Founder, President, and General Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Rick Esenberg is the founder and current President and General Counsel of the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, a rapidly expanding law and policy organization headquartered in Milwaukee. Under Rick’s leadership, WILL has grown into one of the more active state-based think tanks and litigation centers in the country. Rick is a frequent litigator in state and federal courts and nationally recognized scholar and commentator on constitutional law, particularly the First Amendment’s guarantees of freedom of speech and religion. He is one of the leading experts on the Wisconsin Constitution and a frequent advocate before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Rick’s work seeks to advance the rule of law and individual liberty, formed by a robust civil society that forms individual and community character, preserving the wisdom of the past and an openness to the future.
Rick’s commentary has been featured in such outlets as the Wall Street Journal, National Review, Weekly Standard, Real Clear Politics, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Washington Examiner. Formerly on the faculty of Marquette University Law School, his scholarship has appeared in such publications as the Harvard Law Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Wake Forest Law Review and William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal. Back when they were a thing, he operated a blog called Shark and Shepherd where he tried to suggest something about the duality of man – “the Jungian thing.”
Rick holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, and a B.A., summa cum laude, in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In addition to service on the Marquette Faculty, he was formerly a litigation partner at Foley & Lardner and General Counsel of an international manufacturing firm headquartered in Wisconsin. He lives in Mequon Wisconsin with his wife Karen, golden retrievers Cooper and Riley and more books than he can find places for.
Judge, Waukesha County Circuit Court
Judge Michael P. Maxwell was elected by the citizens of Waukesha County in 2015 and re-elected in 2021 to serve as the presiding judge for Branch 8. He has served as the presiding judge for both the criminal and civil divisions and as the county’s probate judge. Judge Maxwell has also been previously appointed to serve on the state-wide commercial court. Previously, Judge Maxwell owned his own law firm, where he practiced in the areas of bankruptcy, civil litigation and consumer law.
He previously served as a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy trustee for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Judge Maxwell also served his community as chairman of the board and a board director of Landmark Credit Union, the largest credit union in the state. Judge Maxwell has served on the State Public Defender Board and as a town supervisor for the Town of Brookfield. Judge Maxwell is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Army National Guard, having served from 1987 to 1991.
Counsel, Wilkinson Stekloff
Jenna Swarbrick (née Pavelec) is Counsel at Wilkinson Stekloff. During her time at the firm, Jenna has represented clients in antitrust, consumer class action, sports, and other matters.
Recently, Jenna was a member of the trial team that secured a groundbreaking victory for Microsoft in the FTC’s challenge to Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and played a key role in the appellate briefing that resulted in a unanimous affirmance from the Ninth Circuit. Jenna also maintains an active pro bono practice, representing clients in trial, appellate, and post-conviction matters in both state and federal courts. She has been recognized for her pro bono service on the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.
Jenna previously served as a Law Clerk to Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Raymond Kethledge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Judge Amul Thapar, also on the Sixth Circuit.
Jenna graduated from Yale Law School, where she served as Editor-in-Chief for the Yale Journal on Regulation. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was a coxswain for the women’s varsity lightweight crew team. Jenna also serves on the board for the Federalist Society’s DC Young Lawyers Chapter.
Senior Litigation Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance
Mr. Vecchione is a Senior Litigation Counsel for the non-profit New Civil Liberties Alliance representing clients against the Administrative State. He was previously President and CEO of the non-profit Cause of Action Institute, also advancing the constitutional order. He practiced at a number of D.C. area firms, including the eponymous John J. Vecchione Law, PLLC. Mr. Vecchione focuses his practice on strategic litigation in the federal district and appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States. He is an experienced trial and appellate advocate having tried cases and argued appeals across the country. He is a member of the bars of the State of New York, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States and many federal courts. His cases are reported in scores of published opinions. He has also published pieces advancing the freedom agenda and constitutional order in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Times and many other forums. He lives in Virginia with his wife Rebecca, sons Tommy and Joe.
Chief Legal Officer, Pacem Solutions International
Prior to his current position as the Chief Legal Officer for PACEM Solutions, Mr. Schmitz served as a foreign policy/national security advisor to Donald J. Trump from March 2016 through the November 2016 election. His government service includes service as the 5th Senate-confirmed Inspector General of the Department of Defense from April 2002 to September 2005. For his service as Inspector General, Mr. Schmitz was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest honorary award presented by the Secretary of Defense to non-career federal employees.
In 2013, Mr. Schmitz published “The Inspector General Handbook: Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Other Constitutional ‘Enemies, Foreign and Domestic’,” the first-ever handbook for the inspector general profession – written also for those who work with inspectors general. Mr. Schmitz has extensive anti-corruption experience in overseeing compliance with various international and security-related laws, including but not limited to the Inspector General Act, Intelligence Oversight laws, the Posse Comitatus Act, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), and laws administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Prior to his service as Inspector General of the Department of Defense, Mr. Schmitz was a Partner in the international law firm of Patton Boggs LLP, serving as head of the Aviation Practice Group, and at the same time a Captain in the United States Naval Reserves, serving as Inspector General of the Naval Reserve Intelligence Command. After his Inspector General service, Mr. Schmitz served as Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel of the Prince Group in McLean, Virginia, after which he served as Managing Director in the Washington D.C. Office of Freeh Group International. His pre-Inspector General public service included: twenty-seven years of naval service, first on active duty and then as a reserve officer; law clerk to the Honorable James L. Buckley, Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States, the Honorable Edwin Meese III.
Mr. Schmitz has published numerous articles and has testified as a constitutional expert before U.S. Senate committees, and before various state legislature committees. From 1995 until 2002, he was an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he developed and taught a seminar on advanced Constitutional Law.
Mr. Schmitz graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978, and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Stanford University in 1986. He is a Senior Fellow for the Center for Security Policy, and a regular Newsmax “Insider” on constitutional issues under the banner, “Support and Defend.” In 2013, Mr. Schmitz was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (Virginia Chapter) as an “Outstanding American.” Joe and his wife of 40 years, Mollie, have raised six sons and two daughters.
Panel 2: Tariffs and Presidential Power: Where We Are and What Comes Next
2026 Wisconsin Chapters Conference
Delafield, WIHuman Trafficking