President and Founder, International Center for Law & Economics
Geoffrey A. Manne is the president and founder of the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Portland, Oregon. He is also a distinguished fellow at Northwestern Law School’s Searle Center on Law, Regulation, & Economic Growth. In April 2017 he was appointed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, and he recently served for two years on the FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee.
Mr. Manne earned his JD and AB degrees from the University of Chicago and is an expert in the economic analysis of law, specializing in competition, telecommunications, consumer protection, intellectual property, and technology policy.
Prior to founding ICLE, Manne was a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School. From 2006-2009, he took a leave from teaching to develop Microsoft’s law and economics academic outreach program. Manne has also served as a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law. He practiced antitrust law and appellate litigation at Latham & Watkins, clerked for Hon. Morris S. Arnold on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked as a research assistant for Judge Richard Posner. He was also once (very briefly) employed by the FTC.
Mr. Manne’s publications have appeared in numerous journals including the Journal of Competition Law and Economics, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, the Supreme Court Economic Review, and the Arizona Law Review, among others. With former FTC Commissioner, Joshua Wright, Manne is the editor of a volume from Cambridge University Press entitled, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Law Under Uncertainty: Regulating Innovation. Manne has also testified on several occasions before Congress and at the FCC and FTC, and he regularly files written comments and amicus briefs on key antitrust, IP, and telecommunications issues. His analysis is frequently published in popular print and broadcasting outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Foreign Affairs, NPR, and Bloomberg, among others.
Manne is a member of the American Law and Economics Association, the Canadian Law and Economics Association, and the Society for Institutional & Organizational Economics. He blogs at Truth on the Market (www.truthonthemarket.com) (of which he is also the co-founder), is a contributor at WIRED, and tweets at @geoffmanne. His scholarly publications are available at http://ssrn.com/author=175541.
Director of Innovation Policy, International Center for Law & Economics
Kristian Stout, ICLE’s Director of Innovation Policy is an expert in intellectual property, antitrust, telecommunications, and Internet governance. Kristian has been a Fellow at the Internet Law & Policy Foundry, as well as the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Before practicing law, Kristian worked as a technology entrepreneur and a lecturer in the Computer Science Department at Rutgers University. Kristian served on the board of the New Jersey Leadership Program, and wasthe Chair of the Asset Forfeiture Working Group for the NJ State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. He has previously served on the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee for the Federal Communications Commission. Kristian graduated magna cum laude from the Rutgers University School of law, and served on the editorial board of the Rutgers Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Senior Scholar, International Center for Law & Economics
Julian Morris is a Senior Scholar at the International Center for Law & Economics.
Senior Fellow for Law & Economics, International Center for Law & Economics
Dirk Auer is the Senior Fellow for Law & Economics at the International Center for Law & Economics.
Of Counsel, Spencer Fane LLP
Anthony J. “A.J.” Ferate has built a multi-faceted background in the areas of the law, policy, energy, campaigns and elections, and defense over the last 20 years.
Through recent representation as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (“OIPA”), A.J. held responsibilities over government efforts outside of the legislative branch on matters as broad as water, electric generation, commodity marketing, land matters, and seismicity. A.J. also maintained responsibility for legal matters at OIPA, including amicus briefing in appellate matters. A.J.’s extensive experience also includes management of public policy strategy for a Fortune 500 company.
For the past eleven years, A.J. has volunteered as General Counsel and spokesman for the Oklahoma Republican Party and has represented a number of elected officials, including U.S. Senator James Lankford, former statewide elected officials, a number of state legislators, and members of Congress.
Additionally, A.J. has assisted elected officials serve their constituents in all branches of government. Early in his career, A.J. held legislative aide duties in the Nebraska Legislature, then went on to work for former Nebraska Treasurer David Heineman. A.J. gained experience in the judiciary while serving Judge Gary L. Lumpkin at the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest criminal appellate court in Oklahoma. Following this service, A.J. began work with Denise A. Bode of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, assisting her in her duties regulating 70 percent of Oklahoma’s economy, including oil and gas and electric utilities.
A.J. honorably served ten years as an intelligence analyst for the United States Naval Reserve, including time at the Office of Naval Intelligence in the greater Washington DC area.
Opinion pieces authored or ghostwritten by A.J. have been published in the Seattle Times, Politico, Law360, The Oklahoman, Tulsa World and The Journal Record. A.J. has also been interviewed by national and international newspapers, and has also appeared on national radio programs including NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show and On Point with Tom Ashbrook.
Partner, Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC
Jeffrey Harris is an experienced litigator who focuses on constitutional, appellate, and regulatory matters. He is currently a partner at Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC. In 2015, he was named to the Legal Times list of “D.C.’s Rising Stars,” which identified “some of the most accomplished young attorneys in the D.C. area.” Mr. Harris previously served as Associate Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). In that role, he was second in charge of the 50-person office within the Executive Office of the President that reviews all significant federal regulatory actions and coordinates regulatory policy across the federal government.
Before his government service, Mr. Harris was a partner at Bancroft PLLC and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, where his practice focused on Supreme Court, appellate, and complex litigation. Mr. Harris has extensive experience litigating before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has been the lead drafter of more than 100 merits briefs, amicus briefs, and certiorari-stage briefs, and he has contributed to 10 wins in cases before the Court.
Mr. Harris has also litigated numerous high-profile cases in the federal courts of appeals, federal and state trial courts, administrative agencies, and arbitral tribunals. He has successfully argued before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits, achieving wins on behalf of airlines, telecommunications providers, and pro bono clients. He has also argued numerous dispositive motions in federal district court and has participated in the trial of a significant voting rights case.
Mr. Harris served as a law clerk to Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Judges David Sentelle and Laurence Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and his A.B. magna cum laude from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia and Virginia bars.
Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Rachel N. Morrison is an attorney and Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where she directs EPPC’s Administrative State Accountability Project. Her legal and policy work focuses on religious liberty, health care rights of conscience, the right to life, nondiscrimination, and civil rights.
Before joining EPPC, Ms. Morrison served as an Attorney Advisor and Special Assistant to General Counsel Sharon Fast Gustafson at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she focused on religious discrimination issues and was a member of the General Counsel’s Religious Discrimination Work Group. Before that, she served as Litigation Counsel for Americans United for Life and as a Constitutional Law Fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, defending the right to life and religious freedom for all. She also clerked on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
Ms. Morrison’s legal analysis has been published in the Seton Hall Law Review, the Pepperdine Law Review, and the Ave Maria Law Review, as well as various other print media outlets.
Ms. Morrison earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an editor for the Pepperdine Law Review and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. She received her B.A. in Mathematics and Speech Communication, summa cum laude, from Whitworth University (Spokane, WA). She is a member of the District of Columbia and the Washington State bars.
Ms. Morrison lives with her husband and daughter in Virginia.
Partner, Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC
Mr. Thomson concentrates his practice in white collar criminal defense, government investigations, and corporate compliance. He has tried over 50 criminal trials to verdict in federal and state courts, and has experience in appellate litigation. His practice also includes civil litigation and information security. Prior to joining Stone Pigman, Mr. Thomson had a 23 year career as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice. He served on special assignment with the National Security Agency, where he worked on matters involving information assurance and intelligence collection.
Prior to private practice, Mr. Thomson was recognized numerous times by government agencies, including a Special Commendation Award given by the U.S. Attorney General for completing the Justice Department's Leadership Excellence and Achievement Program; Special Commendation by FBI Director for outstanding performance for successful corruption prosecution after Hurricane Katrina; Special Award from the U.S. Postal Service for prosecution of corrupt employee; Special Award by New Orleans Police Department, ATF and U.S. Department of Justice for his contributions to Project Exile; and Special Awards for Outstanding Contributions to Drug Law Enforcement from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Senior Fellow in Economic Policy, Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, The Heritage Foundation
David R. Burton focuses on tax matters, securities law, entrepreneurship, financial privacy and regulatory and administrative law issues as The Heritage Foundation’s senior fellow in economic policy.
Mr. Burton was general counsel at the National Small Business Association for two years before joining Heritage’s Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies in 2013. He previously was chief financial officer and general counsel of the start-up Alliance for Retirement Prosperity, a conservative alternative to AARP.
For 15 years, Mr. Burton was a partner in the Argus Group, a Virginia-based law, public policy and government relations firm. His career in financial and tax matters also includes the posts of vice president for finance and general counsel of New England Machinery, a multinational manufacturer of packaging equipment and testing instruments, and manager of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Tax Policy Center.
Mr. Burton received a juris doctor degree from the University Of Maryland School Of Law. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Chicago.
Born at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County, Md., Mr. Burton grew up in Baltimore. He and his wife, Nancy, currently reside in Mason Neck, Va.
AEI Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Clay R. Fuller is a Jeane Kirkpatrick fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on authoritarian survival, corruption, and the means through which dictators, terrorists, and criminals use free markets to restrict freedom, sow discord, and legitimize their actions. He also collects data on the use of special economic zones and sovereign wealth funds in nondemocratic countries.
Previously, Dr. Fuller taught international relations, American government, and modern dictatorships, among other courses, at the University of South Carolina, Western Carolina University, Midlands Technical College, and Texas State University.
Dr. Fuller has been published in peer-review journals. He is currently working on a book titled “The Economic Foundations of Authoritarian Rule.” His forthcoming studies include “The Who and the How of Authoritarian Rule” and “The Rise of Authoritarian Liberalism.”
Dr. Fuller has four degrees in political science: a Ph.D. and an M.A. from the University of South Carolina, another M.A. from Texas State University, and a B.A. from West Virginia State University.
Partner, King & Spalding LLP
A partner in the FDA and Life Sciences practice at King & Spalding LLP, Marisa Maleck focuses on litigation, regulatory matters and public policy, with a focus on consumer products. As a former senior counsel at a bio-tech company and in private practice, Marisa has substantial experience with and is skilled in providing creative solutions in the face of uncertainty.
Marisa represents clients in a variety of matters with a focus on FDA-regulated products like food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, wellness products, cosmetics, tobacco and cannabis. As a former senior counsel at an FDA-regulated biotech company and as a former partner in King & Spalding’s Litigation and Global Disputes practice group, she handled hundreds of suits in a multi-district litigation, multiple agency inquiries, an FTC lawsuit and 10+ state Attorney Generals actions. With a special focus on consumer fraud, social-media marketing and personal injury/wrongful death lawsuits, Marisa has successfully drafted and/or argued appellate briefs and critical motions in numerous cases—including class actions and complex litigation—before the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state courts of appeals, and federal and state trial courts. She has also advocated tirelessly for her clients through engagement with agencies and policy-makers. She also advises her clients about legal risk (and how to avoid it) in investigations, enforcement actions, private litigation and private-equity investments.
Marisa also advocates for her clients’ interests in the court of public opinion. She is often solicited for her balanced legal analysis by members of the media. Marisa has appeared on (tv/radio) MSNBC, MSN, CNBC and NPR, and in (print) Newsweek, the National Law Journal, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and Politico.
In addition, Marisa has an active pro-bono practice representing indigent defendants through federal appellate appointments as part of the Criminal Justice Act program and as a screener for the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Judge Readler earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Michigan. After graduating, he served as a law clerk to Judge Alan Norris of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Readler then began practicing law in the Columbus office of the international law firm Jones Day, eventually spending ten years as a partner in the firm’s Issues and Appeals Practice Group. While at Jones Day, Judge Readler appeared in state and federal trial and appellate courts around the country, most frequently the Supreme Court of Ohio and the Sixth Circuit. Judge Readler also successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court in McQuiggin v. Perkins on behalf of an inmate claiming actual innocence. His other pro bono representations include representing capital defendants before the Tenth Circuit and the Supreme Court of Ohio, as well as representing defendants sentenced to life in prison before the Sixth Circuit. While at Jones Day, Judge Readler traveled to Nairobi with Lawyers Without Borders to train Kenyan lawyers in prosecuting domestic violence cases, and he was also a recipient of the American Marshall Memorial Fellowship awarded by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Following his career in private practice, Judge Readler served as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice from 2017 to 2019. In that role, Judge Readler led and supervised over 1,000 lawyers in the Department’s largest litigating division, briefing and arguing several cases on behalf of the United States in federal courts across the country, including high-profile cases significant to the Administration and the Department. In March 2019, Judge Readler was confirmed to serve as a Circuit Judge on the Sixth Circuit. He resides in Columbus.
Partner, Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC
Ben Flowers, a partner at Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers LLC, is an accomplished litigator with experience briefing, arguing, and winning high-stakes cases in courts throughout the country.
Before joining the law firm, Ben served as Ohio's 10th Solicitor General. In that role he regularly represented the State of Ohio before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Ohio. Most prominently, in National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor, Ben led a multi-state challenge to OSHA's vaccine mandate, ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court.
Ben is a graduate of The Ohio State University and the University of Chicago Law School. Following law school, Ben clerked for Judge Sandra Ikuta of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court of this United States. Ben lives in Upper Arlington, Ohio with his wife Denise and their three very active children.
Senior Fellow in Economic Policy, Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, Institute for Economic Freedom and Opportunity, The Heritage Foundation
David R. Burton focuses on tax matters, securities law, entrepreneurship, financial privacy and regulatory and administrative law issues as The Heritage Foundation’s senior fellow in economic policy.
Mr. Burton was general counsel at the National Small Business Association for two years before joining Heritage’s Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies in 2013. He previously was chief financial officer and general counsel of the start-up Alliance for Retirement Prosperity, a conservative alternative to AARP.
For 15 years, Mr. Burton was a partner in the Argus Group, a Virginia-based law, public policy and government relations firm. His career in financial and tax matters also includes the posts of vice president for finance and general counsel of New England Machinery, a multinational manufacturer of packaging equipment and testing instruments, and manager of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Tax Policy Center.
Mr. Burton received a juris doctor degree from the University Of Maryland School Of Law. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Chicago.
Born at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in St. Mary’s County, Md., Mr. Burton grew up in Baltimore. He and his wife, Nancy, currently reside in Mason Neck, Va.
AEI Jeane Kirkpatrick Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Clay R. Fuller is a Jeane Kirkpatrick fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on authoritarian survival, corruption, and the means through which dictators, terrorists, and criminals use free markets to restrict freedom, sow discord, and legitimize their actions. He also collects data on the use of special economic zones and sovereign wealth funds in nondemocratic countries.
Previously, Dr. Fuller taught international relations, American government, and modern dictatorships, among other courses, at the University of South Carolina, Western Carolina University, Midlands Technical College, and Texas State University.
Dr. Fuller has been published in peer-review journals. He is currently working on a book titled “The Economic Foundations of Authoritarian Rule.” His forthcoming studies include “The Who and the How of Authoritarian Rule” and “The Rise of Authoritarian Liberalism.”
Dr. Fuller has four degrees in political science: a Ph.D. and an M.A. from the University of South Carolina, another M.A. from Texas State University, and a B.A. from West Virginia State University.
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Geoffrey A. Manne, Kristian Stout, Julian Morris, Dirk Auer
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public...
Dinosaur Bones & Mineral Rights [POLICYbrief]
Anthony J. Ferate
In 2006, an extraordinary fossil of two dinosaurs engaged in battle was found on a...
An Unconstitutional Attempt to Address Affordable Housing
Jeffrey M. Harris
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public...
The Supreme Court Takes Up Abortion: What You Need to Know About June Medical Services v. Gee
Rachel N. Morrison
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public...
The Fifth Amendment’s Act of Production Doctrine: An Overlooked Shield Against Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum
Peter M. Thomson
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes no positions on particular legal and public...
Beneficial Ownership
David R. Burton, Clay R. Fuller
Hearings have been held recently in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate...
Beneficial Ownership
Litigation and Corporations & Antitrust Practice Groups Teleforum
TeleforumTopics
Further Reflections on the Oil States Case after Oral Argument Before the Supreme Court
On November 27, 2017, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Oil States...
The Misapplication of eBay v. MercExchange, LLC
Marisa Maleck
Note from the Editor: This article discusses the Supreme Court’s decision in eBay Inc. v....
Felix v. Ganley Chevrolet, Inc.
Chad A. Readler, Benjamin M. Flowers
When the Ohio Supreme Court interprets state class-action law, it often relies on decisions from...