Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Jason J. Mendro is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he practices in the firm's Litigation Department. Mr. Mendro has extensive experience defending class and derivative action lawsuits at the trial and appellate level, in both federal and state courts. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Firm's Securities Litigation Practice Group. Law360 recently recognized Mr. Mendro as a "Rising Star" in the category of securities law.
Mr. Mendro has defended numerous securities class actions and shareholder derivative actions, representing directors and executives against a host of challenges to their decisions, oversight, and compensation.
Mr. Mendro has also defended complex litigation involving a broad spectrum of other disputes, including claims under ERISA, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower protection laws. He has conducted internal investigations, represented special litigation committees, and defended companies in investigations and actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and self-regulatory organizations.
Mr. Mendro also has significant experience in appellate litigation and in rulemaking challenges. Among other recent matters, Mr. Mendro was a key contributor to successful challenges to numerous, controversial regulations with broad implications for the global swaps market, as well as a precedent-setting appellate victory that reversed a multi-million-dollar jury verdict under the False Claims Act.
Mr. Mendro graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Florida, where he graduated first in his class. Mr. Mendro also served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gerald B. Tjoflat of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Mr. Mendro is admitted to practice law in Washington, D.C., California, and numerous federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.
Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP
Victor Schwartz chairs the firm's Public Policy Practice Group, which focuses on integrating litigation, government affairs and public relations. The group seeks to be the vanguard of developing public policy issues that will help improve our civil justice system. Mr. Schwartz also has an active appellate practice and advises product manufacturers on liability prevention, litigation and public relations issues.
Sought by print and broadcast media, Mr. Schwartz is frequently quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has appeared on Oprah, 60 Minutes and leading news programs. The Legal Times of Washington has named Mr. Schwartz one of Washington’s Top 30 “Visionary” lawyers, and The National Law Journal named Mr. Schwartz one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States in March 2013.
Mr. Schwartz is on the Board of Directors of the Searle Civil Justice Institute at George Mason University School of Law. He is a frequent participant in judicial education programs. Mr. Schwartz serves as General Counsel to the American Tort Reform Association.
Prior to entering the full time practice of law, Mr. Schwartz was a professor and dean at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He currently serves on the College’s Board of Visitors. In 2012, the College established the Professor Victor E. Schwartz Chair in Tort Law.
Mr. Schwartz, while at the U.S. Department of Commerce, served as chair of the Federal Inter-Agency Task Force on Product Liability, and the Federal Inter-Agency Council on Insurance. He was the principal author of the Uniform Product Liability Act and the Federal Risk Retention Act. He received the Secretary of Commerce’s Award for Professional Excellence.
Mr. Schwartz is co-author of the most widely used torts casebook in the United States, Prosser, Wade and Schwartz’s Torts (12th ed. 2010). He is author of the leading text Comparative Negligence (5th ed. 2010).
Mr. Schwartz has been an advisor for each of the American Law Institute’s (ALI) Restatement (Third) of Torts projects; Products Liability, Apportionment of Liability, and Liability for Physical Injury and Emotional Harm. He is a life member of the ALI.
Mr. Schwartz’s law review articles have analyzed almost every major subject of modern tort and civil justice public policy issues. His articles are frequently cited by both state and federal courts.
Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
Walter Olson is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and is known for his writing on the American legal system. His books include The Rule of Lawyers, on mass litigation, The Excuse Factory, on lawsuits in the workplace, and most recently Schools for Misrule, on the state of the law schools. His first book, The Litigation Explosion, was one of the most widely discussed general-audience books on law of its time. It led the Washington Post to dub him “intellectual guru of tort reform.” Active on social media, he is known as the founder and principal writer of what is generally considered the oldest blog on law as well as one of the most popular, Overlawyered.com. He has advised many public officials from the White House to town councils and in 2015 was named by Gov. Larry Hogan to be co-chair of the Maryland Redistricting Reform Commission, which issued its report recommendations later that year to acclaim across the state.
Before joining Cato, Olson was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and an editor at the magazine Regulation, then edited by future Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Olson’s more than 400 broadcast appearances include all the major networks, NPR, the BBC, The Diane Rehm Show, and Oprah.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLP
Jeremy Rosen is nationally renowned for his proficiency in numerous issues arising under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP law. Using that knowledge, Jeremy has helped a wide variety of clients – including churches, private businesses, and individuals – defeat lawsuits that seek to impose liability on clients for exercising their rights of petition, free speech, and free exercise of religion. He has also handled hundreds of appeals in numerous appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and California’s intermediate appellate courts. In addition to First Amendment and anti-SLAPP cases, his cases have involved numerous important issues regarding anti-trust, class actions, wage and hour law, employment law, breach of contract, California’s Unfair Competition Law, CEQA, the enforceability of arbitration clauses, hospital peer review, the scope of public employee whistleblower protection, and the application of the primary assumption of risk doctrine.
Jeremy is a partner at the firm, which he joined in 2001. He is a California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialist and a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Jeremy directed the Pepperdine University School of Law Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic for 6 years. The Clinic represents individuals in the Ninth Circuit who are identified by the court as needing pro bono counsel. Jeremy also previously served a three-year term where he was appointed by the Ninth Circuit to serve as one of 18 appellate lawyer representatives to the court.
Jeremy is a member of the National Chamber Litigation Center’s California Litigation Advisory Committee. Before joining the firm, Jeremy was a Litigation Associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLC
Felix Shafir is a partner at the firm. He has argued appeals in the California Supreme Court and the California Courts of Appeal, and has been lead and amicus counsel in numerous proceedings in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Shafir focuses his practice on two areas at the cutting edge of California law: (1) the law of protected speech, including the First Amendment, defamation, California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and the litigation privilege; and (2) the defense of class and representative actions, often through resisting class certification efforts or the enforcement of arbitration agreements. He has also developed unique expertise in handling appeals involving employment disputes and employer liability, commercial litigation, intellectual property, environmental litigation, unfair competition lawsuits, and federal and state securities issues.
Mr. Shafir often works with clients and trial counsel before an appeal begins, advising them to preserve issues and present evidence in the best posture for appeal. He also prepares amicus briefs seeking to move or clarify the law in ways favorable to his clients and their members.
Mr. Shafir has represented many significant companies and organizations, including American Medical Response, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Omega S.A., See’s Candy Shops, Shell Oil Company, and the Southern California Gas Company.
Mr. Shafir is a past member of the California State Bar Committee on Appellate Courts and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committee.
In 2013, 2014, and 2016, the Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal honored Mr. Shafir by naming him to its list of California’s “Top Labor and Employment Lawyers.” He was also named a Rising Star by California Super Lawyers from 2007 to 2014.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Shafir held judicial clerkships with the Honorable Thomas J. Meskill, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, and the Honorable Whitman Knapp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Mr. Shafir previously practiced at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP and Littler Mendelson, P.C., where he focused on all aspects of labor and employment defense and counseling.
Northwestern University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1999
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., cum laude, 1996
Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh School of Law
Arthur D. Hellman, a professor of law (emeritus) at the University of Pittsburgh, is a nationally recognized scholar of the federal courts who has also written in the area of the First Amendment. His publications include numerous articles and several books, including casebooks in both areas, Federal Courts: Cases and Materials on Judicial Federalism and the Lawyering Process (5th edition 2022) (with David R. Stras, Ryan W. Scott, F. Andrew Hessick, and Derek T. Muller); and First Amendment Law: Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion (5th edition 2022) (with William D. Araiza, Thomas E. Baker, and Ashutosh A. Bhagwat).
In addition to his casebooks and academic writing, Processor Hellman has worked with the Judiciary Committees in the House and Senate in drafting federal courts legislation, including the most recent (2002) revision of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act (Title 28, Chapter 16). The legislative histories of two major jurisdictional statutes – the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011 and the “Holmes Group Fix” (enacted as part of the America Invents Act) – acknowledge his contributions.
Professor Hellman has testified as an invited witness at numerous hearings of both Judiciary Committees. His testimony has focused on a wide variety of legislative issues related to the federal courts, including the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court; proposals to divide the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals; federal judicial discipline; unpublished appellate opinions; and the constitutionality of legislative restrictions on the powers of the federal courts.
In 2005 Professor Hellman was appointed as the inaugural holder of the Sally Ann Semenko Endowed Chair at the University. In 2002 he received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Research Award “as a faculty member who has an outstanding and continuing record of research and scholarly activity.”
Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law (on leave); Senior Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice
Professor Dolin’s scholarship centers on patent law with a specific focus on how the patent regime affects innovation, especially in bio-pharmaceutical areas. His work in these areas includes a number of scholarly articles, presentations, amicus briefs, and congressional testimony.
Dr. Dolin is currently on leave from his academic duties while he serves as Senior Counsel in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.
From January 2020 to January 2022, Professor Dolin served as a resident Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau. In this role, he (together with other members of the Court) heard appeals in civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the University of Baltimore School of Law, Professor Dolin held visiting appointments in other law schools. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Pauline Newman, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the late Hon. H. Emory Widener Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Rumors that he has a real Russian bear in his office are entirely true.
John W. Wade Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law
Richard L. Cupp, Jr. serves as the John W. Wade Professor of Law at Pepperdine Law School. He loves teaching and working with students. He is widely recognized as a leading scholar and commentator in the fields of torts and products liability law. He has authored more than 20 significant scholarly articles and numerous shorter articles. Professor Cupp is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and he has served as chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Torts and Compensation Systems.
In addition to his work in torts and products liability, Professor Cupp writes and speaks extensively about the legal and moral status of animals. He has advised many organizations on these subjects, including the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Science, Technology and Law, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Neuroscience, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the National Association for Biomedical Research, the Animal Health Institute, and the American Animal Hospital Association.
Partner, Baker Hostetler LLP
David Rivkin is a member of the firm's litigation, international and environmental teams and is co-leader of the firm's national appellate practice. He has extensive experience in constitutional, administrative and international law litigation and has been involved in numerous high-profile cases. With his prior experience in the government sector, David draws on a wealth of knowledge when providing compliance advice to companies and handling enforcement proceedings before government agencies on issues arising out of multilateral and unilateral sanctions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), anti-boycott issues, bankruptcy and financial fraud matters, and environmental and energy issues.
David has developed and implemented legislative, regulatory and litigation initiatives for two presidential administrations. Over the years, he has published hundreds of articles, op-eds, book reviews and book chapters on a variety of international, legal, constitutional, defense, arms control, foreign policy, environmental and energy issues for various newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today and The Los Angeles Times, and has been a frequent commentator and guest on TV and radio shows including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, NPR and PBS.
Shareholder and Director, GableGotwals
Fiduciary Rule Update
TeleforumHelping Americans to Speak Freely
Jeremy B. Rosen, Felix Shafir
Note from the Editor: This article discusses different types of state anti-SLAPP laws and argues that...
The Fraudulent Joinder Prevention Act of 2016: A New Standard and a New Rationale for an Old Doctrine
Arthur D. Hellman
Note from the Editor: This article discusses the doctrine of fraudulent joinder and an ongoing attempt to...
Topics
Equal Protection for Indian Children
Goldwater Institute Attorney Aditya Dynar and Vice President for Litigation Timothy Sandefur write in the Wall Street...
Topics
Fairholme Funds, Inc. v. United States: Litigation Discovery and the Most Transparent Administration in History
On September 4, 2015, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (Sweeney, J.) held a status...
The Rise of “Empty Suit” Litigation™: Where Should Tort Law Draw The Line?
TeleforumThe Costs of Patent Reform: Early Data and Abuses in the Uneven Playing Field of Post-Issuance Review
Gregory Dolin
Note from the Editor: This article is a critical examination of patent reform. As always,...
Human Responsibility, Not Legal Personhood, For Nonhuman Animals
Richard L. Cupp
Introduction We should focus on human legal accountability for responsible treatment of nonhuman animals rather...
Do Sue and Settle Practices Undermine Congressional Intent for Cooperative Federalism on Environmental Matters?
David B. Rivkin, Adam Carl Doverspike
Note from the Editor: This article is about whether sue and settle practices undermine congressional...
A Discussion on Over-Litigation with Walter Olson
Buffalo Lawyers Chapter
Buffalo, NY