Partner and Co-Chair, Public Policy Group, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook's Washington, DC-based Public Policy Practice Group and is a leading national expert on civil justice issues with over thirty years of experience. A substantial part of his practice is working to improve the civil litigation environment through state and federal legislation; in the courts through amicus curiae briefs; through legal scholarship and judicial education; and in the court of public opinion.
Mark is actively involved in civil justice reform efforts at the federal and state levels. He has testified before the U.S. Congress and most state legislatures on behalf of business and civil justice organizations. Mark also has an active amicus brief practice specializing in tort liability and civil justice issues. He has authored or co-authored over 150 amicus briefs in cases before the United States Supreme Court and federal and state appellate courts on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations. In addition, Mark routinely files comments on behalf of business, civil justice, and defense lawyer organizations regarding potential changes to federal and state court rules. He chairs the International Association of Defense Counsel’s (IADC) Civil Justice Response Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers for Civil Justice (LCJ).
Mark is a member of the American Law Institute (ALI). He received his J.D. in 1990 from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was a member of the Vanderbilt Law Review. He received his B.A. in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1987.
Of Counsel, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Chris’ public policy work focuses on tort law and civil justice system reform. His work is generally divided among legislative efforts, appellate litigation, and liability counseling. Chris has drafted model legislation to be introduced on the state and federal level, testified on numerous legislative initiatives, and authored amicus briefs to state supreme courts and federal appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He also serves as an adviser to various business groups and trade associations interested in tort liability issues and civil justice system reform.
In addition, Chris is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI), and has assisted in the development of a variety of ALI projects implicating liability law. He has also been a recurrent guest lecturer at the U.S. Department of Justice and Wake Forest University School of Law, as well as a speaker at numerous legal conferences and industry group meetings, on issues related to tort law. Chris has additionally produced significant scholarship in the area of liability law. He has authored more than 50 legal publications on a wide range of liability issues, including articles in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, UPenn Journal of Business Law, and Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy, and has served as a contributor to tort casebooks.
Partner, BakerHostetler, Adjunct Fellow, The Manhattan Institute
Andrew Grossman leads BakerHostetler’s Appellate and Major Motion team. He has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly all the federal courts of appeals, as well as some state appellate courts, litigating high-profile and complex commercial, administrative and constitutional issues.
Andrew works with practice groups across BakerHostetler to identify and tackle complex issues, advise on administrative law and strategy, tee up issues for appeal and tackle appeals. He has developed and implemented litigation and administrative strategies for clients in several fields and industries.
In addition to his practice, Andrew advises members of Congress on matters of constitutional and administrative law, having testified more than a dozen times before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. He has been a frequent legal commentator on radio and television, having appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR and its affiliates, CBN and elsewhere. His legal commentary has also appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and many others.
Andrew is a Senior Legal Fellow at the Buckeye Institute, an Adjunct Fellow the Manhattan Institute and a member of the leadership of the Federalist Society. He previously served as an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. He clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Legal Advisor, Reason Foundation and Ge, Individual Rights Foundation
Manuel "Manny" Klausner was one of the founding partners in Reason Enterprises, which began publishing Reason magazine in 1971, three years after the publication's creation. He became editor in the summer of 1972 and a senior editor in June 1978. In 1978 he co-founded the Reason Foundation with Tibor Machan and Bob Poole. He remains on the board of the Reason Foundation today, is a stalwart supporter of the Federalist Society, and a libertarian lawyer extraordinaire.
Partner, Barr & Klein PLLC
Steve Klein, a partner at Barr & Klein PLLC, is an experienced free speech attorney who has successfully fought for the First Amendment rights of his clients against local, state and federal regulators. As a lobbyist, Steve’s advocacy has led to the successful amendment of state laws to respect political engagement and prevented the enactment of laws that burden it. Steve has published articles in several legal journals, and his commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Detroit News, and other outlets. Steve earned a bachelors degree in politics at Hillsdale College and a law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. He is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois and Michigan.
Vice President, Policy & Litigation, Common Cause
Paul Seamus Ryan joined Common Cause as Vice President for Policy and Litigation in October 2016 and has specialized in political law for more than 20 years. He is former Deputy Executive Director of the Campaign Legal Center (2004-16) and Political Reform Project Director at the Center for Governmental Studies (1999-2004). Paul has litigated before courts throughout the nation and has testified as an expert on election law before Congress as well as state and local governments. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other news outlets, and is quoted regularly by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and other news publications. Paul is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law (2001) and the University of Montana (1998).
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice
Robert P. Young, Jr., retired justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, promoted initiatives to measure judicial performance, track public satisfaction, adopt best practices, streamline court processes, and implement technologies that expand public access, increase efficiency, and boost productivity of trial courts. From 2018 to 2019 he served as vice president and general counsel at Michigan State University. Mr. Young previously served 18 years as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, including as chief justice from 2011 to January 2017. Before that, he was a judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals. Mr. Young has served on the boards of many charitable groups, including the Detroit Urban League, United Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit, and Vista Maria, a resource center for abused and neglected young women and girls. A former commissioner of the Michigan Civil Service Commission, he was a trustee of Central Michigan University, University Liggett School, and the Grosse Pointe Academy. Mr. Young is a former chair of the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce Leadership Detroit. He had been an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School for more than 20 years and more recently taught at Michigan State University Law School.
Partner, BakerHostetler, Adjunct Fellow, The Manhattan Institute
Andrew Grossman leads BakerHostetler’s Appellate and Major Motion team. He has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly all the federal courts of appeals, as well as some state appellate courts, litigating high-profile and complex commercial, administrative and constitutional issues.
Andrew works with practice groups across BakerHostetler to identify and tackle complex issues, advise on administrative law and strategy, tee up issues for appeal and tackle appeals. He has developed and implemented litigation and administrative strategies for clients in several fields and industries.
In addition to his practice, Andrew advises members of Congress on matters of constitutional and administrative law, having testified more than a dozen times before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. He has been a frequent legal commentator on radio and television, having appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR and its affiliates, CBN and elsewhere. His legal commentary has also appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and many others.
Andrew is a Senior Legal Fellow at the Buckeye Institute, an Adjunct Fellow the Manhattan Institute and a member of the leadership of the Federalist Society. He previously served as an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. He clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Legal Advisor, Reason Foundation and Ge, Individual Rights Foundation
Manuel "Manny" Klausner was one of the founding partners in Reason Enterprises, which began publishing Reason magazine in 1971, three years after the publication's creation. He became editor in the summer of 1972 and a senior editor in June 1978. In 1978 he co-founded the Reason Foundation with Tibor Machan and Bob Poole. He remains on the board of the Reason Foundation today, is a stalwart supporter of the Federalist Society, and a libertarian lawyer extraordinaire.
Partner, Barr & Klein PLLC
Steve Klein, a partner at Barr & Klein PLLC, is an experienced free speech attorney who has successfully fought for the First Amendment rights of his clients against local, state and federal regulators. As a lobbyist, Steve’s advocacy has led to the successful amendment of state laws to respect political engagement and prevented the enactment of laws that burden it. Steve has published articles in several legal journals, and his commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Detroit News, and other outlets. Steve earned a bachelors degree in politics at Hillsdale College and a law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. He is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois and Michigan.
Vice President, Policy & Litigation, Common Cause
Paul Seamus Ryan joined Common Cause as Vice President for Policy and Litigation in October 2016 and has specialized in political law for more than 20 years. He is former Deputy Executive Director of the Campaign Legal Center (2004-16) and Political Reform Project Director at the Center for Governmental Studies (1999-2004). Paul has litigated before courts throughout the nation and has testified as an expert on election law before Congress as well as state and local governments. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other news outlets, and is quoted regularly by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and other news publications. Paul is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law (2001) and the University of Montana (1998).
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice
Robert P. Young, Jr., retired justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, promoted initiatives to measure judicial performance, track public satisfaction, adopt best practices, streamline court processes, and implement technologies that expand public access, increase efficiency, and boost productivity of trial courts. From 2018 to 2019 he served as vice president and general counsel at Michigan State University. Mr. Young previously served 18 years as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, including as chief justice from 2011 to January 2017. Before that, he was a judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals. Mr. Young has served on the boards of many charitable groups, including the Detroit Urban League, United Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit, and Vista Maria, a resource center for abused and neglected young women and girls. A former commissioner of the Michigan Civil Service Commission, he was a trustee of Central Michigan University, University Liggett School, and the Grosse Pointe Academy. Mr. Young is a former chair of the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce Leadership Detroit. He had been an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School for more than 20 years and more recently taught at Michigan State University Law School.
Executive Director, Ohio Dental Association
David J. Owsiany is the executive director of the Ohio Dental Association and a past president of the Columbus Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society.
He has served as CEO of a statewide health care association, president of the Buckeye Institute, chief of policy for the Ohio Department of Insurance, judicial law clerk for the Illinois Appellate Court, and staffer on the United State Senate Judiciary Committee.
Mr. Owsiany has written dozens of articles on legal and public policy issues for various publications, including the University of Toledo Law Review, the Federalist Society's State Court Docket Watch, Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Crain’s Cleveland Business, and Akron Beacon Journal.
Owsiany received his J.D. from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and B.A. from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Assistant Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law
Alexander "Sasha" Volokh is an assistant professor of law, joining the Emory Law faculty in Fall 2009.
Professor Volokh earned his B.S. from UCLA and his J.D. and Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He clerked for Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit and for Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Samuel Alito. Before coming to Emory, he was a visiting associate professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a visiting assistant professor at University of Houston Law Center.
His interests include law and economics, administrative law and the regulatory process, environmental law and policy, and legal history. His current research topics include the private management of government services, medieval law, judicial decisionmaking and statutory interpretation.
Associate Professor, UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law
Zvi S. Rosen is an Associate Professor at UNH Franklin Pierce School of Law and the Faculty Director of the Franklin Pierce Society for Intellectual Property. He has served as a Assistant Professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law, as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, and as a Visiting Scholar and Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington University School of Law.
In 2015-2016, he was the Abraham L. Kaminstein Scholar in Residence at the U.S. Copyright Office. Mr. Rosen received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 2005 and LLM in Intellectual Property in 2006 from the George Washington University Law School. He has practiced at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP as well as smaller firms and his own practice, and clerked for the Hon. Thomas B. Bennett of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. He has written extensively on the development of modern copyright and trademark law, as well as on bankruptcy law.
Trustees Professor of Law, Capital University Law School
Professor Mark P. Strasser has been named Trustees Professor of Law at Capital University Law School. This appointment recognizes Professor Strasser's extraordinary and sustained commitment to legal scholarship. Nationally recognized for his scholarship in family law, Professor Strasser is the author of numerous books and articles in the areas of family law, bioethics, and constitutional law. His most recent books include On Same-Sex Marriages, Civil Unions, and the Rule of Law: Constitutional Interpretation at the Crossroads (Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002), Marriage and Same-Sex Unions: A Debate (Praeger Publishers, 2003), co-edited with Lynn Wardle, David Coolidge and William Duncan and Questions and Answers: Family Law (LexisNexis, 2003). Professor Strasser frequently presents papers at conferences across the country and internationally. His recent lectures have taken place at New York University Law School; the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association Conference in Turin, Italy; the Medical College of Wisconsin; Queen's University in Kingston, Canada; the University of Texas at Austin; Brigham Young University Law School; and Albany Law School. He also spoke before the Vermont House Judiciary Committee on interstate implications of Vermont recognizing same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships.
Professor Strasser is a former professor of philosophy and taught at Illinois State University, University of Texas at Arlington, and Washington University in St. Louis. A member of Capital University Law School's faculty since 1993, Professor Strasser teaches Constitutional Law, Torts, Family Law, Jurisprudence, and a seminar on Sexual Diversity and the Law. Professor Strasser was the Visiting Tyler Haynes Chair Professor of Law at the University of Richmond School of Law in 2001 and a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Maryland School of Law during the 1999-2000 academic year.
Partner, BakerHostetler, Adjunct Fellow, The Manhattan Institute
Andrew Grossman leads BakerHostetler’s Appellate and Major Motion team. He has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly all the federal courts of appeals, as well as some state appellate courts, litigating high-profile and complex commercial, administrative and constitutional issues.
Andrew works with practice groups across BakerHostetler to identify and tackle complex issues, advise on administrative law and strategy, tee up issues for appeal and tackle appeals. He has developed and implemented litigation and administrative strategies for clients in several fields and industries.
In addition to his practice, Andrew advises members of Congress on matters of constitutional and administrative law, having testified more than a dozen times before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. He has been a frequent legal commentator on radio and television, having appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR and its affiliates, CBN and elsewhere. His legal commentary has also appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Times and many others.
Andrew is a Senior Legal Fellow at the Buckeye Institute, an Adjunct Fellow the Manhattan Institute and a member of the leadership of the Federalist Society. He previously served as an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and a legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. He clerked for Judge Edith H. Jones on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Co-Founder, Trustee, and Legal Advisor, Reason Foundation and Ge, Individual Rights Foundation
Manuel "Manny" Klausner was one of the founding partners in Reason Enterprises, which began publishing Reason magazine in 1971, three years after the publication's creation. He became editor in the summer of 1972 and a senior editor in June 1978. In 1978 he co-founded the Reason Foundation with Tibor Machan and Bob Poole. He remains on the board of the Reason Foundation today, is a stalwart supporter of the Federalist Society, and a libertarian lawyer extraordinaire.
Partner, Barr & Klein PLLC
Steve Klein, a partner at Barr & Klein PLLC, is an experienced free speech attorney who has successfully fought for the First Amendment rights of his clients against local, state and federal regulators. As a lobbyist, Steve’s advocacy has led to the successful amendment of state laws to respect political engagement and prevented the enactment of laws that burden it. Steve has published articles in several legal journals, and his commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Detroit News, and other outlets. Steve earned a bachelors degree in politics at Hillsdale College and a law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. He is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois and Michigan.
Vice President, Policy & Litigation, Common Cause
Paul Seamus Ryan joined Common Cause as Vice President for Policy and Litigation in October 2016 and has specialized in political law for more than 20 years. He is former Deputy Executive Director of the Campaign Legal Center (2004-16) and Political Reform Project Director at the Center for Governmental Studies (1999-2004). Paul has litigated before courts throughout the nation and has testified as an expert on election law before Congress as well as state and local governments. He has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and other news outlets, and is quoted regularly by the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and other news publications. Paul is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law (2001) and the University of Montana (1998).
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice
Robert P. Young, Jr., retired justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, promoted initiatives to measure judicial performance, track public satisfaction, adopt best practices, streamline court processes, and implement technologies that expand public access, increase efficiency, and boost productivity of trial courts. From 2018 to 2019 he served as vice president and general counsel at Michigan State University. Mr. Young previously served 18 years as a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, including as chief justice from 2011 to January 2017. Before that, he was a judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals. Mr. Young has served on the boards of many charitable groups, including the Detroit Urban League, United Community Services of Metropolitan Detroit, and Vista Maria, a resource center for abused and neglected young women and girls. A former commissioner of the Michigan Civil Service Commission, he was a trustee of Central Michigan University, University Liggett School, and the Grosse Pointe Academy. Mr. Young is a former chair of the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce Leadership Detroit. He had been an adjunct professor at Wayne State University Law School for more than 20 years and more recently taught at Michigan State University Law School.
2018 Civil Justice Update
Mark A. Behrens, Christopher Appel
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society takes seriously its responsibility as a non-partisan institution...
Topics
Docket Watch: Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas v. Matthew Andrews
Article 5, section 20 of the Arkansas Constitution declares that “[t]he State of Arkansas...
Free Speech: A Right to Speak Anonymously? Political Contributors and Reporters’ Confidential Sources
Andrew Grossman, Manuel S. Klausner, Stephen R. Klein, Paul S. Ryan, Hans A. Von Spakovsky, Robert P. Young
Supporters of mandated disclosure of the source of speech (or of money used to pay...
Free Speech: A Right to Speak Anonymously? Political Contributors and Reporters’ Confidential Sources
Andrew Grossman, Manuel S. Klausner, Stephen R. Klein, Paul S. Ryan, Hans A. Von Spakovsky, Robert P. Young
Supporters of mandated disclosure of the source of speech (or of money used to pay...
Free Speech: A Right to Speak Anonymously? Political Contributors and Reporters’ Confidential Sources
2015 National Lawyers Convention
Washington, DCNorth Carolina Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission
David J. Owsiany, Alexander Volokh
Note from the Editor: The Federalist Society is pleased to present two different perspectives on the North...
Law v. Siegel - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Zvi Rosen
On March 4, 2014, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Law v. Siegel. The...
Perry, Same-Sex Marriage, and Federal Constitutional Guarantees
Mark P. Strasser
Note from the Editor: This article and the article in this issue by George W....