Professor of Law, Oklahoma City University School of Law
Professor O’Shea is a nationally recognized expert on firearms law and the Second Amendment. He is a co-author of the first law school casebook on the subject, Firearms Law and the Second Amendment: Regulation, Rights, and Policy, published in 2012. He serves as the Associate Director of OCU Law’s Center for State Constitutional Law and Government.
Professor O’Shea is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He also holds a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. Before coming to Oklahoma City University School of Law in 2006, he practiced commercial litigation in Chicago and in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. He also served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and to Judge John R. Gibson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Randy Barnett is the Patrick Hotung Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He has argued before the United States Supreme Court, tried murder cases to juries as a prosecutor in Chicago, and appeared as a prosecutor in the feature film Inalienable. He is the author of numerous books, including Restoring the Lost Constitution, The Structure of Liberty, Our Republican Constitution, and The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. He has published two memoirs, A Life for Liberty: The Making of an American Originalist, and Felony Review: Tales of True Crime and Corruption in Chicago. He is currently working on a new book, Freedom and Flourishing: Libertarianism for the Real World.
Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, a 34-county district with an area that stretches from the Oregon border to Bakersfield, Greg Scott is an experienced trial lawyer who represents major companies facing government investigations and litigation, with a focus in the healthcare, retail, and construction industries. He has extensive knowledge on matters involving consumer protection, construction disputes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
Greg represents corporations under investigation by state district attorneys concerning potential violations of consumer protection laws, as well as corporations operating senior assisted livingfacilities under investigation by the state attorney general regarding potential violations of elder abuse laws. In addition, he represents construction companies under investigation by state district attorneys when employees are involved in serious accidents at worksites.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel after serving more than 20 years in the California Army National Guard & United States Army Reserve, Greg went on to become a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County and twice-elected District Attorney of Shasta County. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of National Security Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law following his first term as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California. Between his two terms as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California, Greg was the vice chair of the white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice at an AmLaw 50 firm.
Member, Miller & Chevalier Chartered
Timothy P. O'Toole defends individuals and companies in white collar criminal prosecutions, conducts internal corporate investigations, and represents potential witnesses and targets in government investigations. His white collar criminal defense practice includes matters involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, criminal tax, conspiracy, false representations to government agencies, bribery, illegal gratuities, obstruction of justice, and fraud.
Mr. O’Toole also handles complex litigation arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). His ERISA practice spans a broad spectrum, including fiduciary litigation, pre-emption matters, and cases arising under Title IV. He has represented plan sponsors in benefits litigation and has particular experience in defending breach of fiduciary duty claims. Mr. O’Toole also currently represents a number of retiree organizations in challenges to the manner in which the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has handled the termination of their pension plans and administered their pension benefits.
Mr. O'Toole is experienced in handling criminal and civil appeals, having presented more than 25 appellate arguments in the state and federal courts, and represented parties and amici curiae before the United States Supreme Court in a Fourth Amendment case (Hudson v. Michigan), cases involving the Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses (Briscoe v. Virginia; Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts; Davis v. Washington; and Hammon v. Indiana), and cases involving federal court jurisdiction (Slack v. McDaniel; Whorton v. Bockting; Muhammad v. Close; and Rumsfeld v. Padilla).
Prior to joining Miller & Chevalier, Mr. O’Toole served as the Chief of the Special Litigation Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where he supervised and handled complex cases in the local and federal courts. He is a former Assistant Federal Public Defender in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he represented people under sentence of death in federal proceedings.
Charles I. Francis Professorship in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law
Professor Aaron Nielson lectures and writes in the areas of administrative law, civil procedure, and federal courts. Before joining the faculty, he served as Solicitor General of Texas and represented Texas before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas Supreme Court, as well as overseeing all appellate litigation for the State. Earlier in his career, he was a professor at Brigham Young University and an appellate and antitrust partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. He also clerked for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
As Solicitor General, Professor Nielson successfully defended against a First Amendment challenge Texas’s law requiring online pornographers to institute age verification. In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court appointed him to defend the constitutionality of a federal agency. He currently serves as a Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States after completing a six-year term as an appointed public member and chair of the Conference’s Administration & Management Committee.
Nielson’s research focuses on administrative law, federal litigation, and the separation of powers. He has published (or soon will publish) in the Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review, University of Chicago Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Georgetown Law Journal, Cornell Law Review, and Northwestern University Law Review, among others. Nielson has been recognized for teaching for teaching and scholarship and in 2021 received the Federalist Society’s Joseph Story Award, which recognizes a young academic for excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, and a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact in a manner that advances the rule of law in a free society. He is also an elected member of the American Law Institute.
Professor Nielson received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and an LL.M from the University of Cambridge, where he focused his studies on the institutions that regulate global competition and commerce. He received his undergraduate degree summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in economics and political science.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Kenneth Kiyul Lee is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was appointed in June 2019 and is based in San Diego, California.
Prior to his appointment, he was a partner at the law firm of Jenner & Block in Los Angeles. Judge Lee previously served as an Associate Counsel to President George W. Bush and as Special Counsel to Senator Arlen Specter, then-chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He started his legal career at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York.
Judge Lee received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, and his A.B. from Cornell University, summa cum laude. He clerked for Judge Emilio M. Garza of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law and Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University School of Law; Director, Classical Liberal Institute, Civitas Institute University of Texas at Austin
Richard A. Epstein is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law, at New York University, a senior research fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas Austin, and a senior Lecturer, the University of Chicago. He received an LL.D., h.c . from the University of Ghent, 2003 , and an LLD h.c . from the University of Siegen in 2018 and the Bradley Prize in 2011. He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1985. He has edited both the Journal of Legal Studies (1981-1991) and the Journal of Law and Economics (1991-2001). He is also a founder and director of the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU Law School. His most recent book is The Classical Liberal Constitution: The Uncertain Quest for Limited Government (2014). His other books include Takings: Private Property and the Power of Eminent Domain ( 1985); Bargaining with the State (1993); Simple Rules for a Complex World (1995); Principles for a Free Society: Reconciling Individual Liberty and the Common Good (1998); Skepticism and Freedom: A Modern Theory of Classical Liberalism (2003); Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration and the Rule of Law (2011), and most recently, The Myth of Birthright citizenship—and Beyond (2026). He has taught courses in , administrative law, antitrust, constitutional, contracts, environmental law, land use planning; real property, torts and water law. He has written and spoken extensively on a wide range of topics, and is writes a regular column for Defining Ideas.
Professor of Law, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Margaret Ryznar is an Associate Professor of Law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. She teaches and researches in the areas of family law, tax, trusts & estates, property, and juvenile law. Her scholarship focuses on the rights of family members under federal and state law, with particular emphasis on how family members hold and transfer property among themselves. Professor Ryznar edits the Family Law Prof Blog and has published over twenty law journal articles. Her work has been featured in the media and cited in law journals and judicial materials.
Prior to joining the faculty in 2012, Professor Ryznar served as a law clerk to the Honorable Myron H. Bright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and practiced law with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in Washington, DC.
Professor Ryznar is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School, where she served as a Note Editor of the Notre Dame Law Review, competed in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court, and received the Bainbridge Fellowship for the Study of International and Comparative Law. She holds a master’s degree in European Studies from Jagiellonian University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago with majors in Economics; English Language & Literature; Political Science; and Law, Letters, & Society.
Leadership Counsel, Washington State Senate Republican Caucus
Daniel Himebaugh serves as Leadership Counsel for the Washington State Senate Republican Caucus.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Damien Schiff is a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. He leads its environmental practice group, a unique initiative that draws broadly from PLF’s expertise and success in property rights and separation of powers litigation. Over the years, Damien has represented hundreds of landowners and property rights advocates to defend their liberties against heavy-handed and unwarranted environmental and land-use regulation. His litigation experience includes Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a groundbreaking decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of landowners to challenge Clean Water Act compliance orders issued by EPA, and Contoski v. Norton, PLF’s successful effort to force the federal government to make good on its promise to delist the bald eagle from the Endangered Species Act.
Besides litigation, Damien has written academic articles on a variety of subjects, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, greenhouse gas torts, the duty to rescue, and international water law. He has appeared on a variety of television and radio programs and has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harper’s Magazine, and The Economist, among other publications.
He obtained his law degree magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law, and his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University. While at USD, he was a research assistant for Professor Bernard Siegan, a leading constitutional theorist and advocate for property rights and economic liberty. Immediately prior to joining PLF, Damien clerked for Judge (and former PLF attorney) Victor Wolski of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Damien credits the mentoring and examples of Professor Siegan and Judge Wolski for his decision to pursue a career in liberty-based public interest litigation.
Damien lives in Sacramento with his wife, two young sons, four chickens, and a cat named Princess. In his off hours he enjoys stamp collecting, Gregorian chant, and martinis—preferably at the same time.
Gun Rights Headed to SCOTUS Yet Again?
Marijuana: Examining the Tensions Between State and Federal Laws
Kloeckner v. Solis - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
A Bryant
On December 10, 2012 the Supreme Court announced its decision in Kloeckner v. Solis. The case...
FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health System, Inc. - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Aaron Nielson
On November 26, 2012 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in FTC v. Phoebe Putney Health Systems,...
The Chilling Effect? United States v. Ring
Comcast v. Behrend - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Kenneth Kiyul Lee
On November 5, 2012, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Comcast v. Behrend. The question...
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Richard A. Epstein
On December 4, 2012, the Supreme Court announced its decision in Arkansas Game and Fish Commission...
Chafin v. Chafin - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Margaret Ryznar
On December 5, 2012 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Chafin v. Chafin, a case...
Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Daniel Himebaugh
On November 3, 2012 the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Decker v. Northwest Environmental...
Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Damien Michael Schiff
On December 4, 2012, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Los Angeles County Flood Control...