Senior Fellow in Constitutional Jurisprudence, Independence Institute
Professor Robert G. Natelson is a constitutional scholar and author.
Rob’s constitutional scholarship has been cited repeatedly by justices and parties at the U.S. Supreme Court—as well as by federal appeals courts, and at least 18 state supreme courts.
Rob’s research into the Constitution’s original meaning has carried him to libraries throughout the United States and in Britain, including four months at Oxford University. His books and articles span many different parts of the Constitution, including groundbreaking studies of the Necessary and Proper Clause, the Indian Commerce Clause, federalism, Founding-Era interpretation, regulation of elections, and the amendment process of Article V. He created the first-ever online bibliography for 18th century materials used in constitutional research. He is a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (on Magna Carta). He contributed eight essays to the third edition of the Heritage Guide to the Constitution: five on the amendment procedure and one each on the Guarantee Clause, the Postal Clause, and the Recess Appointments Clause.
U.S. Supreme Court justices have relied explicitly on Rob’s research in 41 citations in 13 separate cases.
Andrew Pardue is an associate at Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky Josefiak PLLC specializing in election and campaign finance law.
Prior to joining the firm, Andrew served as a law clerk for the D.C. Criminal Code Reform Commission and the Office of the Virginia Attorney General’s Civil Litigation Division, Consumer Protection Section. He also interned in the chambers of Magistrate Judge Lawrence Leonard of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Andrew graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Government and a secondary concentration in Economics. He earned his J.D. from William & Mary Law School. While in law school, he served as Senior Notes Editor on the William & Mary Law Review and authored a published student note on congressional investigations of the executive branch. He also served as a graduate research fellow with the Center for the Study of Law and Markets. Andrew is a member of the Virginia Bar, the Federalist Society, and the Republican National Lawyers Association.
Senior Associate, Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky PLLC
Drew Watkins is a senior associate with Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky PLLC, providing counsel in the areas of campaign finance and election law, lobbying and ethics compliance, and tax-exempt organizations.
Prior to joining the firm, Drew served as a law clerk to the Honorable Joseph R. Goeke, Senior Judge of the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C., and worked in the Office of General Counsel for the Governor of Kentucky, Matthew G. Bevin. While in law school, Drew served as a law clerk for the Kentucky Executive Branch Ethics Commission and interned for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in his office in Washington, D.C.
Drew graduated from the University of Louisville with a B.S. in Justice Administration. He earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Kentucky College of Law and was a member of the Order of the Coif. During law school, he served as a senior staff editor on the Kentucky Law Journal and authored a published student note on the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. He is a member of the Kentucky, D.C. and Virginia bars and the Federalist Society.
Partner, King & Spalding
A partner in the firm’s Government Advocacy and Public Policy group, J.C. helps companies and trade associations navigate legal, political and regulatory issues commonly associated with doing business in Europe and the United States. He is recognized by clients for his strong, bipartisan relationships with Members of Congress, State Attorneys General, congressional staff and senior government officials across key regulatory and executive branch agencies. He is trusted for his ability to rapidly synthesize complex information and communicate its strategic implications to policymakers and senior institutional stakeholders as well as his candid evaluation of options and potential for success.
As former counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, J.C has developed a deep expertise in financial services, fintech, and emerging technology policy. He has a proven track record of influencing federal legislation, regulatory frameworks, and agency rulemaking impacting digital assets, banking, payments, and technology platforms. J.C. regularly interfaces with financial regulators on a wide array of policy and institution-specific issues, and as co-chair of the firm’s State Attorneys General practice, delivers results on high-impact legal work at the intersection of law, policy and regulation.
J.C. is skilled in developing and executing comprehensive advocacy strategies, shaping legislative language, and positioning clients to successfully navigate complex and evolving policy environments at the federal, state and international levels. As President of the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum, he has briefed policymakers throughout Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Indo-Pacific. JC also advises international clients seeking to invest, expand, or operate in the United States.
President George W. Bush appointed J.C. to a six-year term as U.S. representative to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Mayor Muriel Bowser also appointed J.C. to the District of Columbia; Board of Elections, in which capacity he also served on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board. He is currently chairman of the Board of Visitors of The Catholic University Columbus School of Law and President of the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum, where he is a regular speaker on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.
Earlier in his career, J.C. established the Boggs Scholarship for Public Service at the University of Delaware in honor of his grandfather and namesake, former U.S. Congressman, Senator and Governor of Delaware, J. Caleb Boggs. He has also served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards, including Jobs for Delaware Graduates (Chairman); The Reserve Trust Company (Vice Chairman), Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship Network (Secretary), Republican National Lawyers Association (President), Kimball Union Academy (Chairman of the Committee on Trustees), and AAA Mid-Atlantic.
J.C. enjoys open-water swimming and is member of U.S. Masters Swimming and the historic Serpentine Swimming Club situated in London's Hyde Park. He has competed in swimming events across all 50 states, ten Canadian provinces and around the world.
Partner, O’Melveny & Myers
Brian P. Brooks is the Managing Partner of Valor Capital Group. He has served as CEO of the Bitfury Group and CEO of digital asset exchange and marketplace Binance.US.
Mr. Brooks became Acting Comptroller of the Currency upon the resignation of the 31st Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting as a result of his designation as First Deputy Comptroller by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin pursuant to his authority under 12 USC § 4.
As Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Mr. Brooks was the administrator of the federal banking system and chief officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC supervises nearly 1,200 national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks that conduct approximately 70% of all banking business in the United States. The mission of the OCC is to ensure that national banks and federal savings associations operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
Prior to becoming Acting Comptroller, Mr. Brooks served as Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he oversaw OCC bank supervision, bank supervision policy, economics, supervisory system and analytical support, systemic risk identification support and specialty supervision, and innovation. He also served as a member of the OCC's Executive Committee and was the Chair of the Technology and Systems Subcommittee, since joining the agency in April 2020.
Prior to joining the OCC, Mr. Brooks served as Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase Global, Inc., where he headed the legal, compliance, audit, investigations, and government relations functions for the company, which served 20 million customers. He held this position since September 2018.
From 2014-2018, Mr. Brooks served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the $3.2 trillion Fannie Mae. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, he served as a Vice Chairman of OneWest Bank, N.A., from 2011 to 2014. Prior to joining OneWest, he served managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of the global law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP, where he also served as chair of the firm's financial services practice group. Prior to joining the OCC, Mr. Brooks also served on the Boards of Directors of Avant, Inc. and Fannie Mae, and also served as an advisor to a number of technology startups.
Mr. Brooks holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in government and a law degree from the University of Chicago.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Patrick Daugherty is a senior corporate and securities law partner of Foley & Lardner LLP, based in Chicago. He also is an adjunct professor of Cornell Law School, where he teaches in residence each Fall Term.
Mr. Daugherty is a member of the Bar in New York, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. Credentialing organizations have named him “Lawyer of the Year” in both Michigan (2007) and Illinois (2022). A graduate of Northwestern University and of Cornell Law School (Class of 1981), he clerked for SDNY Chief Judge Lloyd F. MacMahon for a year before entering private practice. Mr. Daugherty also served as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Edward H. Fleischman in Washington, D.C., from 1986 to 1989. An Emeritus Member of the American Law Institute, he is the author, co-author or editor of several books and many articles on securities regulation and new financial products.
Mr. Daugherty believes that he was the first lawyer inside the SEC to join the Federalist Society when he became a member in the late 1980s. A mainstay of the Chicago Lawyers Chapter, at the national level of the Society he serves on the Executive Committee for the Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group.
Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP; Special Professor of Law, Maurice A. Dean School of Law, Hofstra University
Gary E. Kalbaugh is a nationally recognized leader in commodities, futures, and derivatives law.
Gary is a partner in the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP as well as a Special Professor of Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he teaches derivatives law and banking law.
A preeminent authority in the derivatives field, Gary is the author of the principal treatise Derivatives Law and Regulation (3rd ed. 2021) and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Futures and Derivatives Law Report, the foremost industry publication. He is a past chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on the Regulation of Futures and Derivatives and has over 15 years of experience as a professor teaching derivatives and banking law.
Gary is the leading derivatives lawyer in the digital assets space, and one of few to truly understand the technical side of emerging financial technology. He serves on the CFTC’s Future of Finance Subcommittee, reflecting his recognized leadership at the intersection of financial regulation and emerging technologies. A frequent speaker, writer, and commentator on derivatives, banking law, artificial intelligence, and digital assets regulation, he has served as conference co-chair for the American Bar Association’s “Artificial Intelligence and Derivatives Market” conference and regularly speaks at major industry conferences on cutting-edge issues in financial regulation and technology. Gary is sought after as a thought leader on the evolving landscape of digital asset regulation and the regulatory implications of AI in financial markets.
At ING, Gary served as Deputy General Counsel and Director, where he chaired swap dealer and security-based swap dealer regulatory committees and provided strategic leadership on U.S., European, and other regulations impacting the organization. He had global responsibility for U.S. derivatives regulatory issues and maintained strong relationships with regulators. Gary also co-developed ING legal’s global artificial intelligence training program and was responsible for U.S. regulatory issues relating to ING’s blockchain-based pilot programs and crypto initiatives.
Previously, Gary served as a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School and held senior roles at WestLB, where he was executive director, counsel, and chief U.S. data protection officer and chaired the global Dodd-Frank and underwriting committees. He began his career as an associate at a notable international firm.
United States Representative, North Carolina's 10th District
Congressman Patrick McHenry is serving his tenth term as the representative for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District which comprises all or parts of nine counties in North Carolina, from the suburbs of Charlotte on Lake Norman to Pisgah National Forest in Burke County.
In the 118th Congress, Congressman McHenry was elected as the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a committee he has served on since he was elected to Congress. As Chairman, he will continue advocating for innovative solutions that increase access to banking services and credit for American families and small businesses.
Prior to serving as the Chairman, Congressman McHenry was elected as the Republican Leader at the beginning of the 116th Congress. He also served as Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a position he was appointed to at the beginning of the 114th Congress by then Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05).
In 2015, Congressman McHenry was selected by then House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01) to be the Chief Deputy Whip. As Chief Deputy Whip, Congressman McHenry directly assisted Majority Whip Scalise by building consensus for the conservative policy agenda of the House Republican Conference. One of his proudest accomplishments as Chief Deputy Whip was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which helped to fix our nation’s broken tax code and provided much-needed tax relief to American families and businesses.
During the 113th Congress, Congressman McHenry served as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In this role, he provided oversight of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal financial regulators. Congressman McHenry was previously a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In addition to his leadership roles on the Financial Services Committee, Congressman McHenry has successfully passed important legislation into law that helps entrepreneurs and startup investing. In the 114thCongress, Congressman McHenry authored the “RAISE Act” (Reforming Access for Investments in Startup Enterprises), which was signed into law by President Obama, providing the means for startup employees to sell their stock options to private investors.
Additionally, Congressman McHenry authored the primary legislation to legalize equity-based crowdfunding in the United States. The crowdfunding language he first authored in 2011 was eventually included in the JOBS Act which President Obama signed into law in April 2012. In recognition of his work supporting crowdfunding, Congressman McHenry was presented with the 2013 “Crowdfunding Visionary Award” by the Global Crowdfunding Convention. Congressman McHenry was also awarded the Crowdfunding Leadership Award by the University of California at Berkeley Fung Institute’s Program for Innovation in Entrepreneurial Finance in 2013.
Congressman McHenry’s interest in crowdfunding and capital formation more broadly developed as a child, when his father attempted to grow a small business but struggled for financing. It was this experience—and the lack of small business financing in rural western North Carolina—that drove Congressman McHenry to become a leader on crowdfunding, capital formation, and other forms of disruptive finance. Recently this has expanded to encompass fintech as he works with industry leaders to discover innovative ways to combine finance and technology with the goal of expanding access to capital for America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Throughout his career, Congressman McHenry has been a vocal and effective advocate for the men and women who wear the uniform of our country. He received awards from the North Carolina Chapters of the American Legion and Marine Corps League for his extensive work in bringing a veterans’ health care clinic to his district after nearly two decades of delay. The National Guard presented Patrick McHenry with the Charles Dick Medal of Merit for his exceptional service to the North Carolina National Guard.
Congressman McHenry has been recognized as a leader of the conservative movement in America. Having never voted for a tax increase in his career, Congressman McHenry is continually recognized as a “Hero of the Taxpayer” by Americans for Tax Reform.
Congressman McHenry is the recipient of several additional awards including: the National Association of Manufacturing’s “Manufacturing Legislative Excellence” Award, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s “Small Business Champion” Award, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Spirit of Enterprise” Award, the 60 Plus Association’s “Guardian of Seniors’ Rights” Award, the Family Research Council’s “True Blue” Award, and Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Taxpayer Hero” Award. In 2009 he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the “40 Under 40,” a list of rising stars in American politics.
Most importantly, Congressman McHenry continues to listen to the voters of the 10th District and act as their voice in Washington. His main focus is to provide the highest level of constituent services at home in western North Carolina.
Prior to being elected to Congress in 2004 at the age of 29, Congressman McHenry represented the 109thDistrict in the North Carolina House of Representatives. He also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, a post he was appointed to by President George W. Bush.
Congressman McHenry is a graduate of Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, N.C. and Belmont Abbey College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. Congressman McHenry and his wife Giulia live in Denver, N.C. and worship at Holy Spirit Church. They are the parents of two daughters, Cecelia Rose and Therese Anne (who goes by Rese), and one son, Peregrine Callan (who goes by Perry).
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Partner, King & Spalding
A partner in the firm’s Government Advocacy and Public Policy group, J.C. helps companies and trade associations navigate legal, political and regulatory issues commonly associated with doing business in Europe and the United States. He is recognized by clients for his strong, bipartisan relationships with Members of Congress, State Attorneys General, congressional staff and senior government officials across key regulatory and executive branch agencies. He is trusted for his ability to rapidly synthesize complex information and communicate its strategic implications to policymakers and senior institutional stakeholders as well as his candid evaluation of options and potential for success.
As former counsel to the Senate Banking Committee, J.C has developed a deep expertise in financial services, fintech, and emerging technology policy. He has a proven track record of influencing federal legislation, regulatory frameworks, and agency rulemaking impacting digital assets, banking, payments, and technology platforms. J.C. regularly interfaces with financial regulators on a wide array of policy and institution-specific issues, and as co-chair of the firm’s State Attorneys General practice, delivers results on high-impact legal work at the intersection of law, policy and regulation.
J.C. is skilled in developing and executing comprehensive advocacy strategies, shaping legislative language, and positioning clients to successfully navigate complex and evolving policy environments at the federal, state and international levels. As President of the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum, he has briefed policymakers throughout Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Indo-Pacific. JC also advises international clients seeking to invest, expand, or operate in the United States.
President George W. Bush appointed J.C. to a six-year term as U.S. representative to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Mayor Muriel Bowser also appointed J.C. to the District of Columbia; Board of Elections, in which capacity he also served on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission Standards Board. He is currently chairman of the Board of Visitors of The Catholic University Columbus School of Law and President of the Parliamentary Intelligence-Security Forum, where he is a regular speaker on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and critical minerals.
Earlier in his career, J.C. established the Boggs Scholarship for Public Service at the University of Delaware in honor of his grandfather and namesake, former U.S. Congressman, Senator and Governor of Delaware, J. Caleb Boggs. He has also served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards, including Jobs for Delaware Graduates (Chairman); The Reserve Trust Company (Vice Chairman), Global Center for Social Entrepreneurship Network (Secretary), Republican National Lawyers Association (President), Kimball Union Academy (Chairman of the Committee on Trustees), and AAA Mid-Atlantic.
J.C. enjoys open-water swimming and is member of U.S. Masters Swimming and the historic Serpentine Swimming Club situated in London's Hyde Park. He has competed in swimming events across all 50 states, ten Canadian provinces and around the world.
Partner, O’Melveny & Myers
Brian P. Brooks is the Managing Partner of Valor Capital Group. He has served as CEO of the Bitfury Group and CEO of digital asset exchange and marketplace Binance.US.
Mr. Brooks became Acting Comptroller of the Currency upon the resignation of the 31st Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting as a result of his designation as First Deputy Comptroller by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin pursuant to his authority under 12 USC § 4.
As Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Mr. Brooks was the administrator of the federal banking system and chief officer of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC supervises nearly 1,200 national banks, federal savings associations, and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks that conduct approximately 70% of all banking business in the United States. The mission of the OCC is to ensure that national banks and federal savings associations operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
The Comptroller also serves as a director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and a member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
Prior to becoming Acting Comptroller, Mr. Brooks served as Senior Deputy Comptroller and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he oversaw OCC bank supervision, bank supervision policy, economics, supervisory system and analytical support, systemic risk identification support and specialty supervision, and innovation. He also served as a member of the OCC's Executive Committee and was the Chair of the Technology and Systems Subcommittee, since joining the agency in April 2020.
Prior to joining the OCC, Mr. Brooks served as Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase Global, Inc., where he headed the legal, compliance, audit, investigations, and government relations functions for the company, which served 20 million customers. He held this position since September 2018.
From 2014-2018, Mr. Brooks served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the $3.2 trillion Fannie Mae. Prior to joining Fannie Mae, he served as a Vice Chairman of OneWest Bank, N.A., from 2011 to 2014. Prior to joining OneWest, he served managing partner of the Washington, D.C. office of the global law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP, where he also served as chair of the firm's financial services practice group. Prior to joining the OCC, Mr. Brooks also served on the Boards of Directors of Avant, Inc. and Fannie Mae, and also served as an advisor to a number of technology startups.
Mr. Brooks holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in government and a law degree from the University of Chicago.
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Patrick Daugherty is a senior corporate and securities law partner of Foley & Lardner LLP, based in Chicago. He also is an adjunct professor of Cornell Law School, where he teaches in residence each Fall Term.
Mr. Daugherty is a member of the Bar in New York, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. Credentialing organizations have named him “Lawyer of the Year” in both Michigan (2007) and Illinois (2022). A graduate of Northwestern University and of Cornell Law School (Class of 1981), he clerked for SDNY Chief Judge Lloyd F. MacMahon for a year before entering private practice. Mr. Daugherty also served as Counsel to SEC Commissioner Edward H. Fleischman in Washington, D.C., from 1986 to 1989. An Emeritus Member of the American Law Institute, he is the author, co-author or editor of several books and many articles on securities regulation and new financial products.
Mr. Daugherty believes that he was the first lawyer inside the SEC to join the Federalist Society when he became a member in the late 1980s. A mainstay of the Chicago Lawyers Chapter, at the national level of the Society he serves on the Executive Committee for the Financial Services & E-Commerce Practice Group.
Partner, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP; Special Professor of Law, Maurice A. Dean School of Law, Hofstra University
Gary E. Kalbaugh is a nationally recognized leader in commodities, futures, and derivatives law.
Gary is a partner in the New York office of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP as well as a Special Professor of Law at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he teaches derivatives law and banking law.
A preeminent authority in the derivatives field, Gary is the author of the principal treatise Derivatives Law and Regulation (3rd ed. 2021) and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Futures and Derivatives Law Report, the foremost industry publication. He is a past chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on the Regulation of Futures and Derivatives and has over 15 years of experience as a professor teaching derivatives and banking law.
Gary is the leading derivatives lawyer in the digital assets space, and one of few to truly understand the technical side of emerging financial technology. He serves on the CFTC’s Future of Finance Subcommittee, reflecting his recognized leadership at the intersection of financial regulation and emerging technologies. A frequent speaker, writer, and commentator on derivatives, banking law, artificial intelligence, and digital assets regulation, he has served as conference co-chair for the American Bar Association’s “Artificial Intelligence and Derivatives Market” conference and regularly speaks at major industry conferences on cutting-edge issues in financial regulation and technology. Gary is sought after as a thought leader on the evolving landscape of digital asset regulation and the regulatory implications of AI in financial markets.
At ING, Gary served as Deputy General Counsel and Director, where he chaired swap dealer and security-based swap dealer regulatory committees and provided strategic leadership on U.S., European, and other regulations impacting the organization. He had global responsibility for U.S. derivatives regulatory issues and maintained strong relationships with regulators. Gary also co-developed ING legal’s global artificial intelligence training program and was responsible for U.S. regulatory issues relating to ING’s blockchain-based pilot programs and crypto initiatives.
Previously, Gary served as a lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School and held senior roles at WestLB, where he was executive director, counsel, and chief U.S. data protection officer and chaired the global Dodd-Frank and underwriting committees. He began his career as an associate at a notable international firm.
United States Representative, North Carolina's 10th District
Congressman Patrick McHenry is serving his tenth term as the representative for North Carolina's 10th Congressional District which comprises all or parts of nine counties in North Carolina, from the suburbs of Charlotte on Lake Norman to Pisgah National Forest in Burke County.
In the 118th Congress, Congressman McHenry was elected as the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a committee he has served on since he was elected to Congress. As Chairman, he will continue advocating for innovative solutions that increase access to banking services and credit for American families and small businesses.
Prior to serving as the Chairman, Congressman McHenry was elected as the Republican Leader at the beginning of the 116th Congress. He also served as Vice Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, a position he was appointed to at the beginning of the 114th Congress by then Chairman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05).
In 2015, Congressman McHenry was selected by then House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01) to be the Chief Deputy Whip. As Chief Deputy Whip, Congressman McHenry directly assisted Majority Whip Scalise by building consensus for the conservative policy agenda of the House Republican Conference. One of his proudest accomplishments as Chief Deputy Whip was the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which helped to fix our nation’s broken tax code and provided much-needed tax relief to American families and businesses.
During the 113th Congress, Congressman McHenry served as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In this role, he provided oversight of the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other federal financial regulators. Congressman McHenry was previously a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
In addition to his leadership roles on the Financial Services Committee, Congressman McHenry has successfully passed important legislation into law that helps entrepreneurs and startup investing. In the 114thCongress, Congressman McHenry authored the “RAISE Act” (Reforming Access for Investments in Startup Enterprises), which was signed into law by President Obama, providing the means for startup employees to sell their stock options to private investors.
Additionally, Congressman McHenry authored the primary legislation to legalize equity-based crowdfunding in the United States. The crowdfunding language he first authored in 2011 was eventually included in the JOBS Act which President Obama signed into law in April 2012. In recognition of his work supporting crowdfunding, Congressman McHenry was presented with the 2013 “Crowdfunding Visionary Award” by the Global Crowdfunding Convention. Congressman McHenry was also awarded the Crowdfunding Leadership Award by the University of California at Berkeley Fung Institute’s Program for Innovation in Entrepreneurial Finance in 2013.
Congressman McHenry’s interest in crowdfunding and capital formation more broadly developed as a child, when his father attempted to grow a small business but struggled for financing. It was this experience—and the lack of small business financing in rural western North Carolina—that drove Congressman McHenry to become a leader on crowdfunding, capital formation, and other forms of disruptive finance. Recently this has expanded to encompass fintech as he works with industry leaders to discover innovative ways to combine finance and technology with the goal of expanding access to capital for America’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Throughout his career, Congressman McHenry has been a vocal and effective advocate for the men and women who wear the uniform of our country. He received awards from the North Carolina Chapters of the American Legion and Marine Corps League for his extensive work in bringing a veterans’ health care clinic to his district after nearly two decades of delay. The National Guard presented Patrick McHenry with the Charles Dick Medal of Merit for his exceptional service to the North Carolina National Guard.
Congressman McHenry has been recognized as a leader of the conservative movement in America. Having never voted for a tax increase in his career, Congressman McHenry is continually recognized as a “Hero of the Taxpayer” by Americans for Tax Reform.
Congressman McHenry is the recipient of several additional awards including: the National Association of Manufacturing’s “Manufacturing Legislative Excellence” Award, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council’s “Small Business Champion” Award, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Spirit of Enterprise” Award, the 60 Plus Association’s “Guardian of Seniors’ Rights” Award, the Family Research Council’s “True Blue” Award, and Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Taxpayer Hero” Award. In 2009 he was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the “40 Under 40,” a list of rising stars in American politics.
Most importantly, Congressman McHenry continues to listen to the voters of the 10th District and act as their voice in Washington. His main focus is to provide the highest level of constituent services at home in western North Carolina.
Prior to being elected to Congress in 2004 at the age of 29, Congressman McHenry represented the 109thDistrict in the North Carolina House of Representatives. He also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, a post he was appointed to by President George W. Bush.
Congressman McHenry is a graduate of Ashbrook High School in Gastonia, N.C. and Belmont Abbey College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in History. Congressman McHenry and his wife Giulia live in Denver, N.C. and worship at Holy Spirit Church. They are the parents of two daughters, Cecelia Rose and Therese Anne (who goes by Rese), and one son, Peregrine Callan (who goes by Perry).
Partner, Fusion Law, PLLC
Paul is the founding partner of Fusion Law, PLLC. He has extensive experience with state, federal, and global regulators building coalitions and implementing policies to promote innovation in financial services. He is responsible for designing and implementing the first state (Arizona) and federal (CFPB) FinTech sandboxes in the United States. He also designed the CFPB no-action letter and trial disclosure policies. He helped found the first global regulatory innovation coalition (Global Financial Innovation Network) and led the founding of the first U.S. regulatory innovation coalition (American Consumer Financial Innovation Network). He served on the Financial Stability Oversight Council subcommittee on digital assets. He also has drafted state-level laws on blockchain and utility tokens.
Paul also has significant enforcement and litigation experience. He led many multi-state consumer protection enforcement matters as Civil Litigation Division Chief at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Prior to his government service, Paul practiced law in the areas of securities litigation and transactional work for approximately six years at two well-known law firms. He also clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Assistant Solicitor General, North Carolina Department of Justice
Nick was appointed Solicitor General of North Carolina in May 2025. In that role,
he oversees the State’s appellate litigation and leads key appeals in the U.S.
Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit, and the North Carolina appellate courts. Nick
earlier served as North Carolina’s Deputy Solicitor General and has worked in the
state SG’s office since 2019. Before starting a career in state-government service,
he was a senior associate at Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C.
Nick clerked for Judge Gerald Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Eleventh Circuit and Judge Lee Rosenthal of the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Texas. He earned his law degree from Duke, where he was an
Executive Editor of the Duke Law Journal and a member of the Moot Court Board.
He received his undergraduate degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and is a proud Tar
Heel.
Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
Troy works alongside trial counsel, collaborating on critical motions to ensure that clients are well positioned on appeal. Once a judgment is entered, clients rely on Troy either to defend their judgment or find creative paths to reversal.
Troy has a wide variety of trial and appellate experience, including in class actions, antitrust, employment disputes, land use litigation and family law cases. He also frequently litigates commercial disputes in federal and North Carolina Business courts. In addition, Troy serves as a class action consultant to attorneys inside and outside the firm, for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Troy frequently represents clients in precedent-setting cases. For example, in 2021, he persuaded the Supreme Court of North Carolina to unanimously recognize that children have a right, under the state constitution, to a learning environment free from abuse. Before then, lower courts had for a decade refused to recognize such a right.
Troy is a contributing author to the North Carolina Appellate Practice Blog, which provides news, information and tips for practicing law in North Carolina’s State and Federal Appellate Courts.
Prior to joining Fox, Troy worked as an associate at a boutique litigation firm. Before that, he was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Thomas D. Schroeder of the Middle District of North Carolina.
During law school, Troy was an intern to the Honorable Justice Mark Martin of the Supreme Court of North Carolina. He also interned with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina and externed with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. In addition, Troy served as the North Carolina Law Review's articles editor.
North Carolina Chamber Legal Institute, General Counsel
As general counsel of the NC Chamber and president of the NC Chamber Legal Institute, Ray sets strategy for litigation of the NC Chamber, the NC Chamber Legal Institute, and its affiliated entities. He also serves as a key member of the organization’s executive leadership team, providing guidance and counsel to the public policy development functions of the NC Chamber, and assessing and advising on current and emerging laws, rulings, and regulations affecting the NC Chamber and business community in North Carolina. Ray is also a respected agricultural industry thought leader, and leads the NC Chamber Foundation and NC Golden LEAF Foundation’s efforts to craft a strategic plan for North Carolina agriculture, a project dubbed NC Ag Leads. Ray was elected to the Board of Smithfield Foods, Inc. as an Independent Director in early 2025, contributing governance expertise to one of the world’s leading food companies.
Prior to joining the NC Chamber team, Ray served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue where he coordinated execution of the Secretary’s policy agenda for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a $140 billion agency with more than 100,000 employees. Ray focused on regulatory and deregulatory initiatives and acted as a point of contact for stakeholders throughout agriculture and rural communities.
He previously served as the principal agriculture advisor to the President of the United States at the White House, served as chief of staff and chief counsel for U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, after serving as general counsel when Tillis was Speaker of the House in the North Carolina legislature, and worked as general counsel for the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, interfacing daily with Commissioner Steve Troxler.
Ray has a deep understanding of North Carolina’s economy and has proven experience building relationships that transcend politics. In the fall of 2022, Starling released his book Farmers Versus Foodies in which he shares some perspective on the question of who will call the shots for the future of the farming and food system in the United States and beyond. The book is an Amazon best seller and has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
In private practice for several years, Ray has taught numerous agricultural and food law courses. He has a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from North Carolina State University and a law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He grew up on a Century Family Farm in southeastern North Carolina and credits that experience as having more to do with his career path than any other influence or opportunity. His parents continue to farm, as does his eldest brother. Starling was a National FFA Officer and is a former 4-H member.
Partner, Nelson Mullins
Martin is a North Carolina Board Certified Appellate Practice Specialist who practices in the areas of business and consumer financial services litigation. He has represented diverse clients from a variety of industries, including healthcare, regulated utilities, local government, retail, banking, investment, and insurance.
Curtis "Trey" Allen was born in Robeson County to Curtis and Elaine Allen. He obtained a bachelor's degree from UNC Pembroke and a law degree from UNC Chapel Hill.
Trey began his legal career as a judge advocate in the United States Marine Corps. He spent most of his time in the USMC overseas, and his military service included a deployment to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a judge advocate, Trey advised commanding generals and subordinate commanders on military justice and operational law matters, prosecuted violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and helped fellow Marines resolve personal legal issues.
After being honorably discharged, Trey completed a clerkship with Justice (now Chief Justice) Paul Newby of the NC Supreme Court. He then practiced education law and became a partner at Tharrington Smith LLP in Raleigh. While in private practice, Trey successfully litigated cases involving constitutional and other claims before administrative agencies, federal and state trial courts, and appellate courts, including the NC Supreme Court. In 2013 he joined the faculty at UNC Chapel Hill, where his research, writing, and teaching focused on local government law. Trey was named Coates Distinguished Term Associate Professor of Public Law and Government for 2020-2022.
Following Paul Newby's installation as Chief Justice in January 2021, Trey was appointed General Counsel for the NC Administrative Office of the Courts. In that capacity, he provides legal guidance on a broad range of subjects to court officials across the state.
Trey is married to Teryn Melissa Smith Allen, another Robeson County native. Together they have five (awesome) children, all of whom they homeschool. Church activities, sports, and Scouting take up much of the family's free time.
Shareholder, Baker Do`nelson
John is a complex-problem solver and seasoned litigator who has successfully represented clients in a wide range of commercial litigation matters for almost 20 years. He frequently advocates for clients in cases involving contract and corporate ownership issues, real estate and eminent domain disputes, and claims of unfair competition or fraud. John regularly practices in federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout North Carolina, including the North Carolina Business Court. He has been admitted pro hac in a number of states in the South and the Midwest, and he handles binding arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association and other quasi-judicial bodies. In addition to his advocacy work, John serves as a trusted advisor for his clients, providing strategic, solution-oriented advice both before and after disputes arise.
John also maintains an active constitutional and political law practice. His clients have included multiple presidential, senatorial, and congressional campaigns; gubernatorial and other statewide candidates and campaigns; legislative, judicial, and local candidates; and national- and state-level political party committees. He has represented legislative officers in multiple states and defended state agencies' actions when challenged on constitutional or statutory grounds. John previously served as General Counsel for the North Carolina Republican Party and as both chairman and a member of the North Carolina State Board of Ethics and Election Enforcement.
John also counsels his clients on various employment and education law issues, including discrimination and wage and hour claims, as well as school choice and charter school issues.
After law school, John served as a law clerk for the Honorable Glen M. Williams, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Virginia. He has lived in Raleigh since completing his clerkship.
Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer B. Dickey is deputy chief counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dickey handles a variety of litigation matters for the Chamber.
Dickey joined the Chamber following her service as Acting Assistant Attorney General and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. She also previously served as Deputy Associate Attorney General, providing strategic oversight of the Civil Division, Civil Rights Division, and Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, as well as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President. In the latter capacity, she provided legal advice on a wide array of executive actions and rulemakings, civil litigation, and judicial nominations.
Dickey also practiced law at Kirkland & Ellis LLP before her government service. She was a commercial and appellate litigator, representing businesses in federal and state courts.
Earlier in her career, Dickey served as a law clerk for the Honorable Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Dickey earned her law degree magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law, where she was an Executive Editor of the Duke Law Journal, and her undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Dartmouth College.
Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
Matt is Co-Chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group and leads a national team that serves clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, every federal circuit court and the state appellate courts.
Widely recognized for his work as a litigator and strategist, Matt is often hired to handle appeals in cases that met with unfavorable results in the lower courts. He centers his practice on helping businesses navigate complex state and federal litigation and appeals, including bet-the-company and other high-stakes litigation.
Matt co-authored a comprehensive legal treatise, North Carolina Appellate Practice and Procedure, that discusses in depth the constitutional provisions, statutes, rules, cases and customs governing North Carolina appellate law. He is a Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice by the North Carolina State Bar. In 2022, Matt was one of only four lawyers ranked in Band 1 by Chambers & Partners for Appellate Litigation in North Carolina. He was also inducted into Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite “Hall of Fame” for appellate practice.
Matt’s clients range from large health systems and private equity firms to small businesses and individuals.
He regularly helps clients with:
Businesses facing litigation in North Carolina for the first time often look for a legal team with an established reputation and comprehensive knowledge of local customs and practices. Matt takes the time to listen to a client’s overall business and litigation goals, and then builds the right team to advance a strategic plan to meet those goals. Cases and appeals are won or lost on those careful, strategic decisions, in conjunction with excellent persuasive writing and oral advocacy.
Clients value Matt’s business sense and his ability to translate complex legal issues. In fact, Matt is often hired by lawyers in other firms to provide strategic guidance or to represent them in complex litigation where the firms themselves are parties.
Matt’s experience includes:
Matt regularly appears on behalf of clients in North Carolina's specialized Business Court and served on that court’s inaugural Rules Advisory Committee.
Matt previously served as Managing Partner of the Raleigh Office and on Fox Rothschild’s Executive Committee.
Matt is a founder and regular writer for the North Carolina Appellate Practice Blog, NCAPB.com, which provides news, information, tips and resources for practicing law in North Carolina's state and federal appellate courts.
Partner, Brooks Pierce
Craig Schauer is a trusted litigator who advises and advocates for clients. He has been fortunate to counsel clients through a wide variety of disputes and legal problems, ranging from business disagreements, to regulatory battles, to constitutional lawsuits.
Craig has represented businesses of all sizes—from small partnerships to Fortune 100 corporations—in state and federal courts, arbitration proceedings, and various regulatory agencies with disputes regarding contractual relationships, constitutional rights, class actions, unfair competition claims, government regulations, defamation, and other commercial issues. He has worked with clients in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, construction, professional sports, nonprofit, franchises, energy, financial services, public utilities, and local and state government.
Partner, McGuireWoods LLP
The Honorable Susan C. Rodriguez was sworn-in as a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the Western District of North Carolina on April 3, 2023. She was selected through a Merit Selection Panel, comprised of both attorneys throughout the district and community representatives. Judge Rodriguez was previously a partner at the law firm, McGuireWoods LLP, where she was the co-leader of the firm’s financial institutions industry team. Her private practice experience focused on government investigations and white-collar matters. She has represented clients in numerous government investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), among others. She was recognized for her outstanding work for clients through Chambers rankings in both 2022 and 2023 for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations in North Carolina and nationally for Fintech Legal: Corporate, Securities & Financing. Susan also was named to “North Carolina Rising Stars,” Government Relations, Super Lawyers, 2017-2019.
Before joining McGuireWoods in 2011, Susan served as a legal policy advisor at the Department of Homeland Security. Susan also served as federal law clerk for the Honorable Frank D. Whitney, U.S. District Court Judge for the Western District of North Carolina, handling both civil and criminal matters. Prior to that, she was a presidential appointee, serving as a staffer in the White House Counsel’s office from 2005-2006, handling management of judicial nominations and assisting with responses to congressional investigations.
Judge, United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; B.S., Business Administration, Kansas University (1981); J.D., Notre Dame Law School (1984). Editor-in-Chief, Notre Dame Law Review. Law clerk, Honorable George E. MacKinnon, U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Private practice of law for over 22 years with Am Law 100 firm, handling litigation and trials involving a variety of business and product liability matters, many in the capacity as national counsel in litigation pending in state and federal courts throughout the country.
Took oath of office as U.S. District Judge in 2008.
Member, American Law Institute. Senior Lecturing Fellow (periodically), Duke University Law School. Member, North Carolina Bar Association (former Vice President and co-chair of Bench/Bar Liaison Committee); Winston-Salem Downtown Rotary Club; Board of Directors, Chief Justice Joseph Branch American Inn of Court (President 2016-18); Board of Directors, Notre Dame Law Association (President 2021-23) .
Appointed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. to serve on the Federal Rules of Evidence Advisory Committee of the United States Judicial Conference (2017-2023); chaired subcommittee on amendments to Rule 702.
Member, Federal Judicial Center and National Academies of Sciences’ Committee on Emerging Areas of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for the Courts: Identifying Chapters for a Fourth Edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence – a Workshop (2020-21); Member, Committee on the Development of the Fourth Edition of the Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence (current).
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
Amul R. Thapar serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. His judicial career began in 2007 when President George W. Bush nominated him to serve on the Eastern District of Kentucky, making him the first South Asian Article III judge in American history. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee.
Before joining the bench, Judge Thapar served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. While United States Attorney, Judge Thapar worked on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (“AGAC”) and chaired the AGAC’s Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture subcommittee. He also served on the Terrorism and National Security subcommittee, the Violent Crime subcommittee, and the Child Exploitation working group.
Judge Thapar has worked in private practice, at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in both the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia.
Judge Thapar received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, Judge Thapar worked as a law clerk to the Honorable S. Arthur Spiegel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Judge Thapar has also published in the Yale Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, and Catholic University Law Review. He teaches courses on originalism, the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, and legal writing at Notre Dame Law School, the University of Virginia School of Law, and Vanderbilt Law School.
Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals
Richard Dietz has served as a judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals for eight years.
Judge Dietz comes from a mountain family of railroad and telephone workers. From an early age, his parents encouraged him to study hard and to get an education. He succeeded, becoming the first in his family to attend college. He went on to graduate first in his class from Wake Forest University School of Law and later earned a master’s degree from Duke University School of Law.
As a lawyer, Judge Dietz became one of the most accomplished appellate advocates in North Carolina. He has personally argued in the U.S. Supreme Court—something only a handful of lawyers in the State have ever done—and is a board-certified specialist in appellate practice. He handled cases in a wide range of constitutional areas including gun rights, religious liberty, and the free speech rights of students.
Before joining the Court of Appeals, Judge Dietz was a partner at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, a 650-lawyer international law firm with its roots in North Carolina. He also served as a law clerk for two highly regarded federal judges—Judge Emory Widener on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Judge Samuel Wilson on the U.S. District Court in Virginia—and served as a research fellow in international law at Kyushu University in Japan.
Judge Dietz joined the Court of Appeals in 2014 and is now the third-most senior judge on the 15-member court. He has distinguished himself on the Court by writing thoughtful opinions that are concise and easy for the public to read and understand.
Judge Dietz is happily married to Kelley Dietz, who is both the love of his life and his most trusted advisor. Kelley is a former Capitol Hill staffer and political appointee of President George W. Bush who now works in higher education.
I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Chair in Constitutional Studies and Senior Counsel at the John Locke Foundation., John Locke Foundation
Jeanette Doran is the I. Beverly Lake, Jr. Chair in Constitutional Studies and Senior Counsel at the John Locke Foundation.
Doran began her legal career as a federal law clerk in the Middle District of North Carolina after graduating with honors from Campbell Law School. She then served as the Research and Writing Attorney in the appeals section of the Federal Public Defender’s Office, appearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. In 2004, she joined the UNC–Chapel Hill School of Government, and a year later became staff attorney at NCICL, ultimately rising to executive director in 2011. Appointed in 2013 by the Governor to chair the Division of Employment Security’s Board of Review, she completed that public service in 2019.
Doran is also the president of the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law (NCICL), and she serves on the state’s Rules Review Commission. She is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit, multiple federal district courts, and all North Carolina courts. Doran holds a Juris Doctor from Campbell University.
Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Hon. Jennifer Mascott served as Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Separation of Powers Institute at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law before her appointment to the federal bench. On July 16, 2025, President Donald J. Trump nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Delaware), and she was confirmed on October 9, 2025.
Prior to her confirmation, Judge Mascott wrote extensively in administrative and constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and the separation of powers. Her scholarship—published in leading journals including the Stanford Law Review, Notre Dame Law Review, and Supreme Court Review—was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple federal courts. She also contributed Supreme Court commentary for NBC Universal.
Before joining Catholic Law, she was an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of The C. Boyden Gray Center at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. In 2022 she became co-author of Beermann, Cass & Diver’s Administrative Law: Cases and Materials (9th ed.). In 2023 she received the Justice Joseph Story Award for excellence in scholarship, teaching, and advancing the rule of law.
Judge Mascott also served as a Council Member of the ABA’s Administrative Law Section and as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. She frequently testified before Congress on executive power, regulatory reform, and judicial jurisdiction, and participated in multiple Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
From 2019 to 2021, she took leave from academia to serve as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel and later as Associate Deputy Attorney General, where she argued federal cases and assisted with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation. Earlier in her career, she clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and for then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit.
Judge Mascott earned her J.D. summa cum laude from the George Washington University Law School and her B.A. from the same institution.
Chief Administrative Law Judge
Donald van der Vaart is an American chemical engineer and lawyer who served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality from 2015 to 2017. Van der Vaart was the first DEQ secretary to rise through the ranks as a scientist.
Van der Vaart earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Cambridge University and a juris doctor from North Carolina Central University. In the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, he held the positions secretary, deputy secretary, North Carolina energy policy advisor, and air quality manager.
In 2021, Chief Justice Paul Newby of the North Carolina Supreme Court appointed van der Vaart as the new Chief Administrative Law Judge and Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH). As a licensed attorney and engineer, Dr. van der Vaart brings a wealth of administrative law and practical regulatory experience to OAH.
The False Doctrine of Inherent Sovereign Authority
Robert G. Natelson
This essay examines the hypothesis that the federal government and its departments and officials hold...
North Carolina Supreme Court Reverses Itself In Two Election Law Cases Decided Months Prior
Andrew Pardue, Andrew Watkins
In December 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued opinions in two cases—one striking down...
Panel Three: The Present and Future of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Raleigh, NCPanel Two: Navigating Turbulent Waters: North Carolina Conservatives in the Legal Community
Raleigh, NCLunch and Keynote Address
Raleigh, NCPanel One: The North Carolina Administrative State
Raleigh, NCOpening Remarks
Raleigh, NC2023 North Carolina Chapters Conference
North Carolina Lawyers Chapters
Raleigh, NCWill Congress Create a Statutory Framework for Digital Asset Regulation?
J. C. Boggs, Brian P. Brooks, Patrick Daugherty, Gary Kalbaugh, Patrick McHenry, Paul N. Watkins
Will the 118th Congress succeed in creating a statutory framework for effective regulation of cryptocurrencies? ...
Will Congress Create a Statutory Framework for Digital Asset Regulation?
J. C. Boggs, Brian P. Brooks, Patrick Daugherty, Gary Kalbaugh, Patrick McHenry, Paul N. Watkins
Will the 118th Congress succeed in creating a statutory framework for effective regulation of cryptocurrencies? ...