Vice President & Senior Counsel, Becket
Luke Goodrich is the author of Free to Believe: The Battle over Religious Liberty in America and vice president and senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
While at Becket, Luke has argued and won precedent-setting cases in the Third, Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and has helped Becket win four major Supreme Court cases in the last seven years: including victories for the Little Sisters of the Poor and Hobby Lobby against the contraception mandate, a victory for a Muslim prisoner under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and a unanimous victory in the Supreme Court’s first decision ever on the ministerial exception, which The Wall Street Journal called one of “the most important religious liberty cases in a half century.”
He frequently discusses religious freedom on networks such as CNN, Fox News, ABC, and NPR, and in publications like the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times magazine. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, where he teaches constitutional law.
Before joining Becket, he clerked for Judge Michael W. McConnell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and graduated from the University of Chicago Law School with high honors as a member of the Law Review and the Order of the Coif.
Senior Litigation Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance
Peggy Little, Senior Counsel at New Civil Liberties Alliance, a new public interest law firm challenging the administrative state founded in 2017 by Professor Philip Hamburger, has over three decades of experience as a trial and appellate litigator in complex, high-stakes regulatory, mass-tort, class-action, products liability, securities, commercial and civil rights litigation representing individuals and high-profile litigants including Fortune 50 companies, financial institutions, public companies, and universities in state and federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court.
Peggy is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, where she was awarded the Potter Stewart Prize. She was a law clerk to the Hon. Ralph K. Winter on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Prior to starting her own trial and appellate law firm in 1997, where she was appellate consulting counsel to the New Haven firefighters in Ricci v.DeStefano, a landmark 2009 United States Supreme Court decision, Peggy was a partner at Tyler, Cooper & Alcorn in New Haven, Connecticut. From 2004 to early 2018, Peggy directed, part-time, the Federalist Society Pro Bono Center.
Peggy has participated in many national conferences and symposia addressing issues of current importance in constitutional law – specifically state and federal constitutional questions regarding the separation of powers and the first amendment – and regularly speaks, blogs and publishes on the topic of the unconstitutional exercise of governmental power. In May of 2017, she presented her paper, Pirates at the Parchment Gates, to a conference of state and federal judges at the Law and Economics Center at the Antonin Scalia Law School. Her work has been published by law reviews, legal publications, the Federalist Society, the Wall Street Journal, Law and Liberty and the Manhattan Institute.
Recent publications include: How the SEC silences its critics, The SEC should listen to Sen. Cotton, Lucia v. SEC, Opening Salvos in the Opioid Litigation Wars, Straight Dope on the Opioid Crisis
Senior Fellow, Stand Together Trust
Vikrant Reddy is a senior fellow at Stand Together Trust, specializing in the area of criminal justice reform. Reddy previously served as a senior policy analyst at the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), where he managed the launch of TPPF’s national Right on Crime initiative in 2010. He has worked as a research assistant at the Cato Institute, as a judicial clerk to the Hon. Gina M. Benavides in Texas, and as an attorney in private practice. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, and he serves on the Executive Committee of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society. He is also an appointee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Texas State Advisory Committee.
Reddy’s research and scholarly opinions have appeared in a range of national media outlets, including USA Today, National Review, The Federalist, and others.
Reddy earned his law degree from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Co-Chairman, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Leonard is Co-Chairman and former Executive Vice President of the Federalist Society, joining the organization over 25 years ago. Since that time he has been instrumental in helping the organization top 70,000, focusing on the growth of lawyers membership, operations and activities advancing limited, constitutional government. In addition to his work at the Society, Leonard has advised President Trump on judicial selection, assisted with the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh Supreme Court selection and confirmation process, and served as a member of the transition team. He also organized the outside coalition efforts in support of the Roberts and Alito U.S. Supreme Court confirmations. Leonard was appointed by President George W. Bush to three terms to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as chairman. He was also a U.S. Delegate to the UN Council and UN Commission on Human Rights during the Bush Administration. Leonard was the recipient of the 2009 Bradley Prize, along with the other founders and directors of the Federalist Society, for his work in advancing freedom and the rule of law. He is the coeditor of Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House, as well as the author of opinion editorials in the New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Leonard holds degrees from Cornell University and Cornell Law School. He presently resides in Northern Virginia, where he and his wife Sally have raised their seven children.
Head of Policy, Regulatory, and Legal, Skyryse
William Goodwin is the Head of Policy, Regulatory, and Legal at Skyryse. Prior to Skyryse, he was the Head of Legal and Policy at AirMap, a start-up powering the future of low altitude-flight, where he managed the legal and policy teams. Prior to AirMap, he was an attorney with Morrison Foerster, an international law firm, and a member of the firm’s UAS/Drone Group, where he counseled clients regarding some of the unique product liability, licensing, and regulatory risks that arise in the drone context.
Mr. Goodwin is a frequent speaker on legal and policy issues associated with drones and has advised state legislators, city officials, and university administrators to regarding laws and policies related to UAS. Prior to his legal career, he worked in political network visualization and state and local government consulting.
He holds a J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, an M.A. in Political Philosophy from Claremont Graduate University and a B.A. in Classics from the University of Southern California.
Co-Owner, Grandview Bed & Breakfast
Gwendolyn Smith is an innkeeper and owner of Grandview Bed & Breakfast in Mount Dora, FL. She has a long history working in hospitality that includes Disney, Marriott and Starwood Hotels. Gwendolyn is a Board Member of the Florida Restaurant Lodging Association, Florida Inns Chapter and serves on the Marketing Council for FRLA. She graduated from Rollins College with a B.A. Degree in Organizational Communication.
Head of Tech & Innovation, Centre for Policy Studies
Matthew Feeney is Head of Tech & Innovation at Centre for Policy Studies. Before joining CPS, Matthew was the director of Cato Institute’s Project on Emerging Technologies. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, City A.M., and others. He received both his BA and MA in philosophy from the University of Reading.
Retired Commissioner, Orange County, Florida
Growing up in a military family, Pete traveled a great deal and lived in Seattle, Germany, Alabama, France and Milton in Northwest Florida. While still a teenager, his father passed away unexpectedly, and his widowed mother moved to the family to Orange County. Pete graduated from Boone High School and subsequently continued his education — earning a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of West Florida. While working for the State of Florida at the Orange County Health Department and later Orange County government’s Health and Family Services Department, he earned Master’s degrees in Education and Public Health from Florida State and in Management from Rollins College Crummer School of Business.
During Pete’s own military service in the Florida Air National Guard, he completed coursework in Hospital Administration/Health Services Management at Sheppard Air Force Base with the United States Air Force. He has furthered his education through FEMA Emergency Management coursework, and is certified in the National Incident Management System. He has completed Leadership Orlando, as well as extensive coursework through the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Professionally, Pete’s long-term public career has provided far-reaching benefits for residents and visitors in our entire community. As Deputy Director of the Orange County Health and Family Services Department, he was responsible for services including inmate health care at the Orange County jail, the District Medical Examiner’s office, Animal Services, Mosquito Control, the Great Oaks Village residential services for abused, abandoned and neglected children and teens, the EMS system medical direction, Disaster Management, our Environmental Protection Department, Orange County’s mental health services, Social and Family services, Head Start, Community Action, the county Parks and Recreation Division, the county Veteran’s Services Division, and many other units and programs across Orange County. Those responsibilities included oversight and management of over 1,000 employees and budgets approaching 150-175 million dollars. Under his management, budgeting was taken very seriously and his departments did not over-budget to allow a return of funds at years end.
A visionary leader, Pete is well known as a man who recognizes challenges in our community and strives to develop solutions to needs. Through his extensive history of networking and collaborating with both the private and public sectors, he has provided strategic leadership in creating, developing and managing a number of significant programs benefitting residents and visitors. These include the Primary Care Access Network (Access to Care) offering medical care to the uninsured and underinsured, the After School Zone which provides after school care to all middle school children in Orange County public schools, and the Sexual Assault Treatment Center which provides a safe, secure and sensitive response to the medical, psychological and forensic needs of those who have experienced sexual trauma. He was instrumental in the privatization of the Victims Service Center, and in the creation and development of both the Juvenile Assessment Center and the Central Receiving Center. This brief list is just the beginning, and is clear evidence of Pete’s exceptional ability to bring the right leaders to the table, to facilitate open dialogue regarding challenges and issues, and to get the job done.
Pete’s life is a testament to his belief in, and commitment to, public service. Well before running for office Pete gave of his time to his community through his work on a myriad of local and statewide Boards, Coalitions and groups, focusing on issues important to a wide range of individuals, families, organizations and businesses. His service has included participation in the Health Council of East Central Florida (which addresses health care access and cost issues), the Child Advocacy Center Advisory Board (provider of Child abuse exams), the United Way 211 Advisory Board (which created the 211 system), the Health Care Center for the Homeless Advisory Board, the Senior Resource Alliance Council to promote senior access to services, and the Health Alliance (where he was Past Chair and co-founder) and facilitated the constructed a 26,000 sq. ft. clinic in east Winter Garden. Pete created the Primary Care Access Network (PCAN) which provides access to care for more than 90,000 Orange County residents through a collaborative created in 2000. He has furthered served as past chair of the Lake Eola Charter School Board, and the Shepherds Hope Board, the Low Income Pool Council (a State Appointment) which directed 1 Billion in Medicaid funding to Safety Net Hospitals and local projects, the Florida Public Health Association (Past President; state-wide association), the Drowning Prevention Task Force (ultimately spurring development of funding for swimming lessons for Head Start children in Orange County), Hope Now International (Past Chair and Co-Founder) provider of the largest back pack and health screening program in our area, and the AIDS Resource Alliance (Past Chair/Founding Member) offering a case management not-for-profit created for the Ryan White grant programs.
Following his career with Orange County Government, Pete was tapped to serve as Corporate Director of Community and Governmental Relations for Community Health Centers, Inc. — a local leader in access to health care for our residents. His efforts assured the organization was aligned with community partners and expectations — further evidence of his ability to work and collaborate effectively with both the private and public sectors.
In 2012, Pete was elected as our District 3 County Commissioner and was re-elected in 2016 by a nearly 70% margin. His extensive efforts to help our citizens and community have continued to provide much-needed solutions to the problems and challenges we face today. During his terms he has been honored to have his fellow Board members recognize his leadership and vision, and support many initiatives he proposed, including his Ordinance to allow the additional homestead exemption to our seniors; his Ordinance to require certain businesses to post the Human Trafficking Hot Line information; his Resolution against Fracking; his proposal to provide funding for the first and only adult human trafficking emergency shelter in the state (which has recently opened and is now accepting trafficking survivors); and supported his motion to return to the weekly bulk- item refuse pick up wanted by our residents. Numerous other successes during his service as our Commissioner include Water quality projects for our lakes; additional acreage for Cypress Grove Park; increased athletic fields and a splash pad and all-children’s playground for Barber Park; the Pine Castle/South Orange Avenue corridor plan; the Hoffner Road Overlay and Conway Acres wall; and the Small area studies (Rural Enclaves).
While serving as Orange County’s District 3 Commissioner, Pete’s community involvement continues through his efforts with a number of organizations and interests. These include the local Metro Plan (Vice Chair), the Transportation Disadvantaged Council (Past Chairman), the Central Florida Water Collaborative (Secretary), Community Action Board (Chair), the Citizens’ Commission for Children Advisory Board, the Central Receiving Center/Children’s Mental Health Board of Directors (Chair), Kiwanis Club of Central Orlando (Past President), Florida Abolitionists Board of Directors (dedicated to eradicating Human Trafficking and modern-day slavery), the Urban Caucus, where he serves as co-chair, the Florida Association of Counties, and the Healing the Children Advisory Council. His multi-agency and diverse community involvement further serves to demonstrate his commitment to the entire community and all its residents and visitors.
Pete currently lives in the Conway area with his wonderful wife Cathie, attends and volunteers for Discovery Church, and enjoys golf, riding his “bike” and playing in a classic rock band.
Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History at Northwestern University School of Law
Stephen Presser is a leading American legal historian and expert on shareholder liability for corporate debts. He is frequently an invited witness before committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on issues of constitutional law. He holds a joint appointment with the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and also teaches in Northwestern's history department.
Co-Chairman, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Leonard is Co-Chairman and former Executive Vice President of the Federalist Society, joining the organization over 25 years ago. Since that time he has been instrumental in helping the organization top 70,000, focusing on the growth of lawyers membership, operations and activities advancing limited, constitutional government. In addition to his work at the Society, Leonard has advised President Trump on judicial selection, assisted with the Gorsuch and Kavanaugh Supreme Court selection and confirmation process, and served as a member of the transition team. He also organized the outside coalition efforts in support of the Roberts and Alito U.S. Supreme Court confirmations. Leonard was appointed by President George W. Bush to three terms to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom as chairman. He was also a U.S. Delegate to the UN Council and UN Commission on Human Rights during the Bush Administration. Leonard was the recipient of the 2009 Bradley Prize, along with the other founders and directors of the Federalist Society, for his work in advancing freedom and the rule of law. He is the coeditor of Presidential Leadership: Rating the Best and the Worst in the White House, as well as the author of opinion editorials in the New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. Leonard holds degrees from Cornell University and Cornell Law School. He presently resides in Northern Virginia, where he and his wife Sally have raised their seven children.
Partner, Jones Day
Don McGahn represents clients before government agencies, in enforcement matters, and in court disputes arising from government regulation or action. He handles litigation, crisis management, regulatory compliance, and political issues.
Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2019, Don served as Counsel to the President of the United States, advising Donald J. Trump on all legal issues concerning the President and his administration, including constitutional and statutory authority, executive orders, international agreements, tariffs, trade, administrative law, and national security. Don also managed the judicial selection process for the President. During Don's tenure, a historic number of judges were appointed to the federal bench, including two Supreme Court justices. In addition, he spearheaded President Trump's deregulation efforts, which resulted in deregulation at record rates. Following Don's departure from the White House, the President appointed him to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan, independent agency dedicated to promoting improvement to administrative agency processes.
Don's accomplishments have been recognized at the highest levels of government. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that Don concluded his tenure "not only as the best White House Counsel I've seen on the job, but more broadly, as one of the most successful and consequential aides to any President in recent memory."
Don was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2008, and confirmed in the Senate by unanimous consent, to serve as a member of the Federal Election Commission. He also served as outside Counsel to the Committee on House Administration during the 113th and 114th Congresses and as general counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
Allison Hartwell Eid is a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. She joined the court in 2017 after a nomination from President Donald Trump.
Prior to her service on the Tenth Circuit, Judge Eid was a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court. She was the 95th justice to serve on the court, serving from 2006 to 2017. Before joining the Court, Judge Eid was the Solicitor General of the State of Colorado, serving as the chief legal officer to the Colorado Attorney General and representing Colorado officials and agencies in state and federal court. She was also a tenured Associate Professor of Law at the University of Colorado School of Law, teaching Constitutional Law, Legislation, and Torts, and writing on the topic of constitutional federalism.
Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Law, Judge Eid practiced commercial and appellate litigation with the Denver office of the national law firm of Arnold & Porter. She clerked for the Honorable Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, Texas.
Judge Eid earned her bachelor’s degree in American Studies (With Distinction and Phi Beta Kappa) from Stanford University in 1987. She then served as a Special Assistant and Speechwriter to U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett. In 1991, she graduated with High Honors from The University of Chicago Law School, where she was Articles Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review and was elected to the Order of the Coif. In 2002, President George W. Bush appointed her to serve on the Permanent Committee for the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise, established by Congress in 1955 to prepare the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a member of the American Law Institute and studied comparative law in London as a Temple Bar Scholar.
Judge Eid grew up in Spokane, Washington. She and her husband Troy, an attorney, have two children.
Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships, First Liberty Institute
Lisa Budzynski Ezell is the former Vice President and Director of the Federalist Society’s Lawyers Chapters. In this role, she managed a growing network of over 90 lawyers chapters nationwide, including oversight of leadership recruitment, chapter programming, state conferences, civics education outreach, and young lawyers activities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Saint Mary’s College in Political Science and History and a Master of Public Policy from George Mason University.
Partner, Lehotsky Keller LLP
The New York Times recognized Scott A. Keller as a “legal heavyweight,” who “is praised by opponents as a formidable advocate.”
Mr. Keller has argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and 12 cases before the Texas Supreme Court. He is the only practicing lawyer to have argued at least 10 cases in both courts. Mr. Keller frequently represents parties in high stakes appeals, and he has argued many cases in federal courts of appeals throughout the nation. He has earned individual accolades from Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Chambers, Legal 500, The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, Law360, Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and other publications.
Before founding Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Mr. Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He also has significant experience at the highest levels in all three branches of government. Mr. Keller served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator. He was U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mr. Keller was a law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was also a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Solicitor General.
Mr. Keller represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is crucial, and he has made numerous media appearances in major outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Fox News, NPR, and Politico. As a sought after speaker and writer, Mr. Keller’s articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and Texas Law Review. He has also served as an adjunct professor of constitutional litigation, Supreme Court practice, and federal courts at the University of Texas School of Law.
Sheila M. McDevitt Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Election Law Center, Florida State University College of Law
Professor Morley joined FSU Law in 2018, and teaches and writes in the areas of election law, constitutional law, remedies, and the federal courts. He is best known for his work on election emergencies and post-election litigation, nationwide and other defendant-oriented injunctions, the jurisdiction of the federal courts and their equitable powers more generally. He has testified before congressional committees, made presentations to election officials for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and participated in bipartisan blue-ribbon groups to develop election reforms. The governor of Florida also appointed Professor Morley to the Criminal Punishment Code Task Force, to propose potential revisions to the legislature.
The U.S. Supreme Court has cited several of his articles, and he was counsel of record for the successful Petitioner in a landmark campaign finance case. Professor Morley has appeared on C-SPAN, Court TV, Fox News and numerous local news programs, and has been quoted in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Politico, U.S. News and World Report, and a wide range of other national publications. His work has been published in many of the nation’s top law reviews, including the Georgetown Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, Boston University Law Review and Emory Law Journal.
Before joining FSU Law, Professor Morley was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School. Prior to his experience in academia, he served in government as special assistant to the General Counsel of the Army at the Pentagon, as well as a law clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. During his tenure with the Army General Counsel’s office, he was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Army Staff Lapel Pin. He also worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP and the Supreme Court & Appellate group of Winston & Strawn, LLP, both in Washington, D.C.
Professor Morley earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003, where he was a senior editor on the Yale Law Journal; served on the moot court board; and received the Thurman Arnold Prize for Best Oralist in the Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals.
Partner, Pisanelli Bice PLLC
Mr. Smith Jordan Smith is a partner at Pisanelli Bice PLLC, a Las Vegas-based boutique litigation firm, where he practices commercial and appellate litigation. Mr. Smith is the former Deputy Solicitor General of Nevada.
Mr. Smith has argued over 20 times in various state and federal appellate courts on a range of issues, including business disputes, administrative law, bankruptcy, habeas corpus, constitutional issues, and the death penalty. He has published multiple scholarly articles on subjects ranging from gaming law, statutory interpretation, and appellate practice. He has also presented on a variety of issues including nationwide injunctions.
While at the Nevada Attorney General’s Office, Mr. Smith represented the state in many constitutional cases and matters of statewide or national importance.
Mr. Smith has been recognized by his peers as one of Nevada’s leading litigators, including being named Vegas 40 Under 40 and by Best Lawyers as the “Appellate Practice Lawyer of the Year” for Las Vegas.
Courthouse Steps Preview: The Maryland Peace Cross (American Legion v. American Humanist Association)
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Gwendolyn Smith, Matthew Feeney, Pete Clarke
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Stephen B. Presser
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Tales from the Crypt: True Horror Stories About Ordinary Americans Victimized by Administrative Power
Charleston, SCCourthouse Steps Decision Teleforum: Timbs v. Indiana
Criminal Law & Procedure Practice Group
TeleforumTopics
Do Members of Congress Have a Duty to Interpret the Constitution for Themselves?
Is Constitutional interpretation only a job for judges? The Hon. James Buckley explains that both...
The Federalist Society
Pennsylvania Student Chapter
Philadelphia, PAFederalism and the Future of Emerging Technologies
San Francisco Lawyers Chapter
San Francisco, CALunch Address by Don McGahn
Leonard A. Leo, Donald F. McGahn
On January 26, 2019, the Federalist Society hosted the annual Western Chapters Conference at the...
Panel One: Debate on Nationwide Injunctions
Allison H. Eid, Lisa Ezell, Scott Allen Keller, Michael T. Morley, Jordan T. Smith
What is the proper role of state attorneys general and the courts in litigation in...