Assistant Solicitor General, Office of the Texas Attorney General
Vice President for Legal Strategy, Stand Together
Casey Mattox is Vice President for Legal Strategy at Stand Together and Senior Advisor at
Americans for Prosperity. In these roles he advocates for and creates strategies and
partnerships to ensure a constitutionally limited government that protects the civil liberties of all
Americans. Prior to joining Stand Together and AFP Casey’s legal career focused on defending
the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, healthcare workers and religious organizations.
Casey has a J.D. from Boston College School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the
University of Virginia. You can find him on Twitter at @CaseyMattox_ and on LinkedIn at
@Casey-Mattox-ST.
Supervising Senior Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
JT joined FIRE after six years of running his own law firm, where he focused on litigating First Amendment, anti-SLAPP, and digital media issues. During that time, JT testified before the Texas legislature on anti-SLAPP issues and advised organizations and officials on legislation and policy affecting freedom of speech and freedom of the press. He has also provided commentary on First Amendment and open government issues in several media outlets, including The Texas Tribune, Capital Tonight, and Vice.
Before opening his own firm, JT practiced at two nationally prominent firms in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas.
JT graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in computer science and economics. He then earned his law degree from William and Mary Law School.
JT is a member of the Texas, Virginia, and District of Columbia bars. He is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and several United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts.
In his free time, JT can usually be found fly fishing, growing hot peppers, and spending time with his family.
Vice President for Legal Strategy, Stand Together
Casey Mattox is Vice President for Legal Strategy at Stand Together and Senior Advisor at
Americans for Prosperity. In these roles he advocates for and creates strategies and
partnerships to ensure a constitutionally limited government that protects the civil liberties of all
Americans. Prior to joining Stand Together and AFP Casey’s legal career focused on defending
the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, healthcare workers and religious organizations.
Casey has a J.D. from Boston College School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the
University of Virginia. You can find him on Twitter at @CaseyMattox_ and on LinkedIn at
@Casey-Mattox-ST.
Supervising Senior Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
JT joined FIRE after six years of running his own law firm, where he focused on litigating First Amendment, anti-SLAPP, and digital media issues. During that time, JT testified before the Texas legislature on anti-SLAPP issues and advised organizations and officials on legislation and policy affecting freedom of speech and freedom of the press. He has also provided commentary on First Amendment and open government issues in several media outlets, including The Texas Tribune, Capital Tonight, and Vice.
Before opening his own firm, JT practiced at two nationally prominent firms in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas.
JT graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in computer science and economics. He then earned his law degree from William and Mary Law School.
JT is a member of the Texas, Virginia, and District of Columbia bars. He is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and several United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts.
In his free time, JT can usually be found fly fishing, growing hot peppers, and spending time with his family.
Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Special Counsel to the President, Alliance Defending Freedom
Ryan Bangert serves as senior vice president for strategic initiatives and special counsel to the president at Alliance Defending Freedom. He oversees ADF’s regulatory practice, government relations, and corporate engagement teams. He also advises executive leadership with strategic initiatives and appears as counsel for ADF clients.
Before joining ADF, Bangert served as deputy first assistant attorney general and deputy for legal counsel in the office of the Texas attorney general. In those roles, he oversaw the state’s Special Litigation Unit, which handled critical litigation against the federal government, and oversaw multiple divisions within the office. Prior to that, he served as deputy for civil litigation for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, overseeing the state’s civil litigation divisions, including the consumer protection and antitrust divisions, with over 200 attorneys and staff. During his time in government service, Bangert handled a diverse array of matters involving Big Tech, election law, civil rights, multistate antitrust and consumer protection investigations, and many other issues.
Prior to his government service, Bangert was a litigation partner at Baker Botts L.L.P., where he was a member of the firm’s commercial litigation and appellate practice sections. A seasoned trial attorney, The Texas Lawyer ranked the verdict Bangert achieved in the Janvey v. Maldonado case as the #1 verdict in the securities category for 2015-2019, and The National Law Journal ranked it in its “Top 100 Verdicts of 2015.” He was named a “Texas Rising Star” for multiple years by Texas Lawyer and Law and Politics magazines. While at Baker Botts, he was a volunteer attorney for ADF and served as amicus counsel in numerous cases, including Trinity Lutheran v. Comer and Salazar v. Buono, receiving the firm’s Opus Justitae Award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to pro bono service.
Bangert earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University, where he was a Hatton Sumner’s scholar and graduated first in his class. He also participated in ADF’s Blackstone program and is a Blackstone Fellow. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bangert is a member of the Philadelphia Society and Federalist Society. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, California (inactive), Missouri (inactive), the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal district and appellate courts. A frequent op-ed contributor, his work has appeared in National Review, Daily Wire, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Federalist, Fox News, and RealClear Religion. He speaks nationally on constitutional, cultural, and religious liberty issues.
Vice President, Policy and Fellow, Innovation and Technology, Rainey Center
Bartlett D. Cleland serves as the executive director of Rainey Center’s Leadership Alliance for a More Perfect Union (LAMP) program. In this role, he interfaces with legislators from across the country, as well as runs LAMP programs and seminars, including a program for leadership training. He also is a research fellow with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Texas, and Senior fellow, Tech and Innovation for the Pacific Research Institute in California. He serves as a member of the US Stakeholder Council, a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer Advisory Council and a member of the ISO 279 (Innovation Management) Technical Advisory Group.
Before joining Rainey Center, Cleland served on the Internet Education Foundation Board of Directors, where he worked closely with the Internet Caucus on Capitol Hill. He served two terms as the Chair of the Technology and Communications Taskforce of the American Legislative Exchange Council. He also was a member of the Internet Safety Technical Taskforce, a group comprised of leading Internet businesses and organizations and formed by 49 state attorneys general to focus on identifying effective online safety tools and technologies.
Previously, Cleland worked for Americans for Tax Reform as technology and policy counsel, and advised Commissioner Grover G. Norquist on the Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce. He has also represented the software industry handling a variety of copyright issues including open source and proprietary challenges, and a variety of tax and finance issues particular to the software industry, serving as tax and associate general counsel at ITAA, and later as Regional VP of Texas for TechAmerica.
Cleland graduated from Millikin University with a bachelor of science degree in philosophy and business administration. He received his master of business administration degree, as well as his law degree with a specialization in international and comparative law, from St. Louis University. He is admitted to the Missouri bar.
Director, Election Policy, Rainey Center
Andy Craig is director of election policy at the Rainey Center and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. His work is focused on election law, electoral reform, and political incentives, with the goal of reducing polarization and improving representative government. His analysis and recommendations have been cited by members of both parties on the floor of the House of Representatives and in the Senate Rules Committee, in addition to working with state legislators across the country to craft electoral reform proposals and adopt best practices for election administration. His commentary has appeared in outlets including the Washington Post, Fox News, The Nation, and Politico, and he writes regularly for The Daily Beast and The UnPopulist.
Andy previously worked as staff writer for the Cato Institute, and before that as a campaign staffer and consultant, including for Gov. Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign. He grew up in White Hall, Arkansas and studied political science at Hendrix College. He and his husband, Brian, currently live in Maryland.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, The George Washington University Law School
Aram A. Gavoor is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and an internationally recognized scholar in American administrative law, national security, and federal courts. His co-authored work was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of Commerce v. New York (2019). His scholarship has earned placement in the Florida Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, Ohio State Law Journal, and other law journals. He has briefed and argued over a dozen high-profile public law cases before a majority of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and numerous cases before almost a third of the 94 U.S. District Courts. Associate Dean Gavoor frequently shares his national security, artificial intelligence policy, and federal courts expertise with international news media, including CNN, BBC World News, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, and ABC (Australia) World News. In 2021, the National Law Journal named Associate Dean Gavoor a Rising Star (top 40 under 40) honoree.
Earlier in his career, Associate Dean Gavoor served as Senior Counsel for National Security in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as third-in-rank Counselor to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White House Office of Management and Budget, and in private practice. He received the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in 2019, the Civil Division Special Commendation Award in 2020, 2019, and 2018, and a Commendation from the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division in 2018.
Associate Dean Gavoor previously served on the law school’s part-time faculty from 2008-2017 before accepting a term-limited position as Visiting Associate Professor from 2017-2019. He received GW Law’s Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award from the 2020 and 2017 graduating classes. He currently teaches Constitutional Law II, Administrative Law, National Security Law, and Federal Courts.
Senior Counsel, Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement, Alliance Defending Freedom
Jeremy Tedesco serves as senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement for Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, Tedesco leads ADF’s efforts to combat corporate cancel culture and build a business ethic that respects free speech, religious freedom, and human dignity.
Immediately preceding his current role, Tedesco served as senior vice president for communications, during which time he was a lead convener of the Philadelphia Statement, a movement dedicated to restoring free speech and civil discourse. Tedesco also launched a regular video series called Freedom Matters, profiling ADF clients, cases, and issues. The program included 24 videos in its first year, which more than 31 million people viewed.
Previously, Tedesco litigated First Amendment cases at the highest levels. He was part of the legal team that represented cake artist Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued Phillips’ case at the Colorado Court of Appeals. He was also the lead brief writer in two other U.S. Supreme Court wins, Reed v. Town of Gilbert and Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn. Tedesco has also argued six times before five different federal appellate courts and founded and directed the ADF Center for Conscience Initiatives, where he led efforts to protect individuals from government-coerced speech.
Numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, PBS, NPR, and National Review, have interviewed Tedesco or published his comments.
Tedesco earned his Juris Doctor in 2004 from the Regent University School of Law.
Vice President for Legal Strategy, Stand Together
Casey Mattox is Vice President for Legal Strategy at Stand Together and Senior Advisor at
Americans for Prosperity. In these roles he advocates for and creates strategies and
partnerships to ensure a constitutionally limited government that protects the civil liberties of all
Americans. Prior to joining Stand Together and AFP Casey’s legal career focused on defending
the First Amendment rights of students, faculty, healthcare workers and religious organizations.
Casey has a J.D. from Boston College School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the
University of Virginia. You can find him on Twitter at @CaseyMattox_ and on LinkedIn at
@Casey-Mattox-ST.
Supervising Senior Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE)
JT joined FIRE after six years of running his own law firm, where he focused on litigating First Amendment, anti-SLAPP, and digital media issues. During that time, JT testified before the Texas legislature on anti-SLAPP issues and advised organizations and officials on legislation and policy affecting freedom of speech and freedom of the press. He has also provided commentary on First Amendment and open government issues in several media outlets, including The Texas Tribune, Capital Tonight, and Vice.
Before opening his own firm, JT practiced at two nationally prominent firms in Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas.
JT graduated from Vanderbilt University with a double major in computer science and economics. He then earned his law degree from William and Mary Law School.
JT is a member of the Texas, Virginia, and District of Columbia bars. He is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and several United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts.
In his free time, JT can usually be found fly fishing, growing hot peppers, and spending time with his family.
Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Special Counsel to the President, Alliance Defending Freedom
Ryan Bangert serves as senior vice president for strategic initiatives and special counsel to the president at Alliance Defending Freedom. He oversees ADF’s regulatory practice, government relations, and corporate engagement teams. He also advises executive leadership with strategic initiatives and appears as counsel for ADF clients.
Before joining ADF, Bangert served as deputy first assistant attorney general and deputy for legal counsel in the office of the Texas attorney general. In those roles, he oversaw the state’s Special Litigation Unit, which handled critical litigation against the federal government, and oversaw multiple divisions within the office. Prior to that, he served as deputy for civil litigation for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, overseeing the state’s civil litigation divisions, including the consumer protection and antitrust divisions, with over 200 attorneys and staff. During his time in government service, Bangert handled a diverse array of matters involving Big Tech, election law, civil rights, multistate antitrust and consumer protection investigations, and many other issues.
Prior to his government service, Bangert was a litigation partner at Baker Botts L.L.P., where he was a member of the firm’s commercial litigation and appellate practice sections. A seasoned trial attorney, The Texas Lawyer ranked the verdict Bangert achieved in the Janvey v. Maldonado case as the #1 verdict in the securities category for 2015-2019, and The National Law Journal ranked it in its “Top 100 Verdicts of 2015.” He was named a “Texas Rising Star” for multiple years by Texas Lawyer and Law and Politics magazines. While at Baker Botts, he was a volunteer attorney for ADF and served as amicus counsel in numerous cases, including Trinity Lutheran v. Comer and Salazar v. Buono, receiving the firm’s Opus Justitae Award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to pro bono service.
Bangert earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University, where he was a Hatton Sumner’s scholar and graduated first in his class. He also participated in ADF’s Blackstone program and is a Blackstone Fellow. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bangert is a member of the Philadelphia Society and Federalist Society. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, California (inactive), Missouri (inactive), the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal district and appellate courts. A frequent op-ed contributor, his work has appeared in National Review, Daily Wire, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Federalist, Fox News, and RealClear Religion. He speaks nationally on constitutional, cultural, and religious liberty issues.
Vice President, Policy and Fellow, Innovation and Technology, Rainey Center
Bartlett D. Cleland serves as the executive director of Rainey Center’s Leadership Alliance for a More Perfect Union (LAMP) program. In this role, he interfaces with legislators from across the country, as well as runs LAMP programs and seminars, including a program for leadership training. He also is a research fellow with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Texas, and Senior fellow, Tech and Innovation for the Pacific Research Institute in California. He serves as a member of the US Stakeholder Council, a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Consumer Advisory Council and a member of the ISO 279 (Innovation Management) Technical Advisory Group.
Before joining Rainey Center, Cleland served on the Internet Education Foundation Board of Directors, where he worked closely with the Internet Caucus on Capitol Hill. He served two terms as the Chair of the Technology and Communications Taskforce of the American Legislative Exchange Council. He also was a member of the Internet Safety Technical Taskforce, a group comprised of leading Internet businesses and organizations and formed by 49 state attorneys general to focus on identifying effective online safety tools and technologies.
Previously, Cleland worked for Americans for Tax Reform as technology and policy counsel, and advised Commissioner Grover G. Norquist on the Advisory Committee on Electronic Commerce. He has also represented the software industry handling a variety of copyright issues including open source and proprietary challenges, and a variety of tax and finance issues particular to the software industry, serving as tax and associate general counsel at ITAA, and later as Regional VP of Texas for TechAmerica.
Cleland graduated from Millikin University with a bachelor of science degree in philosophy and business administration. He received his master of business administration degree, as well as his law degree with a specialization in international and comparative law, from St. Louis University. He is admitted to the Missouri bar.
Director, Election Policy, Rainey Center
Andy Craig is director of election policy at the Rainey Center and an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. His work is focused on election law, electoral reform, and political incentives, with the goal of reducing polarization and improving representative government. His analysis and recommendations have been cited by members of both parties on the floor of the House of Representatives and in the Senate Rules Committee, in addition to working with state legislators across the country to craft electoral reform proposals and adopt best practices for election administration. His commentary has appeared in outlets including the Washington Post, Fox News, The Nation, and Politico, and he writes regularly for The Daily Beast and The UnPopulist.
Andy previously worked as staff writer for the Cato Institute, and before that as a campaign staffer and consultant, including for Gov. Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign. He grew up in White Hall, Arkansas and studied political science at Hendrix College. He and his husband, Brian, currently live in Maryland.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, The George Washington University Law School
Aram A. Gavoor is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and an internationally recognized scholar in American administrative law, national security, and federal courts. His co-authored work was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court in Department of Commerce v. New York (2019). His scholarship has earned placement in the Florida Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, Ohio State Law Journal, and other law journals. He has briefed and argued over a dozen high-profile public law cases before a majority of the U.S. Courts of Appeals and numerous cases before almost a third of the 94 U.S. District Courts. Associate Dean Gavoor frequently shares his national security, artificial intelligence policy, and federal courts expertise with international news media, including CNN, BBC World News, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, and ABC (Australia) World News. In 2021, the National Law Journal named Associate Dean Gavoor a Rising Star (top 40 under 40) honoree.
Earlier in his career, Associate Dean Gavoor served as Senior Counsel for National Security in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as third-in-rank Counselor to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the White House Office of Management and Budget, and in private practice. He received the Attorney General's Award for Distinguished Service in 2019, the Civil Division Special Commendation Award in 2020, 2019, and 2018, and a Commendation from the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section of the Criminal Division in 2018.
Associate Dean Gavoor previously served on the law school’s part-time faculty from 2008-2017 before accepting a term-limited position as Visiting Associate Professor from 2017-2019. He received GW Law’s Distinguished Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award from the 2020 and 2017 graduating classes. He currently teaches Constitutional Law II, Administrative Law, National Security Law, and Federal Courts.
Senior Counsel, Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement, Alliance Defending Freedom
Jeremy Tedesco serves as senior counsel and senior vice president of corporate engagement for Alliance Defending Freedom. In this role, Tedesco leads ADF’s efforts to combat corporate cancel culture and build a business ethic that respects free speech, religious freedom, and human dignity.
Immediately preceding his current role, Tedesco served as senior vice president for communications, during which time he was a lead convener of the Philadelphia Statement, a movement dedicated to restoring free speech and civil discourse. Tedesco also launched a regular video series called Freedom Matters, profiling ADF clients, cases, and issues. The program included 24 videos in its first year, which more than 31 million people viewed.
Previously, Tedesco litigated First Amendment cases at the highest levels. He was part of the legal team that represented cake artist Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission before the U.S. Supreme Court and argued Phillips’ case at the Colorado Court of Appeals. He was also the lead brief writer in two other U.S. Supreme Court wins, Reed v. Town of Gilbert and Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn. Tedesco has also argued six times before five different federal appellate courts and founded and directed the ADF Center for Conscience Initiatives, where he led efforts to protect individuals from government-coerced speech.
Numerous media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, CNN, The New York Times, USA Today, PBS, NPR, and National Review, have interviewed Tedesco or published his comments.
Tedesco earned his Juris Doctor in 2004 from the Regent University School of Law.
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Casey Mattox, JT Morris
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Litigation Update: Villarreal v. City of Laredo
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