George C. Dix Professor in Constitutional Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law
John O. McGinnis is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He also has an MA degree from Balliol College, Oxford, in philosophy and theology. Professor McGinnis clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. From 1987 to 1991, he was deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. He is the author of Accelerating Democracy: Transforming Government Through Technology (Princeton 2013) and Originalism and the Good Constitution (Harvard 2013) (with M. Rappaport). He is a past winner of the Paul Bator award given by the Federalist Society to an outstanding academic under 40. He has been listed by the United States on the roster of panelists who may be called upon to decide World Trade Organization Disputes.
Professor of Law, University of Liege (Belgium)
Professor Nicolas Petit is Professor of Law at Liege University, Belgium and a Research Professor at the School of Law of the University of South Australia in Adelaide (UniSA).
Professor Nicolas Petit’s research focuses on antitrust law, intellectual property, and law in a context of technological change. His recent written works deal with the legal challenges created by the introduction of artificial intelligence and robotics in society. He is also working on a book on technology platforms’ competition.
Professor Petit holds a PhD from the University of Liege (Belgium), an LL.M from the College of Europe (Bruges), a Master’s degree from the University of Paris II and an LLB from the University of Paris V. He practiced law with a leading US law firm in Brussels and he also served as a Clerk at the Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court. In 2005 he attended Harvard Law School’s Visiting Researchers Programme.
Professor Petit is the co-author of EU Competition Law and Economics (Oxford University Press, 2012) and the author of Droit européen de la concurrence (Domat Montchrestien, 2013), a monograph which was awarded the prize for the best law book of the year at the Constitutionnal Court in France. In 2017, he received the GCR award for academic excellence.
Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Circuit Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1986. After receiving his B.S. from Cornell University in 1970, and his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1973, he clerked on the D.C. Circuit and for Justice Thurgood Marshall on the United States Supreme Court. Thereafter, Judge Ginsburg was a professor at the Harvard Law School, the Deputy Assistant and then Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, as well as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget. Concurrent with his service as a federal judge, Judge Ginsburg has taught at the University of Chicago Law School and the New York University School of Law. Judge Ginsburg is currently a Professor of Law at the George Mason University and a visiting professor at University College London, Faculty of Laws.
Judge Ginsburg is the Chairman of the International Advisory Board of the Global Antitrust Institute at the Law and Economics Center of the George Mason University School of Law. He also serves on the Advisory Boards of: Competition Policy International; the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy; the Journal of Competition Law and Economics; the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy; the Supreme Court Economic Review; the University of Chicago Law Review; the New York University Journal of Law and Liberty; and, at University College London, both the Centre for Law, Economics and Society and the Jevons Institute for Competition Law and Economics.
In 2020, Judge Ginsburg was the 11th recipient of the John Sherman Award, presented by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in recognition of the awardee’s Lifetime Contributions to Antitrust Law and Policy.
In 2014, Judge Ginsburg received the Lifetime Achievement Award given annually by the Global Competition Review.
He is the author or co-author of several books and more than 100 articles on competition and regulation, including, most recently, Growing Convergence: The Limited Role of Antitrust in Standard Essential Patent Disputes, in CPI Antitrust Chronicle, Summer 2021, Vol. 1, No. 2.
Vice President, Charles River Associates
Joanna Tsai is vice president in the Antitrust & Competition Economics Practice of Charles River Associates in Washington, DC. She has over 15 years of experience in antitrust and intellectual property matters, and has held positions in private practice, academia, and government. Dr. Tsai’s consulting practice includes advising clients on the competitive and economic implications of mergers and acquisitions in a variety of industries, and evaluating and analyzing the economic aspects of antitrust claims. While serving as economic advisor at the Federal Trade Commission from 2013-2015, she advised on a broad range of competition, intellectual property, and consumer protection issues. She is a frequent speaker at academic and industry conferences and has published articles in the Antitrust Source, Antitrust Magazine, Antitrust Law Journal, Antitrust Bulletin, and CPI Antitrust.
Dr. Tsai has also served as faculty at Stanford University’s Hoover IP Squared Summer Institute, visiting professor at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, and is currently adjunct professor at the Scalia Law School of George Mason University. Dr. Tsai holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Cornell University, and is Co-Chair of the Mergers and Acquisitions Committee of the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law.
GCR’s Who’s Who Legal recognized Dr. Tsai as a Future Leader (under 45 years old) in the Competition Economist category in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In particular, in 2018, she ranked #1 as the “most highly regarded” competition economist in North America. One of the sources GCR interviewed noted that “Joanna offers a great balance of being insightful in her analysis, practical in her dealings with clients and clear in her advocacy.”
Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Lucas Vebber is deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty ("WILL") in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At WILL he litigates cases in state and federal courts where he focuses on separation of powers and regulatory issues. His litigation efforts have won several national awards, and he has been named a Legal All Star by the Wisconsin Law Journal.
Before joining WILL Lucas worked in a variety of roles in Madison, most recently serving as General Counsel and Director of the Litigation Center at Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s chamber of commerce and manufacturers’ association. Prior to that Lucas worked for the state in both the legislature and executive branch.
Lucas has a bachelor’s degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee and a law degree from the University of Saint Thomas in Minneapolis.
Founder and Partner, Dowd Scheffel PLLC
Matthew Dowd focuses his skills on complex appellate and trial litigation, with an emphasis on patent and intellectual property issues. Through his years of practice, Mr. Dowd has successfully worked on numerous high-stakes and eclectic legal matters, focusing primarily on all stages of complex patent matters (AIA proceedings, litigation, prosecution, and counseling). Mr. Dowd's expertise and leadership are regularly consulted, as he is frequently asked to comment in the press on leading intellectual property issues.
Mr. Dowd has substantial experience with Hatch-Waxman litigation, including all stages of opinion analysis, litigation, and appeals. His technical background in medicinal chemistry is ideally suited for litigating pharmaceutical patents. He has represented clients in a range of trial forums for patent disputes, such as the Eastern District of Texas and the District of Delaware, as well as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the USPTO.
He has argued and briefed numerous appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and other courts involving issues such as patent law, Hatch-Waxman, administrative law, Fifth Amendment takings, contract claims, government employment issues, and criminal law. In 2018, Mr. Dowd is co-counsel with the Hon. Richard Posner (ret.) of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
In 2013, Mr. Dowd represented Nobel Laureate James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double helix, as amicus curiae in the groundbreaking 2013 Supreme Court gene patent case. Mr. Dowd has over 15 years of experience representing clients before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Mr. Dowd is also well-known for his successful pro bono representation in the "free-range kids" case. The case was widely reported in the national, local, and international news.
Mr. Dowd attended The George Washington University Law School, graduating with high honors and being awarded Order of the Coif. While attending law school and before, Mr. Dowd worked full-time as a registered patent agent at the renowned IP boutique Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox.
After law school, Mr. Dowd clerked for the Honorable Paul R. Michel, Chief Judge (ret.) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. While a law clerk, Mr. Dowd gained an insider's perspective on the appellate process. Understanding the appellate process is critical to maximizing success at the earlier stages of a case.
Mr. Dowd is currently appointed as a Professorial Lecturer in Law at The George Washington University Law School. He teaches appellate advocacy and is the coach for the student moot court team for the AIPLA Giles Sutherland Rich Moot Court Competition.
Prior to his legal career, Mr. Dowd spent four years in a Ph.D. program in medical chemistry, studying organic chemistry, pharmacology, and pharmaceutical drug design. During his Ph.D. program, Mr. Dowd's research discovered a novel structure-activity relationship for nicotinic ligands with potential utility in treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Mr. Dowd attended The College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, VA, and Regis High School in New York City.
Professor of Law, St. Mary's University Law School
Adam MacLeod is a Professor at St. Mary's University School of Law. He has been a visiting fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, a fellow of the Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy, and a Senior Scholar and Thomas Edison Fellow in the Center for Intellectual Property x Innovation Policy at George Mason University. He is co-editor of Christie & Martin's Jurisprudence (4th ed. West 2020) and author of Property and Practical Reason (Cambridge University Press 2015). He has written two other books, dozens of scholarly articles, and more than one hundred essays and book reviews.
Professor MacLeod received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Gordon College and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame Law School. After law school, he served as law clerk to Chief Justice Christopher Armstrong and Justice Benjamin Kaplan of the Massachusetts Appeals Court and to Chief Judge Lewis Babcock of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. He practiced law in the Boston area and has held appointment as a special Deputy Attorney General of Alabama and a lecturer in the Alabama Judicial College. He also serves as an Operational Auxiliarist in the U.S. Coast Guard, advising and providing operational training to Auxiliary and active-duty personnel.
Raj M. Shah is currently the Co-founder and CEO of Arceo.ai, a start-up powering new approaches to cybersecurity through insurance and risk management. A seasoned entrepreneur and national security leader, Shah has transitioned often between the public and private sectors. Previously the Managing Partner of the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), he reported directly to the Secretary of Defense. Shah led DIUx in its efforts to strengthen our Armed Forces through contractual and cultural bridges between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon.
Previously, Shah was senior director of strategy at Palo Alto Networks, which acquired Morta Security, where he was Co-founder and CEO. He began his business career as a consultant with McKinsey & Co. Shah serves as a reserve F-16 pilot in the Air National Guard and has completed multiple combat tours. He holds an AB from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and an MBA from The Wharton School. Shah is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
Chief Counsel, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
Daniel Sutherland is the Chief Counsel for CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. CISA is responsible for cybersecurity, telecommunications, risk management and infrastructure resilience, operating with a budget over $1 billion and a workforce of approximately 2,000. He leads an office of attorneys who negotiate complex technology agreements, provide daily operational support to a cybersecurity operations center, advocate the agency’s positions in litigation, draft and negotiate legislation, and respond to audits and investigations.
Mr. Sutherland’s position builds on a career focused on issues at the intersection of civil liberties and national security. In 2003, Mr. Sutherland was appointed by President Bush to serve as the first Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security. He provided advice to Secretaries Ridge and Chertoff on intelligence policy, disability law and policy, emergency preparedness and response, and immigration law. His speech on the need for the government to engage with American Arab and Muslim communities appeared in the publication Vital Speeches of the Day. Mr. Sutherland has also served in the Senior National Intelligence Service at the National Counterterrorism Center where he coordinated the government’s efforts to prevent violent extremism; Mr. Sutherland was referred to by Wired as “one of the government’s point people on stemming the appeal of al-Qaida.” Mr. Sutherland is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/G).
Mr. Sutherland started his federal career as a civil rights attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, where for 14 years he litigated cases in courts across the country. Mr. Sutherland is a graduate of the University of Louisville and University of Virginia School of Law.
Managing Director, SCF Partners
Daniel G. West invests in energy services, equipment, and technology companies at SCF Partners in Houston, Texas. He provides equity capital and strategic growth assistance to entrepreneurs and leaders of both start-up ventures and established, growing businesses.
Prior to joining the private sector, Mr. West served as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. As a platoon commander with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Mesa Verde, he led the Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel force in support of the NATO aerial campaign over Libya. He then served as executive officer of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines as it mentored Afghan forces to assume lead security responsibility and executed counter-narcotics missions in Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He also served as a clerk for Judge Laurence H. Silberman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Mr. West holds degrees in law, business administration, and economics from Harvard University, where he served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review and taught undergraduate courses in economics and government. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the International & National Security Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise, Vanderbilt University Law School
Brian Fitzpatrick is the Milton R. Underwood Chair in Free Enterprise and Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School, where his research focuses on class action litigation, federal courts, judicial selection, and constitutional law. He is best known for his empirical studies of class action settlements as well as his book The Conservative Case for Class Actions (University of Chicago Press, 2019). Professor Fitzpatrick joined Vanderbilt's law faculty in 2007 after serving as the John M. Olin Fellow at New York University School of Law. He graduated first in his class from Harvard Law School and went on to clerk for Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, Professor Fitzpatrick practiced commercial and appellate litigation for several years at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., and served as Special Counsel for Supreme Court Nominations to U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Before earning his law degree, Fitzpatrick graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's of science in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He has received the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award, which recognizes excellence in classroom teaching, for his Civil Procedure and Federal Courts courses.
Partner, BakerHostetler, Adjunct Fellow, The Manhattan Institute
Andrew Grossman leads BakerHostetler’s Appellate and Major Motion team. He has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly all the federal courts of appeals, as well as some state appellate courts, litigating high-profile and complex commercial, administrative and constitutional issues.
Andrew works with practice groups across BakerHostetler to identify and tackle complex issues, advise on administrative law and strategy, tee up issues for appeal and tackle appeals. He has developed and implemented litigation and administrative strategies for clients in several fields and industries.
In addition to his practice, Andrew advises members of Congress on matters of constitutional and administrative law, having testified more than a dozen times before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. He has been a frequent legal commentator on radio and television, having appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR and its affiliates, CBN and elsewhere. His legal commentary has also appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and many others.
Andrew is a Senior Legal Fellow at the Buckeye Institute, an Adjunct Fellow the Manhattan Institute and a member of the leadership of the Federalist Society. He previously served as an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. He clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation Chair, Lex Politica; Of Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Erin Morrow Hawley serves as Chair of Lex Politica's Supreme Court and Appellate Practice overseeing the firm’s strategic appellate litigation and critical motions practice in the trial courts. Erin is an experienced litigator who represents clients in constitutional, regulatory, and appellate matters in federal and state courts throughout the country.
Erin has represented dozens of clients before the Supreme Court of the United States, served as lead counsel in high-profile cases raising novel constitutional and statutory issues, and authored numerous successful petitions for certiorari and briefs in opposition. She has argued in state and federal appellate and trial courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Erin represents diverse clients in high-stakes litigation from state governments to faith-based nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies. She possesses expertise on a wide range of subject matters including administrative law, the First Amendment, religious liberty, federal jurisdiction, federal preemption, equitable jurisdiction, tax law, the Affordable Care Act, and Title IX.
Erin represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is paramount. She is a sought-after speaker and writer, has testified multiple times before Congress, and is a frequent presenter on constitutional and administrative law issues, including at the Oxford Union, the National Federalist Society Convention, and university campuses across the country. She is a frequent commentator to media outlets, including Fox News, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, WORLD, USA Today, the Federalist, and the Hill.
Erin previously oversaw Alliance Defending Freedom’s--where she still serves as Of Counsel--litigation strategies to empower women and protect the dignity of life, defend pregnancy centers’ First Amendment rights from government overreach, and safeguard Americans’ freedoms from the ever-encroaching administrative state.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Former Senator, State of Alabama
Luther J. Strange, III is a former Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Alabama. Strange was first appointed to the Senate position by Gov. Robert Bentley on February 9, 2017. He replaced Jeff Sessions, who was confirmed as United States Attorney General.
Strange is the former Republican Attorney General of Alabama. He was first elected to the statewide position in 2010 and assumed office on January 17, 2011. Strange's first four-year term ended on January 19, 2015, and he won re-election to a second term on November 4, 2014.
Prior to his election as Attorney General, Luther Strange practiced law in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2010, U.S. News-Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" gave his firm a first-tier ranking, and the firm was named as one of the Top Ten Law Firms that Understand Economic Development by Southern Business & Development magazine.
Before establishing his own law firm, Strange was a partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. During his time in private practice, he was recognized in Best Lawyers in America® , named Best of the Bar by the Birmingham Business Journal, and called one of the "Best Lawyers" in Alabama by Birmingham magazine.
His tenure in office was marked by a strong emphasis on fighting public corruption, including the conviction and removal from office of the Alabama House Speaker in June 2016. He was also a leader in opposing costly overregulation and the expansion of the federal government at the expense of the states.
Luther Strange served as the court-appointed Coordinating Counsel for the Gulf Coast States in the historic Deepwater Horizon Oil spill litigation. Strange was actively involved in trying the case, which led to a landmark settlement agreement to compensate Alabama for both economic and environmental damages as a result of that disaster.
Among many civic commitments, he has served on the Advisory Board of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and as a Trustee of Talladega College, Alabama’s oldest historically black college.
An Eagle Scout since he was 13 and a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America in 2011, Strange is passionate about encouraging young people in Alabama to become involved in public service.
Strange received both his undergraduate and law degrees from Tulane University. He was a scholarship basketball player while earning his undergraduate degree at Tulane. In June of 2016, he was inducted into the Tulane Law School Hall of Fame.
Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Jeremy D. Kernodle is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He was nominated by President Trump in 2018.
Kernodle previously served as a partner at Haynes and Boone, where he founded and chaired the firm’s False Claims Act practice group and focuses on representing healthcare providers and government contractors in federal courts throughout the country. He also served on the firm’s executive committee.
Kernodle is a past president of the Dallas Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and has served as secretary of the Dallas Bar Association’s Appellate Section.
Before joining Haynes and Boone, Kernodle was an attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice.
After earning his law degree at Vanderbilt in 2001, Kernodle was a law clerk for Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He then joined Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C., as an associate.
He earned his B.A. and B.B.A., both summa cum laude, from Harding University.
Representative, Mississippi House of Representatives
Representative Baker was born on May 13, 1962, and has been married for 29 years to the former Lady Collins, an English teacher at Brandon High School. They have one son, Chase, who is a public policy major in the Trent Lott Leadership Institute at the University of Mississippi. The Bakers are members of Lakeside Presbyterian Church.
Mark graduated from the University of Memphis in 1984 (B.A., Criminal Justice) and Mississippi College School of Law in 1987 (J.D., with distinction). He has been an active member of the Mississippi Bar since 1987 and currently engages in private practice in Brandon. He is admitted to practice law in all state and federal courts in the State of Mississippi, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Rep. Baker has practiced law for over 30 years and has decades of courtroom experience as an attorney in private practice, a prosecutor and judge. He has litigated cases in trial courts throughout the state and has represented numerous clients before Mississippi’s appellate courts.
In addition to practicing law, Representative Baker is a licensed property and casualty insurance agent. He is a former member of the Rankin County Republican Executive Committee and is a member and past president of the Rankin County Bar Association and the Rankin County Rotary Club.
Representative Baker was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 2004, representing District 74 which currently includes parts of Rankin County and which previously also included parts of Madison County. As Republican Leader from 2007-2011, he coordinated the recruitment, fundraising and campaign efforts which led to a Republican majority in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 2012 for the first time in modern history. Representative Baker is Chairman of the House Judiciary En Bancand Judiciary A Committees and is a member of the Ways and Means, Banking and Finance, Transportation and Investigate State Offices Committees.
Legislative awards and recognitions include the 2012 State Legislative Achievement Award from the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, the 2012-2013 Champion for Children Award from Prevent Child Abuse Mississippi, Outstanding Legislator for 2013 by the Mississippi Association of Realtors, 2014 Legislator of the Year by the Mississippi Homebuilders Association, the 2015 Legislative Award from the Mississippi Municipal League, the 2019 MS Top 50 distinction as an elected official, and the 2019 Community Health Center Association of Mississippi’s Legacy Award.
During his time in the legislature, Representative Baker has been endorsed by interest groups such as Mississippi Right to Life and the National Rifle Association and has received highly favorable ratings from various conservative, agriculture, education and pro-business groups such as Americans for Prosperity, the American Conservative Union, the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, Empower Mississippi, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC).
Executive Vice-President and Provost, William Carey University
Dr. Scott Hummel has been the Executive Vice President and Provost at William Carey University since 2013. From 2008-2013 he was the Vice President for Advancement and Church Relations as well as the Director of the Carey Scholars program. Before coming to Carey, he was Professor of Biblical Studies and Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies and Christian Ministries at LeTourneau University from 1998-2008. After completing a B.A. in Biblical Studies at William Carey College in 1987, Scott received a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel for a year. He completed his M.Div. and Ph.D. in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Scott has published numerous articles in several publications. Scott has served churches and the community in numerous capacities. He has served as the interim pastor of several churches in Mississippi and Texas. As a Rotarian he has served as the past president of both the Longview-Greggton Rotary Club and the Hattiesburg Rotary Club. He has also served on the boards of the United Way of Southeast Mississippi and R3SM. His wife, Starr, teaches biology at Sumrall High School, and they have three daughters.
Member, Taggart Rimes & Graham, PLLC
Prior to the creation of Taggart, Rimes & Graham, Andy Taggart had maintained his own law practice for several years. He was previously a partner in the state’s largest law firm, and Chief of Staff to former Governor Kirk Fordice.
Andy’s practice is focused in the areas of business and corporate counsel, transactions and strategies; healthcare; selected litigated matters; and government, elections and political law.
He has held an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell® for twenty years.
Andy has served as Chairman of the Greater Jackson (MS) Chamber Partnership, and was named by Governor Phil Bryant as Co-Chairman of the Mississippi Department of Corrections Task Force on Contract Review and Procurement, to provide advice and recommendations for restoring public confidence and trust in the operations of state government in the wake of public corruption charges. Andy is also a gubernatorial appointee to the Mississippi Judicial Appointments Advisory Committee.
Andy is the co-author of two popular books. Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008, re-released in 2009, was first published by the University Press of Mississippi in November of 2006 and earned two literary awards in the first year of publication. His lighter book of political anecdotes, Mississippi Fried Politics: Tall Tales from the Back Rooms, was released in November of 2008. Andy has authored or co-authored works published by The University of Mississippi Law Journal, The Mississippi Lawyer, The Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, The Journal of Mississippi History, and is a frequent contributor to business and trade periodicals.
He was elected to a term of service on the Madison County, Mississippi, Board of Supervisors, beginning a four-year term in 2003. Andy was elected President of the Board in January 2007, where he served until the end of his term in early 2008.
He also served as president and CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance from August 2002 through October 2005. He led the company to both regional and national recognition.
Andy first commenced the practice of law in 1985. When asked to serve as chief of staff to Governor Kirk Fordice, he left his law practice in 1991 and served in that capacity until 1994 where he was instrumental in the ramp up of Mississippi’s first Republican administration in the twentieth century.
During the 1990s, Taggart taught as an adjunct professor of history and political science at Mississippi College, his undergraduate alma mater, and is often called on as a guest lecturer still.
A long-time presence in the governmental, policy, and political arenas, he served as a member of the Mississippi Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission from 1988 to 1993; served as the executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party in 1984; and as the political director of the Mississippi Republican Party in 1980 and 1981.
Andy serves on the Board of Trustees of Mississippi College, where he is Chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee. Previously, he served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, and as a member of the Board of Trustees of FamilyNet, Inc., the television and radio broadcasting subsidiary of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. He served four years as a gubernatorial appointee to the Mississippi Arts Commission.
A frequent speaker at major events, Andy has offered the Summer Commencement address at Mississippi College, and was named an Otho Smith Fellow by the University of Mississippi School of Business Administration. He has been named a Leading Edge Lecturer by the Mississippi Universities Center, and was selected as Spring Commencement speaker at Belhaven College.
Andy received his Juris Doctor cum laude from Tulane University in 1984, where he served on the Senior Editorial Board of the Tulane Law Review. To study at Tulane, Andy was awarded the Hale Boggs Scholarship, a full three year scholarship awarded to the entering student with the highest overall record. A 1979 graduate of Mississippi College, he holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with High Honors and Distinction.
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