Special Counsel, Wiley Rein LLP
Michael Showalter is a Special Counsel at Wiley Rein LLP. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2016.
Distinguished Research Professor, Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government, University of Notre Dame
Donald L. Drakeman is Distinguished Research Professor in the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government at the University of Notre Dame, and a Fellow of the Centre for Health Leadership and Enterprise at the University of Cambridge. His writings have been cited by the Supreme Courts of the United States and the Philippines. He has published seven books, including The Hollow Core of Constitutional Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2021), Why We Need the Humanities (Palgrave, 2016), and Church, State, and Original Intent (Cambridge University Press, 2010). He received an A.B. magna cum laude from Dartmouth College; a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; and a Ph.D. from Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and he was the founding chair of the Advisory Council for the James Madison Program on American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University.
John S. Battle Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
Julia D. Mahoney teaches courses in property, government finance, constitutional law and nonprofit organizations. A graduate of Yale Law School, she joined the University of Virginia faculty as an associate professor in 1999 and is now John S. Battle Professor of Law. She has also taught at the University of Southern California Law School and the University of Chicago Law School, and before entering the legal academy, practiced law at the New York firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Her scholarly articles include works on land preservation, eminent domain, health care reform and property rights in human biological materials.
Partner, Mayer Brown LLP
Marcia Madsen was Chair of the Government Contracts practice and co-chair of the National Security Practice at Mayer Brown. She represented contractors in regulatory, policy, transactional, litigation, and investigative matters involving virtually every federal agency. Her clients included defense contractors, information technology and systems integrators, telecommunications companies, engineering firms, insurers, and manufacturing companies. Ms. Madsen's practice included defense of False Claims Act matters, internal investigations, audits, bid protests, claims and disputes before administrative forums and in the federal courts. She was a former Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Public Contract Law and currently co-chairs the Section’s Procurement Fraud Committee. She also is a member of the Federalist Society Administrative Law and Regulation Executive Committee. In addition, Marcia was a member of the Court of Federal Claims Advisory Council - Emeritus, and a recipient of the Court's Golden Eagle award. She was a Past President of the Board of Contract Appeals Bar Association. She was appointed by the Executive Office of the President to chair the Section 1423 Panel which recommended revision of the acquisition laws. She spoke and wrote frequently on government contracts and litigation topics.
Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M., 1980
American University - Washington College of Law, J.D., 1976
University of Utah, B.A., 1972
Partner, Mayer Brown
David Dowd is an experienced litigator at Mayer Brown whose practice has a strong emphasis in government contracting issues and controversies. He advises such clients as those involved in health care, information technology, large military systems, engineering services, and other industries regarding federal procurements and related issues. His counsel in this area includes commercial items, conflicts of interest, cost allowability issues, defective pricing, contract and subcontract negotiations, contract financing, assignments and novations, leasing, prime/sub disputes, preparation of claims, and procurement fraud.
David also handles procurement controversies, as he litigates bid protests and disputes before the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, represents contractors in litigation and arbitrations involving government contracts, and tries federal court litigation focused on contract disputes and alleged fraud.
Health care and insurance companies rely on David for advice regarding federal health care and insurance programs, including FEHBA, Medicare, TRICARE, and FEGLI. He represents these industry clients in bid protest and claim litigation regarding federal health care and insurance programs. In related matters, David counsels biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies on biodefense purchasing opportunities and applications, including research and development.
David has more than 20 years of practice experience, having joined Mayer Brown’s Washington, DC office in 2001 after practicing with two other national law firms.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Brian Hodges is a Senior Attorney at PLF’s Pacific Northwest office in Bellevue, Washington. Brian focuses his practice on defending of the right of individuals to make reasonable use of their property, free of unnecessary and oppressive regulations.
In 2013, Brian second-chaired Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District before the U.S. Supreme Court, a case that placed constitutional limits on the government’s common practice of demanding that landowners fund unrelated public projects in exchange for a permit approval. And in the 2008 case, Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights v. Sims, Brian successfully challenged a Seattle-area ordinance that required all rural property owners to dedicate at least half their land as conservation areas as a mandatory condition of any new development without any showing that rural development would impact the environment.
Brian graduated from Seattle University of Law in 2001 with honors. After which, he served as a judicial clerk at the Washington State Court of Appeals, then entered private practice where he focused on appellate advocacy for several years before joining PLF in 2006.
Brian came to the liberty movement by an uncommon route: the arts. Brian played guitar and keyboards in several Seattle-area bands before eventually studying music composition and literature at the University of Washington—earning two Bachelor’s Degrees and a Master of Arts. Through that experience, he came to firmly believe that the goal of art—indeed, the goal of any creative ambition—is to maximize individual freedom and expression, tempered by personal responsibility and ownership, rather than outside oversight or arbitrary restriction. Carrying that philosophy into law school naturally led him to fight for individual rights.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Chris Kieser practices in PLF’s property rights and equality before the law practice groups.
His property rights clients include Cedar Point Nursery, which challenged a California regulation requiring them to allow union organizers to invade their private property, as well as Randall and Kimberley Pavlock, who are fighting back against Indiana’s beachfront land grab along Lake Michigan.
Under equality before the law, Chris represents coalitions of Asian-American parents challenging discriminatory admissions policies for selective K-12 schools in New York City; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Fairfax County, Virginia. He also represents a parent organization in Connecticut challenging a racial quota that prevents many Black and Hispanic students from enrolling at the state’s magnet schools.
Chris has published law review articles in the William & Mary Environmental Law Review and the Federalist Society Review. His op-eds have appeared in the New York Daily News, National Review, The Blaze, the Daily Journal, and SCOTUSblog.
Chris clerked for the Honorable Daniel A. Manion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. He holds a B.A., cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame, and graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame Law School in 2013. At Notre Dame, he was an articles editor of the Notre Dame Law Review.
Growing up on Long Island, Chris developed a deep passion for limited government and individual liberty, arguing with his more numerous progressive classmates. This experience made him deeply skeptical that government tinkering at the expense of individual rights ever works, whether it be denying a property owner the use of his land or a student a seat at her desired school because of her race. He chose PLF because it is the national leader in litigation that furthers individual liberty.
When he’s not working, you’re likely to find Chris rooting for the Mets and Fighting Irish or debating some arcane point of law (because apparently that doesn’t happen enough at work).
Chris is currently licensed to practice in California and admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeal for the Second, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, and the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Central Districts of California, the Northern District of Indiana, and the Northern District of Illinois.
Chancellor Professor, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School of Law
Peltz-Steele received his law degree from Duke University and a bachelor’s in journalism and Spanish from Washington & Lee University. Peltz-Steele has won awards in teaching, research, and public service. He practiced commercial law in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and taught law for more than thirteen years before coming to UMass Law in 2011.
Peltz-Steele is author, co-author, or co-editor of qualitative and quantitative research in law and mass communication in journals and books, of treatises in law and development and access to information, and of textbooks in tort law and freedom of information. He is especially active in international media law and policy, having presented papers on five continents and having published in foreign journals and multinational collaborations. His current research focuses on comparative transparency in the context of development and in the private sector. Peltz-Steele serves in various roles in public service organizations, including the legal education committee of the American Bar Association, International Law Section.
Associate Professor of Law, St. Thomas University College of Law
Dan Epstein is Vice President at America First Legal and an Associate Professor of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida. He also advises individuals and small businesses in affirmative and defensive actions against government overreach. Previously, he advised startups on regulatory matters as Director at a venture capital firm. His federal service includes being a Special Assistant to and Senior Associate Counsel to the President and a counsel for the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Earlier in his career, Mr. Epstein founded and ran Cause of Action, where he represented clients in government investigations and litigated regulatory, constitutional, political, and public law matters.
He holds a Ph.D. from George Washington University in Political Economy, a J.D. from Emory University School of Law, and a B.A. from Kenyon College. He is active in the Palm Beach community as a member of the Fourth Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission in Florida, a transition team member to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, and the Chairman and Trustee of Palm Beach State College.
Pio Cardinal Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law, Professor and Co-director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, University of St. Thomas School of Law - Minnesota
Professor Gregory Sisk is the Pio Cardinal Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He received his B.A. from Montana State University and his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where he graduated first in his class, was an editor on the law review, and president of the moot court board. Prior to joining the legal academy, he served as a legal advisor in all three branches of the federal government: as a legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, as a law clerk to a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, and as an appellate attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice representing the United States in the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. Subsequent to his government service, he was in private practice as the head of the appellate department of a Seattle law firm.
Professor Sisk joined the University of St. Thomas law faculty in 2003, after teaching for twelve years at the Drake University Law School, where he had also been named as the Richard M. & Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor. He teaches Professional Responsibility and Civil Procedure, as well as a new course with original materials on Litigation with the Federal Government. His casebook, "Litigation With the Federal Government: Cases and Materials," was published by Foundation Press in 2000 and has been adopted at several law schools, including Georgetown University, George Washington University, Catholic University, New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, and McGeorge School of Law.
Professor Sisk also is author of the leading treatise on the subject, "Litigation With the Federal Government," published as the fourth edition by ALI-ABA in 2006. He has published nearly three dozen articles on litigation with the federal government, judicial decisionmaking, awards of attorney's fees, professional responsibility, constitutional interpretation, law and religion, and tort reform. His articles have been cited by the United States Supreme Court, several federal courts of appeals, and the supreme courts of several states. His empirical study of judicial decisionmaking and the influence of judicial background, co-authored with Professors Michael Heise and Andrew Morriss, was published in the New York University Law Review and received the 1999 Article Prize from the Law and Society Association.
Professor Sisk has remained active as a member of the legal profession. He served as reporter for the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct Drafting Committee appointed by the Iowa Supreme Court to draft the new set of ethics rules to govern lawyers in Iowa. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the nation's premier law reform organization. He maintains a limited practice, primarily as an appellate attorney and as an expert witness on professional ethics and conduct. For example, he briefed a leading environmental/federal-common-law case as counsel for amicus curiae and then was invited to argue the central issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. More important than success on the merits, however, was the testament that the court gave to the attorneys in the case: "Litigation often produces criticism for its participants. This case, however, was extraordinarily well briefed and argued by consummate professionals on both sides and we are grateful for that." Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Brown & Bryant, Inc., 132 F.3d 1295, 1303 n.5 (9th Cir. 1997), amended, 159 F.3d 358, 365 n.6 (9th Cir. 1998).
Professor Sisk is also active with the Conference on Catholic Legal Thought, writing and speaking about religion and public life and the role of faith in professional life. He occasionally participates as a member of the Mirror of Justice blog, which present a diverse array of Catholic perspectives on the law, public life, and social justice.
J.D., University of Washington Law School
B.A., Montana State University
Pio Cardinal Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law, Professor and Co-director of the Terrence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law, and Public Policy, University of St. Thomas School of Law - Minnesota
Professor Gregory Sisk is the Pio Cardinal Laghi Distinguished Chair in Law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He received his B.A. from Montana State University and his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law, where he graduated first in his class, was an editor on the law review, and president of the moot court board. Prior to joining the legal academy, he served as a legal advisor in all three branches of the federal government: as a legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, as a law clerk to a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, and as an appellate attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice representing the United States in the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. Subsequent to his government service, he was in private practice as the head of the appellate department of a Seattle law firm.
Professor Sisk joined the University of St. Thomas law faculty in 2003, after teaching for twelve years at the Drake University Law School, where he had also been named as the Richard M. & Anita Calkins Distinguished Professor. He teaches Professional Responsibility and Civil Procedure, as well as a new course with original materials on Litigation with the Federal Government. His casebook, "Litigation With the Federal Government: Cases and Materials," was published by Foundation Press in 2000 and has been adopted at several law schools, including Georgetown University, George Washington University, Catholic University, New York University, the University of Pittsburgh, and McGeorge School of Law.
Professor Sisk also is author of the leading treatise on the subject, "Litigation With the Federal Government," published as the fourth edition by ALI-ABA in 2006. He has published nearly three dozen articles on litigation with the federal government, judicial decisionmaking, awards of attorney's fees, professional responsibility, constitutional interpretation, law and religion, and tort reform. His articles have been cited by the United States Supreme Court, several federal courts of appeals, and the supreme courts of several states. His empirical study of judicial decisionmaking and the influence of judicial background, co-authored with Professors Michael Heise and Andrew Morriss, was published in the New York University Law Review and received the 1999 Article Prize from the Law and Society Association.
Professor Sisk has remained active as a member of the legal profession. He served as reporter for the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct Drafting Committee appointed by the Iowa Supreme Court to draft the new set of ethics rules to govern lawyers in Iowa. He is a member of the American Law Institute, the nation's premier law reform organization. He maintains a limited practice, primarily as an appellate attorney and as an expert witness on professional ethics and conduct. For example, he briefed a leading environmental/federal-common-law case as counsel for amicus curiae and then was invited to argue the central issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. More important than success on the merits, however, was the testament that the court gave to the attorneys in the case: "Litigation often produces criticism for its participants. This case, however, was extraordinarily well briefed and argued by consummate professionals on both sides and we are grateful for that." Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Brown & Bryant, Inc., 132 F.3d 1295, 1303 n.5 (9th Cir. 1997), amended, 159 F.3d 358, 365 n.6 (9th Cir. 1998).
Professor Sisk is also active with the Conference on Catholic Legal Thought, writing and speaking about religion and public life and the role of faith in professional life. He occasionally participates as a member of the Mirror of Justice blog, which present a diverse array of Catholic perspectives on the law, public life, and social justice.
J.D., University of Washington Law School
B.A., Montana State University
Corner Post and 28 U.S.C. § 2401(a): Not Much to Look At?
Michael J. Showalter
This term the U.S. Supreme Court will decide Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors...
Establishing an Agreement to Disagree About Church and State
Donald L. Drakeman
A review of Nathan Chapman & Michael McConnell, Agreeing to Disagree: How the Establishment Clause...
Maine Community Health Options v. United States - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Julia D. Mahoney
On April 27, 2020, the Supreme Court held by a vote of 8-1, in the...
Topics
After More Than 30 Years, the Supreme Court Reopens the Door To Federal Takings Claims
Introduction The opinions in June’s ruling by a sharply-divided Supreme Court, Knick v. Township of...
Independent Review of Procurements Is Worth It: There Is No Support for Hamstringing the GAO Bid Protest Process
Marcia G. Madsen, David F. Dowd, Roger V. Abbott
Note from the Editor: This article criticizes a recent change to the GAO bid protest...
Horne v. United States Department of Agriculture: The Takings Clause and the Administrative State
Brian T. Hodges, Christopher M. Kieser
Note from the Editor: This article discusses and praises Horne v. United States Department of...
A Jurisprudential Divide in U.S. v. Wong & U.S. v. June
Richard J. Peltz-Steele
On April 22, the Supreme Court decided two consolidated cases construing the Federal Tort Claims...
Redressing Politicized Spending
Daniel Z. Epstein
Note from the Editor: This article is about politicized spending in the federal discretionary budget. ...
SCOTUScast 1-16-08 featuring Gregory Sisk
Gregory Sisk
On January 8th, 2008, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in the John R....
SCOTUScast 11-6-07 featuring Gregory Sisk
Gregory Sisk
On November 6th, 2007, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the John R. Sand...