Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC
Jimmy Conde is partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, specializing in energy, environmental, and administrative law, with particular expertise in the Clean Air Act. He has protected clients against agency overreach in cutting-edge and complex legal proceedings, including challenges to EPA, DOE, DOT, and California rules seeking to compel electrification of motor vehicles, the FCC’s universal service fund, Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division rules, and HHS rules interfering with the practice of medicine and sound insurance practices. His written commentary has been published and referenced in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner, Concurrences (an antitrust publication), and Newsweek, among others.
Mr. Conde began his legal career as an associate with Boyden Gray PLLC. He clerked for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge David J. Porter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC
Jimmy Conde is partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, specializing in energy, environmental, and administrative law, with particular expertise in the Clean Air Act. He has protected clients against agency overreach in cutting-edge and complex legal proceedings, including challenges to EPA, DOE, DOT, and California rules seeking to compel electrification of motor vehicles, the FCC’s universal service fund, Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division rules, and HHS rules interfering with the practice of medicine and sound insurance practices. His written commentary has been published and referenced in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner, Concurrences (an antitrust publication), and Newsweek, among others.
Mr. Conde began his legal career as an associate with Boyden Gray PLLC. He clerked for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge David J. Porter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC
Jimmy Conde is partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, specializing in energy, environmental, and administrative law, with particular expertise in the Clean Air Act. He has protected clients against agency overreach in cutting-edge and complex legal proceedings, including challenges to EPA, DOE, DOT, and California rules seeking to compel electrification of motor vehicles, the FCC’s universal service fund, Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division rules, and HHS rules interfering with the practice of medicine and sound insurance practices. His written commentary has been published and referenced in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner, Concurrences (an antitrust publication), and Newsweek, among others.
Mr. Conde began his legal career as an associate with Boyden Gray PLLC. He clerked for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge David J. Porter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Allison Daniel is an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, focusing on cases in which she can help restore the separation of powers between the branches of government and prevent federal agencies from creating laws through regulatory action. Her commitment to liberty began with an interest in politics and philosophy in high school and college. She was particularly inspired by Ron Paul and the works of Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Ayn Rand.
She received her law degree from the Florida State University College of Law, where she served as president of the Federalist Society chapter. She worked as a law clerk for Pacific Legal Foundation in the Sacramento office during her 1L summer. After law school, she joined the Institute for Justice as a staff attorney in the Florida office, where she defended the economic liberty and property rights of clients. Family commitments then led her to Ohio, where she clerked at the Ohio Court of Appeals and served as legal counsel to all statewide elected officeholders at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
She resides in Southwest Ohio with her husband and their four young children.
Of Counsel, Holtzman Vogel
Erielle Azerrad is Of Counsel with Holtzman Vogel and focuses her practice on commercial litigation, appellate law, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Erielle clerked for the Honorable Steven J. Menashi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Erielle is also a co-founder of the Center for the Middle East and International Law through the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer B. Dickey is vice president and 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.
Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Elizabeth A. Kiernan is a senior associate in the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing clients in their most consequential, high-stakes, and time-sensitive matters. Elizabeth specializes in appellate advocacy and sophisticated briefing. She has successfully argued before the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court and has supported arguments in various courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and courts across the country.
Elizabeth’s most significant victories include obtaining and preserving at the Texas Supreme Court writs of mandamus directing dismissal of billions of dollars in personal injury and property damage claims across a 200-case, 20,000-plaintiff MDL; securing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory allowing an insurer responsible for millions of dollars in bankruptcy claims to be heard on objections to its insureds’ plan of reorganization; and persuading a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel to uphold dismissal of over $12 million in contractual and tort claims.
Chambers and Partners recently named Elizabeth an “Associate to Watch” for Litigation: Appellate (Texas), and she has been recognized as an Appellate “Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters’s Texas Super Lawyers magazine.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Elizabeth earned her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama and her J.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also served as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley for the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Sarah Welch is an associate in the Firm's Issues & Appeals Practice based in the Cleveland Office of Jones Day.
Ms. Welch's practice focuses on appellate advocacy and significant motions. Before joining Jones Day, she served as a law clerk to the Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
During law school, Ms. Welch participated in briefing cases before the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals through The University of Chicago Law School's Supreme Court and appellate clinic, as well as through internships with the Ohio and United States solicitors general. She volunteers on the case committee for Ohio's high school mock trial competition.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Morgan Ratner is an experienced appellate advocate and legal-issues specialist who handles the most important cases around the country. She has argued ten cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she has had remarkable success at both the certiorari and merits stages.
Morgan regularly briefs and argues appeals and dispositive motions; provides strategic guidance for trial and administrative proceedings; and counsels clients confronting high-stakes legal issues. She has had particular success helping clients navigate—and, when appropriate, challenge—federal regulations. In the last 18 months, she has twice been named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” (and her matters have been named three times more), including for prevailing in a landmark Delaware corporate-governance dispute and striking down the FCC’s net-neutrality rules. The American Lawyer named her the 2024 “Young Lawyer of the Year — Litigation”, and Law360 recently profiled her as one of “12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar.”
Morgan served for more than four years in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued securities regulation, bankruptcy, employment, and intellectual property cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. During her tenure, she also filed more than 150 Supreme Court briefs at the merits and certiorari stages and received a John Marshall Award, DOJ’s highest award offered to lawyers for exceptional service to the Office of the Solicitor General and DOJ.
After graduating Harvard Law School—where she was awarded the Fay Diploma as the top student in her class—Morgan clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, a volunteer with Street Law, Inc., and a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Allison Daniel is an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, focusing on cases in which she can help restore the separation of powers between the branches of government and prevent federal agencies from creating laws through regulatory action. Her commitment to liberty began with an interest in politics and philosophy in high school and college. She was particularly inspired by Ron Paul and the works of Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Ayn Rand.
She received her law degree from the Florida State University College of Law, where she served as president of the Federalist Society chapter. She worked as a law clerk for Pacific Legal Foundation in the Sacramento office during her 1L summer. After law school, she joined the Institute for Justice as a staff attorney in the Florida office, where she defended the economic liberty and property rights of clients. Family commitments then led her to Ohio, where she clerked at the Ohio Court of Appeals and served as legal counsel to all statewide elected officeholders at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
She resides in Southwest Ohio with her husband and their four young children.
Of Counsel, Holtzman Vogel
Erielle Azerrad is Of Counsel with Holtzman Vogel and focuses her practice on commercial litigation, appellate law, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Erielle clerked for the Honorable Steven J. Menashi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Erielle is also a co-founder of the Center for the Middle East and International Law through the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer B. Dickey is vice president and 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.
Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Elizabeth A. Kiernan is a senior associate in the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing clients in their most consequential, high-stakes, and time-sensitive matters. Elizabeth specializes in appellate advocacy and sophisticated briefing. She has successfully argued before the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court and has supported arguments in various courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and courts across the country.
Elizabeth’s most significant victories include obtaining and preserving at the Texas Supreme Court writs of mandamus directing dismissal of billions of dollars in personal injury and property damage claims across a 200-case, 20,000-plaintiff MDL; securing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory allowing an insurer responsible for millions of dollars in bankruptcy claims to be heard on objections to its insureds’ plan of reorganization; and persuading a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel to uphold dismissal of over $12 million in contractual and tort claims.
Chambers and Partners recently named Elizabeth an “Associate to Watch” for Litigation: Appellate (Texas), and she has been recognized as an Appellate “Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters’s Texas Super Lawyers magazine.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Elizabeth earned her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama and her J.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also served as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley for the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Sarah Welch is an associate in the Firm's Issues & Appeals Practice based in the Cleveland Office of Jones Day.
Ms. Welch's practice focuses on appellate advocacy and significant motions. Before joining Jones Day, she served as a law clerk to the Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
During law school, Ms. Welch participated in briefing cases before the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals through The University of Chicago Law School's Supreme Court and appellate clinic, as well as through internships with the Ohio and United States solicitors general. She volunteers on the case committee for Ohio's high school mock trial competition.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Morgan Ratner is an experienced appellate advocate and legal-issues specialist who handles the most important cases around the country. She has argued ten cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she has had remarkable success at both the certiorari and merits stages.
Morgan regularly briefs and argues appeals and dispositive motions; provides strategic guidance for trial and administrative proceedings; and counsels clients confronting high-stakes legal issues. She has had particular success helping clients navigate—and, when appropriate, challenge—federal regulations. In the last 18 months, she has twice been named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” (and her matters have been named three times more), including for prevailing in a landmark Delaware corporate-governance dispute and striking down the FCC’s net-neutrality rules. The American Lawyer named her the 2024 “Young Lawyer of the Year — Litigation”, and Law360 recently profiled her as one of “12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar.”
Morgan served for more than four years in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued securities regulation, bankruptcy, employment, and intellectual property cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. During her tenure, she also filed more than 150 Supreme Court briefs at the merits and certiorari stages and received a John Marshall Award, DOJ’s highest award offered to lawyers for exceptional service to the Office of the Solicitor General and DOJ.
After graduating Harvard Law School—where she was awarded the Fay Diploma as the top student in her class—Morgan clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, a volunteer with Street Law, Inc., and a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Professor of Law, Villanova University
Todd Aagaard joined the Villanova Law School faculty in 2008. He served as vice dean of the Law School from 2015 to 2019. His scholarship focuses on environmental law, energy law, and administrative law. His publications include Energy-Environment Policy Alignments, 90 Wash. L. Rev. 1517 (2015); Environmental Law Outside the Canon, 89 Ind. L.J. 1239 (2014); Environmental Harms, Use Conflicts, and Neutral Baselines in Environmental Law, 60 Duke L.J. 1505 (2011); Environmental Law as a Legal Field: An Inquiry in Legal Taxonomy, 95 Cornell L. Rev. 221 (2010); and Factual Premises of Statutory Interpretation in Agency Review Cases, 77 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. (2009). In addition, he is a co-author of Practicing Environmental Law, a practice-based environmental law casebook published in 2017 by Foundation Press.
Aagaard received his BA with honors from Pomona College, his MS from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and his JD magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School. While at Michigan, he was the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Law Review and an executive editor of the Michigan Journal of Race & Law. Following completion of his JD and MS degrees, he clerked for Second Circuit Judge Guido Calabresi, before joining the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice as an attorney in the Appellate Section. At the Justice Department, he briefed and argued civil and criminal cases in federal courts of appeals in the areas of environmental law, natural resources law, Indian law and administrative law.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Judge Hardiman was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on January 9, 2007 and was confirmed by the Senate (95-0) on March 15, 2007. Prior to becoming an appellate judge, Judge Hardiman served as a trial judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania as of November 1, 2003. In 2008, Chief Justice John Roberts appointed Judge Hardiman to the Information Technology Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. Judge Hardiman was appointed Chairman of the IT Committee in 2013 and served in that capacity until September 2021. In 2021 he was appointed by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to serve as Chair of the Judiciary IT Security Task Force, which completed its work in fall 2023. Chief Justice Roberts appointed Judge Hardiman to the Board of the Federal Judicial Center to serve from March 2020 until March 2024. As part of his work with the Center, Judge Hardiman now serves as Editor in Chief for the Manual for Complex Civil Litigation, Fifth.
Before entering judicial service, Judge Hardiman handled a wide variety of litigation matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts as a partner at Reed Smith LLP (1999-2003), a partner at Titus & McConomy LLP (1996-1999), and as an associate with its predecessor firm, Cindrich & Titus (1992-1996). Judge Hardiman began his legal career as an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (1990-1992).
A 1987 honors graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Judge Hardiman received his law degree in 1990 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as a Notes and Comments Editor on the Georgetown Law Journal. In 2012, Judge Hardiman was elected as a member of the American Law Institute and was elected to its Council in 2019 and its Executive Committee in 2025. Judge Hardiman regularly teaches a seminar on Advanced Constitutional Law at Duquesne University School of Law and a one-week course entitled “Constitutional Law: the First and Second Amendments” at Georgetown University Law Center.
A native of Waltham, Massachusetts, Judge Hardiman has chambers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Lori married in 1992 and have three children.
Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Lindsay S. See joined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as a Commissioner in June 2024. Before her current role, Commissioner See served as the Solicitor General of West Virginia, where she managed appellate and high-stakes litigation for the State. With a particular focus on energy and administrative law, her work included leading multi-state and multi-interest coalitions on a variety of national issues. She argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court, filed multi-state comments in dozens of agency rulemakings, and routinely appeared before the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and the federal courts of appeals.
Commissioner See previously practiced appellate and administrative law for several years with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and clerked for the Hon. Thomas B. Griffith on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Originally from Michigan, See now considers herself both a proud Michigander and Mountaineer.
Holland & Hart, Partner
On February 28, 2019, the U.S. Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler as the fifteenth Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. President Donald J. Trump had announced his appointment as the Acting EPA Administrator on July 5, 2018. Mr. Wheeler had previously been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the EPA Deputy Administrator on April 12, 2018.
Mr. Wheeler has dedicated his career to advancing sound environmental policies. He began his career during the George H. W. Bush Administration as a Special Assistant in EPA’s Pollution Prevention and Toxics office.
He was a Principal and the team leader of the Energy and Environment Practice Group at FaegreBD Consulting, as well as Counsel at Faegre Baker Daniels law firm, where he practiced since 2009. He also served as the Co-chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Industry team across the entire firm.
Prior to his work with the firm, Mr. Wheeler served for six years as the Majority Staff Director and Chief Counsel, as well as the Minority Staff Director, of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Before his time at the full Senate EPW Committee, Mr. Wheeler served in a similar capacity for six years for the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, Wetlands and Nuclear Safety.
Mr. Wheeler is the past Chairman of the National Energy Resource Organization (NERO) and a Stennis Fellow. Mr. Wheeler is also an Eagle Scout.
Mr. Wheeler is from Fairfield, Ohio. He completed his law degree at Washington University in St. Louis, his MBA at George Mason University, and his undergraduate work at Case Western Reserve University in English and Biology.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Former Acting Assistant Attorney General, United States Department of Justice; Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
Jonathan “Jon” Brightbill is a trial and appellate lawyer in Winston’s Washington, D.C. office, and a partner in the firm’s Litigation and White Collar, Regulatory Defense, and Investigations Practices. He represents public and private companies, corporate officers, and other individuals across white collar, regulatory defense, and government and internal investigation matters and rulemaking challenges, as well as complex commercial disputes, citizen suits, and class actions. His commercial litigation experience encompasses business disputes, false advertising, consumer protection and fraud, FCA, and extensive class action defense work; antitrust and unfair competition matters; and intellectual property litigation, such as trademarks, patents, and trade secrets.
Jon served as the Nation’s lead environmental civil and criminal enforcement official and litigator, as Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment & Natural Resources Division (“ENRD”) of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Jon led ENRD’s 425 lawyers, overseeing 6,500 active matters and managing an annual budget of more than $150 million. Jon brings highly experienced executive leadership from among the most senior level of DOJ on white collar and regulatory enforcement, as well as on federal policymaking and rulemaking development and challenges. He speaks with authority on government decision-making processes, and the arguments and perspectives that move regulators and enforcers, best advising and positioning clients to deal with challenges.
Jon argued many of the government’s most significant cases during his time with the DOJ. This included the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and Clean Water Rule Repeal (10th Cir., district courts), the Affordable Clean Energy Rule and Clean Power Plan Repeal (D.C. Cir), defense of EPA actions on pesticide tolerances under FIFRA and the FDCA (9th Cir. en banc), among numerous others. Jon represented the United States in trial courts in both enforcement and defensive cases, including federal enforcement action against Jeffrey Lowe and the Tiger King Park, of Netflix fame, securing a first-of-its-kind injunction for violations of the Endangered Species Act and Animal Welfare Act. Jon directed the litigation and briefing of scores of additional federal cases nationwide, covering all of the major environmental and natural resources statutes, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, FIFRA (pesticides), FDCA (food safety), TSCA (toxics), CERCLA (land remediation), RCRA (waste), National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and numerous other land- and resource-management statutes.
Jon has unmatched experience litigating legal and technical issues relating to climate change. He argued in the courts of appeals, including the D.C. Circuit, regarding the most significant climate change regulations by EPA, as well as the preemptive scope of the Clean Air Act. Jon also litigated climate change-related credit and trading schemes and international agreements in district court. During Jon’s time in leadership at ENRD, it successfully defeated one of the most wide-ranging lawsuits regarding climate change to date—obtaining a stay pending interlocutory appeal and dismissal just weeks before a scheduled three-month trial on federal government liability for climate change.
An accomplished trial lawyer, prior to working at DOJ, Jon was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of another global law firm. He not only represents clients in court, but creatively counsels corporations on balancing business needs and realities with a broad range of litigation risks and compliance obligations. Jon is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center. He served on the American Bar Association’s E-Discovery Working Group for Bankruptcy Practice, and was a frequent lecturer for District of Columbia Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Programs.
Jon served as an appellate clerk for the Honorable D. Brooks Smith, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, after graduating magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center. He worked in state government as an Executive Policy Specialist for air, waste, land remediation, and radiation matters at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Vice President, Government Relations, PBF Energy
Partner, Boyden Gray PLLC
Jimmy Conde is partner at Boyden Gray PLLC, specializing in energy, environmental, and administrative law, with particular expertise in the Clean Air Act. He has protected clients against agency overreach in cutting-edge and complex legal proceedings, including challenges to EPA, DOE, DOT, and California rules seeking to compel electrification of motor vehicles, the FCC’s universal service fund, Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division rules, and HHS rules interfering with the practice of medicine and sound insurance practices. His written commentary has been published and referenced in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Examiner, Concurrences (an antitrust publication), and Newsweek, among others.
Mr. Conde began his legal career as an associate with Boyden Gray PLLC. He clerked for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and Judge David J. Porter in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Deputy General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Of Counsel, Holtzman Vogel
Erielle Azerrad is Of Counsel with Holtzman Vogel and focuses her practice on commercial litigation, appellate law, and constitutional law matters.
Prior to joining the firm, Erielle clerked for the Honorable Steven J. Menashi on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Erielle is also a co-founder of the Center for the Middle East and International Law through the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.
Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Allison Daniel is an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, focusing on cases in which she can help restore the separation of powers between the branches of government and prevent federal agencies from creating laws through regulatory action. Her commitment to liberty began with an interest in politics and philosophy in high school and college. She was particularly inspired by Ron Paul and the works of Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and Ayn Rand.
She received her law degree from the Florida State University College of Law, where she served as president of the Federalist Society chapter. She worked as a law clerk for Pacific Legal Foundation in the Sacramento office during her 1L summer. After law school, she joined the Institute for Justice as a staff attorney in the Florida office, where she defended the economic liberty and property rights of clients. Family commitments then led her to Ohio, where she clerked at the Ohio Court of Appeals and served as legal counsel to all statewide elected officeholders at the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
She resides in Southwest Ohio with her husband and their four young children.
Vice President and Deputy Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Jennifer B. Dickey is vice president and 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.
Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Elizabeth A. Kiernan is a senior associate in the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing clients in their most consequential, high-stakes, and time-sensitive matters. Elizabeth specializes in appellate advocacy and sophisticated briefing. She has successfully argued before the Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court and has supported arguments in various courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court and courts across the country.
Elizabeth’s most significant victories include obtaining and preserving at the Texas Supreme Court writs of mandamus directing dismissal of billions of dollars in personal injury and property damage claims across a 200-case, 20,000-plaintiff MDL; securing a landmark U.S. Supreme Court victory allowing an insurer responsible for millions of dollars in bankruptcy claims to be heard on objections to its insureds’ plan of reorganization; and persuading a unanimous Fifth Circuit panel to uphold dismissal of over $12 million in contractual and tort claims.
Chambers and Partners recently named Elizabeth an “Associate to Watch” for Litigation: Appellate (Texas), and she has been recognized as an Appellate “Rising Star” by Thomson Reuters’s Texas Super Lawyers magazine.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Elizabeth earned her B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Alabama and her J.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She also served as Special Counsel to U.S. Senator Josh Hawley for the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Morgan Ratner is an experienced appellate advocate and legal-issues specialist who handles the most important cases around the country. She has argued ten cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, where she has had remarkable success at both the certiorari and merits stages.
Morgan regularly briefs and argues appeals and dispositive motions; provides strategic guidance for trial and administrative proceedings; and counsels clients confronting high-stakes legal issues. She has had particular success helping clients navigate—and, when appropriate, challenge—federal regulations. In the last 18 months, she has twice been named The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” (and her matters have been named three times more), including for prevailing in a landmark Delaware corporate-governance dispute and striking down the FCC’s net-neutrality rules. The American Lawyer named her the 2024 “Young Lawyer of the Year — Litigation”, and Law360 recently profiled her as one of “12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar.”
Morgan served for more than four years in the Office of the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she argued securities regulation, bankruptcy, employment, and intellectual property cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. During her tenure, she also filed more than 150 Supreme Court briefs at the merits and certiorari stages and received a John Marshall Award, DOJ’s highest award offered to lawyers for exceptional service to the Office of the Solicitor General and DOJ.
After graduating Harvard Law School—where she was awarded the Fay Diploma as the top student in her class—Morgan clerked for Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court and then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She is a member of the Edward Coke Appellate Inn of Court, a volunteer with Street Law, Inc., and a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Sarah Welch is an associate in the Firm's Issues & Appeals Practice based in the Cleveland Office of Jones Day.
Ms. Welch's practice focuses on appellate advocacy and significant motions. Before joining Jones Day, she served as a law clerk to the Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh of the Supreme Court of the United States, the Honorable William H. Pryor Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the Honorable Jeffrey S. Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
During law school, Ms. Welch participated in briefing cases before the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals through The University of Chicago Law School's Supreme Court and appellate clinic, as well as through internships with the Ohio and United States solicitors general. She volunteers on the case committee for Ohio's high school mock trial competition.
Courthouse Steps Decision: EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, LLC and Oklahoma v. EPA
James Conde, Garrett Kral
On June 18, 2025, the Supreme Court released its decisions for two circuit splits arising...
Topics
Does the EPA Have a Hometown Advantage in the DC Circuit?: Oral Arguments in EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining and Oklahoma v. EPA
That is a simplified, or perhaps subtextual, version of the questions presented in three closely...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Oklahoma v. EPA and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, LLC
James Conde, Garrett Kral
On March 25th, 2025, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument to resolve two circuit...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Oklahoma v. EPA and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, LLC
James Conde, Garrett Kral
On March 25th, 2025, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument to resolve two circuit...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Oklahoma v. EPA and EPA v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, LLC
Venue Selection for Judicial Review of EPA’s Clean Air Act Final Actions: When does EPA get to pick its court?
A Seat at the Sitting - March 2025
Allison Daniel, Erielle Azerrad, Jennifer B. Dickey, Elizabeth Kiernan, Sarah Welch, Morgan Ratner
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...
A Seat at the Sitting - March 2025
Allison Daniel, Erielle Azerrad, Jennifer B. Dickey, Elizabeth Kiernan, Sarah Welch, Morgan Ratner
Each month, a panel of constitutional experts convenes to discuss the Court’s upcoming docket sitting...
A Seat at the Sitting - March 2025
The March Docket in 90 Minutes or Less
Environmental Law & Property Rights: Environmental Law in a Post-Chevron World— How Should Congress, Agencies, and States Respond?
Todd Aagaard, Thomas M. Hardiman, Lindsay See, Andrew Wheeler
This year, in a pair of decisions known as Loper Bright, the Supreme Court overruled...
Analyzing the EPA’s Proposed Renewable Fuel Standard Rule
Daren Bakst, Jonathan Brightbill, Brendan Williams
On December 30, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an updated rule on the...