Solicitor General, Louisiana
Ben Aguiñaga is the Solicitor General of Louisiana. He earned his B.A. from Baylor University in 2012 and his J.D. from Louisiana State University summa cum laude in 2015. He served as a law clerk for then-Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court and Judge Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He spent
a year as the chief of staff for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., during President Trump’s first administration. He subsequently served as a law clerk for Justice Samuel Alito of the United States Supreme Court in the 2018 Term. Most recently, he was an Issues and Appeals associate at Jones Day
before transitioning to Louisiana in January 2024. He has since presented five oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court, including argument and reargument in Louisiana v. Callais.
Judge, Florida's Third District Court of Appeal
Judge Kansas R. Gooden serves on Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal.
Prior to her appointment by Governor Ron DeSantis in June 2024, Judge Gooden was in private practice for 16 years. She was an equity shareholder in her firm, chaired its appellate department, and served as the firm’s general counsel. She handled all types of civil appellate proceedings, including oral argument, before all of Florida’s district courts of appeal, the Florida Supreme Court, and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She was counsel in over 400 civil appeals and extraordinary writ proceedings. She is one of the few attorneys to argue back-to-back cases on the same day before the Florida Supreme Court.
In addition, Judge Gooden provided trial and litigation support to attorneys throughout the state. She assisted in devising litigation strategy, argued evidentiary hearings and dispositive motions, and often attended trials to help preserve errors for appellate review.
Judge Gooden is a Board Certified Specialist in Appellate Practice and was rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. She was consistently recognized for appellate practice by Florida Super Lawyers, Florida Trend, and U.S. News’ Best Lawyers in America. She received awards from the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, such as the Amicus Award, James A. Dixon Young Lawyer Award, Joseph P. Metzger Outstanding Achievement Award, and President’s Award. Florida’s Guardian ad Litem Program awarded her the Children’s Champion Award in 2019 for her appellate pro bono work.
Throughout her career, Judge Gooden has been active in the legal community. She chaired the Florida Bar’s Appellate Practice Section, its Appellate Board Certification Committee, and its Board of Legal Specialization and Education. She was the president of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, served on the board of directors of the Third District Court of Appeal Historical Society, and was elected to the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. She is a member of The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, and she has spoken at several of its events.
Judge Gooden was a commissioner and vice chair on Florida’s Eleventh Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission and a commissioner on U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s Judicial Advisory Commission for the Southern District of Florida.
Judge Gooden frequently presents and speaks at legal and judicial conferences. She has spoken on a wide range of topics, including appellate practice, civil trial practice, and insurance law.
Judge Gooden received her J.D. magna cum laude from St. Thomas University School of Law. She was an Articles Editor on the St. Thomas Law Review, a member of the mock trial team, a research assistant, and a teaching assistant for Civil Procedure. She interned at the Third District Court of Appeal with Judge David Gersten. She received her B.B.A. in Finance from James Madison University. She was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Judge Gooden played nationally competitive junior, amateur, and collegiate golf. While in undergraduate school, Judge Gooden was a member of the two-time CAA Conference Champion women’s golf team and was named to the All-Conference Team. She is the 1997 and 1999 Virginia State Girls Golf Champion and was awarded the Marion Miley Bracelet by the Western Women’s Golf Association in 1997.
Statewide Prosecutor, Florida Attorney General's Office
Brad McVay currently serves as Florida’s Statewide Prosecutor. Brad was appointed to the position in August 2025, by Florida Attorney General, James Uthmeier. As Statewide Prosecutor, Brad heads the Office of Statewide Prosecution, which consists of 8 offices of prosecutors stationed throughout Florida. Brad works with state and federal law enforcement to coordinate multi-circuit prosecutions and serves as legal advisor to the statewide grand jury. Brad’s Office of Statewide Prosecution focuses on large-scale, complex organized criminal activity and cases that impact two or more judicial circuits in Florida.
Prior to his role as Statewide Prosecutor, Brad served as Florida’s Deputy Secretary of State for Legal Affairs & Election Integrity from February 2023 to August 2025. In his role as Deputy Secretary, Brad was Chief Legal Counsel to Florida’s Secretary of State and led the legal strategy for Florida’s Election Integrity efforts, Brad also managed the Office of Election Crimes and Security and oversaw the General Counsel’s office. Before that, Brad served as General Counsel to 4 Florida Secretaries of State from September 2018 until February 2023. Among his many duties, he was responsible for litigating well more than fifty state and federal election-related cases on behalf of the State of Florida. Before his time at the Department of State, Brad served as Deputy General Counsel for another state agency; litigated civil cases in private practice; and began his legal career as a prosecutor.
In February 2026, the Florida Chapter of the Republican National Lawyers Association named Brad the Outstanding Florida Republican Lawyer of the Year for 2025. In 2024, Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Brad to the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission for a term ending in 2028.
Brad graduated cum laude from the Florida State University College of Law and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida.
Sheila M. McDevitt Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Election Law Center, Florida State University College of Law
Professor Morley joined FSU Law in 2018, and teaches and writes in the areas of election law, constitutional law, remedies, and the federal courts. He is best known for his work on election emergencies and post-election litigation, nationwide and other defendant-oriented injunctions, the jurisdiction of the federal courts and their equitable powers more generally. He has testified before congressional committees, made presentations to election officials for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and participated in bipartisan blue-ribbon groups to develop election reforms. The governor of Florida also appointed Professor Morley to the Criminal Punishment Code Task Force, to propose potential revisions to the legislature.
The U.S. Supreme Court has cited several of his articles, and he was counsel of record for the successful Petitioner in a landmark campaign finance case. Professor Morley has appeared on C-SPAN, Court TV, Fox News and numerous local news programs, and has been quoted in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Politico, U.S. News and World Report, and a wide range of other national publications. His work has been published in many of the nation’s top law reviews, including the Georgetown Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, Boston University Law Review and Emory Law Journal.
Before joining FSU Law, Professor Morley was a Climenko Fellow and Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School. Prior to his experience in academia, he served in government as special assistant to the General Counsel of the Army at the Pentagon, as well as a law clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. During his tenure with the Army General Counsel’s office, he was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Army Staff Lapel Pin. He also worked as an associate at Williams & Connolly LLP and the Supreme Court & Appellate group of Winston & Strawn, LLP, both in Washington, D.C.
Professor Morley earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003, where he was a senior editor on the Yale Law Journal; served on the moot court board; and received the Thurman Arnold Prize for Best Oralist in the Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals.
Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Florida Attorney General's Office
Jason Muehlhoff is Chief Deputy Solicitor General in the Florida Attorney General's Office. Prior to that, he was an associate in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He previously served as a law clerk for the Honorable Lawrence VanDyke of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Muehlhoff graduated with Honors from Harvard Law School in 2021. While in law school, he served as the Articles Chair of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Biola University in 2016, where he studied Political Science and Theology.
Panel 1: Redistricting and Election Law: Current Issues and Emerging Trends
2026 Florida Young Lawyers Summit
Coral Gables, FLTopics
States Work to Prevent Noncitizens from Voting
In recent weeks, much attention has been given to the passage in the U.S. House...
Topics
The SAVE Act: Fact v. Fiction
The SAVE Act is a proposal from congressional Republicans to require people to provide proof...