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Rule of law

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Rule of law

Feb 21 2025

Friday 11:00 a.m. CDT

Panel II: The Rule of Law and the Role of Rhetoric

2025 Missouri Chapters Conference

Jefferson City, MO

Speakers:

Duane Benton • Stephen R. Clark • Ginger K. Gooch • Ray Gruender • Raymond W. Gruender • Barbara Smith Tyson

Sponsors:

Missouri - Columbia Student Chapter • Missouri - Kansas City Student Chapter • Missouri - Columbia Alumni Group • Missouri - Kansas City Alumni Group

In-Person Event

Jan 29 2025

Topics

Administrative Law & Regulation •
Free Speech

Blog Post

On Day One, President Trump Took Meaningful Steps to Rein In Administrative Abuse, Protect Due Process, and Improve Government Transparency

Michael D. Pepson,
Casey Mattox

As soon as he took office, President Trump issued several Executive Orders aimed at bringing...

Dec 26 2024

Topics

Federalist Society

Blog Post

2024 in Review: A Year of Championing the Rule of Law

As we look back on 2024, we are proud to share a selection of our...

Nov 6 2024

Wednesday 12:00 p.m. EDT

Habeas Corpus and the Rule of Law at the Sixth Circuit

Case Western Student Chapter

Cleveland, OH

Speakers:

J. Philip Calabrese

Topics:

Constitution • Criminal Law & Procedure • Due Process • Federal Courts • Litigation

Sponsors:

Case Western Student Chapter

In-Person Event

Sep 17 2024

Tuesday 5:30 p.m. PDT

Lawyer Shaming: Legal Ethics, the Rule of Law, and Equal Access to Justice

Portland Lawyers Chapter

Portland, OR

Speakers:

Jonathan D. Urick

Sponsors:

Portland Lawyer Chapter

In-Person Event

Jun 18 2024

Tuesday 12:00 p.m. CDT

Securing the Border and the Rule of Law

San Antonio Lawyers Chapter

San Antonio, TX

Speakers:

James P. Sullivan

Sponsors:

San Antonio Lawyer Chapter

In-Person Event

Jun 6 2024

Thursday 5:30 p.m. EDT

The Importance of an Oath: the Obligations & Roles of Attorneys General and Solicitors General in Defending the Rule of Law

Maine Lawyers Chapter

Portland, ME

Speakers:

S. Chad Meredith

Sponsors:

Maine Lawyer Chapter

In-Person Event

Apr 8 2024

Monday 12:15 p.m. CDT

The Rule of Law

Washburn Student Chapter

Topeka , KS

Speakers:

Craig Stern

Topics:

Religious Liberties • Religious Liberties • Culture • First Amendment

Sponsors:

Washburn Student Chapter

In-Person Event

Mar 26 2024

Tuesday 12:00 p.m. CDT

Bravery the Rule of Law

St. Louis Student Chapter

St. Louis, MO

Topics:

Philosophy • Culture

Sponsors:

St. Louis Student Chapter

In-Person Event

Feb 7 2024

Wednesday 11:50 a.m. CDT

January 6th, the Rule of Law, and the State of the Legal Profession: A Conversation with Greg Jacob

SMU Student Chapter

Dallas, TX

Speakers:

Gregory Frederick Jacob

Topics:

Culture • Politics • Professional Responsibility & Legal Education

Sponsors:

SMU Student Chapter

In-Person Event

1776 I Street, NW Suite 300
Washington, DC 20006

Phone(202) 822-8138
Fax(202) 296-8061
Emailinfo@fedsoc.org

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Speaker Information

Duane Benton

Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Biography

Judge William Duane Benton is a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. He joined the court in 2004 after being nominated by former President George W. Bush. Prior to his appointment, Judge Benton served as the chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. During his service on the court he received his masters of laws from the University of Virginia, completed the senior executives program at Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government, and completed a post-graduate appellate judges course at New York University’s Institute of Judicial Administration.

Prior to serving on the Supreme Court of Missouri, Judge Benton was appointed by then-Governor John Ashcroft as director of the state’s department of revenue. Judge Benton also worked as a judge advocate general for the United States Navy, during which time he received his master’s degree in business administration and accountancy from the University of Memphis.

Judge Benton earned his law degree from Yale Law School and was the managing editor of the Yale Law Journal.

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Speaker Information

Stephen R. Clark

Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri

Biography

Stephen R. Clark the chief United States district judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was appointed to the bench by President Trump in 2018 and became the chief judge in 2022. Prior to serving on the court, Judge Clark was the founder and managing partner of the Runnymede Law Group in St. Louis, Missouri, from 2008 to 2019. He also served as the president of the Federalist Society’s St. Louis Lawyers Chapter.

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Speaker Information

Ginger K. Gooch

Judge, Supreme Court of Missouri

Biography

Hon. Ginger K. Gooch was appointed to the Supreme Court of Missouri in October 2023. She previously served on the Missouri Court of Appeals – Southern District, clerked for Hon. Ann K. Covington in the Supreme Court of Missouri, and was in private practice.

Gooch earned her bachelor’s degree from Stephens College in 1997 and her J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law in 2000.

She is a member of The Missouri Bar, the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association, the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Foundation, and Southern Missouri Women Lawyers.

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Speaker Information

Ray Gruender

Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

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Speaker Information

Raymond W. Gruender

U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

Biography

The Honorable Raymond W. Gruender was nominated by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on September 29, 2003, and confirmed by the Senate on May 20, 2004. He was sworn in on June 28, 2004. Between 2012 and 2014, he served on the Judicial Conference Committee on Criminal Law.

From May 2001 until May 2004, Judge Gruender served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri where he oversaw an office of sixty Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) actively engaged in both civil and criminal matters. Between 2001 and 2002, he served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. Prior to serving as the United States Attorney, Judge Gruender served as an AUSA between 1990 and 1994 and again between 2000 and 2001. As an AUSA, he specialized in prosecuting white-collar and public corruption matters.

In addition to his experience as a federal prosecutor, Judge Gruender spent nine years in private practice. Between 1987 and 1990, he was an associate with Lewis, Rice and Fingersh. Between 1994 and 2000, he was a partner with Thompson Coburn, LLP. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad array of civil matters such as admiralty, antitrust, contracts, employment, securities, fraud, banking and various tort claims. His practice also included representing those accused of or under investigation for crimes, as well as victims and witnesses of crimes. Although his practice primarily was in federal courts, he also was active in state courts. He is a member of the Missouri and Illinois bars, and and the Federalist Society.

Judge Gruender graduated from St. Louis University High School in 1981. By 1987, he had obtained Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Master of Business Administration and Juris Doctorate degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. He served on the Washington University Law Quarterly and was a member of the Order of the Coif. In December 2003, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri.

Judge Gruender also has been active in civic affairs. He served on the Board of Directors, including as board president, of A.L.I.V.E. (Alternatives to Living in Violent Environments), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to eliminating domestic violence and serving its victims. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Variety Club, having received its 2003 “Have a Heart, Lend a Hand” volunteer award. He also has served as a director of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis.

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Speaker Information

Barbara Smith Tyson

Partner and Co-Chair, Appellate and Supreme Court Group, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner

Biography

Barbara is a co-chair of the Appellate and Supreme Court Group at BCLP. She is an experienced trial and appellate litigator who counsels clients through their most sensitive and challenging litigation issues, and she routinely handles politically sensitive matters and aggressively advocates for early and complete victory. Her diverse client base—she has represented politicians, fortune 500 companies, foreign sovereigns, and boards of directors—share one thing in common: They need a strong advocate, and they want to win.

Barbara practices—and wins—at all levels of the federal and state courts. Before the United States Supreme Court, Barbara has represented clients filing petitions for certiorari, opposing certiorari, and she has filed merits briefs. She has also represented amici at the certiorari and merits stages.

At the trial court level, she routinely briefs and argues complex dispositive motions in anticipation of defending those victories on appeal. She also has first chair trial experience. On complex trial teams, she has acted as appellate preservation counsel. An experienced appellate advocate, Barbara has notched victories in state and federal appellate courts, including at the United States Supreme Court.

Because some of her clients prefer confidential ADR to public civil litigation, Barbara also has alternative dispute resolution experience, including winning a major arbitration victory for a petitioner-client and successfully mediating a case that (before her involvement) had previously been pending in the court system for more than a decade.

As an example of Barbara’s value-add, she recently crafted a novel standing argument that she briefed and won on a motion to dismiss a putative class action challenging a $198 million transaction in federal court. By winning on a motion to dismiss, she saved her client the time and cost of discovery. Barbara then successfully defended the victory on appeal—after briefing, the petitioner agreed to voluntarily dismiss the appeal and the case ended.

Among other issues, she has litigated questions of constitutional law, statutory construction, administrative law, securities law, labor and employment, white collar crime, ERISA, bankruptcy, and sovereign debt.

Before joining BCLP, Barbara served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the United States Supreme Court and Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. She also previously practiced at a Supreme Court litigation boutique, where she represented clients before the United States Supreme Court and various federal courts of appeal.

In her free time, Barbara teaches a class on the United States Supreme Court as an adjunct law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves on the Steering Committee for the St. Louis Chapter of the Federalist Society.

Barbara earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Journal of Law, Business, and Finance, the President of the Federalist Society, and a member of the law school’s student government. While in law school, Barbara was a moot court semi-finalist and a teaching assistant at Stanford Law School and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Prior to attending law school, Barbara spent two years in the White House Counsel’s Office working for President George W. Bush. She graduated magna cum laude and with honors, from Wake Forest University, with a B.A. in economics and political science.

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Speaker Information

J. Philip Calabrese

Judge, United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio

Biography

Judge J. Philip Calabrese was confirmed to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in December 2020. Previously, he served on the State trial court in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. Before taking the bench, he had a complex litigation practice for nearly two decades and was a partner at what is now Squire Patton Boggs and at Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur, LLP, where he co-chaired the firm’s class action practice. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Judge Calabrese began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, where he teaches an advanced course on expert evidence and at the University of Akron School of Law where he teaches the First Amendment’s Speech Clause.

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Speaker Information

Jonathan D. Urick

Senior Associate Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Litigation Center

Biography

Jonathan Urick is senior associate chief counsel at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center, the litigation arm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Urick handles a variety of litigation matters for the Chamber.

Urick rejoined the Chamber after helping launch the national litigation boutique Lehotsky Keller LLP, where he represented large corporations and trade associations as one of the firm’s early partners. He previously served as senior counsel for the Chamber Litigation Center, primarily covering arbitration and class-action issues.

Before his first stint at the Chamber, Urick practiced law at McGuireWoods LLP on the firm’s appeals and issues team. With a diverse commercial-litigation practice focused on appeals and dispositive motions, Urick represented a variety of businesses across federal and state courts.

Urick served as a law clerk at all three levels of the federal judiciary: For Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and Judge Amul Thapar, then a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Urick graduated Order of the Coif from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Articles Development Editor of the Virginia Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Delaware.

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Speaker Information

James P. Sullivan

Justice, Texas Supreme Court

Biography

James P. Sullivan was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court by Governor Greg Abbott on January 7, 2025, after serving as his General Counsel. He is the proud husband of Alithea and father of Conan. Growing up in Austin, Judge Sully was an extra in the movie "Dazed & Confused." He was a highly unrecruited walk-on at Rice University, until an injury turned him into a debater. Once in law school, he met his wife, Alithea, on the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, he clerked on the D.C. Circuit for Judge Thomas B. Griffith. He also worked under then-Attorney General Abbott in the Office of the Solicitor General, in addition to stints as an adjunct professor at George Mason University and an appellate litigator in private practice.

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Speaker Information

S. Chad Meredith

United States District Judge, Eastern District of Kentucky

Biography

Chad served as solicitor general from 2019 to 2021, overseeing all civil and criminal appellate litigation involving the commonwealth, and leading a team of nearly 30 appellate lawyers.

Chad has also served as the chief deputy general counsel (2015-2019) to the governor of Kentucky. In that role, he represented the governor in litigation and advised the governor and other executive branch officials on a wide variety of legal and policy issues.

After graduating law school, he clerked for Judge John M. Rogers on the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and also for Judge Amul R. Thapar on the US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

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Speaker Information

Craig Stern

Regent Law School

Biography

Speaker Information

Gregory Frederick Jacob

Partner, O'Melveny & Myers LLP

Biography

Gregory Jacob is a partner in O’Melveny’s Washington, D.C. office. Greg Jacob represents financial services companies including banks, investment managers, health care payors, and insurers, as well as other employers, in class action and other litigation concerning ERISA and other labor and employment matters. A former Solicitor of Labor, Greg has extensive knowledge on a wide variety of labor and employment issues including ERISA, FLSA, OFCCP, and whistleblower law. He regularly litigates in federal courts throughout the country, defends clients against Department of Labor investigations, and provides counseling to plans and plan sponsors.

Prior to rejoining O’Melveny in 2021, Greg served as Counsel to Vice President Pence and Deputy Assistant to the President. He directly advised the Vice President on all legal issues relating to the Office of the Vice President, and advised the White House Coronavirus Task Force concerning the Defense Production Act and other legal issues related to bolstering the domestic supply chain.

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