Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation Chair, Lex Politica; Of Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Erin Morrow Hawley serves as Chair of Lex Politica's Supreme Court and Appellate Practice overseeing the firm’s strategic appellate litigation and critical motions practice in the trial courts. Erin is an experienced litigator who represents clients in constitutional, regulatory, and appellate matters in federal and state courts throughout the country.
Erin has represented dozens of clients before the Supreme Court of the United States, served as lead counsel in high-profile cases raising novel constitutional and statutory issues, and authored numerous successful petitions for certiorari and briefs in opposition. She has argued in state and federal appellate and trial courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Erin represents diverse clients in high-stakes litigation from state governments to faith-based nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies. She possesses expertise on a wide range of subject matters including administrative law, the First Amendment, religious liberty, federal jurisdiction, federal preemption, equitable jurisdiction, tax law, the Affordable Care Act, and Title IX.
Erin represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is paramount. She is a sought-after speaker and writer, has testified multiple times before Congress, and is a frequent presenter on constitutional and administrative law issues, including at the Oxford Union, the National Federalist Society Convention, and university campuses across the country. She is a frequent commentator to media outlets, including Fox News, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, WORLD, USA Today, the Federalist, and the Hill.
Erin previously oversaw Alliance Defending Freedom’s--where she still serves as Of Counsel--litigation strategies to empower women and protect the dignity of life, defend pregnancy centers’ First Amendment rights from government overreach, and safeguard Americans’ freedoms from the ever-encroaching administrative state.
General Counsel, Mountain States Legal Foundation
William E. Trachman is General Counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation, where he protects the rights of individuals to live freely and securely under the U.S. Constitution. Previously, he was appointed to serve in the Department of Education as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to his appointment, he served as General Counsel to the Douglas County School District, where he helped litigate the fight for school choice in the school district. Presently, Mr. Trachman serves as Chair of the Colorado Federalist Society and the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ Colorado Advisory Board. He previously taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. He attended U.C. Berkeley for both undergraduate and law school, and then clerked for the Honorable Harris Hartz on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Trachman is licensed in Colorado, California, and Washington, D.C.
Counsel, First Liberty Institute
In February 2022, Ryan Gardner joined the First Liberty Institute as Counsel after spending over four years at large Dallas law firm handling complex commercial disputes at both before both trial and appellate courts. Before his time in private practice, Ryan worked in Washington D.C. as a law clerk to the Honorable Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Ryan graduated as Valedictorian from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served as the Lead Articles Editor for the Pepperdine Law Review and the President of the Pepperdine chapter of the Federalist Society. While in law school, Ryan also externed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the Honorable Sandra Ikuta and worked in Pepperdine’s Ninth Circuit Clinic. Ryan received his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Harding University, where he graduated summa cum laude. Ryan is a member of the Texas State Bar and is admitted to practice in various federal district and appellate courts.
WFFC Distinguished Chair, Spring Arbor University; Counselor of the Ministry & President Emeritus, Salt & Light Global; Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School
Following distinguished service as a federal judge and tenured university professor, William Wagner dedicated his life to full-time ministry. Now holding the rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus, he is the Founder and President Emeritus of Salt & Light Global. He currently holds the WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor University.
Seasoning the public dialog with Truth, Wagner fights to protect free expression, religious conscience, and good governance under the rule of law. A frequent speaker at world conferences, his writing is published in a number of articles, books, and other publications, including an Amazon national best seller (#1in its category). As lead amicus counsel in many matters before the United States Supreme Court, he authored briefs on behalf of various organizations. He also authored written testimony, evidence, and briefs in such forums as the Swedish Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress, and the U.K. Parliament. He has further addressed many executive, legislative, parliamentary, and judicial audiences throughout the world, and presented at various diplomatic forums including the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
As a Federal Judge, Wagner adjudicated cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States. Prior to his appointment on the federal bench, he served as the chief American diplomat for the Department of Justice at an American Embassy in Africa. There he led a diplomatic mission charged with strengthening good governance and the rule of law.
During his career in public service, he provided international assistance to the justice sector institutions of numerous countries on five continents. Professor Wagner also served as Senior Assistant United States Attorney, litigating hundreds of federal cases and serving as chief of appellate litigation for the Office of the United States Attorney. Professor Wagner served as legal counsel in the United States Senate and as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Michigan legislature. Most recently he served as Senior Advisor for Global Criminal Justice at the Department of State.
Counsel, First Liberty Institute
In February 2022, Ryan Gardner joined the First Liberty Institute as Counsel after spending over four years at large Dallas law firm handling complex commercial disputes at both before both trial and appellate courts. Before his time in private practice, Ryan worked in Washington D.C. as a law clerk to the Honorable Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Ryan graduated as Valedictorian from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served as the Lead Articles Editor for the Pepperdine Law Review and the President of the Pepperdine chapter of the Federalist Society. While in law school, Ryan also externed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the Honorable Sandra Ikuta and worked in Pepperdine’s Ninth Circuit Clinic. Ryan received his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Harding University, where he graduated summa cum laude. Ryan is a member of the Texas State Bar and is admitted to practice in various federal district and appellate courts.
WFFC Distinguished Chair, Spring Arbor University; Counselor of the Ministry & President Emeritus, Salt & Light Global; Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School
Following distinguished service as a federal judge and tenured university professor, William Wagner dedicated his life to full-time ministry. Now holding the rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus, he is the Founder and President Emeritus of Salt & Light Global. He currently holds the WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor University.
Seasoning the public dialog with Truth, Wagner fights to protect free expression, religious conscience, and good governance under the rule of law. A frequent speaker at world conferences, his writing is published in a number of articles, books, and other publications, including an Amazon national best seller (#1in its category). As lead amicus counsel in many matters before the United States Supreme Court, he authored briefs on behalf of various organizations. He also authored written testimony, evidence, and briefs in such forums as the Swedish Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress, and the U.K. Parliament. He has further addressed many executive, legislative, parliamentary, and judicial audiences throughout the world, and presented at various diplomatic forums including the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
As a Federal Judge, Wagner adjudicated cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States. Prior to his appointment on the federal bench, he served as the chief American diplomat for the Department of Justice at an American Embassy in Africa. There he led a diplomatic mission charged with strengthening good governance and the rule of law.
During his career in public service, he provided international assistance to the justice sector institutions of numerous countries on five continents. Professor Wagner also served as Senior Assistant United States Attorney, litigating hundreds of federal cases and serving as chief of appellate litigation for the Office of the United States Attorney. Professor Wagner served as legal counsel in the United States Senate and as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Michigan legislature. Most recently he served as Senior Advisor for Global Criminal Justice at the Department of State.
Supreme Court & Appellate Litigation Chair, Lex Politica; Of Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Erin Morrow Hawley serves as Chair of Lex Politica's Supreme Court and Appellate Practice overseeing the firm’s strategic appellate litigation and critical motions practice in the trial courts. Erin is an experienced litigator who represents clients in constitutional, regulatory, and appellate matters in federal and state courts throughout the country.
Erin has represented dozens of clients before the Supreme Court of the United States, served as lead counsel in high-profile cases raising novel constitutional and statutory issues, and authored numerous successful petitions for certiorari and briefs in opposition. She has argued in state and federal appellate and trial courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court of the United States. Erin represents diverse clients in high-stakes litigation from state governments to faith-based nonprofits to Fortune 100 companies. She possesses expertise on a wide range of subject matters including administrative law, the First Amendment, religious liberty, federal jurisdiction, federal preemption, equitable jurisdiction, tax law, the Affordable Care Act, and Title IX.
Erin represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is paramount. She is a sought-after speaker and writer, has testified multiple times before Congress, and is a frequent presenter on constitutional and administrative law issues, including at the Oxford Union, the National Federalist Society Convention, and university campuses across the country. She is a frequent commentator to media outlets, including Fox News, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, WORLD, USA Today, the Federalist, and the Hill.
Erin previously oversaw Alliance Defending Freedom’s--where she still serves as Of Counsel--litigation strategies to empower women and protect the dignity of life, defend pregnancy centers’ First Amendment rights from government overreach, and safeguard Americans’ freedoms from the ever-encroaching administrative state.
General Counsel, Mountain States Legal Foundation
William E. Trachman is General Counsel for Mountain States Legal Foundation, where he protects the rights of individuals to live freely and securely under the U.S. Constitution. Previously, he was appointed to serve in the Department of Education as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office for Civil Rights. Prior to his appointment, he served as General Counsel to the Douglas County School District, where he helped litigate the fight for school choice in the school district. Presently, Mr. Trachman serves as Chair of the Colorado Federalist Society and the Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ Colorado Advisory Board. He previously taught as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. He attended U.C. Berkeley for both undergraduate and law school, and then clerked for the Honorable Harris Hartz on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Trachman is licensed in Colorado, California, and Washington, D.C.
Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP
Kannon is the head of our Supreme Court & Appellate practice. He has argued 39 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and has argued more than 150 appeals in courts across the country, including every federal court of appeals and numerous state courts.
Kannon is ranked as a “Star Individual” in appellate law by Chambers USA, where a client notes, “It’s hard to think of enough superlatives to describe his talent, his judgment, his ability, his experience – he is as good as it gets.” Legal 500 U.S. recognizes Kannon in its Hall of Fame for appellate work. A client shares, “His work is the best in the business, and he is a wonderful human being in addition to being a world-class appellate litigator.”
In 2024 and 2022, Kannon was a finalist for the American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Year” award. He was named “Appellate Litigator of the Year” by Benchmark Litigation in 2021 and was a 2026 finalist for that recognition.
Before entering private practice, Kannon served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Counsel, First Liberty Institute
In February 2022, Ryan Gardner joined the First Liberty Institute as Counsel after spending over four years at large Dallas law firm handling complex commercial disputes at both before both trial and appellate courts. Before his time in private practice, Ryan worked in Washington D.C. as a law clerk to the Honorable Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Ryan graduated as Valedictorian from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he served as the Lead Articles Editor for the Pepperdine Law Review and the President of the Pepperdine chapter of the Federalist Society. While in law school, Ryan also externed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for the Honorable Sandra Ikuta and worked in Pepperdine’s Ninth Circuit Clinic. Ryan received his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology from Harding University, where he graduated summa cum laude. Ryan is a member of the Texas State Bar and is admitted to practice in various federal district and appellate courts.
WFFC Distinguished Chair, Spring Arbor University; Counselor of the Ministry & President Emeritus, Salt & Light Global; Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Western Michigan University Cooley Law School
Following distinguished service as a federal judge and tenured university professor, William Wagner dedicated his life to full-time ministry. Now holding the rank of Distinguished Professor Emeritus, he is the Founder and President Emeritus of Salt & Light Global. He currently holds the WFFC Distinguished Chair for Faith & Freedom at Spring Arbor University.
Seasoning the public dialog with Truth, Wagner fights to protect free expression, religious conscience, and good governance under the rule of law. A frequent speaker at world conferences, his writing is published in a number of articles, books, and other publications, including an Amazon national best seller (#1in its category). As lead amicus counsel in many matters before the United States Supreme Court, he authored briefs on behalf of various organizations. He also authored written testimony, evidence, and briefs in such forums as the Swedish Supreme Court, the U.S. Congress, and the U.K. Parliament. He has further addressed many executive, legislative, parliamentary, and judicial audiences throughout the world, and presented at various diplomatic forums including the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
As a Federal Judge, Wagner adjudicated cases arising under the Constitution and laws of the United States. Prior to his appointment on the federal bench, he served as the chief American diplomat for the Department of Justice at an American Embassy in Africa. There he led a diplomatic mission charged with strengthening good governance and the rule of law.
During his career in public service, he provided international assistance to the justice sector institutions of numerous countries on five continents. Professor Wagner also served as Senior Assistant United States Attorney, litigating hundreds of federal cases and serving as chief of appellate litigation for the Office of the United States Attorney. Professor Wagner served as legal counsel in the United States Senate and as chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Michigan legislature. Most recently he served as Senior Advisor for Global Criminal Justice at the Department of State.
Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court
Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley, a Milwaukee native, was elected to the Supreme Court in 2016 after being appointed by Gov. Scott Walker in 2015. She is the first Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice to have served as an intermediate appellate court judge as well as a circuit court judge. Before joining the Supreme Court, Justice Bradley served as a District I Court of Appeals judge (appointed 2015), a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge (appointed 2012, elected 2013) and worked as an attorney in private practice (1996-2012), including serving as vice president of legal operations for a global software company.
Justice Bradley graduated from Marquette University in 1993 with an honors B.S. in Business Administration and Business Economics and received her juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1996.
Justice Bradley is a member of the Supreme Court Finance Committee and chairs the Supreme Court Legislative Committee as the Chief Justice's designee. She is a member of the Board of Advisors and past president of the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society; serves on the Wisconsin State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; and is a member of the Bench and Bar Committee of the Wisconsin State Bar. She previously served on the Board of Governors of the St. Thomas More Lawyers Society; the Wisconsin Juvenile Jury Instructions Committee; the Wisconsin Juvenile Benchbook Committee; and as a member of the Milwaukee Trial Judges Association and the Wisconsin Trial Judges Association. While in private practice, Justice Bradley served as an American Arbitration Association Arbitrator and Chairman of the State Bar Business Law Section.
Justice Bradley's current term expires July 31, 2026.
Judge, Wisconsin Second District Court of Appeals
HON. MARIA S. LAZAR, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II, August, 2022—present. Waukesha
County Circuit Court Judge, August, 2015-July, 2022, rotations included Presiding Judge Juvenile
Division; Criminal Division, Presiding Judge; Drug Treatment Court Judge; and Civil Division. Formerly
a Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General, in the Special Litigation and Appeals unit and was in private
practice for 20 years. She was President of the Milwaukee Bar Association, was on its Board of Directors
and served two terms on the State of Wisconsin’s Board of Governors. Judge Lazar earned her B.A.
degree, magna cum laude, from Mount Mary College and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law
Center.
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: United States v. Skrmetti
Erin M. Hawley, William E. Trachman
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2024 Kansas City Lawyers Chapter: An Evening with Kannon K. Shanmugam and the Annual Bill of Rights Holiday Party
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Litigation Update: Bethesda University v. Cho
Ryan Gardner, William Robert Wagner
Bethesda University, a private Christian university founded around Pentecostal theology, faced an internal leadership dispute,...
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Ryan Gardner, William Robert Wagner
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2024 Judge Rudolph T. Randa Lecture and Award
Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter
Milwaukee, WI