William R. Orthwein Distinguished Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
Professor Ronald M. Levin is a nationally known scholar who specializes in administrative law and related public law issues. He is the co-author of a casebook on state and federal administrative law, now in its third edition, as well as a nutshell on administrative law and process, now in its fifth edition. Formerly the law school's associate dean, he has published numerous articles and book chapters on administrative law topics, including judicial review, rulemaking, and legislative reform of the regulatory process. He also has written about the law of legislation, lobbying, and legislative ethics. Among his professional affiliations, Professor Levin has chaired the ABA Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice and served as the ABA's advisor to the drafting committee to revise the Model State Administrative Procedure Act. He also has chaired the Section on Administrative Law and the Section on Legislation of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS). Currently a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), he previously served as a consultant to ACUS and to the Supreme Court of Indonesia. Before joining the law faculty, Professor Levin clerked for the Hon. John C. Godbold, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and practiced for three years in Washington, D.C., with the firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan.
Senior Litigation Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance
Mr. Vecchione is a Senior Litigation Counsel for the non-profit New Civil Liberties Alliance representing clients against the Administrative State. He was previously President and CEO of the non-profit Cause of Action Institute, also advancing the constitutional order. He practiced at a number of D.C. area firms, including the eponymous John J. Vecchione Law, PLLC. Mr. Vecchione focuses his practice on strategic litigation in the federal district and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. He is an experienced trial and appellate advocate having tried cases and argued appeals across the country. He is a member of the bars of the State of New York, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States and many federal courts. His cases are reported in scores of published opinions. He has also published pieces advancing the freedom agenda and constitutional order in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times and many other forums. He lives in Virginia with his wife Rebecca, sons Tommy and Joe.
Associate Dean for Research and Intellectual Life, McKnight Presidential Professor in Law, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Harlan Albert Rogers Professor in Law, Associate Director, Corporate Institute, University of Minnesota Law School
Professor Kristin E. Hickman is the McKnight Presidential Professor in Law, a Distinguished McKnight University Professor, and Harlan Albert Rogers Professor in Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. She also has taught at Harvard Law School and Northwestern University School of Law. Professor Hickman teaches and writes primarily in the areas of administrative law, tax administration, and statutory interpretation. Her articles on these topics have appeared in the Columbia Law Review, Cornell Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Duke Law Journal, and other publications. She also co-authors the Administrative Law Treatise with Richard J. Pierce, Jr., and a casebook on federal administrative law with Pierce and Christopher J. Walker. Her scholarly work has been cited several times in opinions of the United States Supreme Court as well as regularly in lower court judicial opinions and court briefs.
In 2018-19, Professor Hickman served as Special Adviser to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in Washington, D.C. She presently serves as a Senior Fellow, and previously served as a public member and chair of the judicial review committee, for the Administrative Conference of the United States. She also is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel.
Professor Hickman received her B.S. degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting and a secondary major in history from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. After practicing for several years as a certified public accountant, Professor Hickman earned her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from Northwestern University School of Law, where she was awarded the Raoul Berger Prize and the Lowden Wigmore Prize for her scholarly writings. Following law school, Professor Hickman clerked for The Honorable David B. Sentelle of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and practiced law as an associate with the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, concentrating on corporate and international tax transactions and matters.
Partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP
Sean Lev, a former General Counsel of the FCC and acting General Counsel of the Department of Energy, advises and advocates in both courts and agencies for clients with complex regulatory problems in technology, energy, and other fields.
He serves as chair of HWG’s Energy Practice and co-chair of the Issues and Appeals Practice.
Sean has more than 30 years of experience helping clients in the public, private, and non-profit sector solve problems involving critical issues of administrative law. He has argued scores of cases in federal and state appellate and trial courts both supporting and challenging agency decisions and has advised Cabinet Secretaries, three FCC Chairs, sophisticated regulated companies, and numerous non-profits and individuals.
As General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, Sean was responsible for all legal advice provided to the FCC Chair and Commissioners and oversaw all FCC litigation. Sean was also heavily involved in the Commission’s review of major transactions and enforcement activity. Prior to being named General Counsel, Sean served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Advisor to the Chairman.
Before joining the FCC, Sean was designated by President Obama to serve as the Acting General Counsel of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). In that role, he was the chief legal officer for the Department, and provided advice on the full range of issues relevant to its mission, including those involving energy efficiency standards, nuclear energy, oil and gas, environmental remediation, and national security. Sean also served as the Deputy General Counsel for Environment and Nuclear Programs at DOE. In that role, he led the agency’s litigation before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and served as the lead agency lawyer in resolving major environmental and other disputes.
Sean most recently served as Legal Director of Democracy Forward, a public interest nonprofit dedicated to furthering the rule of law and fighting unlawful agency decision making. In this role, he oversaw a team of more than a dozen litigators and supervised numerous successful legal challenges against federal agencies and state and local governments.
Sean has significant experience advising clients in private practice, having spent more than fifteen years as a partner of a major Washington, DC based law firm. During that time, Sean had leading roles in numerous key cases involving technology law and policy and in advocating on regulatory and litigation issues raised by major industry transactions.
He started his legal career as an Honors Program attorney on the Civil Division, Appellate Staff at the United States Department of Justice and as a clerk to the Honorable Patricia M. Wald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Devin Watkins is an attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Devin Watkins previously worked at the Cato Institute as a legal associate and interned at the Institute for Justice. At the Cato Institute, Watkins worked on a variety of Supreme Court cases, and one of the briefs he worked on was cited by the Court. His op-eds have appeared in National Review Online, The Hill, Time, and The Federalist among others.
Watkins holds a Juris Doctor cum laude from George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he was the development editor on the Mason Law Review. Prior to his legal career Watkins was a senior software developer at Intel and WebMD. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Watkins is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Bar, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Bar.
Necessary & Proper Episode 88: Loper Bright & Relentless
Ronald M. Levin, John J. Vecchione, Kristin E. Hickman
Chevron v. NRDC (1984) and subsequent precedents held that courts should defer to agency interpretations of...
Misinformation at the Court [The FedSoc Films Podcast]
In this episode of the FedSoc Films Podcast, John Vecchione, senior litigation counsel at the...
Necessary & Proper Episode 98: Courthouse Steps Decision: Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research
Sean Lev, Devin Watkins
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has traditionally regulated interstate and international communications and, as part...