Managing Partner, Bigley Ranish, LLP
Sean M. Bigley is a national security attorney and managing partner of Bigley Ranish, LLP. Mr. Bigley’s practice primarily encompasses defending federal employees and contractors in security clearance denial cases. He also provides personnel security consulting to major international defense and aerospace corporations, and prosecutes intelligence community whistle-blower retaliation cases.
Since first opening his firm in 2013, Mr. Bigley has grown it from a solo practice to a five-attorney partnership with employees in three states. Bigley Ranish, LLP attorneys regularly appear before administrative tribunals at agencies ranging from the CIA to the Department of State, representing in excess of 200 American intelligence officers, diplomats, armed forces personnel, and other security clearance holders each year around the world. In 2016 alone, Mr. Bigley and his colleagues represented clients in roughly forty states and a dozen countries.
The idea for this unique practice was borne out of Mr. Bigley’s prior service as a federal background investigator. Prior to and during law school, Mr. Bigley was an investigator for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, where he conducted some of that agency’s most sensitive security investigations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Mr. Bigley has also served on the faculty of Chapman University, teaching national security and criminal justice courses with an emphasis in U.S.-European security cooperation. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bigley worked for several years in the White House and Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush.
A recognized expert in national security law, Mr. Bigley’s commentary on the topic is frequently sought by major media outlets such as Fox News, The New York Times, and CNN. He is a contributing writer for Clearancejobs.com and GovExec.com.
Mr. Bigley earned his Juris Doctorate from Chapman University School of Law. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Washington D.C.’s American University and a Master’s Degree from Boston University.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLP
Jeremy Rosen is nationally renowned for his proficiency in numerous issues arising under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP law. Using that knowledge, Jeremy has helped a wide variety of clients – including churches, private businesses, and individuals – defeat lawsuits that seek to impose liability on clients for exercising their rights of petition, free speech, and free exercise of religion. He has also handled hundreds of appeals in numerous appellate courts, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and California’s intermediate appellate courts. In addition to First Amendment and anti-SLAPP cases, his cases have involved numerous important issues regarding anti-trust, class actions, wage and hour law, employment law, breach of contract, California’s Unfair Competition Law, CEQA, the enforceability of arbitration clauses, hospital peer review, the scope of public employee whistleblower protection, and the application of the primary assumption of risk doctrine.
Jeremy is a partner at the firm, which he joined in 2001. He is a California State Bar Certified Appellate Specialist and a member of the California Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Jeremy directed the Pepperdine University School of Law Ninth Circuit Appellate Advocacy Clinic for 6 years. The Clinic represents individuals in the Ninth Circuit who are identified by the court as needing pro bono counsel. Jeremy also previously served a three-year term where he was appointed by the Ninth Circuit to serve as one of 18 appellate lawyer representatives to the court.
Jeremy is a member of the National Chamber Litigation Center’s California Litigation Advisory Committee. Before joining the firm, Jeremy was a Litigation Associate with Munger, Tolles & Olson.
Partner, Horvitz & Levy LLC
Felix Shafir is a partner at the firm. He has argued appeals in the California Supreme Court and the California Courts of Appeal, and has been lead and amicus counsel in numerous proceedings in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Shafir focuses his practice on two areas at the cutting edge of California law: (1) the law of protected speech, including the First Amendment, defamation, California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and the litigation privilege; and (2) the defense of class and representative actions, often through resisting class certification efforts or the enforcement of arbitration agreements. He has also developed unique expertise in handling appeals involving employment disputes and employer liability, commercial litigation, intellectual property, environmental litigation, unfair competition lawsuits, and federal and state securities issues.
Mr. Shafir often works with clients and trial counsel before an appeal begins, advising them to preserve issues and present evidence in the best posture for appeal. He also prepares amicus briefs seeking to move or clarify the law in ways favorable to his clients and their members.
Mr. Shafir has represented many significant companies and organizations, including American Medical Response, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Omega S.A., See’s Candy Shops, Shell Oil Company, and the Southern California Gas Company.
Mr. Shafir is a past member of the California State Bar Committee on Appellate Courts and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s State Appellate Judicial Evaluation Committee.
In 2013, 2014, and 2016, the Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal honored Mr. Shafir by naming him to its list of California’s “Top Labor and Employment Lawyers.” He was also named a Rising Star by California Super Lawyers from 2007 to 2014.
Before joining the firm, Mr. Shafir held judicial clerkships with the Honorable Thomas J. Meskill, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, and the Honorable Whitman Knapp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Mr. Shafir previously practiced at Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP and Littler Mendelson, P.C., where he focused on all aspects of labor and employment defense and counseling.
Northwestern University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1999
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., cum laude, 1996
Chair, Global Antitrust Law Practice Group, Morrison Foerster
Alex Okuliar is Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group. He is the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Antitrust Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice and a former advisor at the Federal Trade Commission.
Alex’s practice spans merger review, civil litigation, and criminal investigations. Over his twenty-five-year career, Alex has worked on nearly one thousand deals. He has deep experience guiding clients through the complex global merger clearance process and has litigated agency merger challenges through trial. He has also helped clients succeed in a wide range of federal and state cases, including class actions and private party disputes alleging price fixing, monopolization, group boycotts, market allocation, and tying. His understanding of the agency processes from the inside allows him to offer expert, timely, and practical advice to clients navigating merger and conduct investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, state Attorneys General, and foreign agencies. Alex’s work has been recognized by leading industry publications such as Chambers, The Legal 500 U.S., and Global Competition Review.
Outside of client work, Alex is a prolific thought leader and was recognized as a 2024 Top Author for Antitrust & Trade Regulation by JD Supra’s Readers’ Choice Awards. He currently serves as the co-chair of the ABA Antitrust Law Section’s Joint Conduct Committee and is the former chair of the Section’s Intellectual Property Committee and co-chair of the 2023 Antitrust Fall Forum on Artificial Intelligence. He is also a member of the Corporations, Securities & Antitrust Executive Committee of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
Before law school, Alex co-founded and sold an online technology company. Alex received his B.S. in economics and B.A. with distinction in history from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.
Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law, Ave Maria School of Law and, National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation
John Raudabaugh is a labor lawyer and former Member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. He was a partner in law firms representing management concerning domestic and international labor law matters. Currently, he represents employees seeking relief from union and/or employer unfair labor practices. Mr. Raudabaugh has presented testimony to both Senate and House Committees regarding labor law reform. Professor Raudabaugh teaches Labor Law and a Labor Law Practicum at the Ave Maria School of Law. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce and New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations with B.S. and M.S. degrees in labor economics and a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School of Law.
Senior Vice President, Law and Policy, US Telecomm
Communications industry veteran Jonathan Banks joined USTelecom in March 2007, and directs the association’s policy development and advocacy work before the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the courts. Banks comes to USTelecom from BellSouth where he played several leadership roles in the company’s federal advocacy, and his experience at one of the leading communications companies in the industry makes him an invaluable asset to the association.
Banks joined BellSouth in 1995 and most recently served as vice president – executive and regulatory affairs with responsibility for federal public policy advocacy. He also provided legal expertise as general counsel in BellSouth’s Washington office.
Previously, Banks held positions at the FTC, managing a staff litigating competition cases; Armstrong World Industries, where he was responsible for antitrust compliance and litigation at a Fortune 500 company; and the Association of American Railroads, overseeing regulation and state taxation issues.
Of Counsel, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP
Mr. Halley joined the firm in 2014. For over four and a half years, Mr. Halley served at the Federal Communications Commission, most recently as Associate Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, with a particular focus on universal service program reform, consumer and competition policy impacted by the ongoing transition to all IP networks, and overall strategic planning. In this capacity, Mr. Halley also served as legal advisor to Chairman Wheeler on the topics of E-rate modernization and inmate calling services reform. Prior to this, he was Acting Director of the Commission’s Office of Legislative Affairs and legal advisor to the Wireline Bureau Chief. Before joining the FCC, Mr. Halley spent over 5 years as the Director of Government Affairs for NENA – The 911 Association where he served as the association’s liaison with Congress, the FCC and other government agencies and organizations on key issues affecting 911 and emergency communications. Prior to this, Mr. Halley served as the Deployment Director for COMCARE, a non-profit emergency response alliance. Additionally, from August 2002 to August 2004 he took time away from Washington to pursue a career in music recording an album and touring the country as the rhythm guitar player for Lava/Atlantic records recording artist Tony C and the Truth, playing with acts such as Sugar Ray, Living Colour, Blues Traveler and others.
Vice President, Associate General Counsel, NCTA- The Internet & Television Association
Steve Morris is Vice President and Associate General Counsel of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA). In that role, he represents the cable industry on matters related to the regulation of telecommunications and broadband services. Mr. Morris joined NCTA in 2006.
Prior to joining NCTA, Mr. Morris was the Deputy Chief of the Pricing Policy Division in the Wireline Competition Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission. During his tenure at the FCC, Mr. Morris was responsible for proceedings related to the Commission’s rules on intercarrier compensation and the pricing of unbundled network elements, as well as other matters within the Pricing Policy Division.
Before joining the Commission in 2001, Mr. Morris was the Director-Regulatory Affairs for Global Metro Networks, Inc., a wholesale provider of fiber optic network facilities. Prior to that, Mr. Morris was an attorney specializing in telecommunications and cable regulatory matters at Hogan & Hartson LLP and Dow, Lohnes & Albertson.
Mr. Morris received a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law.
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, INCOMPAS
Karen Reidy joined INCOMPAS in 2006 as vice president of Regulatory Affairs, where she represents the association on issues such as business data services, technology transitions and network build issues. She also represents INCOMPAS on the North American Numbering Council (NANC). In 2013, Fierce Telecom named Ms. Reidy one of the “Women in Wireline" for her leadership in shaping telecom services, innovation and policy. Prior to joining INCOMPAS, she spent nine years as an attorney in MCI Communications' Federal Law and Public Policy department, representing the company before the FCC and the Department of Justice, on a wide range of telecommunication issues. Earlier in her career, Ms. Reidy was corporate counsel and assistant project manager at a consulting firm, working mostly on a project that dealt with regulations associated with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. She earned a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
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