Executive Director, Committee for Justice
Ashley Baker serves as Executive Director at the Committee for Justice. Her focus areas include the Supreme Court, regulatory policy, antitrust, and judicial nominations. Her writing has appeared in Fox News, USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, The American Spectator, and elsewhere. Ashley is also the founder of the recently-formed Alliance on Antitrust coalition. She has testified before the United States Senate on the topic of antitrust law.
Ashley is an active member of the Federalist Society, where she serves as a member of the Regulatory Transparency Project's Antitrust & Consumer Protection and Cyber & Privacy working groups. As a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association, she has served as a speaker on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary.
As an expert on the judicial nominations process, Ashley worked closely on the efforts to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Much of Ashley’s work is at the intersection of the courts, regulation, and technology. Ashley also engages in policy analysis and outreach on legislation and regulations related to these issues by writing op-eds, letters to Congress for committee hearings, and regulatory comments.
Associate Attorney, Gibson Dunn
Logan Billman is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department. His practice focuses on antitrust and competition law, including merger investigations and conduct matters before the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and state attorneys general. Logan represents clients in complex private and government antitrust litigation and has significant experience in FTC merger challenges, including litigating and counseling clients through all phases of agency enforcement proceedings. His practice spans strategic counseling, investigative compliance, and trial advocacy in high-stakes competition matters. Logan received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, where he served as Managing Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy. During law school, he interned with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. He earned a B.A. in Economics from American University.
Senior Advisor for Competition and International Affairs, Office of Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, FTC
Partner and Co-Founder, Simonsen Sussman LLP
Shaoul is a Partner and Co-Founder of Simonsen Sussman LLP and a seasoned antitrust practitioner with extensive experience in private and government practice.
Most recently, Shaoul served as the Associate Director for Litigation in the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. During his tenure, he oversaw the Bureau’s expansive litigation portfolio, focusing on strategic case development and successful outcomes. During his time in the Bureau’s Front Office, Shaoul worked on several high-profile and complex cases including the Kroger-Albertsons merger challenge, which addressed consolidation in the retail grocery sector, and the FTC’s lawsuit to unwind Illumina's acquisition of Grail in the Fifth Circuit, the first successful challenge to a vertical merger in 40 years. Additionally, Shaoul played an instrumental role in the FTC’s landmark monopolization case against Meta.
Apart from his litigation work at FTC, Shaoul played a pivotal role in shaping the FTC and DOJ 2023 Merger Guidelines, which introduced new measures aimed at addressing market consolidation and modernizing merger enforcement standards to reflect contemporary market realities and economics. Shaoul led the efforts to reform the premerger notification process under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. These reforms, which came into effect in 2025, included significant updates to streamline filing procedures, improve transparency, and strengthen regulatory oversight to ensure compliance with evolving antitrust laws. Shaoul also led the drafting of several amicus briefs filed by the U.S. government in landmark antitrust cases, including the FTC’s amicus brief during the remedy phase of the Epic v. Google case, which was cited favorably by the court.
Shaoul previously served as Attorney Advisor to former FTC Chair Lina Khan. Prior to his roles at the FTC, Shaoul was in private practice and served as a legal fellow at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Shaoul holds a J.D. from Fordham University and a B.A. from Bard College Berlin.
Shaoul serves on the board of the American Economic Liberties Project and as a Senior Advisor at Columbia Law School, where he focuses on academic antitrust research, exploring innovative approaches to competition policy, and modern market dynamics.
Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives & Special Counsel to the President, Alliance Defending Freedom
Ryan Bangert serves as senior vice president for strategic initiatives and special counsel to the president at Alliance Defending Freedom. He oversees ADF’s regulatory practice, government relations, and corporate engagement teams. He also advises executive leadership with strategic initiatives and appears as counsel for ADF clients.
Before joining ADF, Bangert served as deputy first assistant attorney general and deputy for legal counsel in the office of the Texas attorney general. In those roles, he oversaw the state’s Special Litigation Unit, which handled critical litigation against the federal government, and oversaw multiple divisions within the office. Prior to that, he served as deputy for civil litigation for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, overseeing the state’s civil litigation divisions, including the consumer protection and antitrust divisions, with over 200 attorneys and staff. During his time in government service, Bangert handled a diverse array of matters involving Big Tech, election law, civil rights, multistate antitrust and consumer protection investigations, and many other issues.
Prior to his government service, Bangert was a litigation partner at Baker Botts L.L.P., where he was a member of the firm’s commercial litigation and appellate practice sections. A seasoned trial attorney, The Texas Lawyer ranked the verdict Bangert achieved in the Janvey v. Maldonado case as the #1 verdict in the securities category for 2015-2019, and The National Law Journal ranked it in its “Top 100 Verdicts of 2015.” He was named a “Texas Rising Star” for multiple years by Texas Lawyer and Law and Politics magazines. While at Baker Botts, he was a volunteer attorney for ADF and served as amicus counsel in numerous cases, including Trinity Lutheran v. Comer and Salazar v. Buono, receiving the firm’s Opus Justitae Award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to pro bono service.
Bangert earned his J.D. from Southern Methodist University, where he was a Hatton Sumner’s scholar and graduated first in his class. He also participated in ADF’s Blackstone program and is a Blackstone Fellow. Following law school, he clerked for the Honorable Patrick E. Higginbotham on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bangert is a member of the Philadelphia Society and Federalist Society. He is admitted to practice law in Texas, California (inactive), Missouri (inactive), the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous federal district and appellate courts. A frequent op-ed contributor, his work has appeared in National Review, Daily Wire, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Federalist, Fox News, and RealClear Religion. He speaks nationally on constitutional, cultural, and religious liberty issues.
Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, The University of Texas at Austin
David DeMatthews is the W.K. Kellogg Endowed Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin, where he directs the Cooperative Superintendency Program and founded the Texas Education Leadership Lab. He also holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Special Education. Prior to joining UT Austin in 2018, DeMatthews served as an assistant professor at the University of Texas at El Paso and began his career as a teacher, campus leader, and district administrator in Baltimore City Public Schools and the District of Columbia Public Schools.
DeMatthews' research focuses on district and school leadership, with a particular emphasis on creating and sustaining schools where all students are present, meaningfully engaged, and achieving at high levels, especially students with disabilities. His work also examines leadership stability and its role in school improvement, including superintendent and principal career pathways, job-related stress and burnout, and turnover. In addition, he studies the impact of school choice policies on public schools and historically marginalized students.
He has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, along with numerous book chapters, research reports, policy briefs, and editorials. His research appears in leading journals such as Educational Researcher, Educational Administration Quarterly, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Teachers College Record, Journal of Special Education, and Journal of Learning Disabilities. DeMatthews has authored or edited five books, including Community Engaged Leadership for Social Justice: A Critical Approach in Urban Schools (Routledge). He is the lead author of the Inclusive Principal Leadership Innovation Configuration, an evidence-based guidance document adopted by dozens of university-based principal preparation programs nationwide. He has also authored policy briefs for Brookings, the National Education Policy Center, and the Annenberg Institute.
DeMatthews' work and ideas have been featured in major media outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, Associated Press, ProPublica, ABC News, Education Week, and regional outlets such as The Dallas Morning News and Houston Chronicle. He regularly provides expert commentary on education policy issues in Texas and nationally, particularly on topics related to state education policy, special education, school leadership, school choice and vouchers, and school safety.
Recognized as one of the nation's top education scholars by Education Week (ranked 36th overall and 6th in Curriculum, Instruction, and Administration), DeMatthews has received numerous honors, including the American Educational Research Association's Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award (2025). He served as president of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) in 2021 and chaired AERA's Leadership for School Improvement SIG (2020-2021). His other awards include the UCEA Jack A. Culbertson Award (2017), the William J. Davis Award for the most outstanding article in Educational Administration Quarterly (2018), and the Paula Silver Case Award for the most outstanding article in the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership (2017). He has also contributed to national efforts to develop educational leadership standards and improve educator preparation.
Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Jeremy D. Kernodle is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He was nominated by President Trump in 2018.
Kernodle previously served as a partner at Haynes and Boone, where he founded and chaired the firm’s False Claims Act practice group and focuses on representing healthcare providers and government contractors in federal courts throughout the country. He also served on the firm’s executive committee.
Kernodle is a past president of the Dallas Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and has served as secretary of the Dallas Bar Association’s Appellate Section.
Before joining Haynes and Boone, Kernodle was an attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice.
After earning his law degree at Vanderbilt in 2001, Kernodle was a law clerk for Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He then joined Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C., as an associate.
He earned his B.A. and B.B.A., both summa cum laude, from Harding University.
Managing Attorney, Institute for Justice
Arif Panju serves as a managing attorney with the Institute for Justice. He leads IJ’s Texas office and litigates cases involving free speech, property rights, economic liberty, and educational choice.
Arif is co-counsel in the case of Carson v. Makin in the U.S. Supreme Court. Carson is a challenge to Maine’s exclusion of religious educational options from the state’s school choice program.
Arif’s work has resulted in court victories in both federal and state court. He vindicated the free speech rights of tour guides in Billups v. City of Charleston. He secured a victory for economic liberty in Brantley v. Kuntz, freeing hairbraiding schools in Texas from onerous restrictions and paving the way for the abolishment of the state’s braiding license at the Texas Legislature. In Patel v. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Arif helped secure a landmark victory in the Texas Supreme Court, establishing a new test for reviewing the constitutionality of economic regulations.
Arif’s work at IJ has been featured by outlets including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Texas Tribune, and dozens more nationwide. His opinions and views on legal issues have been published in several outlets, including the Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman, and USA Today. Arif sits on the board for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
Arif graduated law school with honors from Southern Methodist University. During law school he clerked on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Arif lives in Austin, Texas.
Counsel, Becket Law
Rebekah Ricketts joined Becket as counsel in 2022. Her practice focuses on First Amendment and appellate litigation.
Before joining Becket, Becky served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, where she prosecuted a wide range of violent crimes and cyber offenses, including sex trafficking, cyberstalking, carjacking, kidnapping, firearms offenses, and drug trafficking. As Human Trafficking Coordinator, she led the District’s efforts to reconstitute the North Texas Trafficking Task Force, a cross-agency task force led by Homeland Security Investigations. She also obtained the first criminal indictment and guilty plea under the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), in a case against the owner of a commercial sex website.
Before that, Becky was an associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Dallas, where she practiced appellate and constitutional law, complex commercial litigation, and administrative law. While at the firm, Becky argued cases in federal and state court and worked on numerous high-profile appeals, including a landmark Fifth Circuit reversal of a $663 million False Claims Act judgment. She also maintained an active pro bono docket of religious liberty cases.
Becky served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States, Judge José A. Cabranes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Richard J. Sullivan, then of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School, where she was a Book Reviews & Features Editor of the Yale Law Journal, and her B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated with High Honors and was awarded the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
Becky lives in the great state of Texas with her husband and two young daughters.
Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Judge Sean Jordan is a federal district judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Jordan worked on complex civil litigation and appellate cases for twenty-five years in both government service and private practice. He has managed the appellate sections of two large law firms and also previously served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General of Texas.
Judge Jordan received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to attending UT Austin, he served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Alabama Office of the Attorney General
Robert M. Overing is the Principal Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Alabama and Adjunct Professor at Faulkner University's Jones School of Law. He previously served as a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a masters degree in Philosophy and Law.
Judicial Law Clerk, 31st Circuit Court of Virginia
Peter is a legal professional, receiving his J.D. in 2024 from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He has experience in both the public and private sectors, having worked as a crime analyst for Memphis Police Department, and a geographic information systems analyst for Geomni, a private aerial imaging firm. He also has experience in historical and geopolitical research and analysis, including a peer-reviewed essay on U.S.-Pakistani relations during the Soviet-Afghan War, published in BYU's journal for undergraduate historical research. He is an American patriot and wants to use his analytical skill to serve his nation and community.
Honor Law Graduate Attorney, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Judicial Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Leo O'Malley graduated, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, where he served as a Showcase Team Oralist on the Moot Court Board and the Director of the 2022-23 Religious Freedom Tournament. He recently completed a clerkship with Justice Janine Kern of the South Dakota Supreme Court and is currently clerking on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He will go on to clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit during the 2027-28 term.
A National Merit Scholarship Recipient, Leo previously graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College, IL in 2020, with a BS in Applied Mathematics and a BM in Organ Performance. While in high school, Leo performed on classical violin at a competitive level, being recognized at numerous local and national music competitions and participating in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. In his free time, Leo enjoys reading fantasy novels and experiencing historical architecture. His passion lies in finding innovative and pragmatic solutions to the political, economic, and societal issues facing America in the 21st Century.
Devon Westhill is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Westhill on October 7, 2025.
Westhill returns to the USDA where he previously headed the civil rights office as Deputy Assistant Secretary in President Trump’s first term. His previous government appointments also include service at the U.S. Department of Labor, liaison to the Administrative Conference of the U.S., and liaison to the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to returning to government service, Westhill was President and General Counsel of a nonprofit civil rights organization.
Westhill has testified on civil rights matters before Congress, federal agencies, and as an expert witness in federal court. He has spoken hundreds of times at college campuses, conferences, and on radio and TV programs, and he is frequently quoted in print publications, and his writing has appeared in numerous national outlets. A U.S. Navy veteran, Westhill earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Florida.
United States District Judge, Eastern District of Texas
Prior to taking the bench, Judge Barker served as Deputy Solicitor General of Texas, arguing appeals and public-law cases for the State. Before his state-government service, Judge Barker was an appellate and IP partner at Yetter Coleman in Houston. Before that, he spent four years in the Appellate Section of the DOJ’s Criminal Division. While there, he taught appellate advocacy at the National Advocacy Center, completed a Pegasus Scholarship with the English Inns of Court, and served on detail as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. Judge Barker served as a law clerk to Judge William Bryson on the Federal Circuit and Chief Judge John Walker on the Second Circuit. He earned his B.S. in computer engineering summa cum laude from Texas A&M and his J.D. from the University of Texas, where he graduated first in his class.
Justice, Texas Fifteenth District Court of Appeals
April Farris was appointed to the Fifteenth Court of Appeals on September 1 of 2024. April previously served on the First Court of Appeals after being appointed in 2021 and elected in 2022.
Before joining the Court, April was a partner at Yetter Coleman LLP, where she handled complex appellate litigation for energy, technology, and government clients. While in private practice, she was recognized in appellate law by Law360, Best Lawyers in America, and Thompson Reuters' Super Lawyers. In 2020, she was one of five attorneys in the nation to be named a Law360 appellate Rising Star, an honor reserved for lawyers under 40.
April previously served as an Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Texas, handling appeals for various Texas agencies. She is a former councilmember for the Texas State Bar's Appellate Section and a current councilmember for the Civil Rights & Civil Liberties Section. She serves as a trustee for the Texas Supreme Court Historical Association, and she is on the board of the Garland R. Walker Inn of Court in Houston. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas Pattern Jury Charge Oversight Committee, and she is on the editorial board of The Advocate. In 2022 and 2023, she was a guest instructor for Harvard Law School's Introduction to Trial Advocacy Program. She taught Origins of the Federal Constitution with Judge Charles Eskridge at the University of Texas School of Law in 2025, and she previously taught First Amendment at South Texas College of Law.
April clerked for Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude in 2009, and she earned her bachelor's degree summa cum laude from Abilene Christian University in 2006. She was named ACU's Young Alumnus of the Year for 2025. She enjoys spending time with her husband and children, tennis, and theology.
United States Attorney, Southern District of Texas
District Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
Judge Brantley Starr was appointed to United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in August 2019. Before his appointment, Judge Starr was the Deputy First Assistant Attorney General of Texas. Prior to that appointment, he served as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel. From 2011 to 2015, Judge Starr served as career staff attorney to Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman. From 2008 to 2011, he practiced at King & Spalding, LLP. He served in the Office of the Solicitor General from 2006 to 2008. Prior to that, Judge Starr clerked for then-Justice Don Willett on the Texas Supreme Court after serving at the Office of the Attorney General. Judge Starr received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and his bachelor of arts degree from Abilene Christian University in 2001. Judge Starr has taught the Origins of the Constitution Class at the University of Texas law, Texas A&M law, and SMU law.
Executive Director, Committee for Justice
Ashley Baker serves as Executive Director at the Committee for Justice. Her focus areas include the Supreme Court, regulatory policy, antitrust, and judicial nominations. Her writing has appeared in Fox News, USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, The American Spectator, and elsewhere. Ashley is also the founder of the recently-formed Alliance on Antitrust coalition. She has testified before the United States Senate on the topic of antitrust law.
Ashley is an active member of the Federalist Society, where she serves as a member of the Regulatory Transparency Project's Antitrust & Consumer Protection and Cyber & Privacy working groups. As a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association, she has served as a speaker on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary.
As an expert on the judicial nominations process, Ashley worked closely on the efforts to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Much of Ashley’s work is at the intersection of the courts, regulation, and technology. Ashley also engages in policy analysis and outreach on legislation and regulations related to these issues by writing op-eds, letters to Congress for committee hearings, and regulatory comments.
Associate Attorney, Gibson Dunn
Logan Billman is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson Dunn and a member of the firm’s Litigation Department. His practice focuses on antitrust and competition law, including merger investigations and conduct matters before the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, and state attorneys general. Logan represents clients in complex private and government antitrust litigation and has significant experience in FTC merger challenges, including litigating and counseling clients through all phases of agency enforcement proceedings. His practice spans strategic counseling, investigative compliance, and trial advocacy in high-stakes competition matters. Logan received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude and Order of the Coif, where he served as Managing Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy. During law school, he interned with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. He earned a B.A. in Economics from American University.
Senior Advisor for Competition and International Affairs, Office of Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, FTC
Partner and Co-Founder, Simonsen Sussman LLP
Shaoul is a Partner and Co-Founder of Simonsen Sussman LLP and a seasoned antitrust practitioner with extensive experience in private and government practice.
Most recently, Shaoul served as the Associate Director for Litigation in the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission. During his tenure, he oversaw the Bureau’s expansive litigation portfolio, focusing on strategic case development and successful outcomes. During his time in the Bureau’s Front Office, Shaoul worked on several high-profile and complex cases including the Kroger-Albertsons merger challenge, which addressed consolidation in the retail grocery sector, and the FTC’s lawsuit to unwind Illumina's acquisition of Grail in the Fifth Circuit, the first successful challenge to a vertical merger in 40 years. Additionally, Shaoul played an instrumental role in the FTC’s landmark monopolization case against Meta.
Apart from his litigation work at FTC, Shaoul played a pivotal role in shaping the FTC and DOJ 2023 Merger Guidelines, which introduced new measures aimed at addressing market consolidation and modernizing merger enforcement standards to reflect contemporary market realities and economics. Shaoul led the efforts to reform the premerger notification process under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Act. These reforms, which came into effect in 2025, included significant updates to streamline filing procedures, improve transparency, and strengthen regulatory oversight to ensure compliance with evolving antitrust laws. Shaoul also led the drafting of several amicus briefs filed by the U.S. government in landmark antitrust cases, including the FTC’s amicus brief during the remedy phase of the Epic v. Google case, which was cited favorably by the court.
Shaoul previously served as Attorney Advisor to former FTC Chair Lina Khan. Prior to his roles at the FTC, Shaoul was in private practice and served as a legal fellow at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Shaoul holds a J.D. from Fordham University and a B.A. from Bard College Berlin.
Shaoul serves on the board of the American Economic Liberties Project and as a Senior Advisor at Columbia Law School, where he focuses on academic antitrust research, exploring innovative approaches to competition policy, and modern market dynamics.
Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Judge Sean Jordan is a federal district judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Jordan worked on complex civil litigation and appellate cases for twenty-five years in both government service and private practice. He has managed the appellate sections of two large law firms and also previously served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General of Texas.
Judge Jordan received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to attending UT Austin, he served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Alabama Office of the Attorney General
Robert M. Overing is the Principal Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Alabama and Adjunct Professor at Faulkner University's Jones School of Law. He previously served as a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a masters degree in Philosophy and Law.
Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Judge Sean Jordan is a federal district judge for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Jordan worked on complex civil litigation and appellate cases for twenty-five years in both government service and private practice. He has managed the appellate sections of two large law firms and also previously served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Solicitor General of Texas.
Judge Jordan received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Texas at Austin and his J.D., with honors, from the University of Texas School of Law. Prior to attending UT Austin, he served in the U.S. Army as an infantryman and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.
Principal Deputy Solicitor General, Alabama Office of the Attorney General
Robert M. Overing is the Principal Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Alabama and Adjunct Professor at Faulkner University's Jones School of Law. He previously served as a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as Special Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a masters degree in Philosophy and Law.
Judicial Law Clerk, 31st Circuit Court of Virginia
Peter is a legal professional, receiving his J.D. in 2024 from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He has experience in both the public and private sectors, having worked as a crime analyst for Memphis Police Department, and a geographic information systems analyst for Geomni, a private aerial imaging firm. He also has experience in historical and geopolitical research and analysis, including a peer-reviewed essay on U.S.-Pakistani relations during the Soviet-Afghan War, published in BYU's journal for undergraduate historical research. He is an American patriot and wants to use his analytical skill to serve his nation and community.
Honor Law Graduate Attorney, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Judicial Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Leo O'Malley graduated, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, where he served as a Showcase Team Oralist on the Moot Court Board and the Director of the 2022-23 Religious Freedom Tournament. He recently completed a clerkship with Justice Janine Kern of the South Dakota Supreme Court and is currently clerking on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He will go on to clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit during the 2027-28 term.
A National Merit Scholarship Recipient, Leo previously graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College, IL in 2020, with a BS in Applied Mathematics and a BM in Organ Performance. While in high school, Leo performed on classical violin at a competitive level, being recognized at numerous local and national music competitions and participating in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. In his free time, Leo enjoys reading fantasy novels and experiencing historical architecture. His passion lies in finding innovative and pragmatic solutions to the political, economic, and societal issues facing America in the 21st Century.
Devon Westhill is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Westhill on October 7, 2025.
Westhill returns to the USDA where he previously headed the civil rights office as Deputy Assistant Secretary in President Trump’s first term. His previous government appointments also include service at the U.S. Department of Labor, liaison to the Administrative Conference of the U.S., and liaison to the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to returning to government service, Westhill was President and General Counsel of a nonprofit civil rights organization.
Westhill has testified on civil rights matters before Congress, federal agencies, and as an expert witness in federal court. He has spoken hundreds of times at college campuses, conferences, and on radio and TV programs, and he is frequently quoted in print publications, and his writing has appeared in numerous national outlets. A U.S. Navy veteran, Westhill earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Florida.
Judicial Law Clerk, 31st Circuit Court of Virginia
Peter is a legal professional, receiving his J.D. in 2024 from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He has experience in both the public and private sectors, having worked as a crime analyst for Memphis Police Department, and a geographic information systems analyst for Geomni, a private aerial imaging firm. He also has experience in historical and geopolitical research and analysis, including a peer-reviewed essay on U.S.-Pakistani relations during the Soviet-Afghan War, published in BYU's journal for undergraduate historical research. He is an American patriot and wants to use his analytical skill to serve his nation and community.
Honor Law Graduate Attorney, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Judicial Law Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
Leo O'Malley graduated, with honors, from the University of Notre Dame School of Law, where he served as a Showcase Team Oralist on the Moot Court Board and the Director of the 2022-23 Religious Freedom Tournament. He recently completed a clerkship with Justice Janine Kern of the South Dakota Supreme Court and is currently clerking on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. He will go on to clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit during the 2027-28 term.
A National Merit Scholarship Recipient, Leo previously graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College, IL in 2020, with a BS in Applied Mathematics and a BM in Organ Performance. While in high school, Leo performed on classical violin at a competitive level, being recognized at numerous local and national music competitions and participating in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras and the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. In his free time, Leo enjoys reading fantasy novels and experiencing historical architecture. His passion lies in finding innovative and pragmatic solutions to the political, economic, and societal issues facing America in the 21st Century.
Devon Westhill is the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s nomination of Westhill on October 7, 2025.
Westhill returns to the USDA where he previously headed the civil rights office as Deputy Assistant Secretary in President Trump’s first term. His previous government appointments also include service at the U.S. Department of Labor, liaison to the Administrative Conference of the U.S., and liaison to the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Prior to returning to government service, Westhill was President and General Counsel of a nonprofit civil rights organization.
Westhill has testified on civil rights matters before Congress, federal agencies, and as an expert witness in federal court. He has spoken hundreds of times at college campuses, conferences, and on radio and TV programs, and he is frequently quoted in print publications, and his writing has appeared in numerous national outlets. A U.S. Navy veteran, Westhill earned his BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his JD from the University of Florida.
The FTC’s Pre-Merger Notification Rule on Appeal
The FTC’s Pre-Merger Notification Rule on Appeal
Ashley Baker, Logan Billman, Maxwell Gottschall, Jana Seidl, Shaoul Sussman
The Federal Trade Commission’s recent overhaul of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act (HSR) premerger notification rule represents...
Panel 2: Educational Freedom Inside & Outside the Public School
2025 Texas Chapters Conference
Austin, TXLitigation Update: Miller v. McDonald
Litigation Update: Miller v. McDonald
Sean D. Jordan, Robert M. Overing
All fifty states mandate certain vaccinations for schoolchildren. Forty-six of them allow religious exemptions. New...
Litigation Update: Miller v. McDonald
Sean D. Jordan, Robert M. Overing
All fifty states mandate certain vaccinations for schoolchildren. Forty-six of them allow religious exemptions. New...
New Voices in Civil Rights: How Universities are Responding to SFFA
Peter Abernathy, Samuel Gellen, Leo O'Malley, Anthony Pericolo, Devon Westhill
Institutions of higher education released demographic data for their first classes admitted after the Supreme...
New Voices in Civil Rights: How Universities are Responding to SFFA
Peter Abernathy, Samuel Gellen, Leo O'Malley, Anthony Pericolo, Devon Westhill
Institutions of higher education released demographic data for their first classes admitted after the Supreme...
New Voices in Civil Rights: How Universities are Responding to SFFA
Young Lawyers Panel: Careers in Government Service
2024 Texas Chapters Conference
Fort Worth, TX