Director, Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Ryan C. Berg is director of the Americas Program and head of the Future of Venezuela Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is also an adjunct professor at the Catholic University of America and a course coordinator at the United States Foreign Service Institute. His research focuses on U.S.-Latin America relations, strategic competition and defense policy, authoritarian regimes, armed conflict and transnational organized crime, and trade and development issues. Previously, Dr. Berg was a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he helped lead its Latin America Studies Program, as well as visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford’s Changing Character of War Programme. Dr. Berg was a Fulbright scholar in Brazil and is a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member. He has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed academic and policy-oriented journals, including The Lancet, Migration and Development, the SAIS Review of International Affairs, and the Georgetown Security Studies Review. His articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, CNN.com, Los Angeles Times, and World Politics Review, among other outlets. He routinely testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Dr. Berg obtained a PhD and an MPhil in political science and an MSc in global governance and diplomacy from the University of Oxford, where he was a Senior Hulme Fellow. Earlier, he obtained a BA in government and theology from Georgetown University. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is conversational in Slovenian.
CEO & Chairman of the Board, NeWay Capital and Próspera
Erick started his career in investment banking at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co, before working as an M&A advisor for AG Edwards & Sons (now Wells Fargo). He then joined Ernst & Young’s London advisory practice. After that, he led the creation of multiple business units as CFO of LATAM at the Borealis Group, and as an entrepreneur in the financial services industry. Erick is a member of the Society for International Development, in Washington DC.
Executive Director, Center for a Secure Free Society
Joseph M. Humire is a national security expert, specialized in analyzing Transregional Threat Networks in the Western Hemisphere. Mr. Humire provides regular briefings on countering China, Russia, and Iran’s authoritarian influence in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as combating the convergence of international terrorism and transnational organized crime. Mr. Humire has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress as well as the European and Canadian Parliament and in 2023 was awarded an Order of Defense Merit Medial from the Colombian Armed Forces.
Mr. Humire is a regular national security commentator and contributor for a variety of English and Spanish language media and has a regular weekly radio segment called the #NewWorldReport on the nationally syndicated show and podcast CBS Eye on the World with John Batchelor and is the host of the Border Wars Podcast available on all digital platforms. Mr. Humire has published in both languages for various newspapers and academic journals across the Americas and released his first book in 2014 titled Iran’s Strategic Penetration of Latin America, published by Lexington Books. More recently, in 2019, he wrote the foreword for the latest book by Dr. Max G. Manwaring, titled Confronting the Evolving Global Security Landscape published by Praeger Security International.
Mr. Humire currently serves as the executive director of the national security think tank—Center for a Secure Free Society (SFS)—based in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Prior to SFS, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps with a combat tour in Iraq and a multinational training exercise UNITAS in Latin America and the Caribbean. After leaving the military, he graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Economics and Global Affairs. Mr. Humire began building SFS’s global network of more than 100 security scholars in almost 30 countries worldwide as the Director of Institute Relations at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. He is currently a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for National Security and a visiting professor-of-practice at Florida International University’s Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Judge Katsas was appointed to the D.C. Circuit in December 2017. He graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, where he was an executive editor on the Harvard Law Review. Between 1989 and 1992, he served as a law clerk to Judge Edward Becker on the Third Circuit, to then-Judge Clarence Thomas on the D.C. Circuit, and to Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court. Between 1992 and 2001, he was an associate and then partner in the Washington office of Jones Day, where he specialized in appellate and complex civil litigation. Between 2001 and 2009, he served in many senior positions in the Department of Justice, including as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and as Acting Associate Attorney General. In 2009, he returned to Jones Day. From January to December 2017, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President.
Before joining the bench, Judge Katsas argued more than 75 appeals, including three cases in the Supreme Court, 13 cases in the D.C. Circuit, and cases in every other federal court of appeals. By appointment of the Chief Justice, he served on the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules from 2013 to 2017. In 2016, he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Partner, Clare Locke LLP
Libby is one of the country’s most sought-after libel lawyers. She is a trusted counselor and fierce advocate for Fortune 100 companies and high-profile individuals facing existential reputational attacks from the national media and other influential publishers, achieving remarkable results for her clients both in and outside the courtroom. Court watchers have called her “as good as they get,” “aggressive and not afraid to litigate,” and someone who has the media savvy to handle high profile matters in the public eye.
After co-founding Clare Locke LLP in 2014, Libby rapidly rose to national prominence for a highly-publicized multi-million dollar trial victory against Rolling Stone magazine about a fabricated gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity. In 2019, she was lead trial counsel and won a $26 million federal jury verdict on behalf of a successful North Carolina businessman who was defamed by a public company during a proxy fight. A commentator opined that “she was excellent in trial and she eviscerated the other side,” and the federal judge concluded that her vigorous cross-examination “exposed [Defendant’s] CEO as a non-credible witness.” A skilled appellate advocate and former federal circuit clerk, in 2019 Libby achieved a rare win against The New York Times on behalf of former Gov. Sarah Palin in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit arising out of a false and defamatory editorial. She is actively litigating matters against a variety of mainstream news outlets, including CNN and The New York Times.
Libby’s success in the courtroom gets her results in the newsroom. She regularly advises clients and their PR counsel in dealing with the national media in crisis situations, and some of her biggest wins are the false stories the public will never hear about. She has killed flawed articles, storylines, and broadcast segments in outlets including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, The National Enquirer, and on Bloomberg, CBS and The Dr. Oz Show. Libby has also vindicated her clients’ reputations by obtaining myriad retractions of false publications. Examples include securing a $3.375 million settlement and video apology from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a complete retraction of a Bloomberg podcast, a multi-article correction from The Chicago Tribune, and the removal of a paperback edition book from publication by Simon & Schuster.
Recognized as an expert in libel law and the First Amendment, Libby has been ranked as a Band 1 global defamation/reputation management provider in Chambers & Partners HNW directory every year since its inception in 2016, and a Band 1 First Amendment Litigator in Chambers & Partners USA in 2020. She has numerous national awards and accolades from the National Law Journal, including being named as one of D.C.’s 40 Under 40 in 2019. She is regularly asked to speak on issues involving the First Amendment, media, and reputation, including publishing multiple op-eds in The Wall Street Journal and appearing as a guest on Fox News, CNN, and ABC’s 20/20. Libby has also served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and George Washington University Law School.
Libby graduated from NYU’s College of Arts and Science with a degree in Politics and Economics, and she received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. After law school, she clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and then began her career in private practice at Kirkland & Ellis. Perhaps the accomplishment of which she is most proud, Libby is a mom of five. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and law partner, Tom Clare, their children, and the world’s most spoiled Labrador Retriever, Gipper.
Former Solicitor General of Texas
Jonathan F. Mitchell is Principal at Mitchell Law PLLC. He received his law degree with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an articles editor of The University of Chicago Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Mitchell clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of the United States. He then served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Department of Justice from 2003 through 2006. After leaving the Department of Justice, Mr. Mitchell served as a Visiting Researcher at Georgetown University Law Center, a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 2006 through 2008, and an Assistant Professor of Law at George Mason University from 2008 through 2010.
In 2010, Mr. Mitchell was appointed Solicitor General of Texas, a position he held until January 2015. After leaving the Texas Solicitor General’s office, Mr. Mitchell served as the Searle Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Texas School of Law before joining the Hoover Institution as a Visiting Fellow from 2015 to 2016. Mr. Mitchell also served as a Visiting Professor of Law at Stanford Law School before opening his own law firm in 2018.
Mr. Mitchell has published numerous works of scholarship in top-10 law journals, and he has written articles on textualism, national-security law, criminal law and procedure, judicial review and judicial federalism, and the legality of stare decisis in constitutional adjudication.
Mr. Mitchell has argued eight times before the Supreme Court of the United States, and more than 20 times in the federal courts of appeals. He has also argued before Supreme Court of Texas and in numerous trial courts. Mr. Mitchell has authored the principal merits brief in 11 Supreme Court cases, and has written and submitted more than 20 amicus curiae briefs in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Mitchell devised the novel enforcement mechanism in the Texas Heartbeat Act, also known as Senate Bill 8, which avoids pre-enforcement judicial review by prohibiting government officials from enforcing the statute and empowering private citizens to bring lawsuits against those who violate it. This produced an end-run around Roe v. Wade and allowed Texas and other states to impose pre-viability abortion bans despite the continued existence of Roe.
Attorney General of Tennessee
Jonathan Skrmetti was sworn in to an eight-year term as Tennessee’s Attorney General and Reporter on September 1, 2022.
Prior to his current role, General Skrmetti served as Chief Counsel to Governor Bill Lee and as Chief Deputy Attorney General to his predecessor, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery.
Before working for the State of Tennessee, General Skrmetti was a partner at Butler Snow LLP in Memphis. His legal career began with nearly a decade as a federal prosecutor. He worked at the Civil Rights Division at Main Justice and then at the Memphis U.S. Attorney’s Office and prosecuted sex traffickers, corrupt government officials, and violent white supremacists. In addition, General Skrmetti taught cyberlaw as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis.
General Skrmetti earned honors degrees from George Washington University, the University of Oxford, and Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Following law school, Jonathan clerked for Judge Steven Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He lives in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife and four children.
Partner, Luther Strange & Associates
Annie Donaldson Talley is Partner at Luther Strange and Associates. She recently departed the White House after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President. Over the past four years, she provided outside counsel to the Donald J. Trump for President campaign; helped stand up and manage the White House Counsel’s Office; interfaced with agencies across the federal government; and advised the President of the United States, White House Counsel, Chief of Staff and other senior staff across the Executive Office of the President on a broad range of issues from regulatory reform to executive nominations to the day-to-day issues facing the Administration.
Prior to her White House service, Annie Donaldson Talley counseled clients in the non-profit, for-profit, political, and government sectors, as well as high-profile individuals in private practice at Jones Day and Patton Boggs. She provided strategic counseling to clients structuring their affairs to ensure compliance with a web of state and federal laws and represented clients in complex, multi-faceted investigations, leading teams navigating issues of intense public scrutiny.
Annie Donaldson Talley is also a veteran of three presidential campaigns and served in state government. She holds a B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Alabama and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she served on the Harvard Law Review. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband, Brett.
Of Counsel, Ellis George LLP
Christopher Landau is Of Counsel in the firm’s new Washington, D.C. office. Chris most recently served as United States Ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. He has a diverse array of experience both inside the courtroom, at every stage of litigation, and outside of the courtroom, in navigating and solving multidimensional challenges. He focuses on complex litigation, developing sophisticated legal strategies and unique solutions.
As Ambassador to Mexico, Chris presided over the United States’ largest diplomatic mission and fostered unprecedented bilateral cooperation that yielded results including the ratification and entry into force of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement, protection of border commerce and regional supply chains during the pandemic, and the lowest levels of illegal migration in years.
Prior to his diplomatic service, Chris practiced law for three decades at two renowned national law firms. He has briefed and argued cases involving a wide range of issues at every phase of litigation, as well as in the U.S. Supreme Court and all of the federal courts of appeals.
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Chris clerked twice at the Supreme Court, first for Justice Antonin Scalia and then for Justice Clarence Thomas. He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French.
Of Counsel, Ellis George LLP
Christopher Landau is Of Counsel in the firm’s new Washington, D.C. office. Chris most recently served as United States Ambassador to Mexico from 2019 to 2021. He has a diverse array of experience both inside the courtroom, at every stage of litigation, and outside of the courtroom, in navigating and solving multidimensional challenges. He focuses on complex litigation, developing sophisticated legal strategies and unique solutions.
As Ambassador to Mexico, Chris presided over the United States’ largest diplomatic mission and fostered unprecedented bilateral cooperation that yielded results including the ratification and entry into force of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement, protection of border commerce and regional supply chains during the pandemic, and the lowest levels of illegal migration in years.
Prior to his diplomatic service, Chris practiced law for three decades at two renowned national law firms. He has briefed and argued cases involving a wide range of issues at every phase of litigation, as well as in the U.S. Supreme Court and all of the federal courts of appeals.
A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Chris clerked twice at the Supreme Court, first for Justice Antonin Scalia and then for Justice Clarence Thomas. He is fluent in Spanish and proficient in French.
A Hemisphere at Stake: China, Cartels, and the Path Forward for U.S. Policy
Ryan C. Berg, Erick A. Brimen, Joseph M. Humire
As China deepens its presence in Latin America by owning nearly 40 ports—including a...
Freedom of Thought: On Building a Courageous and Effective Career
Gregory G. Katsas, Libby Locke, Jonathan Mitchell, Jonathan Skrmetti, Annie Donaldson Talley
Accomplishing anything of significance in this political environment requires courage. The legal industry has a...
The Deep State Goes to Mexico: US/Mexican Relations in an Era of Bureaucratic Supremacy
Houston Lawyers Chapter
Houston, TXSCOTUScast 1-30-09 featuring Chris Landau
Christopher B. Landau
On Tuesday, November 4, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in FCC v. Fox Television...