Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, Cato Institute
Clark Neily is senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute. His areas of interest include constitutional law, overcriminalization, civil forfeiture, police accountability, and gun rights. Neily is the author of Terms of Engagement: How Our Courts Should Enforce the Constitution’s Promise of Limited Government. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and National Review Online, as well as various law reviews, including the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, George Mason Law Review, Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, NYU Journal of Law and Liberty, and Texas Review of Law and Politics. Neily is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer for the Federalist Society, Institute for Humane Studies, and American Constitution Society.
Before joining Cato in 2017, Neily was a senior attorney and constitutional litigator at the Institute for Justice and director of the Institute’s Center for Judicial Engagement. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law, where he teaches constitutional litigation and public-interest law.
Neily served as co-counsel in District of Columbia v. Heller, the historic case in which the Supreme Court held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own a gun for self-defense.
Neily began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Royce Lamberth on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. After that he spent four years in the trial department of the Dallas-based firm Thompson & Knight. Neily received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Texas, where he was Chief Articles Editor of the Texas Law Review.
Frederick A. Whitney Professor of Contract Law and Director, Center for Law and Religion, St. John's University School of Law
Professor Movsesian is the Frederick A. Whitney Professor of Contract Law and the Director of the Center for Law and Religion. He writes in law and religion, contracts and international and comparative law; his articles have appeared in the Harvard, North Carolina, and Washington & Lee Law Reviews, the Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, the American Journal of International Law, the Harvard International Law Journal, the Virginia Journal of International Law, and many others. He has been a visiting professor at Notre Dame and Cardozo Law Schools and has delivered papers at numerous workshops in the United States and Europe. He teaches offerings in contracts, comparative law and law and religion.
Professor Movsesian graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College and magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. In law school, he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review and a recipient of the Sears Prize, awarded to the two highest-ranking students in the second-year class. He clerked for Justice David H. Souter of the Supreme Court of the United States and served as an attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the United States Department of Justice. Before starting at St. John's, he was the Max Schmertz Distinguished Professor of Law at Hofstra.
Professor Movsesian blogs regularly at the Law and Religion Forum.
Professor of Law and Director, Center for the Middle East and International Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
Professor of Law Eugene Kontorovich is one of the world’s preeminent experts on universal jurisdiction and maritime piracy, as well as international law and the Israel-Arab conflict. He is also the Director of Scalia Law School's Center for the Middle East and International Law. Professor Kontorovich joined the Scalia Law School from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law where he was a Professor of Law from 2011 to 2018 and an Associate Professor from 2007 to 2011. Previously, he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Chicago from 2005 to 2007 and an Assistant Professor at George Mason School of Law from 2003 to 2007.
Professor Kontorovich has published over thirty major scholarly articles and book chapters in leading law reviews and peer-reviewed journals in the United States and Europe, including the American Journal of International Law, International Review of Law & Economics, Stanford Law Review, California Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, and Virginia Law Review. His scholarship has been cited in leading foreign relations and international law
His expertise is often sought out and quoted by major news organizations such the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR News, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and numerous television and radio programs. Prof. Kontorovich’s popular writings have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, POLITICO, Commentary, Haaretz, and numerous other leading publications. He is also a regular contributor to the Washington Post’s Volokh Conspiracy legal blog.
He attended the University of Chicago for college and law school. After law school, he clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has been honored with a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, in 2011-12, and with the Federalist Society’s prestigious Bator Award, given annually to a young scholar (under 40), for outstanding scholarship and teaching.
Senior Editor, Reason magazine and Reason.com
Damon Root is a senior editor of Reasonmagazine and Reason.com, where he writes about legal affairs, politics, and history. He is the author of Overruled: The Long War for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court (Palgrave Macmillan).
Root was awarded the R.C. Hoiles Prize for Journalism in 2011 for his writing on eminent domain abuse in New York. His July 2010Reason cover story, "Conservatives v. Libertarians: The debate over judicial activism divides former allies," was nominated for a 2010 Los Angeles Press Club award for best magazine feature or commentary.
Root's writing on the 14th Amendment has been cited in the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy, his reporting on eminent domain has been cited in the Fordham Urban Law Journal, and his work on federalism and gay marriage has been cited in theColumbia Law Review. His 2007 essay on NAACP co-founder Moorfield Storey was recommended inRace & Liberty in America: The Essential Reader (University Press of Kentucky).
Root's writing has appeared in the New York Post, New York Daily News, Chicago Sun-Times,Washington Times, WallStreetJournal.com, New York Press, Cato Policy Report, and other publications.
Root has spoken before audiences at the New York Civil Liberties Union, Columbia University, and the Cato Institute and has appeared on the Fox Business Channel, New York Public Radio, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, and other media outlets.
Root is a graduate of Columbia University, where he received a B.A. in history. He lives in New York's Hudson Valley.
Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Orin S. Kerr is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches and writes in the areas of criminal procedure and computer crime law. Kerr earned mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton University and Stanford University before graduating with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the United States Supreme Court and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
Michael Sussmann, formerly with the U.S. Department of Justice, is a nationally-recognized privacy, cybersecurity and national security lawyer. He is engaged on some of the most sophisticated, high-stakes matters today, such as his representation of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in their responses to Russian hacking in the 2016 presidential election. This work was most recently discussed in the best-selling book Hacks (2017).
Michael has been ranked as a “Privacy and Data Security Expert” in the Chambers Global and Chambers USAdirectories. As such, he is often quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other media. His legal work also has been cited by investigative reporters in two other important books: Power Wars (2015) and Dragnet Nation (2015). He has provided Congressional testimony and litigated national security issues in federal court.
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.
Partner, Duane Morris LLP
Brian Pandya is Partner at Duane Morris LLP. A member of the firm’s Trial Practice Group, Brian represents technology, manufacturing, and healthcare companies in high-stakes litigation, arbitrations, investigations and appeals. He has served as lead trial counsel in a range of intellectual property, antitrust, complex commercial and white-collar matters. He also regularly counsels clients on cybersecurity and national security issues, particularly matters concerning emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.
Before joining Duane Morris, Brian served at the U.S. Department of Justice as Deputy Associate Attorney General from 2019-21, where he oversaw investigations and litigation undertaken by the Antitrust Division and Civil Division and served on several high-profile task forces and trial teams. Brian was also previously a litigation and IP partner at another prominent Washington, DC firm.
Brian clerked for Judge Leonard Davis on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He is a two-time recipient of the Federal Circuit Bar Association’s Pro Bono Advocacy Award for work on behalf of military veterans and has served as volunteer federal public defender in the Eastern District of Virginia, among many other bar and community engagements.
Brian graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was articles editor of the Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, and with honors and high distinction in mechanical engineering from Penn State University, where he received the Ralph Dorn Hetzel Memorial Award.
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law; Director, Classical Liberal Institute, Civitas Institute University of Texas at Austin
Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, at New York University, a senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas Austin, and a senior Lecturer, the University of Chicago. He received an LL.D., h.c . from the University of Ghent, 2003 , and an LLD h.c . from the University of Siegen in 2018 and the Bradley Prize in 2011. He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1985. He has edited both the Journal of Legal Studies (1981-1991) and the Journal of Law and Economics (1991-2001). He is also a founder and director of the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU Law School. His most recent book is The Classical Liberal Constitution: The Uncertain Quest for Limited Government (2014). His other books include Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain ( 1985); Bargaining with the State (1993); Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995); Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty and the Common Good (1998); Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Theory of Classical Liberalism (2003); Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration and the Rule of Law (2011), and most recently, The Myth of Birthright citizenship—and Beyond (2026). He has taught courses in , administrative law, antitrust, constitutional, contracts, environmental law, land use planning; real property, torts and water law. He has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of topics, and is writes a regular column for Defining Ideas.
Executive Vice President of Global Governance, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Walmart Inc.
Rachel Brand is Walmart’s executive vice president of global governance, chief legal officer, and corporate secretary. She oversees the company’s global legal, compliance, ethics, corporate governance, digital citizenship, aviation, investigative, and corporate security functions, including Walmart’s Emergency Operations Center.
Immediately before joining Walmart, Rachel served as the United States Associate Attorney General and holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve in this role. She had previously served in the U.S. Department of Justice as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy during President George W. Bush’s administration. Her other government service includes an appointment by President Obama to serve as a Member of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, service as an Associate Counsel to the President at the White House, and judicial clerkships with Justice Charles Fried of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts and Justice Anthony Kennedy at the Supreme Court of the United States. In the private sector, Rachel was a lawyer in private practice at two law firms in Washington, D.C. and served as the Vice President and Chief Counsel for Regulatory Litigation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Center.
Rachel serves on the board of directors for the Walmart Foundation and is the executive sponsor for Walmart’s Tribal Voices Associate Resource Group. Outside of Walmart, she serves on the board of directors for the International Justice Mission and is a member of The American Law Institute.
Rachel earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota-Morris and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Orin S. Kerr is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches and writes in the areas of criminal procedure and computer crime law. Kerr earned mechanical engineering degrees from Princeton University and Stanford University before graduating with a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a former law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy at the United States Supreme Court and Judge Leonard I. Garth of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
Michael Sussmann, formerly with the U.S. Department of Justice, is a nationally-recognized privacy, cybersecurity and national security lawyer. He is engaged on some of the most sophisticated, high-stakes matters today, such as his representation of the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in their responses to Russian hacking in the 2016 presidential election. This work was most recently discussed in the best-selling book Hacks (2017).
Michael has been ranked as a “Privacy and Data Security Expert” in the Chambers Global and Chambers USAdirectories. As such, he is often quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and other media. His legal work also has been cited by investigative reporters in two other important books: Power Wars (2015) and Dragnet Nation (2015). He has provided Congressional testimony and litigated national security issues in federal court.
Introduction to the State & Local Working Group
Clark Neily
Clark Neily, Chairman of RTP's State & Local working group and Vice President for Criminal...
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission [SCOTUSbrief]
Mark Movsesian
Can Colorado's public accommodations law compel a baker to serve a customer in a way...
Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran [SCOTUSbrief]
Eugene Kontorovich
Can terror victims seize ancient Persian artifacts on loan to the U.S as reparations for...
Recent Developments in Corporate Mergers
Corporations, Securities, & Antitrust and Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Groups Teleforum
TeleforumDiscussion with Associate AG Brand
DC Young Lawyers Chapter
Washington, DCCourthouse Steps: Cyan v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund
Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Practice Group Teleforum
TeleforumChristie v. NCAA [SCOTUSbrief]
Damon Root
Does a federal law against sports betting prohibit the state of New Jersey from legalizing...
Courthouse Steps: Carpenter v. United States
Orin S. Kerr, Michael Sussmann
Arrests made in an armed robbery case occurred because the Federal Bureau of Investigation was...
Courthouse Steps: Carpenter v. United States
Criminal Law & Procedure and Telecommunications & Electronic Media Practice Groups Teleforum
TeleforumCourthouse Steps: Oil States and SAS Institute Inc. v. Matal
Matthew J. Dowd, Brian Pandya
Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group Has the administrative state gone too far into...