Senior Attorney, Institute for Free Speech
Brett Nolan is a Senior Attorney at the Institute for Free Speech, a public interest law firm that defends the First Amendment rights of those engaged in political speech and advocacy around the country.
Before joining the Institute, Brett served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of Kentucky, where he represented the Commonwealth in a wide variety of high-stakes litigation at every level of state and federal court. In that role, Brett led a successful challenge against the Department of Treasury over the constitutionality of a federal law limiting the ability of states to modify their tax codes, and he helped secure a U.S. Supreme Court victory that upheld a state’s constitutional right to defend its interests in federal court.
Prior to that, Brett served as the Deputy General Counsel to the former Governor of Kentucky, where he advised the governor and other executive branch officials on legal and policy issues and represented them in litigation. Brett clerked for Judge John Nalbandian of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Between clerkships, he worked in private practice. Brett received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated with High Honors and was an editor of The University of Chicago Law Review.
Senior Attorney, Institute for Free Speech
Brett Nolan is a Senior Attorney at the Institute for Free Speech, a public interest law firm that defends the First Amendment rights of those engaged in political speech and advocacy around the country.
Before joining the Institute, Brett served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of Kentucky, where he represented the Commonwealth in a wide variety of high-stakes litigation at every level of state and federal court. In that role, Brett led a successful challenge against the Department of Treasury over the constitutionality of a federal law limiting the ability of states to modify their tax codes, and he helped secure a U.S. Supreme Court victory that upheld a state’s constitutional right to defend its interests in federal court.
Prior to that, Brett served as the Deputy General Counsel to the former Governor of Kentucky, where he advised the governor and other executive branch officials on legal and policy issues and represented them in litigation. Brett clerked for Judge John Nalbandian of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Between clerkships, he worked in private practice. Brett received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated with High Honors and was an editor of The University of Chicago Law Review.
Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
Sam Gedge is a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. He joined IJ in June 2015 and litigates cases to promote economic liberty, protect political speech, and secure individuals’ rights to private property.
In 2017, Sam was named IJ’s second Elfie Gallun Fellow for Freedom and the Constitution. The fellowship comes with an emphasis on publishing written materials and speaking to students and others about the vital role the U.S. Constitution plays in protecting our most precious freedoms.
In his time at IJ, Sam has launched cases battling civil forfeiture and overzealous licensing boards, which generated widespread coverage and conversation in media outlets from Wired and The Atlantic to London’s Daily Mail.
Before joining IJ, Sam was an attorney at Wiley Rein LLP, in Washington, D.C., where he focused on litigation and election law. He is a former law clerk to Judge Raymond W. Gruender of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Sam received his law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School in 2010.
Attorney, Institute for Justice
John Wrench is a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Institute for Justice.
John grew up outside of Ithaca, New York, and received his law degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 2019. During law school, he served as editor in chief of the Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law and was a member of the Federalist Society. John interned in his law school’s First Amendment Litigation Clinic and was a judicial extern to the Honorable Paul E. Davison in the Southern District of New York. John graduated from Pace University in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Religious Studies.
Independent Analyst, None
Allison Hayward most recently served as the Head of Case Selection at the Oversight Board. Previously, she was a Commissioner at the California Fair Political Practices Commission, a Board Member at the Office of Congressional Ethics, and an Assistant Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law. She also previously worked as Chief of Staff and Counsel in the office of Federal Election Commission Commissioner Bradley A. Smith and practiced election law in California and in Washington DC.
In 1994-1995, Professor Hayward was a judicial clerk for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs, United States Court of Appeal for the Sixth Circuit.
She is a member of the State Bar of California and the District of Columbia Bar.
Partner, Wiley
Lee served as Chairman and Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), where he successfully led the rulemaking to conform the agency's regulations to the Supreme Court's Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions and championed free speech on the Internet and free press rights. He previously had served as legal counsel and policy advisor to the Governor of Virginia and Attorney General of Virginia, associate general counsel of the University of Virginia, and general counsel to numerous political organizations. His experience covers a broad range of policy-oriented subjects, including federal and state campaign finance and ethics laws, First Amendment rights of political speech and association, political action on the Internet, taxation of the Internet, interstate regulation, and academic freedom. He has extensive experience in all aspects of election administration, having litigated state, local and congressional recounts, election contests, ballot access, voting rights, late poll openings, and delegate credentials.
He has been named a "Top Campaign & Elections Lawyer" by Washingtonian magazine. The Washington Examiner called Lee “a leading voice among conservative regulators in Washington” (2016) and “a tireless voice for First Amendment rights on the Internet” (2018); the Richmond Times-Dispatch dubbed him a “free-speech champion” (2018); The Hill labeled him “a happy warrior for the First Amendment” (2018); and the Washington Post called him a “sharp policy wonk” (1999). He is a frequent lecturer at law schools, universities, civic organizations, and continuing legal education programs. He has authored numerous articles on election law and a chapter on regulation of political speech on the Internet in Law and Election Politics: The Rules of the Game (Routledge 2013), and his writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Politico and other publications. He has served on the boards of several educational, cultural, and political non-profit organizations.
Partner, Wiley
Lee served as Chairman and Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), where he successfully led the rulemaking to conform the agency's regulations to the Supreme Court's Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions and championed free speech on the Internet and free press rights. He previously had served as legal counsel and policy advisor to the Governor of Virginia and Attorney General of Virginia, associate general counsel of the University of Virginia, and general counsel to numerous political organizations. His experience covers a broad range of policy-oriented subjects, including federal and state campaign finance and ethics laws, First Amendment rights of political speech and association, political action on the Internet, taxation of the Internet, interstate regulation, and academic freedom. He has extensive experience in all aspects of election administration, having litigated state, local and congressional recounts, election contests, ballot access, voting rights, late poll openings, and delegate credentials.
He has been named a "Top Campaign & Elections Lawyer" by Washingtonian magazine. The Washington Examiner called Lee “a leading voice among conservative regulators in Washington” (2016) and “a tireless voice for First Amendment rights on the Internet” (2018); the Richmond Times-Dispatch dubbed him a “free-speech champion” (2018); The Hill labeled him “a happy warrior for the First Amendment” (2018); and the Washington Post called him a “sharp policy wonk” (1999). He is a frequent lecturer at law schools, universities, civic organizations, and continuing legal education programs. He has authored numerous articles on election law and a chapter on regulation of political speech on the Internet in Law and Election Politics: The Rules of the Game (Routledge 2013), and his writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Politico and other publications. He has served on the boards of several educational, cultural, and political non-profit organizations.
Senior Attorney, Institute for Free Speech
Brett Nolan is a Senior Attorney at the Institute for Free Speech, a public interest law firm that defends the First Amendment rights of those engaged in political speech and advocacy around the country.
Before joining the Institute, Brett served as the Principal Deputy Solicitor General of Kentucky, where he represented the Commonwealth in a wide variety of high-stakes litigation at every level of state and federal court. In that role, Brett led a successful challenge against the Department of Treasury over the constitutionality of a federal law limiting the ability of states to modify their tax codes, and he helped secure a U.S. Supreme Court victory that upheld a state’s constitutional right to defend its interests in federal court.
Prior to that, Brett served as the Deputy General Counsel to the former Governor of Kentucky, where he advised the governor and other executive branch officials on legal and policy issues and represented them in litigation. Brett clerked for Judge John Nalbandian of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Between clerkships, he worked in private practice. Brett received his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he graduated with High Honors and was an editor of The University of Chicago Law Review.
Partner, Wiley
Lee served as Chairman and Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), where he successfully led the rulemaking to conform the agency's regulations to the Supreme Court's Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions and championed free speech on the Internet and free press rights. He previously had served as legal counsel and policy advisor to the Governor of Virginia and Attorney General of Virginia, associate general counsel of the University of Virginia, and general counsel to numerous political organizations. His experience covers a broad range of policy-oriented subjects, including federal and state campaign finance and ethics laws, First Amendment rights of political speech and association, political action on the Internet, taxation of the Internet, interstate regulation, and academic freedom. He has extensive experience in all aspects of election administration, having litigated state, local and congressional recounts, election contests, ballot access, voting rights, late poll openings, and delegate credentials.
He has been named a "Top Campaign & Elections Lawyer" by Washingtonian magazine. The Washington Examiner called Lee “a leading voice among conservative regulators in Washington” (2016) and “a tireless voice for First Amendment rights on the Internet” (2018); the Richmond Times-Dispatch dubbed him a “free-speech champion” (2018); The Hill labeled him “a happy warrior for the First Amendment” (2018); and the Washington Post called him a “sharp policy wonk” (1999). He is a frequent lecturer at law schools, universities, civic organizations, and continuing legal education programs. He has authored numerous articles on election law and a chapter on regulation of political speech on the Internet in Law and Election Politics: The Rules of the Game (Routledge 2013), and his writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Politico and other publications. He has served on the boards of several educational, cultural, and political non-profit organizations.
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: NRSC v. FEC
Brett Nolan
In National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) the Court is set to...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: NRSC v. FEC
Brett Nolan
In National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) the Court is set to...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: NRSC v. FEC
Topics
Buckley v. Valeo: Jim Buckley’s Finest Hour
Like so many, I was saddened to learn of the August 18 passing of James...
Open Questions in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission: Due Process, Adverseness, & Article III Standing
Sam Gedge, John Wrench
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public...
Topics
The Resurgence of Campaign Finance Regulation, Trumped?
Last March, during a Federalist Society teleforum discussing the Supreme Court’s 4-4 decision in Friedrichs v. California...
Free Speech and the FEC
Chicago, IllinoisRethinking Campaign Finance Prohibitions
Allison R. Hayward
Modern politicians and activists face a sea of complex and contradictory campaign finance regulations. Every...
Swift Boat Democracy & the New American Campaign Finance Regime
Lee E. Goodman
Commonly known as McCain-Feingold in the Senate and Shays-Meehan in the House, the Bipartisan Campaign...
Swift Boat Democracy & The New American Campaign Finance Regime
Lee E. Goodman
Commonly known as McCain-Feingold in the Senate and Shays-Meehan in the House, the Bipartisan Campaign...