companies in emerging technologies.
Mr. Haynes has served at the highest levels in the private sector (as executive vice president and chief legal officer of two publicly traded corporations) and the public sector (with senateconfirmed appointments by two United States presidents.) Most recently, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of CSRA Inc., a next generation information technologies solutions and services company, until CSRA was acquired by General Dynamics Corporation for $9.7 billion.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Haynes was executive vice president and general counsel of SIGA Technologies, Inc. (biotechnology); chief corporate counsel of Chevron Corporation (energy); and staff vice president and associate general counsel of General Dynamics Corporation (government contractor).
Mr. Haynes is the longest serving General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2001-2008), holding that office under Secretaries Donald H. Rumsfeld and Robert M. Gates during the administration of President George W. Bush. From 1990-1993, Mr. Haynes served as General Counsel of the Department of the Army during the administration of President George H. W. Bush.
Mr. Haynes was twice a partner in Jenner & Block, a national law firm. Mr. Haynes also was a volunteer in central Asia for Mercy Corps International, helping manage a micro-credit program.
After graduating from Davidson College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Haynes clerked for Judge James B. McMillan in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Haynes then served four years active duty as a captain in the U. S. Army.
Mr. Haynes has earned numerous honors and awards, including various medals from the Department of Defense; the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; and the Department of Justice. Mr. Haynes holds an honorary Doctor of Laws from Stetson University Law School. Mr. Haynes is a member of the advisory committee of the National Security Institute of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University; a member of the advisory council of the United States Court of Federal Claims; a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society; and a trustee of the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.
Former United States Attorney General
Michael B. Mukasey is the former Attorney General of the United States, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. As Attorney General from November 2007 to January 2009, he oversaw the U.S. Department of Justice and advised on critical issues of domestic and international law.
From 1988 to 2006, Judge Mukasey served as a district judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming Chief Judge in 2000.
From 1972 to 1976, Judge Mukasey served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as Chief of the Official Corruption Unit from 1975 to 1976. His practice consisted of criminal litigation on behalf of the government, including investigation and prosecution of narcotics, bank robbery, interstate theft, securities fraud, fraud on the government and bribery. From 1976 to 1987 and from 2006 to 2007 he was in private practice.
Judge Mukasey has received numerous honors, including the Federal Bar Council’s Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Access to Information and Proceedings of the New York Bar Association from 1984 to 1987. He served on the Federal Courts Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 1979 to 1982 and its Communications Law Committee from 1983 to 1986. Judge Mukasey was also a part-time lecturer at Columbia School of Law from January 1993 to May 2007, teaching trial advocacy.
He received his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1967 and his B.A. from Columbia College in 1963.
Senior Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
John Rizzo is Senior Counsel in Steptoe's Washington office, where he is a member of the National and Homeland Security practice and the firm’s International Department.
Mr. Rizzo provides legal advice and policy counsel to clients on matters related to national security. His work includes advising companies on the business risks related to their international operations; counseling companies involved in international mergers and acquisitions on the foreign investment review process conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; and advising clients on the legal and policy-related aspects of working with the Intelligence Community.
Prior to joining Steptoe, Mr. Rizzo spent 34 years in the Office of General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where he provided legal counsel, policy guidance, and leadership on the most difficult and time sensitive national security issues facing the United States. From 2001 until 2002 and from 2004 to 2009, he served as the Chief Legal Officer at CIA and dealt with the most challenging legal issues in the post 9/11 era. During that time, he was responsible for all legal matters at CIA including national security and international law; administrative and contract law; and criminal and civil litigation. Also during his tenure, he served as the Deputy Director for the Office of Congressional Affairs and was the principal interlocutor with the House and Senate Congressional Committees investigating the Iran-Contra Affair. Early in his career, he was the principal drafter of the CIA regulations for the conduct of intelligence activities in the United States – regulations which remain in effect today.
He was the recipient of the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the highest recognition accorded to a career CIA officer. In 1996, he was awarded the Thomas C. Clark Award from the Federal Bar Association as the most outstanding lawyer in government, to date he was the only Intelligence Community attorney to receive the award.
Mr. Rizzo is a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is a frequent speaker and has served as a guest lecturer at a number of law schools around the country.
President, George W. Bush Presidential Center
Margaret Spellings is the president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center. She oversees all aspects of Bush Center activities, including leadership of the George W. Bush Institute, management of Bush Center business operations, and collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration, which operates the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.
Previously Spellings was president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company, a Washington, D.C. consulting firm that provided strategic guidance to philanthropic and private sector organizations. She also served as a senior advisor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
Prior to that, Spellings served in a variety of positions in the Bush Administration.
She served as U.S. Secretary of Education from 2005 to 2009. In that role, she oversaw an agency with a nearly $70 billion budget and more than 10,000 employees and contractors. As a member of the President’s Cabinet, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a historic national initiative to provide enhanced accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students.
In 2005, Spellings launched a higher education national policy debate and action plan to improve accessibility, affordability and accountability in our Nation’s colleges and universities. Spellings initiated international outreach and collaboration by leading delegations on behalf of the President of the United States as well as overseeing the development and implementation of international education agreements with such countries as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
As White House Domestic Policy Advisor, from 2001 to 2005, she managed the development of the President’s domestic policy agenda. Her achievements include oversight of the development of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the development of a comprehensive immigration plan to ensure long-term economic stability and to secure U.S. borders, and numerous other initiatives on health and human services, transportation, labor, justice and housing.
Prior to her service in the White House, Spellings was senior advisor to then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas, led governmental and external relations for the Texas Association of School Boards, and has served in key positions at Austin Community College and with the Texas Legislature.
She graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor's degree in political science.
John A. Sibley Professor in Corporate and Business Law, The University of Georgia School of Law
Larry D. Thompson has served on the University of Georgia School of Law’s faculty as the holder of the John A. Sibley Chair of Corporate and Business Law since 2011, noting he was on a leave of absence from June 2012 through 2014. He is presently a member of the Faculty Division of the law school's Dean Rusk International Law Center Council.
Thompson first retired from PepsiCo in May 2011. In June 2012, he rejoined the company as executive vice president, government affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary. His responsibilities included leading PepsiCo’s worldwide legal function, as well as its global government affairs and public policy group and its global citizenship and sustainability team. Thompson again retired from PepsiCo in December 2014.
Thompson has extensive leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. In 2001, Thompson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy attorney general of the United States. As deputy attorney general, Attorney General John Ashcroft named Thompson in 2002 to lead the Department of Justice’s National Security Coordination Council. Also in 2002, President George W. Bush named Thompson to head the government-wide Corporate Fraud Task Force.
From 1982 to 1986, he served as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia where he led major political corruption and drug trafficking prosecutions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. As U.S. attorney, Thompson also led the Southeastern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Thompson has held other significant leadership positions in the public sector. In 1995, he was named independent counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation. In 2000, he was selected by the U.S. Congress to chair the bi-partisan Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control.
In the private sector, in addition to his leadership roles at PepsiCo, Thompson was a partner in the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding. He was the founding co-chair of the firm’s special matters and government investigations practice.
Thompson has received numerous awards for his professional achievements, including the Edmund Jennings Randolph Award for outstanding contributions to the accomplishment of the Department of Justice’s mission, the Outstanding Litigator Award from the Federal Bar Association and a Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pace University in New York. He has also been recognized by Atlanta’s Gate City Bar Association as a member of its hall of fame.
Thompson is an elected Fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers. In 2014, Ethisphere magazine recognized him by noting that as “the outgoing General Counsel of one of the world’s most well-recognized corporations [Thompson] has set the bar high for GC’s everywhere. [His] background in both public and private sectors earned him the trust and respect of his peers worldwide as he demonstrated how ethics and integrity are essential components of business success.”
In 2004, Thompson served as a Senior Fellow with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Thompson speaks and writes frequently on a number of legal topics. His recent publications include:
● “The Responsible Corporation: Its Historical Roots and Continuing Promise" in 29 Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy 199 (2015).
● “In-sourcing Corporate Responsibility for Enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" in 51 American Criminal Law Review 199 (2014).
● “Keynote Speech: The Reality of Overcriminalization” in 7 George Mason University Journal of Law, Economics and Policy 577 (2011).
Thompson holds a B.A. from Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, a M.A. from Michigan State University and a law degree from the University of Michigan.
Partner, Steptoe LLP
Shannen W. Coffin is a partner in Steptoe’s Washington office, where co-chairs the firm’s appellate practice and is a member of the regulatory litigation practice group. He frequently represents clients in trial and appellate courts in matters involving constitutional and administrative law challenges to state and federal government regulatory action.
Mr. Coffin previously served as a senior lawyer in the Executive Branch. He was Counsel to Vice President Cheney in the Office of the Vice President of the United States, where, among other things, he served on the White House’s judicial selection committee. Before that, Mr. Coffin served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the US Justice Department’s Civil Division, where he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating trial litigation on behalf of the federal government for constitutional challenges to federal statutes, statutory and constitutional challenges to agency programs, and defense of national security and anti-terrorism programs.
Managing Director, Lexpat Global Services
Adam R. Pearlman is the Founder and Managing Director of Lexpat Global Services, an international law and consulting services firm specializing in security, defense, investigations, compliance, and training. A Special Advisor to and member of the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s International and National Security Law Practice Group, he is National Security Law expert and a proven senior leader with more than fifteen years of experience across the U.S. Departments of Justice, Defense, and State, in the White House, and with the U.S. Federal Judiciary.
Most recently, he served as the Senior Advisor for Legal Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, where he counseled senior officials on matters covering the entire spectrum of programs and operations to counter terrorism and violent extremism. While participating in sensitive diplomatic engagements and helping to coordinate military operations, he also advised in the development of sanctions policy and initiatives to build legal and operational capacity in partner nations. Mr. Pearlman also managed the Bureau’s participation in federal litigation and led U.S. delegations in multilateral forums concerning criminal justice and rule of law.
A former Associate Deputy General Counsel of the Department of Defense, Mr. Pearlman was agency counsel for complex civil and criminal national security matters in federal and military courts, and led the Supreme Court and appellate unit of the team dedicated to litigating classified counterterrorism cases. His earlier service in the Department of Justice spanned four litigating divisions and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. His diverse experience included reviewing complex international transactions and mergers, and advising on immigration removal proceedings, human rights abuses, and terrorist financing investigations. Mr. Pearlman also served with distinction in Iraq as an early advisor to the Iraqi High Tribunal’s prosecution of Saddam Hussein. He was a law clerk for The Honorable Royce C. Lamberth, and during law school interned in the White House Counsel’s Office.
Mr. Pearlman is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, a member of the American Bar Association’s Africa Law Initiative Council, and a member of the Center for Strategic & International Studies’ Project on Nuclear Issues. He is a former National Security Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, vice chairman of the ABA Section of International Law’s committees on national security, and aerospace and defense, and also previously served as a liaison to the Board of Directors of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative. He has been co-editor of the U.S. Intelligence Community Law Sourcebook since 2011 and has published articles in the Harvard National Security Journal, Stanford Law & Policy Review, and Intelligence & National Security.
Mr. Pearlman earned his B.A., with honors, from UCLA, and his J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a member of the International Law Review. He also earned a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degree from the National Intelligence University, where he was the inaugural recipient of the Kornblum Award for national security law and ethics. Mr. Pearlman speaks and reads Portuguese at the intermediate level and holds certificates in international human rights law from the University of Oxford and in U.S. and international anti-corruption law from American University’s Washington College of Law. He is admitted to the State Bars of California and Virginia, as well as to the Bar of the United States Supreme Court.
Founder and Principal, Fillmore Global Strategies LLC
Ambassador Nathan A. Sales is the founder and principal of Fillmore Global Strategies LLC, a consultancy that provides legal and strategic advisory services on matters at the intersection of law, policy, and diplomacy.
From 2017 to 2021, Ambassador Sales served at the U.S. Department of State as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights (acting). He oversaw nine bureaus and offices led by Senate-confirmed principals, with 1,300 employees and a combined foreign assistance budget of more than $5 billion annually, and the mission of preventing and countering threats to civilian security, including terrorism, mass atrocities, and violations of human rights and the rule of law.
Concurrently, Ambassador Sales was Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism. After being nominated by the President and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, he was sworn in on August 10, 2017. He served as the principal adviser to the Secretary of State on international counterterrorism matters, and led the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau, a 200-person team with an annual foreign assistance budget of $400 million. He was also the Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, leading U.S. relations with the 83-member Coalition and efforts to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS in the Middle East and around the world.
While at the State Department, Ambassador Sales led the elements of the U.S. government’s China strategy promoting democratic values and human rights, including with respect to Hong Kong and Xinjiang. He oversaw the development and implementation of a wide range of U.S. government sanctions, including Global Magnitsky actions and Executive Order 13,936, targeting those responsible for undermining Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy. Ambassador Sales was the architect of the landmark 2017 UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on terrorist travel, and successfully pressed NATO to make counterterrorism a core Alliance mission. He led diplomatic engagements to persuade a dozen key partners in Europe and the Americas to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization in its entirety. He launched the Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial, in which heads of state and minister-level officials meet bianually to coordinate efforts against terrorist threats in the region. He led the U.S. government’s international efforts to combat white supremacist terrorism. Under his leadership, the State Department imposed terrorism sanctions on the Russian Imperial Movement – the first-ever U.S. designation of white supremacist terrorists.
Before joining the State Department, Ambassador Sales was Of Counsel at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP (formerly Bancroft PLLC). He was also a tenured law professor, teaching and writing in the fields of administrative law, constitutional law, and national security law. His scholarship has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court multiple times.
Ambassador Sales previously was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He led DHS’s efforts to draft and implement legislation that strengthened the security of and expanded the Visa Waiver Program (which allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States without a visa). He headed the U.S. delegation in talks with seven countries to implement the new security measures and was the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Special Envoy to South Korea.
Ambassador Sales also served at the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on regulatory initiatives, counterterrorism, and judicial confirmations. In 2005, he managed DOJ’s “war room” for the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts. He received the Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service – the Justice Department’s highest honor – for his role in drafting the USA PATRIOT Act, as well as the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his work on judicial confirmations.
In addition to his work at Fillmore Global Strategies, Ambassador Sales is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a senior advisor at the Soufan Group, a global intelligence and security consultancy. He serves on a number of advisory boards, including for the Counter-Extremism Project (a nonprofit and nonpartisan international policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideologies), the Secure Community Network (the official safety and security organization for the North American Jewish community), and the Sue J. Henry Center for Pre-Law Education at Miami University.
An Ohio native, Ambassador Sales received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke Law School, where he was Research Editor of the Duke Law Journal and joined the Order of the Coif. After law school, he clerked for the Honorable David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Visiting Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
Dr. Arthur Herman (Ph.D. Johns Hopkins, 1985) is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestselling How the Scots Invented the Modern World (2001); the Pulitzer Prize Finalist Gandhi and Churchill (2008); To Rule the Waves: How the British Navy Shaped the Modern World (nominated for the UK’s Mountbatten Prize); and the highly acclaimed Freedom’s Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, which The Economist magazine picked as one of the Best Books of 2012.
His most recent work, The Cave and the Light: Plato Versus Aristotle and the Struggle for the Soul of Western Civilization, was published by Random House in 2013.
Educated at the University of Minnesota and Johns Hopkins University in history and classics, Dr. Herman is a frequent contributor on defense, energy, and technology issues to Commentary magazine, the New York Post, National Review, and the Wall Street Journal. He was also the first non-British citizen to be named to the Scottish Arts Council from 2007 to 2009.
Adjunct Fellow, Manhattan Institute
Judith Miller is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor. A best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter formerly with the New York Times, she has won numerous awards for her articles and her defense of the First Amendment.
Since 2008, Ms. Miller has been a commentator for Fox News, speaking on terrorism and other national security issues, the Middle East, U.S. foreign policy, and the need to strike a delicate balance between protecting both national security and civil liberties in a post-9/11 world.
Prior to leaving the Times in October, 2005, she spent 85 days in jail to defend a reporter's right to protect confidential sources. That year she received the Society of Professional Journalists' "First Amendment Award" for her defense of an independent press. Since leaving jail, she has been advocating the enactment of a Federal shield law to protect the relationship between reporters and their sources and the public's right to know.
Ms. Miller has written four books and contributed chapters to several others. Her most recent book, "Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War" (Simon & Schuster, 2001), written with two Times colleagues, topped the best seller's list in the wake of 9/11 and the anthrax letter terrorist attacks. Her previous book, "God Has Ninety-Nine Names", (Simon & Schuster, 1996) explores the spread of Islamic extremism in ten Middle Eastern countries, including Israel and Iran. "One, By One, By One" (Simon & Schuster, 1990) is a highly praised account of how people in six nations have distorted the memory of the Holocaust. That same year, she co-authored "Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf" (Times Books), which also topped The Times Best Seller list during the 1991 Gulf war. Her new book, “The Story, A Reporter’s Journey,” is being published by Simon & Schuster this spring.
In 2002, Ms. Miller was part of a small team that won a Pulitzer Prize for "explanatory journalism" for her January, 2001 series on Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. That same year, she won an Emmy for her work on a Nova/New York Times documentary based on articles for her book, "Germs." She was part of the Times team that won the prestigious DuPont award for a series of programs on terrorism for PBS's "Frontline."
Ms. Miller holds a bachelor's degree from Barnard and a master's from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She resides in New York City and Sag Harbor with her husband, Jason Epstein, a publisher and writer.
Welcome & Panel I: The War on Terror
Michael Chertoff, William J. Haynes, Michael B. Mukasey, John Rizzo, Margaret Spellings, Larry D. Thompson
On September 19, 2015, The Federalist Society hosted the 2015 Texas Chapters Conference at the George...
Welcome & Panel I: The War on Terror
Michael Chertoff, William J. Haynes, Michael B. Mukasey, John Rizzo, Margaret Spellings, Larry D. Thompson
On September 19, 2015, The Federalist Society hosted the 2015 Texas Chapters Conference at the George...
Welcome & Panel I: The War on Terror
2015 Texas Chapters Conference
Dallas, TXPublic Service and Private Servers: The Law of Government Information Retention and Security - Podcast
Adam R. Pearlman, Shannen W. Coffin, Nathan A. Sales
There has been much in the news recently relating to public officials’ transmission and retention...
Public Service and Private Servers: The Law of Government Information Retention and Security
TeleforumThe Story: A Reporter's Journey - Podcast
Judith Miller, Arthur Herman
In her book, The Story: A Reporter's Journey, former New York Times reporter Judith Miller...
The Story: A Reporter's Journey
TeleforumPanel II: Are We @Cyberwar, and If So, How Should We Fight It?
Stewart A. Baker, Eric Jensen, Catherine B. Lotrionte, Jeremy A. Rabkin, John C. Yoo
Several significant cyber incidents, including the recent Sony hack, have been attributed to nation-states or...
Panel II: Are We @Cyberwar, and If So, How Should We Fight It?
Stewart A. Baker, Eric Jensen, Catherine B. Lotrionte, Jeremy A. Rabkin, John C. Yoo
Several significant cyber incidents, including the recent Sony hack, have been attributed to nation-states or...
Welcome & Panel I: How to Manage the Intelligence Community
Michael Allen, Matthew R. A. Heiman, Eli Lake, Ben Powell, Dean Reuter
Since September 11, 2001, the intelligence community has been at the center of key national...