Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
Michael Bindas is a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice (IJ) and leads IJ’s educational choice team. In this role, he oversees a talented group of IJ attorneys who help policymakers design constitutionally defensible educational choice programs and who defend educational choice programs in courtrooms nationwide. He joined IJ in 2005.
Michael was part of IJ’s litigation team in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held the exclusion of religious options from Montana’s educational choice program unconstitutional, and he led IJ’s defense of the Choice Scholarship Program for elementary and secondary students in Douglas County, Colorado. He also successfully challenged Washington’s denial of special education services to children in religious schools, as well as the state’s exclusion of sectarian options from its state work study program. Currently, he leads IJ’s team in Carson v. Makin, challenging Maine’s exclusion of religious options from its educational choice program.
Prior to leading IJ’s educational choice team, Michael litigated extensively to secure economic liberty, property rights, and freedom of speech throughout the nation. He was counsel of record at the U.S. Supreme Court for Kimbrough Fine Wine & Spirits in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas, a successful challenge to Tennessee’s durational residency requirements for retail liquor licenses. He also led successful challenges to the municipal sign codes of St. Louis, Mo. and Norfolk, Va., after those cities attempted to silence protests of their abusive eminent domain practices.
Prior to joining IJ, Michael spent three years as an attorney with Perkins Coie LLP. He is a former law clerk to Judge Rhesa Hawkins Barksdale of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and served as an engineer officer in the United States Army and Pennsylvania Army National Guard before beginning his legal career.
Michael received his law degree cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2001, where he served as Articles Editor for the Journal of Constitutional Law and was elected to the Order of the Coif. He received his undergraduate degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1995.
President and General Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance
NCLA’s President and General Counsel, Mark Chenoweth, has observed the administrative state up close and personal from perches in all four branches of the federal government. Mark served as the first chief of staff to Congressman Mike Pompeo, as legal counsel to Commissioner Anne Northup at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, as an attorney advisor in the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a law clerk to the Hon. Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Mark has worked in several different roles in the private sector as well. He began his legal career in D.C. as a regulatory associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. He then returned to his home state of Kansas to serve as in-house counsel for Koch Industries. Most recently he spent over four years as general counsel of the Washington Legal Foundation.
Mark is a graduate of Yale College and the University of Chicago Law School, where he co-founded the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship and became a Tony Patiño Fellow. Mark has been widely quoted and/or published in newspapers and websites including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New Hampshire Union Leader, and Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. He has also had recurring op-eds in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, and at Forbes.com.
Partner, Co-chair of the Litigation & Trial Practice Group, Alston & Bird LLP
Adam Biegel is co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group and former co-chair of its Antitrust Team. He has substantial experience representing clients on antitrust counseling and litigation matters, including those involving government and internal investigations, mergers and joint ventures, pricing and distribution, compliance counseling and training, pre-merger reviews under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, and multidistrict litigation. He regularly represents clients before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general, and in federal courts.
Adam is recognized for his antitrust experience by Chambers USA and selected to The Best Lawyers in America®, including his recognition as “Lawyer of the Year” for Antitrust Litigation in Washington, D.C., in 2022. He is a longtime member of the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s leadership, currently serving as co-chair of its In-House Counsel Task Force and previously having served on its board, and chaired its Corporate Counseling Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, and Spring Meeting conference. He also serves on the board of the Federalist Society’s antitrust practice group.
Adam served as a law clerk to the Hon. Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Before attending law school, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Arkansas and on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch.
Partner, Paul, Weiss
Andrew Finch is co-chair of the Antitrust Practice Group and a partner in the Litigation Department. He recently rejoined the firm from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General (April 2017-August 2019) and as Acting Assistant Attorney General (April-September 2017), overseeing all aspects of the Antitrust Division’s operations. A seasoned and pragmatic antitrust counselor and litigator, Andrew has extensive experience with civil and criminal antitrust investigations, litigation and appeals.
EXPERIENCE
Andrew’s practice focuses on antitrust investigations and litigation, both criminal and civil, including merger reviews. At the Antitrust Division, Andrew oversaw dozens of major merger reviews; supervised multiple litigations; negotiated civil and criminal settlements, including consent decrees involving divestitures, plea agreements and deferred prosecution agreements; and represented the Antitrust Division in meetings with other federal agencies, members of Congress, state attorneys general and foreign competition authorities. Throughout his tenure, Andrew played a leadership role in developing and implementing Antitrust Division policies and priorities, including the Division’s new policy regarding the consideration of effective antitrust compliance programs in criminal enforcement decisions. Andrew also has spoken extensively in the United States and abroad about antitrust issues relating to “big data” and technology platforms, acquisitions of nascent competitors, and the application of antitrust law to intellectual property disputes and standard-development organizations.
In private practice, Andrew has represented a broad range of clients, including in the financial services industry, payment networks, insurance, manufacturing, steel production, public performing rights, petroleum refining, publishing, retailing, shipping and air transportation industries, among others. Andrew’s notable representations include:
Between 2003 and 2005, Andrew served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division. While at the DOJ, he participated in drafting the joint report of the DOJ and FTC, Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition, and contributed to the Report of the DOJ’s Task Force on Intellectual Property.
Andrew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dennis G. Jacobs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the University of Chicago Law School, Andrew was a John M. Olin Student Fellow in Law and Economics, the Topics and Comments Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Andrew is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, and currently serves on the ABA’s Task Force on the Future of Competition Law Standards. He previously served as vice-chair of the Books and Treatises Committee, as vice-chair of the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, as a member of the Editorial Board of Antitrust Law Developments (Sixth), and as a principal editor of the Handbook on Interlocking Directorates.
Since 2014, Andrew has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Antitrust. Clients commented that Andrew “is a very smart lawyer [who] has a very keen understanding of antitrust matters from the government perspective.” Following his tenure as one of the senior leadership of the Antitrust Division at the DOJ, Chambers USA has recognized Andrew as an “Eminent Practitioner” in the Antitrust (New York) category for his wide-ranging knowledge across criminal and civil antitrust issues. He is also highly recommended by The Legal 500 in the Antitrust: Cartel, Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense and Antitrust: Merger Control categories.
Andrew is a member of the Board of Directors of the School of American Ballet.
Attorney, MoloLamken LLC
Lauren M. Weinstein is an attorney in MoloLamken's Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on trial and appellate litigation, representing clients before the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and other federal and state courts. Her practice covers a broad array of subject matters, including antitrust law, class actions, constitutional law, business litigation, and securities suits. Prior to joining MoloLamken, Ms. Weinstein served as a law clerk to the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Weinstein received her B.A. from Northwestern University and J.D. from Harvard Law School.
President and General Counsel, New Civil Liberties Alliance
NCLA’s President and General Counsel, Mark Chenoweth, has observed the administrative state up close and personal from perches in all four branches of the federal government. Mark served as the first chief of staff to Congressman Mike Pompeo, as legal counsel to Commissioner Anne Northup at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, as an attorney advisor in the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a law clerk to the Hon. Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Mark has worked in several different roles in the private sector as well. He began his legal career in D.C. as a regulatory associate at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. He then returned to his home state of Kansas to serve as in-house counsel for Koch Industries. Most recently he spent over four years as general counsel of the Washington Legal Foundation.
Mark is a graduate of Yale College and the University of Chicago Law School, where he co-founded the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship and became a Tony Patiño Fellow. Mark has been widely quoted and/or published in newspapers and websites including the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New Hampshire Union Leader, and Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. He has also had recurring op-eds in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, and at Forbes.com.
Alida graduated from Duke University with a degree in history and earned her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Partner, Co-chair of the Litigation & Trial Practice Group, Alston & Bird LLP
Adam Biegel is co-chair of Alston & Bird’s Litigation & Trial Practice Group and former co-chair of its Antitrust Team. He has substantial experience representing clients on antitrust counseling and litigation matters, including those involving government and internal investigations, mergers and joint ventures, pricing and distribution, compliance counseling and training, pre-merger reviews under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act, and multidistrict litigation. He regularly represents clients before the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general, and in federal courts.
Adam is recognized for his antitrust experience by Chambers USA and selected to The Best Lawyers in America®, including his recognition as “Lawyer of the Year” for Antitrust Litigation in Washington, D.C., in 2022. He is a longtime member of the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section’s leadership, currently serving as co-chair of its In-House Counsel Task Force and previously having served on its board, and chaired its Corporate Counseling Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, and Spring Meeting conference. He also serves on the board of the Federalist Society’s antitrust practice group.
Adam served as a law clerk to the Hon. Frank M. Hull, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Before attending law school, he worked as a newspaper reporter in Arkansas and on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch.
Attorney, MoloLamken LLC
Lauren M. Weinstein is an attorney in MoloLamken's Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on trial and appellate litigation, representing clients before the United States Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and other federal and state courts. Her practice covers a broad array of subject matters, including antitrust law, class actions, constitutional law, business litigation, and securities suits. Prior to joining MoloLamken, Ms. Weinstein served as a law clerk to the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Honorable John G. Koeltl of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Weinstein received her B.A. from Northwestern University and J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Partner, Paul, Weiss
Andrew Finch is co-chair of the Antitrust Practice Group and a partner in the Litigation Department. He recently rejoined the firm from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General (April 2017-August 2019) and as Acting Assistant Attorney General (April-September 2017), overseeing all aspects of the Antitrust Division’s operations. A seasoned and pragmatic antitrust counselor and litigator, Andrew has extensive experience with civil and criminal antitrust investigations, litigation and appeals.
EXPERIENCE
Andrew’s practice focuses on antitrust investigations and litigation, both criminal and civil, including merger reviews. At the Antitrust Division, Andrew oversaw dozens of major merger reviews; supervised multiple litigations; negotiated civil and criminal settlements, including consent decrees involving divestitures, plea agreements and deferred prosecution agreements; and represented the Antitrust Division in meetings with other federal agencies, members of Congress, state attorneys general and foreign competition authorities. Throughout his tenure, Andrew played a leadership role in developing and implementing Antitrust Division policies and priorities, including the Division’s new policy regarding the consideration of effective antitrust compliance programs in criminal enforcement decisions. Andrew also has spoken extensively in the United States and abroad about antitrust issues relating to “big data” and technology platforms, acquisitions of nascent competitors, and the application of antitrust law to intellectual property disputes and standard-development organizations.
In private practice, Andrew has represented a broad range of clients, including in the financial services industry, payment networks, insurance, manufacturing, steel production, public performing rights, petroleum refining, publishing, retailing, shipping and air transportation industries, among others. Andrew’s notable representations include:
Between 2003 and 2005, Andrew served as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division. While at the DOJ, he participated in drafting the joint report of the DOJ and FTC, Antitrust Enforcement and Intellectual Property Rights: Promoting Innovation and Competition, and contributed to the Report of the DOJ’s Task Force on Intellectual Property.
Andrew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Dennis G. Jacobs in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. At the University of Chicago Law School, Andrew was a John M. Olin Student Fellow in Law and Economics, the Topics and Comments Editor of The University of Chicago Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.
Andrew is a member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law, and currently serves on the ABA’s Task Force on the Future of Competition Law Standards. He previously served as vice-chair of the Books and Treatises Committee, as vice-chair of the Civil Practice and Procedure Committee, as a member of the Editorial Board of Antitrust Law Developments (Sixth), and as a principal editor of the Handbook on Interlocking Directorates.
Since 2014, Andrew has been recognized by Chambers USA as a leading lawyer in Antitrust. Clients commented that Andrew “is a very smart lawyer [who] has a very keen understanding of antitrust matters from the government perspective.” Following his tenure as one of the senior leadership of the Antitrust Division at the DOJ, Chambers USA has recognized Andrew as an “Eminent Practitioner” in the Antitrust (New York) category for his wide-ranging knowledge across criminal and civil antitrust issues. He is also highly recommended by The Legal 500 in the Antitrust: Cartel, Antitrust: Civil Litigation/Class Actions: Defense and Antitrust: Merger Control categories.
Andrew is a member of the Board of Directors of the School of American Ballet.
Legal Director & General Counsel, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation
Kent S. Scheidegger has been the Legal Director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation since December 1986. He also served as Chairman of the Criminal Law Practice Group of the Federalist Society 2003 to 2005. His articles on criminal and constitutional law have been published in law reviews, national legal publications, and congressional reports. Legal arguments authored by Mr. Scheidegger have been cited and incorporated in several precedent-setting United States Supreme Court decisions.
After receiving a degree in physics with honors from New Mexico State University in 1976, Mr. Scheidegger served for six years in the United States Air Force as a Nuclear Research Officer. He took his law degree with distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1982 and practiced civil law in Northern California. He was general counsel of California Cooler, Inc. from 1984 until 1986, when he joined the Foundation.
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