Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Judge Katsas was appointed to the D.C. Circuit in December 2017. He graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, where he was an executive editor on the Harvard Law Review. Between 1989 and 1992, he served as a law clerk to Judge Edward Becker on the Third Circuit, to then-Judge Clarence Thomas on the D.C. Circuit, and to Justice Thomas on the Supreme Court. Between 1992 and 2001, he was an associate and then partner in the Washington office of Jones Day, where he specialized in appellate and complex civil litigation. Between 2001 and 2009, he served in many senior positions in the Department of Justice, including as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and as Acting Associate Attorney General. In 2009, he returned to Jones Day. From January to December 2017, he served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President.
Before joining the bench, Judge Katsas argued more than 75 appeals, including three cases in the Supreme Court, 13 cases in the D.C. Circuit, and cases in every other federal court of appeals. By appointment of the Chief Justice, he served on the Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules from 2013 to 2017. In 2016, he was elected to membership in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
Britt C. Grant is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Judge Grant was appointed to the federal bench in August 2018 after serving as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia. Prior to her judicial appointment, she served as the Solicitor General of Georgia and practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Grant served as a law clerk to then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She earned her J.D., with distinction, from Stanford Law School, where she was the Co-Founder of the Stanford National Security and the Law Society, and the President of the Stanford Law chapter of the Federalist Society. Before enrolling in law school, Judge Grant served in The White House in a variety of domestic policy roles as well as on the staff of Congressman Nathan Deal. Judge Grant earned her B.A., summa cum laude, from Wake Forest University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. She now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and three children.
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Lawrence VanDyke serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to that appointment in January 2020, he served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice. Before that, he served consecutively as the Solicitor General of two western states – Nevada and Montana. At the beginning of his legal career, he worked as an attorney in the Appellate and Constitutional Issues practice group at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, LLP.
Judge VanDyke received his law degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on the Harvard Law Review. He has engineering and theology undergraduate degrees and a masters degree in engineering management. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Janice Rogers Brown of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge VanDyke and his wife Cheryl live in Reno, Nevada, and they have three children.
Judge, United States District Court, Western District of Oklahoma
Patrick Wyrick serves as a United States District Court Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma. He was nominated for that position by the President, and assumed duty on April 12, 2019. Before being appointed a federal judge, Wyrick served as Vice Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Wyrick served six years as Oklahoma's Solicitor General.
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
Martin S. Flaherty is a longtime is Visiting Professor at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, where he was Fellow in the Program in Law and Public Affairs. He is also Leitner Family Professor of International Human Rights Law and Founding Co-Director of the Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School. Professor Flaherty also currently teaches at Columbia Law School and Barnard College. Previously he has taught at China University of Political Science and Law and the National Judges College in Beijing, Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, Queen’s University Belfast. Professor Flaherty earlier served as a law clerk for Justice Byron R. White of the U.S. Supreme Court and Chief Judge John Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Flaherty received a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was Book Reviews and Articles Editor of the Columbia Law Review, an M.A. and M.Phil., with distinction, from Yale (in history), and B.A. summa cum laude from Princeton. For the Leitner Center, Human Rights First, and the New York City Bar Association, he has led or participated in human rights missions to Northern Ireland, Turkey, Hong Kong, Mexico, Malaysia, Kenya, Romania and China. Professor Flaherty is currently the President of the American Association of the International Commission of Jurists, https://www.aaicj.org, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a legal expert advisor at the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.
Flaherty’s scholarly publications focus upon international human rights, foreign affairs, and constitutional law and history, and appear in such journals as the Columbia Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the Michigan Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, Constitutional Commentary, the Harvard Journal of Law and Policy, and the Harvard Human Rights Journal. He has written, appeared, or been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, The Daily News, Newsday, the PBS Newshour, CNN, MSNBC, and NPR. He is also the author of the Restoring the Global Judiciary: Why the Supreme Court Should Rule in Foreign Affairs (Princeton University Press, 2019).
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
Wendell H. Ford Professor of Law, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law
Paul E. Salamanca graduated from Dartmouth College in 1983 and Boston College Law School in 1989, where he was a note editor for the Boston College Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.
Professor Salamanca served as a law clerk to Judge David H. Souter of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and subsequently clerked for Justice Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced law with the firm of Debevoise & Plimpton in New York from 1991 to 1994 and was a visiting assistant professor of law at Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans before joining the faculty at the University of Kentucky College of Law in June 1995.
Professor Salamanca writes in the areas of separation of powers, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and privacy. He has published articles on these subjects in the University of Cincinnati Law Review, the Missouri Law Review, the Georgia Law Review and the Kentucky Law Journal, among other places.
From 2019 until 2021, Professor Salamanca served as a Senior Counsel and then as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) of the United States Department of Justice. His duties included supervision of the Natural Resources and Land Acquisition Sections of ENRD.
Solicitor General, Kansas, and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen R. McAllister is a native Kansan who grew up in Lucas, Kansas and graduated from Lucas-Luray High School. Growing up, he also lived in Hiawatha and Chanute, Kansas. He received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Kansas.
Following his graduation from law school, Steve clerked for Judge Richard Posner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago, and then for Justices Byron White and Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States. After his clerkships Steve worked in the Washington, D.C. office of the Los Angeles law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
In 1993, Steve returned to his alma mater as a visiting professor of law. In 1999 he received tenure and promotion to the rank of full Professor. He served as Dean of the KU Law School from 2000 – 2005.
As a professor, Steve teaches constitutional law, constitutional litigation and torts. He won the Frederick J. Moreau Award for student advising in 1997, and a W.T. Kemper Award for excellence in teaching in 1999. As a scholar, Steve has written on a variety of constitutional topics, including affirmative action, capital punishment, federalism, and sex offender laws. Steve is an elected a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a Trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society.
Steve also has appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States several times. From 1999 – 2003, he served as the first State Solicitor for Kansas, assisting the Kansas Attorney General’s office in state cases raising important constitutional issues. In both 2001 and 2002, Supreme Court briefs that Steve authored for the State of Kansas won Best Brief Prizes at the annual summer meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General.
From May 2006 until March 2007, Steve served as Legislative Counsel for Kansas, advising the legislature regarding legal issues. In that capacity, Steve participated in the Kansas school finance litigation in the Kansas Supreme Court, filing a brief on behalf of the Kansas Legislature and presenting oral argument on behalf of the State as a special assistant attorney general. Since May 2007, Steve has served as Solicitor General of Kansas in the office of the Kansas Attorney General, briefing and arguing important cases involving abortion, the death penalty, freedom of speech, and right to a jury trial.
Steve speaks regularly on a variety of constitutional topics, as well as judicial confirmation and the Supreme Court as an institution.
Clerk, Judge Richard Posner, U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit 1988-89; Clerk, Justice Byron White, U.S. Supreme Court 1989-91; Clerk, Justice Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court 1991-1992; Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, DC, 1992-93; Visiting Associate Professor, Kansas 1993-95, Associate Professor, Kansas 1995-98, Professor since 1999; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs 1999-2000; Dean 2000-2005; Interim Director, Dole Institute of Politics 2003-04.
J.D. 1988, Kansas, Articles Editor, University of Kansas Law Review; B.A. 1985, Kansas
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