Former President & CEO, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer, former President and CEO of the Federalist Society, has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for more than 40 years. He is responsible for shepherding the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. The Society now includes a Student Chapter at nearly every ABA-accredited law school in the country and Lawyers Chapters in 220 major cities across the nation. Gene earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Gene currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
Svetlana S. Gans is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP where she helps clients navigate complex consumer protection, privacy, and competition related regulatory proceedings before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), , U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, State Attorneys General and other enforcement bodies. Ms. Gans also assists on litigation matters and provides strategic counseling and advice related to public policy issues.
Before joining Gibson Dunn, she served as the Vice President & Associate General Counsel at NCTA, the Internet & Television Association, where she helped lead the association’s consumer protection and competition policy work. Prior to joining NCTA, Ms. Gans served with distinction as Chief of Staff to Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen at the FTC. As the agency chief of staff, Ms. Gans managed and oversaw agency operations, including bureau and office heads reporting to the Chairman, a seven-member office staff, and an agency budget of over $300 million. She also served as the Acting Chairman’s key advisor on consumer protection and competition investigations and litigation, working with a diverse team of attorneys and economists to preserve competition and protect U.S. consumers. She created, executed, and oversaw several strategic initiatives for the agency, including the agency process reform, regulatory reform, and data security transparency initiatives. Previously, Ms. Gans had the unique experience of serving in both litigating bureaus of the FTC: the Bureau of Competition and the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Prior to her time in government, Ms. Gans worked as an antitrust associate at major law firms. Her practice focused on defending consumer product, financial services, and trade association clients in regulatory and private investigations alleging conspiracy and violations of antitrust and consumer protection laws.
Ms. Gans has been an active leader in the ABA Antitrust Law Section (“Section”) for two decades, and currently serves as the Section’s Marketing Officer. Ms. Gans helped create the Section’s Young Lawyer Representative Program, now in its 10th year, and the Section’s Law Ambassador Program, each aimed at developing and promoting the next generation of consumer protection and competition attorneys. Ms. Gans is also active in the Federal Communications Bar Association, currently serving as Co-Chair of the Diversity Pipeline Initiative and the Women’s Leadership Committee.
Ms. Gans received her law degree with high honors from the University of Denver College of Law. During law school, Ms. Gans served as a Judicial Intern to the Honorable John L. Kane, Jr. and as an Honors Program Paralegal for the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Merger Taskforce. Ms. Gans earned her undergraduate degree cum laude from Boston University.
U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah
Melissa Holyoak was nominated by President Trump to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah on January 29, 2026. Holyoak was appointed on November 17, 2025 by Attorney General Pam Bondi to serve as Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah.
Prior to that, Holyoak served as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission from March 25, 2024 until her appointment as U.S. Attorney. During her FTC tenure, Commissioner Holyoak strove to vigorously enforce the antitrust and consumer protection laws while acting within the agency’s constitutional and statutory remit. She spoke widely about a range of FTC priorities, including improving competition enforcement, effectively applying existing laws to emerging trends in technology, and protecting children and teens online. She also published numerous statements about FTC matters.
Holyoak brings extensive experience as a litigator and leader. She served as Solicitor General with the Utah Attorney General’s Office where she oversaw the civil appeals, criminal appeals, constitutional defense and special litigation, and antitrust and data privacy divisions. She also managed multistate matters including those involving consumer protection and antitrust claims.
Before taking on that role, she served as president and general counsel of Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based public interest law firm and in other public interest attorney positions with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Center for Class Action Fairness. Holyoak represented class members challenging unfair class actions and consumers fighting regulatory abuse in federal district courts and appellate courts across the country.
Holyoak has argued in the Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and D.C. Circuits. She is a former prosecutor and attorney with O’Melveny & Myers LLP. She graduated from the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2003 as a member of the Order of the Coif and the Law Review. Holyoak is a member of the bars of Utah, D.C., and Missouri (inactive). Her husband Dr. Joshua Holyoak is a urologist and together they have four beautiful children.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
John B. Nalbandian serves as a United States Circuit Judge from Kentucky on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was nominated and confirmed to that position in 2018. Prior to that, Judge Nalbandian was a partner in the litigation practice group of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Cincinnati, where he served as the firm’s lead appellate lawyer and also practiced complex litigation in state and federal courts. Judge Nalbandian was board certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in appellate law. Prior to joining Taft, Judge Nalbandian practiced for five years in the appellate section of Jones Day in Washington, DC. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Nalbandian clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston. While in private practice, he also served as a board member of the State Justice Institute, a nonprofit organization established by the federal government to improve the administration of justice in state courts. He served as President of the Cincinnati Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society. He has also been involved in his community as a board member of the Greater Cincinnati Minority Counsel Program, and as a board member of the Asian Pacific Bar Association of Southwest Ohio. Judge Nalbandian earned his B.S., magna cum laude, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as managing editor of the Virginia Law Review.
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.
Annual Report 2023
Eugene B. Meyer
This Annual Report is a celebration of the tireless work and generous contributions of our...
Philadelphia Lawyers Chapter Happy Hour
Philadelphia Lawyers Chapter
Philadelphia, PAArtificial Intelligence and the Future of Judging
DC Young Lawyers Chapter
Washington, DCLaboratories of Democracy: Nebraska's Unicameral [The FedSoc Films Podcast]
In this episode of the FedSoc Films Podcast, Andrew Lagrone, a Nebraska native and former...
Laboratories of Democracy: Nebraska's Unicameral
Watch the full film Laboratories of Democracy: Nebraska's Unicameral on YouTube. Learn more about Andrew...
Nationals Game with the DC Young Lawyers
DC Young Lawyers Chapter
Washington, DCSupreme Court Roundup
Sacramento Lawyers Chapter, Pacific Legal Foundation, and America's Future
Sacramento, CACareers Chat Dinner
Chicago Lawyers Chapter
Chicago, IL2024 Florida Young Lawyers Summit
Coral Gables, FLFireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak
Svetlana Gans, Melissa Holyoak
Join us on Wednesday, July 10th at 12:00 PM ET for a special lunch panel...