Judge, United States Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit
Leonard Steven Grasz is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
A graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the University of Nebraska College of Law, Grasz spent eleven years as the state of Nebraska's Chief Deputy Attorney General. He was a senior partner at the law firm of Husch Blackwell prior to his appointment to the federal judiciary.
Governor, State of Nebraska
Governor Pete Ricketts was sworn in as Nebraska’s 40th Governor on January 8, 2015. Governor Ricketts was first elected to office upon winning the Nebraska gubernatorial election on November 4, 2014. Prior to his election as governor, he worked to support Nebraska entrepreneurs and startup companies.
Born in Nebraska City and raised in Omaha, Ricketts is the son of an entrepreneur and a public school teacher. Governor Ricketts and his wife, First Lady Susanne Shore, have been married for 18 years and live in Omaha with their three children, juniors Roscoe and Margot and freshman Eleanor.
Ricketts graduated from Westside High School before attending the University of Chicago where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and an MBA in marketing and finance. After graduate school, Ricketts returned to Omaha and worked for Union Pacific before working as a customer services representative in his family’s business, a company that would eventually become known as Ameritrade. He went on to hold leadership roles in the company including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Senior Vice President of Product Development, Senior Vice President of Marketing, President, and Chief Operating Officer (COO). He is also a past board member of TD Ameritrade’s Board of Directors.
Ricketts is the founder of Drakon, LLC that supports local entrepreneurs and startup companies. He also serves as a director for the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
Driven by a desire to give back to his community and create education and job opportunities, Governor Ricketts has taken on leadership roles in local and state associations and organizations. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts and the Christian Urban Education Service (CUES). Additionally, he serves as a director for the Children’s Scholarship Fund Foundation, a director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation, a member of the Board of Advisors of Opportunity Education Foundation, a member of the Archbishop’s Committee for Development, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. Governor Ricketts and his family attend St. Margaret Mary’s church.
Clinical Professor, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
Steven T. Collis researches and teaches on religion and law and other First Amendment topics. He is the founding faculty director of the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center and of Texas's Law & Religion Clinic. On the topic of religious freedom law, he is a sought-after speaker to academic and lay audiences across the United States, including foreign diplomats from countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and South America on behalf of the United States State Department. He has been interviewed by and quoted in various news and media outlets, including The Deseret News, Bloomberg, The Washington Times, Law360, The Salt Lake Tribune, PBS, The Denver Business Journal, Law Week Colorado, CBN News, and numerous podcasts and television shows. His scholarly work has appeared in The Michigan Law Review, The Nebraska Law Review, The University of Denver Law Review Online, and in his book Deep Conviction, which brings to life the history of free exercise law in the United States for lay audiences.
Prior to joining Texas, Steven was the Olin-Darling Research Fellow in the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School.
Earlier in his career, he was an equity partner at Holland & Hart LLP, where he chaired the firm’s nationwide religious institutions and First Amendment practice group and was a member of the firm's complex civil litigation and employment practice groups. He also taught religious liberty law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and clerked for Chief Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Steven graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as an editor on The Michigan Law Review and The Michigan Journal of Race and Law. He also holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he served as the associate editor of the literary journal Blackbird. He completed his undergraduate studies, with university honors, at Brigham Young University.
Attorney General, Nebraska
Nebraskans elected Mike Hilgers to be their 33rd Attorney General in 2022. As Attorney General, Mike will work to keep Nebraskans and their families safe, protect their rights, ensure the integrity of our constitutional structure, help our law enforcement officials around the state, and protect our natural resources, including our water supplies.
Before taking office, Mike was an experienced private practice attorney, successful entrepreneur, and legislator.
Mike was in private practice for over fifteen years, handling complex litigation and discovery disputes in state and federal court. After practicing at a large law firm, Mike founded his own litigation law firm. Mike built that firm from nothing into one of the fastest growing practices in the country. Before leaving his practice to take office as Nebraska’s Attorney General, the firm had over 100 professionals and handled cases around the country. Mike started his private practice after clerking for Judge Edith Clement on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mike graduated of the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the law review.
Before taking office as Attorney General, Mike spent six years serving the people of Northwest Lincoln and Lancaster County in the Legislature (District 21), serving his last two as the Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature. In the Legislature Mike introduced and passed a wide variety of legislation to help Nebraskans around the state, from legislation to protect constitutional rights, to protecting our water, to supporting law enforcement.
Mike and his wife, Heather, are raising their four children Alice, Elsie, Clara Jane, and Michael Jr. They are raising their family in Lincoln.
Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County
George R. La Noue is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He has served as a trial expert in twenty cases involving public procurement preferences. For thirty years, he was Director of the Project on Civil Rights and Public Contracts at UMBC which recently contributed 289 public contracting disparity studies to the Library of Congress. He has been a consultant to nine governments and trial expert in thirty cases where the validity of disparity studies was at issue.
Prof. La Noue can be reached by email at glanoue@umbc.edu.
Judge, United States District Court, District of Nebraska
Brian C. Buescher is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump on November 13, 2018, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 24, 2019. He received commission on August 6, 2019.
Mr. Pekron’s practice is primarily devoted to complex business, tort, and class action litigation. Mr. Pekron is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Commercial Litigation, recognized as a Rising Star in the area of Business Litigation by Mid-South Super Lawyers, and a Future Star in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation. He has represented companies and individuals in cases throughout the nation involving breach of contract, professional liability, consumer fraud, products liability, and ERISA issues. He has significant experience in representing accounting firms, publicly-traded companies, and corporate officers and directors in securities litigation, regulatory matters, professional malpractice actions, and internal investigations.
Mr. Pekron also has an active appellate practice and has appeared in numerous state and federal appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Illinois, the New York Court of Appeals, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Circuits. He has argued cases before the Arkansas Supreme Court, the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has also been responsible for petitions for certiorari and amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Pekron received his law degree from Yale Law School, where he served as Book Reviews Editor of the Yale Law Journal. His work has been published in the Hamline Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Pekron clerked for Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. During his clerkship, he served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. He then worked as an associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin LLP.
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
Lee Philip Rudofsky is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Prior to his 2019 appointment by President Trump, Judge Rudofsky served as the Solicitor General of Arkansas, an Assistant General Counsel at Walmart, a Senior Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and counsel to several Republican political campaigns. Today, in addition to his judicial service, Judge Rudofsky teaches law school classes on founding-era constitutional history and, separately, speaks to students across the country about the October 7th Massacre and the subsequent Israeli response. In 2024, Judge Rudofsky helped establish an annual judicial education mission to Israel that offers American judges the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Israeli legal system, Israeli society, and legal issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Steven C. Seeger is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Seeger to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Seeger on September 11, 2019. He received commission on September 13, 2019.
Judge, United States District Court, District of Nebraska
Brian C. Buescher is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump on November 13, 2018, and confirmed by the United States Senate on July 24, 2019. He received commission on August 6, 2019.
Mr. Pekron’s practice is primarily devoted to complex business, tort, and class action litigation. Mr. Pekron is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® in the area of Commercial Litigation, recognized as a Rising Star in the area of Business Litigation by Mid-South Super Lawyers, and a Future Star in Litigation by Benchmark Litigation. He has represented companies and individuals in cases throughout the nation involving breach of contract, professional liability, consumer fraud, products liability, and ERISA issues. He has significant experience in representing accounting firms, publicly-traded companies, and corporate officers and directors in securities litigation, regulatory matters, professional malpractice actions, and internal investigations.
Mr. Pekron also has an active appellate practice and has appeared in numerous state and federal appellate courts, including the Supreme Court of Illinois, the New York Court of Appeals, and the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Circuits. He has argued cases before the Arkansas Supreme Court, the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He has also been responsible for petitions for certiorari and amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court.
Mr. Pekron received his law degree from Yale Law School, where he served as Book Reviews Editor of the Yale Law Journal. His work has been published in the Hamline Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Mr. Pekron clerked for Judge Morris Sheppard Arnold of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. During his clerkship, he served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. He then worked as an associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin LLP.
Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Arkansas
Lee Philip Rudofsky is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Prior to his 2019 appointment by President Trump, Judge Rudofsky served as the Solicitor General of Arkansas, an Assistant General Counsel at Walmart, a Senior Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis, and counsel to several Republican political campaigns. Today, in addition to his judicial service, Judge Rudofsky teaches law school classes on founding-era constitutional history and, separately, speaks to students across the country about the October 7th Massacre and the subsequent Israeli response. In 2024, Judge Rudofsky helped establish an annual judicial education mission to Israel that offers American judges the opportunity to learn first-hand about the Israeli legal system, Israeli society, and legal issues related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Steven C. Seeger is a judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On June 18, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Seeger to a seat on this court. The U.S. Senate confirmed Seeger on September 11, 2019. He received commission on September 13, 2019.
Cocktail Reception with Judge Steven Grasz and Governor Pete Ricketts
Nebraska Lawyers Chapter
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On December 14, 2020, the Little Rock, Nebraska, and Chicago Lawyers Chapters co-hosted Judges Steven...