Investigative Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce
Kent Talbert is a Washington, DC-based attorney with over 25 years’ experience in providing advice on education law and policy in Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and the private sector. His practice includes legal and policy advice to colleges and universities, for-profit schools, accrediting agencies, the pre-K-12 sector, charter school organizations, trade associations, and education-focused companies, as well as service as an expert witness. He currently serves as Investigative Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Prior to establishing his firm, Mr. Talbert practiced at Talbert & Eitel, PLLC from 2010-2012. From 2006-2009 he served as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education, advising the Secretary of Education on a broad range of legal and policy matters, including the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the drafting and implementation of regulations under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and major education law cases pending before the Supreme Court of the United States and other appellate and trial courts. During his tenure as General Counsel, Mr. Talbert served as the Chief Regulatory Officer for the Department, overseeing all documents for publication in the Federal Register.
He has provided legal and strategic advice on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("Clery Act"), Federal Student Aid program reviews, negotiated rulemaking, and accreditation.
Prior to his service as General Counsel, Mr. Talbert served as the Department's Deputy General Counsel for Departmental and Legislative Service from 2001-2006. Earlier in his career, Mr. Talbert served for over 12 years on House and Senate staff, both as Education Policy Counsel for the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a professional staff member of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources (now Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) in the U.S. Senate.
Mr. Talbert is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and South Carolina, the Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys where he serves on the Committee on Legal Education. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and all federal courts in South Carolina and Washington, DC.
Co-Founder and President, Defense of Freedom Institute
Bob is a co-founder and President of DFI. He previously served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education from 2017 through 2020 and Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education from 2005 until 2009.
During his most recent tenure at the Department, Bob served on the Secretary’s Leadership Team as a strategic and legal adviser on higher education, civil rights, and congressional oversight matters. As the Department’s Regulatory Reform Officer, he also supervised the implementation of the Secretary’s regulatory agenda and was an architect of the Secretary’s reforms concerning Title IX and the Higher Education Act. As Deputy General Counsel, Bob advised on a wide variety of regulatory, legislative, and oversight matters.
Prior to joining the Department in 2017, Bob was vice president for regulatory compliance matters for several postsecondary institutions and practiced education and employment law in Washington, D.C. Before coming to the Department in 2005, he practiced law in New Orleans, litigating commercial, employment, and bankruptcy cases in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.
Bob earned his A.B. in History from Georgetown University, studied British government and international politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received his law degree from Tulane University Law School. His articles have been published by National Review, Real Clear Education, Washington Examiner, and other media outlets. Fox News has featured his work.
Bob is a member of the District of Columbia and Louisiana Bars and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
Director of Policy Studies & Senior Fellow, The Free State Foundation
Seth L. Cooper is Director of Policy Studies & Senior Fellow at The Free State Foundation. His work on federal communications and technology policy at the Free State Foundation began in 2009.
With Randolph May, Mr. Cooper is the co-author of Modernizing Copyright Law for the Digital Age: Constitutional Foundations for Reform (2020) and Constitutional Foundations of Intellectual Property: A Natural Rights Perspective (2015), both published by Carolina Academic Press. Along with Mr. May, Mr. Cooper also co-authored A Reader on Net Neutrality and Restoring Internet Freedom (2018) and #CommActUpdate: A Communications Law Fit for the Digital Age (2017), both published by Free State Foundation Press. He previously contributed to two chapters in Communications Law and Policy in the Digital Age (2012), published by Carolina Academic Press. Mr. Cooper's work has also appeared in such publications as CommLaw Conspectus, the San Jose Mercury News, Forbes.com, the Des Moines Register, the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Examiner, and the Washington Times.
Mr. Cooper previously served as Director to the Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Mr. Cooper served as judicial clerk to the Honorable James Johnson at the Washington State Supreme Court. His co-writings about the Washington Supreme Court have appeared in the Gonzaga Law Review and in Federalist Society publications. He has worked in law and policy staff positions at the Washington State Senate and at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science & Culture. Mr. Cooper is a 2009 Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute. He also has worked in private practice in the State of Washington, handling civil legal matters involving personal injuries, small business, contracts, and wills, trusts, and estates.
Mr. Cooper earned his B.A. degree in Political Science from Pacific Lutheran University and received his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law.
Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Andy excels at solving complex problems for his clients using a variety of effective strategies. As former Chief Deputy Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, Andy Cook has extensive experience representing businesses before state Attorneys General involving investigations and lawsuits. His strong relationships with Attorneys General and their senior staff frequently facilitate the successful resolution of client issues through diplomacy and negotiations. When litigation becomes necessary, Andy effectively advocates for clients throughout the litigation process.
Andy combines his legal expertise in numerous areas of law covered by state Attorneys General, an understanding of how state AG offices operate, and vast knowledge of legal and regulatory issues facing his clients. This substantive and comprehensive legal approach is crucial to effectively representing clients before state Attorneys General. Andy also has substantial experience drafting and enacting complex civil liability reforms before state legislatures to successfully address client goals.
Andy’s main practice focuses on advising Fortune 500 companies before state Attorneys General in the areas of antitrust, consumer protection, False Claims Act, environmental law, and cybersecurity and data privacy. Andy, in collaboration with a team of attorneys, successfully navigated a client through antitrust regulatory review by state Attorneys General in one of the nation’s largest mergers of two major telecommunication companies. Andy also worked with a team of lawyers representing a large corporation involving the multistate opioids litigation brought by state Attorneys General.
Andy gained valuable experience serving as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin where he was the second in command of the 700-plus state agency. In his role as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Andy oversaw the day-to-day operations at the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ); directed the State’s litigation strategy; negotiated, reviewed, and approved all settlements; drafted and reviewed attorney general opinions; managed the agency’s budget; oversaw civil and criminal investigations handled by DOJ; and managed DOJ’s legislative agenda.
Andy played college hockey and remains active by running, cross country skiing, and playing golf. On the weekends, Andy and his wife enjoy watching their kids’ sporting events, including soccer, baseball, gymnastics, and track. In his rare spare time, Andy reads history books.
The Road to a National Curriculum: The Legal Aspects of the Common Core Standards, Race to the Top, and Conditional Waivers
Kent D. Talbert, Robert S. Eitel
Note from the Editor: This paper examines the U.S. Department of Education’s administration of the...
Washington Supreme Court Rules on Attorney General's Discretion to Enter Litigation in Two Landmark Cases
Seth L. Cooper
The Washington Supreme Court in September issued two of its most highly-anticipated rulings in recent...
Washington Supreme Court Round-Up: 2007 Highlights
Andrew Cook
The Washington Supreme Court recently issued another much publicized opinion, ruling 5-4 that the voters...