Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Michael B. Brennan was confirmed and sworn in as a Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in May 2018.
He previously worked as a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he tried cases and handled appeals in federal and state courts, as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit, where he presided over a variety of criminal and civil calendars, and as an assistant district attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.
Brennan’s undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an editor on the law review and the moot court champion. He served as a law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Partner, Jones Day
Eric Dreiband represents clients in investigations, litigation, and counseling in civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower, wage and hour, and other matters. Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2021, Eric served as the 18th Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and he also served as the 12th General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Under Eric's leadership, DOJ's Civil Rights Division set enforcement records for prosecutions of law enforcement officers and sexual harassment, religious liberty, and servicemember cases; charged the highest number of hate crimes cases in decades; significantly expanded resources for human trafficking prosecutions; prosecuted race and other forms of illegal discrimination in education, employment, housing, lending, and voting; reached historic disability rights settlements with several states; opposed unlawful COVID-19-related civil liberty restrictions; and successfully litigated to protect the Constitutional and civil rights of all people in the United States.
As EEOC general counsel, Eric led the Commission's litigation of the federal employment antidiscrimination laws, and he issued the Regional Attorneys' Manual, which established the policies of EEOC's litigation program. Eric also served at the Department of Labor (DOL) as deputy wage and hour administrator and directed DOL's enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other laws.
From 1997 to 2000, Eric served as a prosecutor in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr.
Eric has spoken and written extensively about civil rights and other employment laws, and he has testified about these subjects before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Former Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labo
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Brian Hayes is a Shareholder in the Washington, DC office of Ogletree Deakins and serves as Co-Chair of the law firm’s Traditional Labor Practice Group. Immediately prior to his joining the firm he was a Member of the National Labor Relations Board. He was confirmed to that post by the United States Senate in 2010 and his term ended in December of 2012. He is currently a Member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Advisory Committee and was recently named Chairman of the U.S. Chamber’s Subcommittee on the National Labor Relations Act. He also serves as editor in chief for The Practical NLRB Advisor.
Prior to his nomination and confirmation to the NLRB, Brian Hayes served as the Republican Labor Policy Director for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He came to Capitol Hill in 2005 after nearly thirty years in private legal practice devoted exclusively to representing management clients in labor and employment matters. While in private practice he represented clients in scores of cases before NLRB, state and federal courts, and a host of other federal agencies such as the EEOC, OFCCP, OSHA, the Department of Labor and their state counterparts. He also has had extensive private practice experience representing employers in collective-bargaining negotiations, arbitrations and other forms of dispute resolution. In addition to his private practice, he served as Counsel to the Employers’ Association of the Northeast, editor-in-chief and contributor to The Health Care Labor Manual, and also served on the adjunct faculty of Western New England Law School teaching courses in labor law, and collective-bargaining, arbitration and employment litigation. Before entering private practice he began his legal career at the NLRB working as a law clerk to the Chief Administrative Law Judge while in law school and subsequently as counsel to the then-Board Chairman. He is a graduate of Boston College and of Georgetown University Law School.
Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Steven P. Lehotsky has significant experience developing and executing litigation strategies to help businesses and trade associations address their most important regulatory and public-policy challenges.
Before founding Lehotsky Keller LLP, Mr. Lehotsky directed the litigation strategy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's leading business federation, where he worked from 2013-2021. While at the U.S. Chamber’s Litigation Center, he served as chief litigation counsel. Mr. Lehotsky led the Chamber's efforts to bring successful challenges to federal, state, and local regulations of business. He also directed the U.S. Chamber's efforts to defend pro-growth regulatory reforms. Mr. Lehotsky also led and implemented the U.S. Chamber’s strategies for filing hundreds of amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appellate and district courts, and state supreme and appellate courts. He is a frequent speaker at events and conferences on litigation and regulatory trends.
Mr. Lehotsky previously was an attorney at WilmerHale LLP in both the Washington D.C. and Boston offices, where he practiced government and regulatory litigation, appellate litigation, and counseling on constitutional, statutory, and regulatory issues for clients across a wide variety of industry sectors. He also previously practiced as a commercial litigator at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston.
In addition, Mr. Lehotsky was an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2006-2009, advising the White House and executive departments and agencies on constitutional and statutory issues relating to national security, immigration, international sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other programs, the response to the 2008 financial crisis, pandemic influenza and infectious-disease mitigation, cybersecurity, and congressional investigations, among many other subjects.
Mr. Lehotsky was a law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Michael B. Brennan was confirmed and sworn in as a Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in May 2018.
He previously worked as a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he tried cases and handled appeals in federal and state courts, as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit, where he presided over a variety of criminal and civil calendars, and as an assistant district attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.
Brennan’s undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an editor on the law review and the moot court champion. He served as a law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Partner, Jones Day
Eric Dreiband represents clients in investigations, litigation, and counseling in civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower, wage and hour, and other matters. Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2021, Eric served as the 18th Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and he also served as the 12th General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Under Eric's leadership, DOJ's Civil Rights Division set enforcement records for prosecutions of law enforcement officers and sexual harassment, religious liberty, and servicemember cases; charged the highest number of hate crimes cases in decades; significantly expanded resources for human trafficking prosecutions; prosecuted race and other forms of illegal discrimination in education, employment, housing, lending, and voting; reached historic disability rights settlements with several states; opposed unlawful COVID-19-related civil liberty restrictions; and successfully litigated to protect the Constitutional and civil rights of all people in the United States.
As EEOC general counsel, Eric led the Commission's litigation of the federal employment antidiscrimination laws, and he issued the Regional Attorneys' Manual, which established the policies of EEOC's litigation program. Eric also served at the Department of Labor (DOL) as deputy wage and hour administrator and directed DOL's enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other laws.
From 1997 to 2000, Eric served as a prosecutor in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr.
Eric has spoken and written extensively about civil rights and other employment laws, and he has testified about these subjects before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Former Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labo
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Brian Hayes is a Shareholder in the Washington, DC office of Ogletree Deakins and serves as Co-Chair of the law firm’s Traditional Labor Practice Group. Immediately prior to his joining the firm he was a Member of the National Labor Relations Board. He was confirmed to that post by the United States Senate in 2010 and his term ended in December of 2012. He is currently a Member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Advisory Committee and was recently named Chairman of the U.S. Chamber’s Subcommittee on the National Labor Relations Act. He also serves as editor in chief for The Practical NLRB Advisor.
Prior to his nomination and confirmation to the NLRB, Brian Hayes served as the Republican Labor Policy Director for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He came to Capitol Hill in 2005 after nearly thirty years in private legal practice devoted exclusively to representing management clients in labor and employment matters. While in private practice he represented clients in scores of cases before NLRB, state and federal courts, and a host of other federal agencies such as the EEOC, OFCCP, OSHA, the Department of Labor and their state counterparts. He also has had extensive private practice experience representing employers in collective-bargaining negotiations, arbitrations and other forms of dispute resolution. In addition to his private practice, he served as Counsel to the Employers’ Association of the Northeast, editor-in-chief and contributor to The Health Care Labor Manual, and also served on the adjunct faculty of Western New England Law School teaching courses in labor law, and collective-bargaining, arbitration and employment litigation. Before entering private practice he began his legal career at the NLRB working as a law clerk to the Chief Administrative Law Judge while in law school and subsequently as counsel to the then-Board Chairman. He is a graduate of Boston College and of Georgetown University Law School.
Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Steven P. Lehotsky has significant experience developing and executing litigation strategies to help businesses and trade associations address their most important regulatory and public-policy challenges.
Before founding Lehotsky Keller LLP, Mr. Lehotsky directed the litigation strategy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's leading business federation, where he worked from 2013-2021. While at the U.S. Chamber’s Litigation Center, he served as chief litigation counsel. Mr. Lehotsky led the Chamber's efforts to bring successful challenges to federal, state, and local regulations of business. He also directed the U.S. Chamber's efforts to defend pro-growth regulatory reforms. Mr. Lehotsky also led and implemented the U.S. Chamber’s strategies for filing hundreds of amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appellate and district courts, and state supreme and appellate courts. He is a frequent speaker at events and conferences on litigation and regulatory trends.
Mr. Lehotsky previously was an attorney at WilmerHale LLP in both the Washington D.C. and Boston offices, where he practiced government and regulatory litigation, appellate litigation, and counseling on constitutional, statutory, and regulatory issues for clients across a wide variety of industry sectors. He also previously practiced as a commercial litigator at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston.
In addition, Mr. Lehotsky was an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2006-2009, advising the White House and executive departments and agencies on constitutional and statutory issues relating to national security, immigration, international sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other programs, the response to the 2008 financial crisis, pandemic influenza and infectious-disease mitigation, cybersecurity, and congressional investigations, among many other subjects.
Mr. Lehotsky was a law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, HII
Chad Boudreaux is executive vice president and chief legal officer for HII, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry.
Serving in this role since 2020, he has overall leadership responsibility for HII’s Law Department and outside counsel, which provide a broad range of legal advice and support for the company’s business activities, including corporate governance matters, compliance, litigation management, and mergers and acquisitions.
Previous to this appointment, Boudreaux managed HII’s litigation docket and oversaw HII’s nationally recognized compliance program as the company’s first chief compliance officer. He joined HII in 2011 as corporate vice president for litigation, investigations and compliance. In 2014, he led the Law Department team that won the coveted ACC Value Challenge Award for HII’s compliance program, a program that has since been heralded as “a roadmap for other companies.”
Before joining HII, he practiced law at Baker Botts LLP, where he established the law firm’s Global Security and Corporate Risk Counseling practice group. He has also previously held various high-ranking positions in the U.S. government to include serving as the deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and multiple leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Boudreaux earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. He is a recipient of the U.S. Justice Department’s Special Commendation for Outstanding Service for his work on high-stakes litigation for the United States.
Former General Counsel, WWE; Former Deputy General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Caterpillar Inc.; Former Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice
Ms. Collins has more than twenty years of global experience, including as the General Counsel of a publicly traded company, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a Fortune 100 company, and a senior government official.
Ms. Collins most recently was the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of WWE, Inc., a publicly traded sports entertainment company. There, she provided advice and counsel on all legal issues, participating as a key member of the company's senior leadership team. She was previously at Caterpillar Inc. as a Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. At Caterpillar, Ms. Collins led teams of well over 100 legal and compliance professionals around the world. Her teams provided legal and compliance advice across a wide range of issues, including commercial, compliance, employment, securities, disclosures, corporate governance, internal investigations, data privacy, technology development, tax, and M&A. Ms. Collins also led global trade compliance and litigation. In 2021, Ms. Collins served as a Managing Director of a Caterpillar subsidiary while working in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining Caterpillar, Ms. Collins was the Lead Counsel, Autonomous Systems Division, at The Boeing Company.
Ms. Collins has also served in numerous roles in the United States government, most recently from 2012-2018 as a Board Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a national security oversight agency. She was twice unanimously confirmed to that position by the U.S. Senate. Ms. Collins also served four years at the United States Department of Justice and was unanimously confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy in 2008. At the Department of Justice, she provided daily counsel to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on a wide range of issues, including civil and criminal law, national security, and judicial nominations. She also served as the Department’s Regulatory Policy Officer. Ms. Collins also served in 2009 as Republican Chief Counsel, Supreme Court Nominations, for the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary.
Ms. Collins has also worked as a law firm Partner, Counsel, and Associate at a litigation boutique, mid-size firm, and global full-service firm.
Ms. Collins clerked for the Honorable Laurence H. Silberman, Senior Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and for Chief Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform
Harold H. Kim was elected president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) in December 2019, after nearly 12 years of holding a senior leadership position within ILR. Under Kim, the Institute will continue to be a comprehensive, multifaceted global legal reform campaign with cutting-edge advocacy, research, communications, and voter education initiatives.
Kim is responsible for providing strategy, policy guidance, programmatic management, and leadership for ILR’s comprehensive program aimed at improving the nation’s litigation climate.
Before joining ILR, Kim was special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. There he served as former President George W. Bush’s liaison to the Senate on matters involving national security, the judiciary, civil justice reform, intellectual property, and criminal law enforcement. During his tenure, he helped win confirmation for several of President Bush’s judicial and executive nominees and worked closely with Congress to advance the administration’s policy priorities.
From 2003 to 2007, Kim served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, deputy chief counsel to the late ranking member Arlen Specter, and senior committee counsel for then-Chairman Orrin Hatch. During the passage of the 2005 Class Action Fairness Act, Kim was the committee’s chief civil counsel and advised Republican members during the bill’s committee markup and Senate floor action. He also advised committee members in the areas of asbestos, class action, medical malpractice, and bankruptcy litigation reform.
Prior to government service, Kim was a senior litigation associate at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Patton Boggs, LLP.
Kim is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, and earned a J.D. from The Catholic University of America.
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, National Football League
Ted Ullyot serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the National Football League and is the founder of Highway 50 Ventures, LLC, an investment and advisory firm. A lawyer by background, Ullyot was General Counsel of Facebook from 2008 to 2013. He served in the administration of President George W. Bush, including in the White House as an Associate Counsel and as Deputy Staff Secretary, and in the Justice Department as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Gonzales.
Ullyot began his career as a law clerk, first for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He was a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
At other points in his career, Ullyot served as General Counsel of ESL Investments, Inc.; as General Counsel of AOL Time Warner Europe; as a board member at AutoZone Inc.; and as a partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
He is a member of the board of visitors of the Federalist Society; a member of the University of Chicago Law School Council; and a board member of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society.
Ullyot graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, after doing his undergraduate work at Harvard. He and his family live in Northern California.
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, HII
Chad Boudreaux is executive vice president and chief legal officer for HII, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry.
Serving in this role since 2020, he has overall leadership responsibility for HII’s Law Department and outside counsel, which provide a broad range of legal advice and support for the company’s business activities, including corporate governance matters, compliance, litigation management, and mergers and acquisitions.
Previous to this appointment, Boudreaux managed HII’s litigation docket and oversaw HII’s nationally recognized compliance program as the company’s first chief compliance officer. He joined HII in 2011 as corporate vice president for litigation, investigations and compliance. In 2014, he led the Law Department team that won the coveted ACC Value Challenge Award for HII’s compliance program, a program that has since been heralded as “a roadmap for other companies.”
Before joining HII, he practiced law at Baker Botts LLP, where he established the law firm’s Global Security and Corporate Risk Counseling practice group. He has also previously held various high-ranking positions in the U.S. government to include serving as the deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and multiple leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Boudreaux earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. He is a recipient of the U.S. Justice Department’s Special Commendation for Outstanding Service for his work on high-stakes litigation for the United States.
Former General Counsel, WWE; Former Deputy General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Caterpillar Inc.; Former Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice
Ms. Collins has more than twenty years of global experience, including as the General Counsel of a publicly traded company, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a Fortune 100 company, and a senior government official.
Ms. Collins most recently was the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of WWE, Inc., a publicly traded sports entertainment company. There, she provided advice and counsel on all legal issues, participating as a key member of the company's senior leadership team. She was previously at Caterpillar Inc. as a Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. At Caterpillar, Ms. Collins led teams of well over 100 legal and compliance professionals around the world. Her teams provided legal and compliance advice across a wide range of issues, including commercial, compliance, employment, securities, disclosures, corporate governance, internal investigations, data privacy, technology development, tax, and M&A. Ms. Collins also led global trade compliance and litigation. In 2021, Ms. Collins served as a Managing Director of a Caterpillar subsidiary while working in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining Caterpillar, Ms. Collins was the Lead Counsel, Autonomous Systems Division, at The Boeing Company.
Ms. Collins has also served in numerous roles in the United States government, most recently from 2012-2018 as a Board Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a national security oversight agency. She was twice unanimously confirmed to that position by the U.S. Senate. Ms. Collins also served four years at the United States Department of Justice and was unanimously confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy in 2008. At the Department of Justice, she provided daily counsel to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on a wide range of issues, including civil and criminal law, national security, and judicial nominations. She also served as the Department’s Regulatory Policy Officer. Ms. Collins also served in 2009 as Republican Chief Counsel, Supreme Court Nominations, for the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary.
Ms. Collins has also worked as a law firm Partner, Counsel, and Associate at a litigation boutique, mid-size firm, and global full-service firm.
Ms. Collins clerked for the Honorable Laurence H. Silberman, Senior Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and for Chief Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform
Harold H. Kim was elected president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) in December 2019, after nearly 12 years of holding a senior leadership position within ILR. Under Kim, the Institute will continue to be a comprehensive, multifaceted global legal reform campaign with cutting-edge advocacy, research, communications, and voter education initiatives.
Kim is responsible for providing strategy, policy guidance, programmatic management, and leadership for ILR’s comprehensive program aimed at improving the nation’s litigation climate.
Before joining ILR, Kim was special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. There he served as former President George W. Bush’s liaison to the Senate on matters involving national security, the judiciary, civil justice reform, intellectual property, and criminal law enforcement. During his tenure, he helped win confirmation for several of President Bush’s judicial and executive nominees and worked closely with Congress to advance the administration’s policy priorities.
From 2003 to 2007, Kim served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, deputy chief counsel to the late ranking member Arlen Specter, and senior committee counsel for then-Chairman Orrin Hatch. During the passage of the 2005 Class Action Fairness Act, Kim was the committee’s chief civil counsel and advised Republican members during the bill’s committee markup and Senate floor action. He also advised committee members in the areas of asbestos, class action, medical malpractice, and bankruptcy litigation reform.
Prior to government service, Kim was a senior litigation associate at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Patton Boggs, LLP.
Kim is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, and earned a J.D. from The Catholic University of America.
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, National Football League
Ted Ullyot serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the National Football League and is the founder of Highway 50 Ventures, LLC, an investment and advisory firm. A lawyer by background, Ullyot was General Counsel of Facebook from 2008 to 2013. He served in the administration of President George W. Bush, including in the White House as an Associate Counsel and as Deputy Staff Secretary, and in the Justice Department as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Gonzales.
Ullyot began his career as a law clerk, first for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He was a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
At other points in his career, Ullyot served as General Counsel of ESL Investments, Inc.; as General Counsel of AOL Time Warner Europe; as a board member at AutoZone Inc.; and as a partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
He is a member of the board of visitors of the Federalist Society; a member of the University of Chicago Law School Council; and a board member of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society.
Ullyot graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, after doing his undergraduate work at Harvard. He and his family live in Northern California.
Principal, Sharon Fast Gustafson, Attorney at Law, PLC
SHARON FAST GUSTAFSON is the immediate past General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Ms. Gustafson graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991 and has concentrated her practice in employment law. She worked for four years in the labor and employment law group at Jones, Day in Washington, D.C. Since that time, she has had a broad-based solo practice advising and representing employers and employees in handling all aspects of the employment relationship, in compliance with federal and state workplace laws, and in designing and implementing sound employment policies and practices.
Ms. Gustafson is an experienced litigator in federal and state courts; before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, state and local civil rights offices, and the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division; and in mediation and arbitration. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Gustafson successfully litigated a pregnancy discrimination case, Young v. UPS, 575 U.S. 206 (2015), from EEOC intake to a successful outcome at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she received the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s “Lawyer of the Year” award “in recognition of outstanding dedication to Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice.”
Ms. Gustafson represents both employers and employees in matters relating to employment law.
General Counsel, United States National Labor Relations Board
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Amul R. Thapar serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His judicial career began in 2007 when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve on the Eastern District of Kentucky, making him the first South Asian Article III judge in American history. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee.
Before joining the bench, Judge Thapar served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. While United States Attorney, Judge Thapar worked on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (“AGAC”) and chaired the AGAC’s Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security subcommittee, the Violent Crime subcommittee, and the Child Exploitation working group.
Judge Thapar has worked in private practice, at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Judge Thapar received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, Judge Thapar worked as a law clerk to the Honorable S. Arthur Spiegel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Thapar has also published in the Yale Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, and Catholic University Law Review. He teaches courses on originalism, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and legal writing at Notre Dame Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, and Vanderbilt Law School.
Principal, Sharon Fast Gustafson, Attorney at Law, PLC
SHARON FAST GUSTAFSON is the immediate past General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Ms. Gustafson graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991 and has concentrated her practice in employment law. She worked for four years in the labor and employment law group at Jones, Day in Washington, D.C. Since that time, she has had a broad-based solo practice advising and representing employers and employees in handling all aspects of the employment relationship, in compliance with federal and state workplace laws, and in designing and implementing sound employment policies and practices.
Ms. Gustafson is an experienced litigator in federal and state courts; before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, state and local civil rights offices, and the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division; and in mediation and arbitration. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Gustafson successfully litigated a pregnancy discrimination case, Young v. UPS, 575 U.S. 206 (2015), from EEOC intake to a successful outcome at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she received the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s “Lawyer of the Year” award “in recognition of outstanding dedication to Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice.”
Ms. Gustafson represents both employers and employees in matters relating to employment law.
General Counsel, United States National Labor Relations Board
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Amul R. Thapar serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His judicial career began in 2007 when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve on the Eastern District of Kentucky, making him the first South Asian Article III judge in American history. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee.
Before joining the bench, Judge Thapar served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. While United States Attorney, Judge Thapar worked on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (“AGAC”) and chaired the AGAC’s Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security subcommittee, the Violent Crime subcommittee, and the Child Exploitation working group.
Judge Thapar has worked in private practice, at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Judge Thapar received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, Judge Thapar worked as a law clerk to the Honorable S. Arthur Spiegel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Thapar has also published in the Yale Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, and Catholic University Law Review. He teaches courses on originalism, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and legal writing at Notre Dame Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, and Vanderbilt Law School.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
Michael B. Brennan was confirmed and sworn in as a Circuit Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in May 2018.
He previously worked as a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he tried cases and handled appeals in federal and state courts, as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit, where he presided over a variety of criminal and civil calendars, and as an assistant district attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.
Brennan’s undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an editor on the law review and the moot court champion. He served as a law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Partner, Jones Day
Eric Dreiband represents clients in investigations, litigation, and counseling in civil rights, employment discrimination, whistleblower, wage and hour, and other matters. Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2021, Eric served as the 18th Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and he also served as the 12th General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Under Eric's leadership, DOJ's Civil Rights Division set enforcement records for prosecutions of law enforcement officers and sexual harassment, religious liberty, and servicemember cases; charged the highest number of hate crimes cases in decades; significantly expanded resources for human trafficking prosecutions; prosecuted race and other forms of illegal discrimination in education, employment, housing, lending, and voting; reached historic disability rights settlements with several states; opposed unlawful COVID-19-related civil liberty restrictions; and successfully litigated to protect the Constitutional and civil rights of all people in the United States.
As EEOC general counsel, Eric led the Commission's litigation of the federal employment antidiscrimination laws, and he issued the Regional Attorneys' Manual, which established the policies of EEOC's litigation program. Eric also served at the Department of Labor (DOL) as deputy wage and hour administrator and directed DOL's enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other laws.
From 1997 to 2000, Eric served as a prosecutor in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr.
Eric has spoken and written extensively about civil rights and other employment laws, and he has testified about these subjects before committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
Former Director, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, U.S. Department of Labo
Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins
Brian Hayes is a Shareholder in the Washington, DC office of Ogletree Deakins and serves as Co-Chair of the law firm’s Traditional Labor Practice Group. Immediately prior to his joining the firm he was a Member of the National Labor Relations Board. He was confirmed to that post by the United States Senate in 2010 and his term ended in December of 2012. He is currently a Member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Advisory Committee and was recently named Chairman of the U.S. Chamber’s Subcommittee on the National Labor Relations Act. He also serves as editor in chief for The Practical NLRB Advisor.
Prior to his nomination and confirmation to the NLRB, Brian Hayes served as the Republican Labor Policy Director for the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He came to Capitol Hill in 2005 after nearly thirty years in private legal practice devoted exclusively to representing management clients in labor and employment matters. While in private practice he represented clients in scores of cases before NLRB, state and federal courts, and a host of other federal agencies such as the EEOC, OFCCP, OSHA, the Department of Labor and their state counterparts. He also has had extensive private practice experience representing employers in collective-bargaining negotiations, arbitrations and other forms of dispute resolution. In addition to his private practice, he served as Counsel to the Employers’ Association of the Northeast, editor-in-chief and contributor to The Health Care Labor Manual, and also served on the adjunct faculty of Western New England Law School teaching courses in labor law, and collective-bargaining, arbitration and employment litigation. Before entering private practice he began his legal career at the NLRB working as a law clerk to the Chief Administrative Law Judge while in law school and subsequently as counsel to the then-Board Chairman. He is a graduate of Boston College and of Georgetown University Law School.
Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center
Steven P. Lehotsky has significant experience developing and executing litigation strategies to help businesses and trade associations address their most important regulatory and public-policy challenges.
Before founding Lehotsky Keller LLP, Mr. Lehotsky directed the litigation strategy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's leading business federation, where he worked from 2013-2021. While at the U.S. Chamber’s Litigation Center, he served as chief litigation counsel. Mr. Lehotsky led the Chamber's efforts to bring successful challenges to federal, state, and local regulations of business. He also directed the U.S. Chamber's efforts to defend pro-growth regulatory reforms. Mr. Lehotsky also led and implemented the U.S. Chamber’s strategies for filing hundreds of amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appellate and district courts, and state supreme and appellate courts. He is a frequent speaker at events and conferences on litigation and regulatory trends.
Mr. Lehotsky previously was an attorney at WilmerHale LLP in both the Washington D.C. and Boston offices, where he practiced government and regulatory litigation, appellate litigation, and counseling on constitutional, statutory, and regulatory issues for clients across a wide variety of industry sectors. He also previously practiced as a commercial litigator at Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston.
In addition, Mr. Lehotsky was an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2006-2009, advising the White House and executive departments and agencies on constitutional and statutory issues relating to national security, immigration, international sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and other programs, the response to the 2008 financial crisis, pandemic influenza and infectious-disease mitigation, cybersecurity, and congressional investigations, among many other subjects.
Mr. Lehotsky was a law clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, HII
Chad Boudreaux is executive vice president and chief legal officer for HII, America’s largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry.
Serving in this role since 2020, he has overall leadership responsibility for HII’s Law Department and outside counsel, which provide a broad range of legal advice and support for the company’s business activities, including corporate governance matters, compliance, litigation management, and mergers and acquisitions.
Previous to this appointment, Boudreaux managed HII’s litigation docket and oversaw HII’s nationally recognized compliance program as the company’s first chief compliance officer. He joined HII in 2011 as corporate vice president for litigation, investigations and compliance. In 2014, he led the Law Department team that won the coveted ACC Value Challenge Award for HII’s compliance program, a program that has since been heralded as “a roadmap for other companies.”
Before joining HII, he practiced law at Baker Botts LLP, where he established the law firm’s Global Security and Corporate Risk Counseling practice group. He has also previously held various high-ranking positions in the U.S. government to include serving as the deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and multiple leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Boudreaux earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. He is a recipient of the U.S. Justice Department’s Special Commendation for Outstanding Service for his work on high-stakes litigation for the United States.
Former General Counsel, WWE; Former Deputy General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Caterpillar Inc.; Former Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy, U.S. Department of Justice
Ms. Collins has more than twenty years of global experience, including as the General Counsel of a publicly traded company, Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of a Fortune 100 company, and a senior government official.
Ms. Collins most recently was the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of WWE, Inc., a publicly traded sports entertainment company. There, she provided advice and counsel on all legal issues, participating as a key member of the company's senior leadership team. She was previously at Caterpillar Inc. as a Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. At Caterpillar, Ms. Collins led teams of well over 100 legal and compliance professionals around the world. Her teams provided legal and compliance advice across a wide range of issues, including commercial, compliance, employment, securities, disclosures, corporate governance, internal investigations, data privacy, technology development, tax, and M&A. Ms. Collins also led global trade compliance and litigation. In 2021, Ms. Collins served as a Managing Director of a Caterpillar subsidiary while working in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to joining Caterpillar, Ms. Collins was the Lead Counsel, Autonomous Systems Division, at The Boeing Company.
Ms. Collins has also served in numerous roles in the United States government, most recently from 2012-2018 as a Board Member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a national security oversight agency. She was twice unanimously confirmed to that position by the U.S. Senate. Ms. Collins also served four years at the United States Department of Justice and was unanimously confirmed as Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy in 2008. At the Department of Justice, she provided daily counsel to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General on a wide range of issues, including civil and criminal law, national security, and judicial nominations. She also served as the Department’s Regulatory Policy Officer. Ms. Collins also served in 2009 as Republican Chief Counsel, Supreme Court Nominations, for the U.S. Senate, Committee on the Judiciary.
Ms. Collins has also worked as a law firm Partner, Counsel, and Associate at a litigation boutique, mid-size firm, and global full-service firm.
Ms. Collins clerked for the Honorable Laurence H. Silberman, Senior Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and for Chief Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform
Harold H. Kim was elected president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform (ILR) in December 2019, after nearly 12 years of holding a senior leadership position within ILR. Under Kim, the Institute will continue to be a comprehensive, multifaceted global legal reform campaign with cutting-edge advocacy, research, communications, and voter education initiatives.
Kim is responsible for providing strategy, policy guidance, programmatic management, and leadership for ILR’s comprehensive program aimed at improving the nation’s litigation climate.
Before joining ILR, Kim was special assistant to the president in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. There he served as former President George W. Bush’s liaison to the Senate on matters involving national security, the judiciary, civil justice reform, intellectual property, and criminal law enforcement. During his tenure, he helped win confirmation for several of President Bush’s judicial and executive nominees and worked closely with Congress to advance the administration’s policy priorities.
From 2003 to 2007, Kim served as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, deputy chief counsel to the late ranking member Arlen Specter, and senior committee counsel for then-Chairman Orrin Hatch. During the passage of the 2005 Class Action Fairness Act, Kim was the committee’s chief civil counsel and advised Republican members during the bill’s committee markup and Senate floor action. He also advised committee members in the areas of asbestos, class action, medical malpractice, and bankruptcy litigation reform.
Prior to government service, Kim was a senior litigation associate at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Patton Boggs, LLP.
Kim is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the International Association of Defense Counsel. He is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, and earned a J.D. from The Catholic University of America.
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, National Football League
Ted Ullyot serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the National Football League and is the founder of Highway 50 Ventures, LLC, an investment and advisory firm. A lawyer by background, Ullyot was General Counsel of Facebook from 2008 to 2013. He served in the administration of President George W. Bush, including in the White House as an Associate Counsel and as Deputy Staff Secretary, and in the Justice Department as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Gonzales.
Ullyot began his career as a law clerk, first for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He was a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
At other points in his career, Ullyot served as General Counsel of ESL Investments, Inc.; as General Counsel of AOL Time Warner Europe; as a board member at AutoZone Inc.; and as a partner in the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
He is a member of the board of visitors of the Federalist Society; a member of the University of Chicago Law School Council; and a board member of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society.
Ullyot graduated from the University of Chicago Law School, after doing his undergraduate work at Harvard. He and his family live in Northern California.
Principal, Sharon Fast Gustafson, Attorney at Law, PLC
SHARON FAST GUSTAFSON is the immediate past General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Ms. Gustafson graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991 and has concentrated her practice in employment law. She worked for four years in the labor and employment law group at Jones, Day in Washington, D.C. Since that time, she has had a broad-based solo practice advising and representing employers and employees in handling all aspects of the employment relationship, in compliance with federal and state workplace laws, and in designing and implementing sound employment policies and practices.
Ms. Gustafson is an experienced litigator in federal and state courts; before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, state and local civil rights offices, and the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division; and in mediation and arbitration. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Gustafson successfully litigated a pregnancy discrimination case, Young v. UPS, 575 U.S. 206 (2015), from EEOC intake to a successful outcome at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she received the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s “Lawyer of the Year” award “in recognition of outstanding dedication to Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice.”
Ms. Gustafson represents both employers and employees in matters relating to employment law.
General Counsel, United States National Labor Relations Board
Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer, BrightStar Care
Cheryl M. Stanton is Chief Legal and Government Affairs Officer at BrightStar Care. Prior to joining BrightStar Care, she served as Administrator of the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. She was sworn in as WHD’s Administrator by U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta on April 29, 2019.
Stanton brought a wealth of experience to WHD, most recently having served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Under her leadership, South Carolina’s jobless rate dropped to its lowest point in at least 50 years. During that time period, South Carolina’s workforce system helped place over 500,000 South Carolinians into jobs. Stanton also partnered with her colleague at the Department of Corrections to create a job re-entry program for ex-offenders, receiving national accolades. She also oversaw two major information technology modernization projects that improved customer service and increased efficiencies for employees.
Stanton served as the White House’s principal legal liaison to the DOL under President George W. Bush. She is a graduate of Williams College, and earned her law degree from the University of Chicago Law School.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Amul R. Thapar serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His judicial career began in 2007 when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve on the Eastern District of Kentucky, making him the first South Asian Article III judge in American history. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee.
Before joining the bench, Judge Thapar served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. While United States Attorney, Judge Thapar worked on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (“AGAC”) and chaired the AGAC’s Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security subcommittee, the Violent Crime subcommittee, and the Child Exploitation working group.
Judge Thapar has worked in private practice, at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Judge Thapar received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, Judge Thapar worked as a law clerk to the Honorable S. Arthur Spiegel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Thapar has also published in the Yale Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, and Catholic University Law Review. He teaches courses on originalism, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and legal writing at Notre Dame Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, and Vanderbilt Law School.
Regulatory Elephants in Statutory Mouse Holes?
Michael B. Brennan, Eric Dreiband, Ondray T. Harris, Brian E. Hayes, Steven Lehotsky, Cheryl M. Stanton
When an agency claims “a merely plausible textual basis” for asserting “extravagant statutory power over...
Regulatory Elephants in Statutory Mouse Holes?
Michael B. Brennan, Eric Dreiband, Ondray T. Harris, Brian E. Hayes, Steven Lehotsky, Cheryl M. Stanton
When an agency claims “a merely plausible textual basis” for asserting “extravagant statutory power over...
Navigating Business Challenges in Red and Blue States
Chad Boudreaux, Elisebeth Collins, Harold H. Kim, Cheryl M. Stanton, Theodore W. Ullyot
In the last decades, American businesses have faced growing challenges from within and without. For...
Navigating Business Challenges in Red and Blue States
Chad Boudreaux, Elisebeth Collins, Harold H. Kim, Cheryl M. Stanton, Theodore W. Ullyot
In the last decades, American businesses have faced growing challenges from within and without. For...
Regulatory Elephants in Statutory Mouse Holes?
2022 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCNavigating Business Challenges in Red and Blue States
2022 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCLabor & Employment Law: Agency Leaders on Labor Policy
Sharon Fast Gustafson, Peter B. Robb, Cheryl M. Stanton, Amul R. Thapar
On November 11, 2020, The Federalist Society's Professional Labor & Employment Law Practice Group hosted...
Labor & Employment Law: Agency Leaders on Labor Policy
Sharon Fast Gustafson, Peter B. Robb, Cheryl M. Stanton, Amul R. Thapar
On November 11, 2020, The Federalist Society's Professional Labor & Employment Law Practice Group hosted...
Labor & Employment Law: Agency Leaders on Labor Policy
2020 National Lawyers Convention
2020 National Lawyers Convention
Agency Leaders on Labor Policy