Shareholder, Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC
Jason Gonzalez is an experienced appellate and litigation attorney and regularly consults on executive branch government affairs. He represents businesses and state agencies in state and federal courts in contracts, government procurements, insurance disputes, class actions, tort defense, banking, finance, professional licenses, and elections matters.
Recently, Jason advocated for business association clients in two amicus briefs filed before the Florida Supreme Court, supporting the adoption of the federal summary judgment standard, a development widely viewed as the most significant Florida civil justice system reform in the modern era. In 2019, Florida Politics reported that Jason was representing parties in more pending civil cases at the Florida Supreme Court than any other attorney in the State.
Over the course of his career, Jason has been at the forefront of emerging legal developments, helping to shape Florida’s justice system.
Jason has served on the Florida Supreme Court Nominating Commission, as Chairman of the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and Chairman of the Second Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, as well as two terms as General Counsel and former Executive Board Member of the Republican Party of Florida. Prior to co-founding Lawson Huck Gonzalez, Jason served as General Counsel to the Florida Governor.
In 2010, Jason served as lead counsel for Transocean Ltd. in its Florida Panhandle litigation and regulatory matters immediately following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. Over a two-year period, Jason successfully obtained orders dismissing or removing every one of the more than 70 individual and class action lawsuits filed against Transocean in Florida.
Chief Deputy Attorney General
Ryan Newman is currently Chief Deputy Attorney General for Florida Office of the Attorney General.
During the first Trump Administration, he served as Counselor to the United States Attorney General for national security and international affairs, Deputy General Counsel (Legal Counsel) for the Department of Defense, and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice. Prior to serving in the Executive Branch, Ryan was Chief Counsel to United States Senator Ted Cruz during the 114th Congress.
Ryan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the United States Supreme Court, the Honorable Richard J. Leon on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the Honorable J.L. Edmondson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Prior to law school, Ryan was an armor officer in the United States Army assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers). He deployed to Iraq in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ryan graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1998. He earned his law degree with high honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 2007.
Partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP
Daniel Nordby is a partner in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is a member of the Appellate Practice Group. His practice focuses on high-profile, high stakes matters of law and public policy, particularly in the areas of constitutional, appellate and administrative law.
Over the course of his career, Daniel has developed extensive experience in the area of government and administrative law. He is a Past Chair of the Florida Bar’s Administrative Law Section and has served on the Section’s Executive Council for more than a decade. Daniel has represented clients in some of Florida’s largest competitive procurements and has served as counsel of record in a variety of administrative and judicial proceedings involving the application of constitutional and administrative law principles. He has personally presented oral argument on multiple occasions before the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on high-profile matters of constitutional law. A representative list of Daniel’s reported opinions in the state and federal courts is available here.
Daniel draws on his prior service in the public sector when representing businesses, individuals and governmental clients on their most challenging legal issues. As General Counsel to then-Governor Rick Scott from 2017-2019, Daniel provided oversight and strategic direction for all major litigation involving Florida’s executive branch agencies and advised Governor Scott on the appointment of more than 100 judges to Florida’s trial and appellate courts. Daniel’s career also includes service as General Counsel to the Florida House of Representatives, General Counsel to Florida’s Secretary of State, Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Department of Education, and Staff Attorney to the Florida Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.
Daniel continues his public service as a gubernatorial appointee to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. After serving on the Commission from 2012-2018 as a direct appointee of Governor Scott, Daniel was appointed by Governor DeSantis in July 2019 to a third term. He currently serves as Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
Daniel is also involved with several non-profit and community groups. He is a graduate of Leadership Florida (Connect VI), a member of Florida Blue Key, a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leaders Network, and a member of the James Madison Institute’s Inaugural Class of Leaders Fellows. Daniel is on the Steering Committee of the Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies and is a Past President of both its Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter and University of Florida Student Chapter. Daniel is an Eagle Scout and attends St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee.
Daniel is a “triple-Gator” with three degrees from the University of Florida: a J.D. (with high honors), a B.S. in Microbiology and Cell Science, and a B.A. in Classical Studies. He has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and has been named to the roster of Florida Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine in the categories of “Government & Administrative Law,” “Best Government & Non-Profit Attorneys,” and ”Best Up & Coming Attorneys.”
Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Jesse, the former third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, helps clients with their most difficult litigation and regulatory issues─whether that means defending against an enforcement action, pursuing high-stakes litigation and appeals, navigating regulatory thickets at federal and state agencies, or crafting a comprehensive strategy to manage a crisis. He approaches these problems with the knowledge gained both from his broad private-practice experience and from having served at the highest levels of federal and state government.
Jesse has experience across a range of substantive and regulatory areas. He has sued the federal government and has also been one of its top law-enforcement officials; he has represented states and has also navigated their regulatory agencies on behalf of clients; and he has represented companies in business disputes, both as defendants and plaintiffs.
Before joining the firm, Jesse was the Acting Associate Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. In that role, he oversaw the civil and criminal work of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions. During Jesse’s tenure, the Associate’s office closely managed the Department’s most significant litigation, including matters involving large financial institutions, healthcare companies, automakers, energy companies, and state and local governments. In addition, Jesse served as Chair of DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and Vice Chair of DOJ’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. Jesse regularly provided legal and strategic advice to the highest-level decision makers in the federal government, including the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, general counsels across the spectrum of federal agencies, and White House officials.
Jesse served for three years as the secretary of Florida’s labor, economic-development, and land-use agency, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Before that, he served as Governor (now Senator) Rick Scott’s general counsel.
Jesse maintains offices in both Washington D.C. and Florida. From Washington, he focuses on federal litigation and crisis management. In Florida, in addition to federal litigation, Jesse employs his knowledge of state government and regulation to help clients in courts across the state, from trial through the Florida Supreme Court.
Jesse currently serves on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, the body that provides the governor with nominees for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Jesse is also a fellow at the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where he writes and speaks about administrative law.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
Judge, Northern District of Florida
Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II has served as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Florida since July 2019. He previously served as a state appellate judge on the First District Court of Appeal, from 2009 to 2019, and as an administrative law judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, from 2002 to 2009. Before becoming a judge, he worked as attorney in both the public sector and at a private law firm. Judge Wetherell received his undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University.
Shareholder, Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC
Jason Gonzalez is an experienced appellate and litigation attorney and regularly consults on executive branch government affairs. He represents businesses and state agencies in state and federal courts in contracts, government procurements, insurance disputes, class actions, tort defense, banking, finance, professional licenses, and elections matters.
Recently, Jason advocated for business association clients in two amicus briefs filed before the Florida Supreme Court, supporting the adoption of the federal summary judgment standard, a development widely viewed as the most significant Florida civil justice system reform in the modern era. In 2019, Florida Politics reported that Jason was representing parties in more pending civil cases at the Florida Supreme Court than any other attorney in the State.
Over the course of his career, Jason has been at the forefront of emerging legal developments, helping to shape Florida’s justice system.
Jason has served on the Florida Supreme Court Nominating Commission, as Chairman of the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and Chairman of the Second Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, as well as two terms as General Counsel and former Executive Board Member of the Republican Party of Florida. Prior to co-founding Lawson Huck Gonzalez, Jason served as General Counsel to the Florida Governor.
In 2010, Jason served as lead counsel for Transocean Ltd. in its Florida Panhandle litigation and regulatory matters immediately following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. Over a two-year period, Jason successfully obtained orders dismissing or removing every one of the more than 70 individual and class action lawsuits filed against Transocean in Florida.
Chief Deputy Attorney General
Ryan Newman is currently Chief Deputy Attorney General for Florida Office of the Attorney General.
During the first Trump Administration, he served as Counselor to the United States Attorney General for national security and international affairs, Deputy General Counsel (Legal Counsel) for the Department of Defense, and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice. Prior to serving in the Executive Branch, Ryan was Chief Counsel to United States Senator Ted Cruz during the 114th Congress.
Ryan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the United States Supreme Court, the Honorable Richard J. Leon on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the Honorable J.L. Edmondson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Prior to law school, Ryan was an armor officer in the United States Army assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers). He deployed to Iraq in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ryan graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1998. He earned his law degree with high honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 2007.
Partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP
Daniel Nordby is a partner in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is a member of the Appellate Practice Group. His practice focuses on high-profile, high stakes matters of law and public policy, particularly in the areas of constitutional, appellate and administrative law.
Over the course of his career, Daniel has developed extensive experience in the area of government and administrative law. He is a Past Chair of the Florida Bar’s Administrative Law Section and has served on the Section’s Executive Council for more than a decade. Daniel has represented clients in some of Florida’s largest competitive procurements and has served as counsel of record in a variety of administrative and judicial proceedings involving the application of constitutional and administrative law principles. He has personally presented oral argument on multiple occasions before the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on high-profile matters of constitutional law. A representative list of Daniel’s reported opinions in the state and federal courts is available here.
Daniel draws on his prior service in the public sector when representing businesses, individuals and governmental clients on their most challenging legal issues. As General Counsel to then-Governor Rick Scott from 2017-2019, Daniel provided oversight and strategic direction for all major litigation involving Florida’s executive branch agencies and advised Governor Scott on the appointment of more than 100 judges to Florida’s trial and appellate courts. Daniel’s career also includes service as General Counsel to the Florida House of Representatives, General Counsel to Florida’s Secretary of State, Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Department of Education, and Staff Attorney to the Florida Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.
Daniel continues his public service as a gubernatorial appointee to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. After serving on the Commission from 2012-2018 as a direct appointee of Governor Scott, Daniel was appointed by Governor DeSantis in July 2019 to a third term. He currently serves as Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
Daniel is also involved with several non-profit and community groups. He is a graduate of Leadership Florida (Connect VI), a member of Florida Blue Key, a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leaders Network, and a member of the James Madison Institute’s Inaugural Class of Leaders Fellows. Daniel is on the Steering Committee of the Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies and is a Past President of both its Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter and University of Florida Student Chapter. Daniel is an Eagle Scout and attends St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee.
Daniel is a “triple-Gator” with three degrees from the University of Florida: a J.D. (with high honors), a B.S. in Microbiology and Cell Science, and a B.A. in Classical Studies. He has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and has been named to the roster of Florida Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine in the categories of “Government & Administrative Law,” “Best Government & Non-Profit Attorneys,” and ”Best Up & Coming Attorneys.”
Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Jesse, the former third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, helps clients with their most difficult litigation and regulatory issues─whether that means defending against an enforcement action, pursuing high-stakes litigation and appeals, navigating regulatory thickets at federal and state agencies, or crafting a comprehensive strategy to manage a crisis. He approaches these problems with the knowledge gained both from his broad private-practice experience and from having served at the highest levels of federal and state government.
Jesse has experience across a range of substantive and regulatory areas. He has sued the federal government and has also been one of its top law-enforcement officials; he has represented states and has also navigated their regulatory agencies on behalf of clients; and he has represented companies in business disputes, both as defendants and plaintiffs.
Before joining the firm, Jesse was the Acting Associate Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. In that role, he oversaw the civil and criminal work of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions. During Jesse’s tenure, the Associate’s office closely managed the Department’s most significant litigation, including matters involving large financial institutions, healthcare companies, automakers, energy companies, and state and local governments. In addition, Jesse served as Chair of DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and Vice Chair of DOJ’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. Jesse regularly provided legal and strategic advice to the highest-level decision makers in the federal government, including the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, general counsels across the spectrum of federal agencies, and White House officials.
Jesse served for three years as the secretary of Florida’s labor, economic-development, and land-use agency, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Before that, he served as Governor (now Senator) Rick Scott’s general counsel.
Jesse maintains offices in both Washington D.C. and Florida. From Washington, he focuses on federal litigation and crisis management. In Florida, in addition to federal litigation, Jesse employs his knowledge of state government and regulation to help clients in courts across the state, from trial through the Florida Supreme Court.
Jesse currently serves on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, the body that provides the governor with nominees for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Jesse is also a fellow at the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where he writes and speaks about administrative law.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
Judge, Northern District of Florida
Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II has served as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Florida since July 2019. He previously served as a state appellate judge on the First District Court of Appeal, from 2009 to 2019, and as an administrative law judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, from 2002 to 2009. Before becoming a judge, he worked as attorney in both the public sector and at a private law firm. Judge Wetherell received his undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University.
43rd Governor, State of Florida
Jeb Bush is the 43rd governor of the State of Florida, serving from 1999 through 2007. He was the third Republican elected to the state’s highest office and the first Republican in the state’s history to be reelected. He was most recently a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Governor Bush remained true to his conservative principles throughout his two terms in office – cutting nearly $20 billion in taxes, vetoing more than $2.3 billion in earmarks and reducing the state government workforce by more than 13,000. His limited government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.3 million net new jobs and improving the state’s credit ratings, including achieving the first ever triple-A bond rating for Florida.
During his two terms, Governor Bush championed major reform of government, in areas ranging from health care and environmental protection to civil service and tax reform. His top priority was the overhaul of the state’s failing education system. Under Governor Bush’s leadership, Florida established a bold accountability system in public schools and created the most ambitious school choice programs in the nation. Today, Florida remains a national leader in education and is one of the only states in the nation to significantly narrow the achievement gap.
Governor Bush is also known for his leadership during two unprecedented back-to-back hurricane seasons, which brought eight hurricanes and four tropical storms to the state of Florida in less than two years. To protect the state from loss of life and damage caused by catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, Bush worked tirelessly to improve the state’s ability to respond quickly and compassionately during emergencies, while also instilling a ‘culture of preparedness’ in the state’s citizenry.
Governor Bush joined the University of Pennsylvania as a non-resident Presidential Professor of Practice for the 2018-19 academic year. He has previously served as a visiting professor and fellow at Harvard University, an executive professor at Texas A&M University, and has been awarded several honorary doctorates from collegiate institutions across the country. Governor Bush has been recognized for his contributions to public policy by national organizations including the Manhattan Institute, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Jack Kemp Foundation. Governor Bush earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Governor Bush currently serves as Chairman of Finback Investments Partners LLC and Dock Square Capital LLC, both merchant banks headquartered in Coral Gables.
Governor Bush maintains his passion for improving the quality of education for students across the country by serving as the Chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national nonprofit education reform organization he founded to transform education in America.
He has written three books, Profiles in Character; Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution; and Reply All: A Governor’s Story 1999-2007.
Governor Bush lives in Miami with his wife Columba. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
43rd Governor, State of Florida
Jeb Bush is the 43rd governor of the State of Florida, serving from 1999 through 2007. He was the third Republican elected to the state’s highest office and the first Republican in the state’s history to be reelected. He was most recently a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Governor Bush remained true to his conservative principles throughout his two terms in office – cutting nearly $20 billion in taxes, vetoing more than $2.3 billion in earmarks and reducing the state government workforce by more than 13,000. His limited government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.3 million net new jobs and improving the state’s credit ratings, including achieving the first ever triple-A bond rating for Florida.
During his two terms, Governor Bush championed major reform of government, in areas ranging from health care and environmental protection to civil service and tax reform. His top priority was the overhaul of the state’s failing education system. Under Governor Bush’s leadership, Florida established a bold accountability system in public schools and created the most ambitious school choice programs in the nation. Today, Florida remains a national leader in education and is one of the only states in the nation to significantly narrow the achievement gap.
Governor Bush is also known for his leadership during two unprecedented back-to-back hurricane seasons, which brought eight hurricanes and four tropical storms to the state of Florida in less than two years. To protect the state from loss of life and damage caused by catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, Bush worked tirelessly to improve the state’s ability to respond quickly and compassionately during emergencies, while also instilling a ‘culture of preparedness’ in the state’s citizenry.
Governor Bush joined the University of Pennsylvania as a non-resident Presidential Professor of Practice for the 2018-19 academic year. He has previously served as a visiting professor and fellow at Harvard University, an executive professor at Texas A&M University, and has been awarded several honorary doctorates from collegiate institutions across the country. Governor Bush has been recognized for his contributions to public policy by national organizations including the Manhattan Institute, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Jack Kemp Foundation. Governor Bush earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Governor Bush currently serves as Chairman of Finback Investments Partners LLC and Dock Square Capital LLC, both merchant banks headquartered in Coral Gables.
Governor Bush maintains his passion for improving the quality of education for students across the country by serving as the Chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national nonprofit education reform organization he founded to transform education in America.
He has written three books, Profiles in Character; Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution; and Reply All: A Governor’s Story 1999-2007.
Governor Bush lives in Miami with his wife Columba. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
Shareholder, Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC
Jason Gonzalez is an experienced appellate and litigation attorney and regularly consults on executive branch government affairs. He represents businesses and state agencies in state and federal courts in contracts, government procurements, insurance disputes, class actions, tort defense, banking, finance, professional licenses, and elections matters.
Recently, Jason advocated for business association clients in two amicus briefs filed before the Florida Supreme Court, supporting the adoption of the federal summary judgment standard, a development widely viewed as the most significant Florida civil justice system reform in the modern era. In 2019, Florida Politics reported that Jason was representing parties in more pending civil cases at the Florida Supreme Court than any other attorney in the State.
Over the course of his career, Jason has been at the forefront of emerging legal developments, helping to shape Florida’s justice system.
Jason has served on the Florida Supreme Court Nominating Commission, as Chairman of the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and Chairman of the Second Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission, as well as two terms as General Counsel and former Executive Board Member of the Republican Party of Florida. Prior to co-founding Lawson Huck Gonzalez, Jason served as General Counsel to the Florida Governor.
In 2010, Jason served as lead counsel for Transocean Ltd. in its Florida Panhandle litigation and regulatory matters immediately following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon. Over a two-year period, Jason successfully obtained orders dismissing or removing every one of the more than 70 individual and class action lawsuits filed against Transocean in Florida.
Chief Deputy Attorney General
Ryan Newman is currently Chief Deputy Attorney General for Florida Office of the Attorney General.
During the first Trump Administration, he served as Counselor to the United States Attorney General for national security and international affairs, Deputy General Counsel (Legal Counsel) for the Department of Defense, and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice. Prior to serving in the Executive Branch, Ryan was Chief Counsel to United States Senator Ted Cruz during the 114th Congress.
Ryan served as a law clerk to the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the United States Supreme Court, the Honorable Richard J. Leon on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and the Honorable J.L. Edmondson on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Prior to law school, Ryan was an armor officer in the United States Army assigned to the 1st Squadron, 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldiers). He deployed to Iraq in 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ryan graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1998. He earned his law degree with high honors from The University of Texas School of Law in 2007.
Partner, Shutts & Bowen LLP
Daniel Nordby is a partner in the Tallahassee office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where he is a member of the Appellate Practice Group. His practice focuses on high-profile, high stakes matters of law and public policy, particularly in the areas of constitutional, appellate and administrative law.
Over the course of his career, Daniel has developed extensive experience in the area of government and administrative law. He is a Past Chair of the Florida Bar’s Administrative Law Section and has served on the Section’s Executive Council for more than a decade. Daniel has represented clients in some of Florida’s largest competitive procurements and has served as counsel of record in a variety of administrative and judicial proceedings involving the application of constitutional and administrative law principles. He has personally presented oral argument on multiple occasions before the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on high-profile matters of constitutional law. A representative list of Daniel’s reported opinions in the state and federal courts is available here.
Daniel draws on his prior service in the public sector when representing businesses, individuals and governmental clients on their most challenging legal issues. As General Counsel to then-Governor Rick Scott from 2017-2019, Daniel provided oversight and strategic direction for all major litigation involving Florida’s executive branch agencies and advised Governor Scott on the appointment of more than 100 judges to Florida’s trial and appellate courts. Daniel’s career also includes service as General Counsel to the Florida House of Representatives, General Counsel to Florida’s Secretary of State, Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Department of Education, and Staff Attorney to the Florida Legislature’s Joint Administrative Procedures Committee.
Daniel continues his public service as a gubernatorial appointee to the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. After serving on the Commission from 2012-2018 as a direct appointee of Governor Scott, Daniel was appointed by Governor DeSantis in July 2019 to a third term. He currently serves as Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
Daniel is also involved with several non-profit and community groups. He is a graduate of Leadership Florida (Connect VI), a member of Florida Blue Key, a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leaders Network, and a member of the James Madison Institute’s Inaugural Class of Leaders Fellows. Daniel is on the Steering Committee of the Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies and is a Past President of both its Tallahassee Lawyers Chapter and University of Florida Student Chapter. Daniel is an Eagle Scout and attends St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee.
Daniel is a “triple-Gator” with three degrees from the University of Florida: a J.D. (with high honors), a B.S. in Microbiology and Cell Science, and a B.A. in Classical Studies. He has been recognized as a Florida Super Lawyers “Rising Star” and has been named to the roster of Florida Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine in the categories of “Government & Administrative Law,” “Best Government & Non-Profit Attorneys,” and ”Best Up & Coming Attorneys.”
Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Jesse, the former third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, helps clients with their most difficult litigation and regulatory issues─whether that means defending against an enforcement action, pursuing high-stakes litigation and appeals, navigating regulatory thickets at federal and state agencies, or crafting a comprehensive strategy to manage a crisis. He approaches these problems with the knowledge gained both from his broad private-practice experience and from having served at the highest levels of federal and state government.
Jesse has experience across a range of substantive and regulatory areas. He has sued the federal government and has also been one of its top law-enforcement officials; he has represented states and has also navigated their regulatory agencies on behalf of clients; and he has represented companies in business disputes, both as defendants and plaintiffs.
Before joining the firm, Jesse was the Acting Associate Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. In that role, he oversaw the civil and criminal work of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions. During Jesse’s tenure, the Associate’s office closely managed the Department’s most significant litigation, including matters involving large financial institutions, healthcare companies, automakers, energy companies, and state and local governments. In addition, Jesse served as Chair of DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and Vice Chair of DOJ’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. Jesse regularly provided legal and strategic advice to the highest-level decision makers in the federal government, including the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, general counsels across the spectrum of federal agencies, and White House officials.
Jesse served for three years as the secretary of Florida’s labor, economic-development, and land-use agency, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Before that, he served as Governor (now Senator) Rick Scott’s general counsel.
Jesse maintains offices in both Washington D.C. and Florida. From Washington, he focuses on federal litigation and crisis management. In Florida, in addition to federal litigation, Jesse employs his knowledge of state government and regulation to help clients in courts across the state, from trial through the Florida Supreme Court.
Jesse currently serves on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, the body that provides the governor with nominees for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Jesse is also a fellow at the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where he writes and speaks about administrative law.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
Judge, Northern District of Florida
Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II has served as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Florida since July 2019. He previously served as a state appellate judge on the First District Court of Appeal, from 2009 to 2019, and as an administrative law judge with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, from 2002 to 2009. Before becoming a judge, he worked as attorney in both the public sector and at a private law firm. Judge Wetherell received his undergraduate and law degrees from Florida State University.
43rd Governor, State of Florida
Jeb Bush is the 43rd governor of the State of Florida, serving from 1999 through 2007. He was the third Republican elected to the state’s highest office and the first Republican in the state’s history to be reelected. He was most recently a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Governor Bush remained true to his conservative principles throughout his two terms in office – cutting nearly $20 billion in taxes, vetoing more than $2.3 billion in earmarks and reducing the state government workforce by more than 13,000. His limited government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.3 million net new jobs and improving the state’s credit ratings, including achieving the first ever triple-A bond rating for Florida.
During his two terms, Governor Bush championed major reform of government, in areas ranging from health care and environmental protection to civil service and tax reform. His top priority was the overhaul of the state’s failing education system. Under Governor Bush’s leadership, Florida established a bold accountability system in public schools and created the most ambitious school choice programs in the nation. Today, Florida remains a national leader in education and is one of the only states in the nation to significantly narrow the achievement gap.
Governor Bush is also known for his leadership during two unprecedented back-to-back hurricane seasons, which brought eight hurricanes and four tropical storms to the state of Florida in less than two years. To protect the state from loss of life and damage caused by catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, Bush worked tirelessly to improve the state’s ability to respond quickly and compassionately during emergencies, while also instilling a ‘culture of preparedness’ in the state’s citizenry.
Governor Bush joined the University of Pennsylvania as a non-resident Presidential Professor of Practice for the 2018-19 academic year. He has previously served as a visiting professor and fellow at Harvard University, an executive professor at Texas A&M University, and has been awarded several honorary doctorates from collegiate institutions across the country. Governor Bush has been recognized for his contributions to public policy by national organizations including the Manhattan Institute, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Jack Kemp Foundation. Governor Bush earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Governor Bush currently serves as Chairman of Finback Investments Partners LLC and Dock Square Capital LLC, both merchant banks headquartered in Coral Gables.
Governor Bush maintains his passion for improving the quality of education for students across the country by serving as the Chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national nonprofit education reform organization he founded to transform education in America.
He has written three books, Profiles in Character; Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution; and Reply All: A Governor’s Story 1999-2007.
Governor Bush lives in Miami with his wife Columba. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
Circuit Court Judge, Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
General Counsel, Senator Rick Scott
Jack Heekin currently serves as the General Counsel to U.S. Senator Rick Scott (FL) in Washington, D.C., covering a legislative policy portfolio related to the federal judiciary, immigration, law enforcement & criminal justice, and constitutional issues, and advising the Senator on judicial and executive nominations.
He previously served in the administration of Governor Rick Scott as his Chief Deputy General Counsel, and later as Deputy Chief of Staff, overseeing the Governor’s criminal justice agencies, including the Florida Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the Commission on Offender Review. He also served as the Governor’s Executive Clemency Advisor and oversaw the execution of death warrants for Florida’s death row inmates. He acted as Chief Counsel to the Governor’s Financial Emergency Board for Opa-locka, and served as the General Counsel to the Florida Cabinet sitting as the Administration Commission and the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission. He began his legal career as an Assistant State Attorney prosecuting criminal offenses for the 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida in Palm Beach County.
He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, and his Juris Doctor with a certificate in Comparative and International Law from the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America. While in law school, he authored two published works: “Leashing the Internet Watchdog: Legislative Restraints on Electronic Surveillance in the U.S. and U.K.,” published in The American Intelligence Journal (Vol. 28, No. 1 (Fall 2010)); and “ADHD and the New Americans with Disabilities Act: Expanded Legal Recognition for Cognitive Disorders,” published in The William & Mary Policy Review (Vol. II, No. 1 (Fall 2010)).
He is a member of the Florida Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, the Federalist Society, and the Republican National Lawyers Association. He is married to his wife, Tabitha, and is an avid hunter and outdoorsman with a passion for cooking and dad jokes.
Partner, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP
Jesse, the former third-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, helps clients with their most difficult litigation and regulatory issues─whether that means defending against an enforcement action, pursuing high-stakes litigation and appeals, navigating regulatory thickets at federal and state agencies, or crafting a comprehensive strategy to manage a crisis. He approaches these problems with the knowledge gained both from his broad private-practice experience and from having served at the highest levels of federal and state government.
Jesse has experience across a range of substantive and regulatory areas. He has sued the federal government and has also been one of its top law-enforcement officials; he has represented states and has also navigated their regulatory agencies on behalf of clients; and he has represented companies in business disputes, both as defendants and plaintiffs.
Before joining the firm, Jesse was the Acting Associate Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice. In that role, he oversaw the civil and criminal work of the Antitrust, Civil, Civil Rights, Environment and Natural Resources, and Tax Divisions. During Jesse’s tenure, the Associate’s office closely managed the Department’s most significant litigation, including matters involving large financial institutions, healthcare companies, automakers, energy companies, and state and local governments. In addition, Jesse served as Chair of DOJ’s Regulatory Reform Task Force and Vice Chair of DOJ’s Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. Jesse regularly provided legal and strategic advice to the highest-level decision makers in the federal government, including the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, general counsels across the spectrum of federal agencies, and White House officials.
Jesse served for three years as the secretary of Florida’s labor, economic-development, and land-use agency, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Before that, he served as Governor (now Senator) Rick Scott’s general counsel.
Jesse maintains offices in both Washington D.C. and Florida. From Washington, he focuses on federal litigation and crisis management. In Florida, in addition to federal litigation, Jesse employs his knowledge of state government and regulation to help clients in courts across the state, from trial through the Florida Supreme Court.
Jesse currently serves on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, the body that provides the governor with nominees for appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Jesse is also a fellow at the Center for the Study of the Administrative State at the Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where he writes and speaks about administrative law.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Rocky Rodriguez helps clients resolve problems and achieve business objectives using a 360-degree perspective she has gained throughout her career in law, business and government. She serves as Chair of Buchanan's Florida offices.
Whether representing Fortune 500 or closely held companies, life science companies, nonprofit entities, high net worth individuals or entrepreneurs, Rocky dives into understanding the client’s business and goals to develop strategies to achieve those goals. She looks beyond the obvious and seeks novel approaches. In confronting regulatory issues, for example, this may mean lobbying to change the law, something she’s achieved in both the insurance and financial fields in Florida, which has permitted her clients to expand their businesses in the state and attract newcomers as well.
From 2002 to 2007, Rocky served as general counsel to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, during which she counseled Governor Bush on more than 200 judicial appointments across all levels of the Florida judiciary. During her tenure Rocky worked on some of the most critical issues facing the state, including conceiving and co-drafting the legislation for and negotiating the then-largest economic development project in state history - a $310 million economic incentive grant to The Scripps Research Institute. Her leadership on the Scripps Florida project led her to develop expertise in the life sciences industry, an industry in which remains deeply involved, counseling some of the most prestigious research institutes and life science companies in the world.
Rocky brings over three decades of state and federal litigation experience in banking, commercial, international, real estate, constitutional, administrative and election law. She provides counseling on corporate governance and related employment matters including trade secrets, crisis and risk management, data breaches, dispute resolution and strategy, economic development and incentives, government relations, and government investigations. Her experience extends into domestic and international arbitration, and she currently serves on an arbitration panel in an investment treaty dispute at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
Using her background in government, Rocky has advised both domestic and international clients on issues involving Florida business, financial and healthcare regulations, the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the U.S.A. Patriot Act and government investigations.
43rd Governor, State of Florida
Jeb Bush is the 43rd governor of the State of Florida, serving from 1999 through 2007. He was the third Republican elected to the state’s highest office and the first Republican in the state’s history to be reelected. He was most recently a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Governor Bush remained true to his conservative principles throughout his two terms in office – cutting nearly $20 billion in taxes, vetoing more than $2.3 billion in earmarks and reducing the state government workforce by more than 13,000. His limited government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.3 million net new jobs and improving the state’s credit ratings, including achieving the first ever triple-A bond rating for Florida.
During his two terms, Governor Bush championed major reform of government, in areas ranging from health care and environmental protection to civil service and tax reform. His top priority was the overhaul of the state’s failing education system. Under Governor Bush’s leadership, Florida established a bold accountability system in public schools and created the most ambitious school choice programs in the nation. Today, Florida remains a national leader in education and is one of the only states in the nation to significantly narrow the achievement gap.
Governor Bush is also known for his leadership during two unprecedented back-to-back hurricane seasons, which brought eight hurricanes and four tropical storms to the state of Florida in less than two years. To protect the state from loss of life and damage caused by catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, Bush worked tirelessly to improve the state’s ability to respond quickly and compassionately during emergencies, while also instilling a ‘culture of preparedness’ in the state’s citizenry.
Governor Bush joined the University of Pennsylvania as a non-resident Presidential Professor of Practice for the 2018-19 academic year. He has previously served as a visiting professor and fellow at Harvard University, an executive professor at Texas A&M University, and has been awarded several honorary doctorates from collegiate institutions across the country. Governor Bush has been recognized for his contributions to public policy by national organizations including the Manhattan Institute, The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and the Jack Kemp Foundation. Governor Bush earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.
Governor Bush currently serves as Chairman of Finback Investments Partners LLC and Dock Square Capital LLC, both merchant banks headquartered in Coral Gables.
Governor Bush maintains his passion for improving the quality of education for students across the country by serving as the Chairman of the Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national nonprofit education reform organization he founded to transform education in America.
He has written three books, Profiles in Character; Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution; and Reply All: A Governor’s Story 1999-2007.
Governor Bush lives in Miami with his wife Columba. They have three children and five grandchildren.
William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of La, Harvard Law School
Lucian Bebchuk is the William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law, Economics, and Finance and Director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School. Bebchuk is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inaugural Fellow of the European Corporate Governance Network, and Director of the SSRN Corporate Governance Network.
Trained in both law and economics, Professor Bebchuk holds an LL.M. and S.J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Harvard Economics Department. His research focuses on corporate governance, law and finance, and law and economics. Upon electing him to membership in 2000, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences cited him as "[o]ne of the nation's leading scholars of law and economics," who "has made major contribution to the study of corporate control, governance, and insolvency."
Bebchuk is the author or coauthor of more than one hundred research papers, as well the widely acclaimed book Pay without Performance: the Unfulfilled Promise of Executive Compensation. Bebchuk’s papers have appeared in the top academic journals in law, in economics, and in finance. The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) ranks him first among legal academics of all fields in terms of citations to his work.
Bebchuk’s work has been recognized by his having been elected to serve as President of the Western Economics Association International, President of the American Law and Economics Association, and Chair of the Business Association Section of the American Association of Law Teachers. His recent awards include the International Corporate Governance Network’s Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance, the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute’s best academic paper award, and the Marshall Blume prize in financial research.
Bebchuk has been a frequent contributor to policy-making, practice, and public debate in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. He has appeared in hearings and roundtables before the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Banking Committee, the House of Representatives Committee of Financial Services, and the SEC; has authored numerous op-ed pieces, including in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Financial Times; has advised governmental bodies, such as the Special Master on TARP executive compensation during the financial crisis, and publicly traded firms; has served on the board of directors of OJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium; and heads the Shareholder Rights Project, a program that has represented public pension funds and charitable organizations in bringing about board declassifications at more than 75 S&P 500 and Fortune 500 companies. Bebchuk was included in the list of the "100 most influential players in corporate governance" of Directorship, the "100 most influential people in finance" of Treasury & Risk Management, and the list of top 10 ”governance stars” of Global Proxy Watch.
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.
S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School
David Skeel is the Caryl Louise Boies Visiting Professor of Law at New York University, and the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of The New Financial Deal: Understanding the Dodd-Frank Act and its (Unintended) Consequences (Wiley, 2011); Icarus in the Boardroom: The Fundamental Flaws in Corporate America and Where They Came From (Oxford University Press, 2005); Debt’s Dominion: A History of Bankruptcy Law in America (Princeton University Press, 2001); and numerous articles on bankruptcy, corporate law, financial regulation, Christianity and law, and other topics. Professor Skeel has also written commentaries for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Books & Culture, The Weekly Standard, and other publications.
Panel 1: Retrospectives on 25 years of Judicial Reform in Florida
Jason B. Gonzalez, Ryan Dean Newman, Daniel E. Nordby, Jesse Panuccio, Rocky A. Rodriguez, Kent Wetherell
Nearly twenty five years after the election of Governor Jeb Bush, the Florida state courts...
Panel 1: Retrospectives on 25 years of Judicial Reform in Florida
Jason B. Gonzalez, Ryan Dean Newman, Daniel E. Nordby, Jesse Panuccio, Rocky A. Rodriguez, Kent Wetherell
Nearly twenty five years after the election of Governor Jeb Bush, the Florida state courts...
Opening Fireside Chat
Jeb Bush, Rocky A. Rodriguez
Featuring: Hon. Jeb Bush, Former Governor, Florida Moderator: Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez, Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll &...
Opening Fireside Chat
Jeb Bush, Rocky A. Rodriguez
Featuring: Hon. Jeb Bush, Former Governor, Florida Moderator: Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez, Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll &...
Panel 1: Retrospectives on 25 years of Judicial Reform in Florida
2025 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FLOpening Fireside Chat
2025 Florida Chapters Conference
Lake Buena Vista, FLLunch with Former General Counsels to the Governor of Florida
Broward County Lawyers Chapter
Fort Lauderdale, FLA Conversation with Jeb Bush on School Choice
Penn Law Symposium
Pennsylvania Student Chapter
Philadelphia, PATopics
Florida Supreme Court Gives Incoming Governor Judicial Appointment Power
In a fascinating convergence of events, three Florida Supreme Court justices will begin mandatory retirement...