Senior Attorney, Sensient Technologies Corporation
Former United States Attorney General
Michael B. Mukasey is the former Attorney General of the United States, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. As Attorney General from November 2007 to January 2009, he oversaw the U.S. Department of Justice and advised on critical issues of domestic and international law.
From 1988 to 2006, Judge Mukasey served as a district judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, becoming Chief Judge in 2000.
From 1972 to 1976, Judge Mukasey served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and as Chief of the Official Corruption Unit from 1975 to 1976. His practice consisted of criminal litigation on behalf of the government, including investigation and prosecution of narcotics, bank robbery, interstate theft, securities fraud, fraud on the government and bribery. From 1976 to 1987 and from 2006 to 2007 he was in private practice.
Judge Mukasey has received numerous honors, including the Federal Bar Council’s Learned Hand Medal for Excellence in Federal Jurisprudence. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Access to Information and Proceedings of the New York Bar Association from 1984 to 1987. He served on the Federal Courts Committee of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 1979 to 1982 and its Communications Law Committee from 1983 to 1986. Judge Mukasey was also a part-time lecturer at Columbia School of Law from January 1993 to May 2007, teaching trial advocacy.
He received his LL.B. from Yale Law School in 1967 and his B.A. from Columbia College in 1963.
Senior Partner, Grefe & Sidney PLC
Guy R. Cook is a Des Moines, Iowa, native. He has been practicing law more than 25 years. He is a board certified trial lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Guy has served as counsel in more than 1000 litigated matters and has tried more than 200 jury trials. He is one of only 20 Iowa attorneys to be inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for verdicts and settlements in excess of one million dollars. Guy is recognized in both The Best Lawyers in America publication and the list of Iowa Super Lawyers.
Guy has extensive and wide-ranging courtroom experience. He has successfully defended major business litigation, obtained million dollar jury verdicts, and successfully defended significant federal criminal cases. He has tried complex civil and criminal cases throughout the state of Iowa, including wrongful death, serious personal injury, products liability, securities fraud, medical malpractice, semi truck collisions, insurance fraud, sexual assault, false arrest and breach of contract claims.
Guy is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Drake University Law School. He worked his way through school as a union ironworker, campus security officer, and law library assistant. While in school Guy was vice president of the Liberal Arts Student Association, resident advisor for Acacia fraternity, and worked as a legislative intern in the Iowa General Assembly. During law school he was a staff writer and researcher for the Drake Law School Legal Research Service and a prosecutor intern in the Polk County Attorney's Office.
Upon graduation from Law School, Guy served as a judicial law clerk for Justice J.L. Larson of the Iowa Supreme Court, assisting Justice Larson in researching and drafting legal opinions of the Iowa Supreme Court.
In 1983, Guy was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. As a federal prosecutor, Guy tried a wide range of criminal cases, including embezzlement, bank robbery, tax fraud, murder for hire, obstruction of justice, narcotic offenses, bank fraud, and kidnapping. Among the cases he prosecuted were the largest insurance fraud in Iowa history, the then largest drug case in Iowa history, and the largest tax evasion case in Iowa history. Guy received written commendations from FBI Directors William Webster and William Sessions. He has also received commendations for his trial work in major criminal cases by the District Director of the IRS and the Resident Agent of the U.S. Secret Service.
In 1987, Guy joined Grefe & Sidney, P.L.C. as a trial attorney. He is a senior partner practicing exclusively in the field of litigation. Guy's extensive courtroom work has taken him to courts across the state of Iowa. He has also appeared in federal courts in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois. He has been involved in nearly all types of litigation.
In addition to his work as a trial lawyer, Guy is past president of the Polk County Bar Association, the largest metropolitan bar in the state of Iowa representing more than one-fourth of all the lawyers in the state. Guy presently serves as a Board of Governor of the Iowa State Bar Association.
Guy was elected to serve as commissioner on the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission. He has also served as an appointed member of the Merit Selection Panel for selection of U.S. Magistrate Judges for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Guy was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission.
Guy is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has served as membership director for the Iowa chapter. Guy is also a fellow of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation only organization, limited to the top 250 trial attorneys in the State of Iowa. He has also been inducted into the Society of Outstanding Lawyers of America and is a certified member of the American College of Master Advocates and Barristers, an invitation only group requiring more than 75 jury trials. He has also been recognized repeatedly as a "leading individual" in litigation in Iowa by Chambers and Partners, a world wide legal publication. Guy has been a guest speaker and lecturer on a number of litigation topics throughout Iowa.
Lt. Governor, State of Iowa
Adam C. Gregg is an associate attorney with BrownWinick. Adam is engaged in the general practice of law, including but not limited to the areas of governmental relations, litigation,agricultural law, environmental law, administrative law andemployment law.
Adam brings extensive political experience to BrownWinick's lobbying practice group. He has been involved in a number of state and federal political campaigns, including work for the 2004 campaign of U.S. Senator John Thune and managing the Iowa Senate campaign of Senator Larry Noble. While studying abroad in London, Adam served as a legislative assistant and campaign staff to Cheryl Gillan, member of the United Kingdom Parliament. As a student, Adam also completed internships in Washington with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Congressman Steve King. Adam has considerable experience in campaign finance and election law, having work experience with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and having served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Free Speech and Election Law Practice Group of the national Federalist Society. He has also conducted significant academic research in the area of election law.
Adam graduated, summa cum laude, from Central College in 2006, receiving his B.A. in Political Science and History. While at Central College, Adam was twice honored as the school's top political science student. Adam received his J.D. in 2009, with high honors, from Drake University. At Drake Law School, Adam was a recipient of the Dwight D. Opperman Scholarship. He was also chosen by the faculty to receive the William and Ellen Cooney Hoye Award, given annually to the graduating student who "demonstrates the greatest promise as an advocate, a public servant and practitioner," and who "has demonstrated not only academic promise, but also leadership ability, the speaking and writing skills of an effective advocate, and a commitment to public service and Drake Law School." Adam was chosen as an Iowa Supreme Court Scholar and in that capacity conducted legal research in the area of election law with Justice Mark S. Cady. Additionally, Adam clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge Celeste F. Bremer through Drake's Honors Judicial Internship program.
Adam also devotes his time to community service and volunteer activities. In March 2008, he organized a group of law students to volunteer with the Pro Bono Project in New Orleans, where he worked primarily on legal issues faced by the homeless. Adam was a founding member and currently serves as Vice President of the Iowa Federalist Society. He also volunteers his time as a member of the Committee on Accountable Government of the Iowa Taxpayers Association.
Adam is a member of the Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations, and he was admitted to the Iowa bar in 2009.
Iowa House of Representatives and Partner, Whitaker Hagenow GBMG
State Representative Chris Hagenow is a founding partner of Whitaker Hagenow GBMG, working in the areas of litigation, trusts and estates, corporations, nonprofit organizations and real estate. Chris is serving his second term in the Iowa Legislature, re-elected in November 2010. Chris represents the west suburbs of the greater Des Moines area, in particular the communities of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.
Chris is a sixth-generation Iowan, raised in Cedar Falls. Chris graduated from Northern University High School and went on to receive his BA Magna Cum Laude from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994. He earned his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1997 and is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Chris has practiced law in both Waterloo and Des Moines, with experience in criminal defense, real estate, trusts and estates and civil litigation.
In the Iowa House, Chris is the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight. In addition to his role on Government Oversight, Chris also serves on the House committees for Appropriations, Judiciary and Public Safety. He is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and also serves on ALEC’s Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force. Chris sits on the Steering Committee for the Iowa Federalist Society. He is also a member of the Windsor Heights Lions’ Club and the Iowa Prayer Breakfast Committee.
Chris lives in Windsor Heights with his wife Amanda and their sons Owen and Noah. The Hagenow family worships at Westkirk Presbyterian Church in Urbandale.
News Director, Radio Iowa
Covering politicians was apparently Kay’s destiny from day one. She was born on election day. Her parents were relieved their bundle of joy was “okay” considering the newborn’s mom was 45 years old, so they named her “O. Kay.” She grew up on the family farm near Lenox, Iowa, and paraded cattle in the show ring during her teenage years. (Kay still has the belt buckle and the 4-H badge to prove it.)
During her years at Iowa State University, Kay served as a statehouse correspondent for WOI-AM, the NPR affiliate in Ames. Between her freshman and sophomore years, she did a three-month, summertime “tour of duty” as the managing editor of the weekly newspaper in her hometown.
In 1987, Kay became one of the three founding members of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. You may recognize Kay’s mug from her Sunday television appearances. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press.” Kay was the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Iowa House of Representatives and Partner, Swaim Law Firm
Kurt Swaim is serving his fourth term in the Iowa House. He is Chair of the Judiciary Committee and also serves on the Economic Growth, Government Oversight, and Appropriations Committees.
Kurt was born and raised in Davis County. He is the son of Basil and Betty Swaim. Basil was a rural mail carrier, and Betty worked as a teacher’s aide when not working in the home.
Kurt graduated from Davis County High School before attending Iowa Wesleyan. After graduating with a degree in economics and business administration, he went to the University of Iowa Law School. He was a member of its Order of the Coif. Kurt’s first job was as an associate attorney with Lundy, Butler, Wilson & Hall in Eldora from 1975-1978. He then served as the Senior Staff Attorney in the Northeast Regional Office of Legal Services Corporation of Iowa in Dubuque from 1978-1981.
Currently, Kurt is a partner in a three-person law firm in Bloomfield with his two sons, Justin and Joshua. In the past, Kurt served as the Davis County Attorney for thirteen years.
Kurt and his wife, Julie, have four children and five grandchildren. Julie works in the law office. Both are active members of the Bloomfield United Methodist Church. Kurt is a past chair of both the church’s administrative board and finance committee. He has also served as Lay Leader and is currently the Lay Representative to the Annual Conference. He has also been active in the Lions Club and the Masons in the past. He served as both president and treasurer of the Lions Club.
Kurt ran for the Statehouse because he believes that government should look beyond its next election cycle to develop long range solutions to the challenges facing the people of Iowa. He believes rural Iowa offers a great quality of life. He wants to work hard to see that rural Iowa is not left out as opportunities are expanded for all Iowans. This includes ensuring that local schools and county governments receive adequate authority from the state so they can be both economically efficient, and accessible to all citizens.
Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen Ware is the author of four books, over 50 law review articles, and many other publications. His writings have been cited by the Supreme Court of the United States and in at least 36 other cases. Ware teaches and writes on: Arbitration, Mediation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Debt Collection, Contracts and Commercial Law, and Judicial Selection, each with an international or comparative dimension.
Ware has testified before both houses of the U.S. Congress, several state legislatures and, as an expert witness, in court. He is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker at academic and professional conferences—having given such presentations throughout the U.S. and in several other countries. He has appeared on numerous television and radio stations and been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times, National Law Journal and many other news outlets. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI) and has served, at various times in his career, on the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Education and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
Senior Partner, Grefe & Sidney PLC
Guy R. Cook is a Des Moines, Iowa, native. He has been practicing law more than 25 years. He is a board certified trial lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Guy has served as counsel in more than 1000 litigated matters and has tried more than 200 jury trials. He is one of only 20 Iowa attorneys to be inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for verdicts and settlements in excess of one million dollars. Guy is recognized in both The Best Lawyers in America publication and the list of Iowa Super Lawyers.
Guy has extensive and wide-ranging courtroom experience. He has successfully defended major business litigation, obtained million dollar jury verdicts, and successfully defended significant federal criminal cases. He has tried complex civil and criminal cases throughout the state of Iowa, including wrongful death, serious personal injury, products liability, securities fraud, medical malpractice, semi truck collisions, insurance fraud, sexual assault, false arrest and breach of contract claims.
Guy is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Drake University Law School. He worked his way through school as a union ironworker, campus security officer, and law library assistant. While in school Guy was vice president of the Liberal Arts Student Association, resident advisor for Acacia fraternity, and worked as a legislative intern in the Iowa General Assembly. During law school he was a staff writer and researcher for the Drake Law School Legal Research Service and a prosecutor intern in the Polk County Attorney's Office.
Upon graduation from Law School, Guy served as a judicial law clerk for Justice J.L. Larson of the Iowa Supreme Court, assisting Justice Larson in researching and drafting legal opinions of the Iowa Supreme Court.
In 1983, Guy was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. As a federal prosecutor, Guy tried a wide range of criminal cases, including embezzlement, bank robbery, tax fraud, murder for hire, obstruction of justice, narcotic offenses, bank fraud, and kidnapping. Among the cases he prosecuted were the largest insurance fraud in Iowa history, the then largest drug case in Iowa history, and the largest tax evasion case in Iowa history. Guy received written commendations from FBI Directors William Webster and William Sessions. He has also received commendations for his trial work in major criminal cases by the District Director of the IRS and the Resident Agent of the U.S. Secret Service.
In 1987, Guy joined Grefe & Sidney, P.L.C. as a trial attorney. He is a senior partner practicing exclusively in the field of litigation. Guy's extensive courtroom work has taken him to courts across the state of Iowa. He has also appeared in federal courts in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois. He has been involved in nearly all types of litigation.
In addition to his work as a trial lawyer, Guy is past president of the Polk County Bar Association, the largest metropolitan bar in the state of Iowa representing more than one-fourth of all the lawyers in the state. Guy presently serves as a Board of Governor of the Iowa State Bar Association.
Guy was elected to serve as commissioner on the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission. He has also served as an appointed member of the Merit Selection Panel for selection of U.S. Magistrate Judges for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Guy was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission.
Guy is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has served as membership director for the Iowa chapter. Guy is also a fellow of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation only organization, limited to the top 250 trial attorneys in the State of Iowa. He has also been inducted into the Society of Outstanding Lawyers of America and is a certified member of the American College of Master Advocates and Barristers, an invitation only group requiring more than 75 jury trials. He has also been recognized repeatedly as a "leading individual" in litigation in Iowa by Chambers and Partners, a world wide legal publication. Guy has been a guest speaker and lecturer on a number of litigation topics throughout Iowa.
Lt. Governor, State of Iowa
Adam C. Gregg is an associate attorney with BrownWinick. Adam is engaged in the general practice of law, including but not limited to the areas of governmental relations, litigation,agricultural law, environmental law, administrative law andemployment law.
Adam brings extensive political experience to BrownWinick's lobbying practice group. He has been involved in a number of state and federal political campaigns, including work for the 2004 campaign of U.S. Senator John Thune and managing the Iowa Senate campaign of Senator Larry Noble. While studying abroad in London, Adam served as a legislative assistant and campaign staff to Cheryl Gillan, member of the United Kingdom Parliament. As a student, Adam also completed internships in Washington with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Congressman Steve King. Adam has considerable experience in campaign finance and election law, having work experience with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and having served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Free Speech and Election Law Practice Group of the national Federalist Society. He has also conducted significant academic research in the area of election law.
Adam graduated, summa cum laude, from Central College in 2006, receiving his B.A. in Political Science and History. While at Central College, Adam was twice honored as the school's top political science student. Adam received his J.D. in 2009, with high honors, from Drake University. At Drake Law School, Adam was a recipient of the Dwight D. Opperman Scholarship. He was also chosen by the faculty to receive the William and Ellen Cooney Hoye Award, given annually to the graduating student who "demonstrates the greatest promise as an advocate, a public servant and practitioner," and who "has demonstrated not only academic promise, but also leadership ability, the speaking and writing skills of an effective advocate, and a commitment to public service and Drake Law School." Adam was chosen as an Iowa Supreme Court Scholar and in that capacity conducted legal research in the area of election law with Justice Mark S. Cady. Additionally, Adam clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge Celeste F. Bremer through Drake's Honors Judicial Internship program.
Adam also devotes his time to community service and volunteer activities. In March 2008, he organized a group of law students to volunteer with the Pro Bono Project in New Orleans, where he worked primarily on legal issues faced by the homeless. Adam was a founding member and currently serves as Vice President of the Iowa Federalist Society. He also volunteers his time as a member of the Committee on Accountable Government of the Iowa Taxpayers Association.
Adam is a member of the Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations, and he was admitted to the Iowa bar in 2009.
Iowa House of Representatives and Partner, Whitaker Hagenow GBMG
State Representative Chris Hagenow is a founding partner of Whitaker Hagenow GBMG, working in the areas of litigation, trusts and estates, corporations, nonprofit organizations and real estate. Chris is serving his second term in the Iowa Legislature, re-elected in November 2010. Chris represents the west suburbs of the greater Des Moines area, in particular the communities of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.
Chris is a sixth-generation Iowan, raised in Cedar Falls. Chris graduated from Northern University High School and went on to receive his BA Magna Cum Laude from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994. He earned his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1997 and is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Chris has practiced law in both Waterloo and Des Moines, with experience in criminal defense, real estate, trusts and estates and civil litigation.
In the Iowa House, Chris is the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight. In addition to his role on Government Oversight, Chris also serves on the House committees for Appropriations, Judiciary and Public Safety. He is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and also serves on ALEC’s Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force. Chris sits on the Steering Committee for the Iowa Federalist Society. He is also a member of the Windsor Heights Lions’ Club and the Iowa Prayer Breakfast Committee.
Chris lives in Windsor Heights with his wife Amanda and their sons Owen and Noah. The Hagenow family worships at Westkirk Presbyterian Church in Urbandale.
News Director, Radio Iowa
Covering politicians was apparently Kay’s destiny from day one. She was born on election day. Her parents were relieved their bundle of joy was “okay” considering the newborn’s mom was 45 years old, so they named her “O. Kay.” She grew up on the family farm near Lenox, Iowa, and paraded cattle in the show ring during her teenage years. (Kay still has the belt buckle and the 4-H badge to prove it.)
During her years at Iowa State University, Kay served as a statehouse correspondent for WOI-AM, the NPR affiliate in Ames. Between her freshman and sophomore years, she did a three-month, summertime “tour of duty” as the managing editor of the weekly newspaper in her hometown.
In 1987, Kay became one of the three founding members of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. You may recognize Kay’s mug from her Sunday television appearances. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press.” Kay was the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Iowa House of Representatives and Partner, Swaim Law Firm
Kurt Swaim is serving his fourth term in the Iowa House. He is Chair of the Judiciary Committee and also serves on the Economic Growth, Government Oversight, and Appropriations Committees.
Kurt was born and raised in Davis County. He is the son of Basil and Betty Swaim. Basil was a rural mail carrier, and Betty worked as a teacher’s aide when not working in the home.
Kurt graduated from Davis County High School before attending Iowa Wesleyan. After graduating with a degree in economics and business administration, he went to the University of Iowa Law School. He was a member of its Order of the Coif. Kurt’s first job was as an associate attorney with Lundy, Butler, Wilson & Hall in Eldora from 1975-1978. He then served as the Senior Staff Attorney in the Northeast Regional Office of Legal Services Corporation of Iowa in Dubuque from 1978-1981.
Currently, Kurt is a partner in a three-person law firm in Bloomfield with his two sons, Justin and Joshua. In the past, Kurt served as the Davis County Attorney for thirteen years.
Kurt and his wife, Julie, have four children and five grandchildren. Julie works in the law office. Both are active members of the Bloomfield United Methodist Church. Kurt is a past chair of both the church’s administrative board and finance committee. He has also served as Lay Leader and is currently the Lay Representative to the Annual Conference. He has also been active in the Lions Club and the Masons in the past. He served as both president and treasurer of the Lions Club.
Kurt ran for the Statehouse because he believes that government should look beyond its next election cycle to develop long range solutions to the challenges facing the people of Iowa. He believes rural Iowa offers a great quality of life. He wants to work hard to see that rural Iowa is not left out as opportunities are expanded for all Iowans. This includes ensuring that local schools and county governments receive adequate authority from the state so they can be both economically efficient, and accessible to all citizens.
Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen Ware is the author of four books, over 50 law review articles, and many other publications. His writings have been cited by the Supreme Court of the United States and in at least 36 other cases. Ware teaches and writes on: Arbitration, Mediation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Debt Collection, Contracts and Commercial Law, and Judicial Selection, each with an international or comparative dimension.
Ware has testified before both houses of the U.S. Congress, several state legislatures and, as an expert witness, in court. He is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker at academic and professional conferences—having given such presentations throughout the U.S. and in several other countries. He has appeared on numerous television and radio stations and been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times, National Law Journal and many other news outlets. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI) and has served, at various times in his career, on the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Education and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
Board Member, Center for Equal Opportunity
Roger Clegg is a Board Member at and former President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity. He focuses on legal issues arising from civil rights laws--including the regulatory impact on business and the problems in higher education created by affirmative action. A former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan and Bush administrations, Clegg held the second highest positions in both the Civil Rights Division (1987-91) and in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (1991-93). He has held several other positions at the U.S. Justice Department, including Assistant to the Solicitor General (1985-87), Associate Deputy Attorney General (1984-85), and Acting Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy (1984). Clegg is a graduate of Yale University Law School (1981).
Senior Attorney, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Mr. Byrnes is a senior attorney at the United States Commission on Civil Rights and has served as an attorney to the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education.
President and Founder, International Center for Law & Economics
Geoffrey A. Manne is the president and founder of the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center based in Portland, Oregon. He is also a distinguished fellow at Northwestern Law School’s Searle Center on Law, Regulation, & Economic Growth. In April 2017 he was appointed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, and he recently served for two years on the FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee.
Mr. Manne earned his JD and AB degrees from the University of Chicago and is an expert in the economic analysis of law, specializing in competition, telecommunications, consumer protection, intellectual property, and technology policy.
Prior to founding ICLE, Manne was a law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School. From 2006-2009, he took a leave from teaching to develop Microsoft’s law and economics academic outreach program. Manne has also served as a lecturer in law at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law. He practiced antitrust law and appellate litigation at Latham & Watkins, clerked for Hon. Morris S. Arnold on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked as a research assistant for Judge Richard Posner. He was also once (very briefly) employed by the FTC.
Mr. Manne’s publications have appeared in numerous journals including the Journal of Competition Law and Economics, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, the Supreme Court Economic Review, and the Arizona Law Review, among others. With former FTC Commissioner, Joshua Wright, Manne is the editor of a volume from Cambridge University Press entitled, Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Law Under Uncertainty: Regulating Innovation. Manne has also testified on several occasions before Congress and at the FCC and FTC, and he regularly files written comments and amicus briefs on key antitrust, IP, and telecommunications issues. His analysis is frequently published in popular print and broadcasting outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Foreign Affairs, NPR, and Bloomberg, among others.
Manne is a member of the American Law and Economics Association, the Canadian Law and Economics Association, and the Society for Institutional & Organizational Economics. He blogs at Truth on the Market (www.truthonthemarket.com) (of which he is also the co-founder), is a contributor at WIRED, and tweets at @geoffmanne. His scholarly publications are available at http://ssrn.com/author=175541.
Founding Partner, Lodestar Law and Economics PLLC
Josh is the founder of Lodestar Law and Economics, PLLC. On January 1, 2013, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Wright as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). He is a leading scholar in antitrust law, economics, intellectual property, regulation, and consumer protection, and has published more than 100 articles and book chapters, co-authored a leading antitrust casebook, and edited several book volumes focusing on these issues. Commentators have recognized Wright as “widely considered his generation’s greatest mind on antitrust law,” and his academic work ranks him as one of the most cited antitrust academics in the world. Wright was also awarded the Paul M. Bator Award by the Federalist Society in 2014 to “an academic who demonstrated excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact.” Wright also served as the Executive Director of the Global Antitrust Institute, the world’s premiere academic institute focused upon antitrust education for judges and regulators and has taught hundreds of judges and thousands of regulators from dozens of countries.
Wright’s practice focuses upon helping clients solve complex competition, consumer protection, and regulatory problems by providing legal and economic analysis, strategic advice and counseling, and economic expert testimony.
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.
Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law, Moritz Colleg, The Ohio State University
Professor Shane came to Ohio State in 2003 from Carnegie Mellon University's H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management. He is an internationally recognized scholar in administrative law, with a specialty in separation of powers law, and has co-authored leading casebooks on each subject. He has served on the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Law and was dean at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
In addition to his outstanding law teaching and scholarship, Professor Shane has received a National Science Foundation grant for interdisciplinary study related to cyberspace and democracy. At Ohio State, he provides strong leadership in interdisciplinary scholarship and teaching.
Professor from Practice, Georgetown University Law Center
Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment, Yale Law School
Jack M. Balkin is Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School. He is the founder and director of Yale’s Information Society Project, an interdisciplinary center that studies law and new information technologies. He also directs the Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression, and the Knight Law and Media Program at Yale. Professor Balkin is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and founded and edits the group blog Balkinization (http://balkin.blogspot.com/). He is the author of over 100 articles and the author or editor of eleven books. His scholarship ranges over many different subjects, including constitutional theory, technology and Internet law, freedom of speech, jurisprudence, cultural evolution, the theory of ideology, and musical and legal interpretation. His most recent books are Democracy and Dysfunction (University of Chicago Press, 2019)(with Sanford Levinson); Living Originalism (Harvard, Belknap Press, 2011), and Constitutional Redemption: Political Faith in an Unjust World (Harvard University Press 2011).
Founding Partner, Cooper & Kirk PLLC
Charles J. Cooper is a founding member and the chairman of Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, “one of the Nation’s leading litigation boutiques” (Above The Law 2017). The National Law Journal recently wrote that Mr. Cooper’s “brilliant legal career has so far spanned five decades and thrust Cooper into the spotlight in some of the most historic moments of the country’s modern history.” He has argued nine cases before the United States Supreme Court and scores of appeals before each of the 13 federal courts of appeals and several state supreme courts. He has been lead trial counsel in numerous complex, weeks-long trials in federal courts throughout the country. Named by the National Law Journal as one of the 10 best litigators in Washington D.C., Mr. Cooper’s work has been reported in numerous press accounts, and he has been called a “powerhouse attorney” (Fortune 2015), “a hard-nosed litigator” (Washington Post 2017), and “one of the country’s most in-demand civil litigators and a Washington legal institution unto himself” (The American Spectator 2014).
After graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1977, where he ranked first in his class and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Alabama Law Review, Mr. Cooper began his career as a law clerk to Judge Paul Roney on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and to Justice William H. Rehnquist in 1978–79. He then practiced law in Atlanta for two years before joining the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in charge of, among other things, appellate matters. In 1985 President Reagan appointed him to the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, which is the office responsible for providing legal opinions and advice to the White House, the Attorney General, and Executive Branch departments and agencies on issues covering the full spectrum of federal constitutional, statutory, and regulatory law.
In 1988 he returned to private practice as a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C. office of McGuireWoods. From 1990 until the founding of Cooper & Kirk in 1996, he was a partner at Shaw Pittman (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman), where he headed the firm’s Constitutional and Government Litigation Group.
Mr. Cooper has represented a wide range of public and private clients in highly complex constitutional, civil rights, antitrust, healthcare, banking, intellectual property, elections, campaign finance, administrative, commercial, and government contract cases. He has led trial teams in cases that have won judgments and settlements valued in the billions of dollars and that have established ground-breaking constitutional precedents.
Much of Mr. Cooper’s practice has involved representing high-profile clients in nationally prominent matters, including: the State of Florida in a First Amendment suit brought by the Disney Company concerning its autonomous regulatory authority over its Disney World property; the Commonwealth of Virginia in a suit seeking to enjoin the removal of noncitizens from its voter rolls; 38 members of the Duke Lacrosse team falsely accused of rape by officials of Duke University and the City of Durham; Harper Lee in a copyright dispute with the heirs of Gregory Peck; high-ranking former government officials such as former Attorneys General John Ashcroft, Jeff Sessions, and William Barr, and Ambassador John Bolton; several Governors and United States Senators; over 100 Members of Congress; and many state, territorial, and local government bodies and officials. He has also represented and advised government officials and public figures in connection with sensitive private issues that needed to be, and were, resolved discreetly without becoming matters of public record.
In 1998 Chief Justice Rehnquist appointed Mr. Cooper to the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States, where he served for three terms. He also served as a Public Member, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, of the National Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal. He is a member of numerous professional associations, including the American Law Institute (since 1993) and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers (since 1996). He is also an active member of the Federalist Society and the Republican National Lawyers Association, which in 2010 named him Republican Lawyer of the Year and in 2016 honored him with its Edwin Meese III Award.
Mr. Cooper has published scores of articles and spoken extensively on constitutional and legal policy topics. He has appeared before congressional committees on 26 occasions, testifying as an expert on a wide variety of legal issues, including the Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to administrative agencies, the diversity of citizenship jurisdiction of federal courts, statehood bills for Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and the impeachment of President Clinton.
Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
Michael C. Dorf, the Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law at Cornell Law School, has been teaching law since 1992. He has authored or co-authored six books and over one hundred scholarly articles and essays for law journals and peer-reviewed science and social science journals. He also frequently writes for non-lawyers. In addition to occasional contributions to The New York Times, USA Today, CNN.com, The Los Angeles Times, and other wide-circulation publications, Professor Dorf has been writing a bi-weekly column since 2000 and publishes a popular blog, Dorf on Law. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard. After law school, Dorf served as a law clerk for Judge Stephen Reinhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and then for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court. He has worked with several law firms and maintains an active pro bono practice mostly consisting of writing Supreme Court briefs. Before joining the Cornell faculty, Professor Dorf taught at Rutgers-Camden Law School for three years and at Columbia Law School for thirteen years.
Senior Partner, Grefe & Sidney PLC
Guy R. Cook is a Des Moines, Iowa, native. He has been practicing law more than 25 years. He is a board certified trial lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Guy has served as counsel in more than 1000 litigated matters and has tried more than 200 jury trials. He is one of only 20 Iowa attorneys to be inducted into the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for verdicts and settlements in excess of one million dollars. Guy is recognized in both The Best Lawyers in America publication and the list of Iowa Super Lawyers.
Guy has extensive and wide-ranging courtroom experience. He has successfully defended major business litigation, obtained million dollar jury verdicts, and successfully defended significant federal criminal cases. He has tried complex civil and criminal cases throughout the state of Iowa, including wrongful death, serious personal injury, products liability, securities fraud, medical malpractice, semi truck collisions, insurance fraud, sexual assault, false arrest and breach of contract claims.
Guy is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Drake University Law School. He worked his way through school as a union ironworker, campus security officer, and law library assistant. While in school Guy was vice president of the Liberal Arts Student Association, resident advisor for Acacia fraternity, and worked as a legislative intern in the Iowa General Assembly. During law school he was a staff writer and researcher for the Drake Law School Legal Research Service and a prosecutor intern in the Polk County Attorney's Office.
Upon graduation from Law School, Guy served as a judicial law clerk for Justice J.L. Larson of the Iowa Supreme Court, assisting Justice Larson in researching and drafting legal opinions of the Iowa Supreme Court.
In 1983, Guy was appointed Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa. As a federal prosecutor, Guy tried a wide range of criminal cases, including embezzlement, bank robbery, tax fraud, murder for hire, obstruction of justice, narcotic offenses, bank fraud, and kidnapping. Among the cases he prosecuted were the largest insurance fraud in Iowa history, the then largest drug case in Iowa history, and the largest tax evasion case in Iowa history. Guy received written commendations from FBI Directors William Webster and William Sessions. He has also received commendations for his trial work in major criminal cases by the District Director of the IRS and the Resident Agent of the U.S. Secret Service.
In 1987, Guy joined Grefe & Sidney, P.L.C. as a trial attorney. He is a senior partner practicing exclusively in the field of litigation. Guy's extensive courtroom work has taken him to courts across the state of Iowa. He has also appeared in federal courts in Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois. He has been involved in nearly all types of litigation.
In addition to his work as a trial lawyer, Guy is past president of the Polk County Bar Association, the largest metropolitan bar in the state of Iowa representing more than one-fourth of all the lawyers in the state. Guy presently serves as a Board of Governor of the Iowa State Bar Association.
Guy was elected to serve as commissioner on the Iowa State Judicial Nominating Commission. He has also served as an appointed member of the Merit Selection Panel for selection of U.S. Magistrate Judges for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Guy was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court to serve as a member of the Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission.
Guy is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and has served as membership director for the Iowa chapter. Guy is also a fellow of the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, an invitation only organization, limited to the top 250 trial attorneys in the State of Iowa. He has also been inducted into the Society of Outstanding Lawyers of America and is a certified member of the American College of Master Advocates and Barristers, an invitation only group requiring more than 75 jury trials. He has also been recognized repeatedly as a "leading individual" in litigation in Iowa by Chambers and Partners, a world wide legal publication. Guy has been a guest speaker and lecturer on a number of litigation topics throughout Iowa.
Lt. Governor, State of Iowa
Adam C. Gregg is an associate attorney with BrownWinick. Adam is engaged in the general practice of law, including but not limited to the areas of governmental relations, litigation,agricultural law, environmental law, administrative law andemployment law.
Adam brings extensive political experience to BrownWinick's lobbying practice group. He has been involved in a number of state and federal political campaigns, including work for the 2004 campaign of U.S. Senator John Thune and managing the Iowa Senate campaign of Senator Larry Noble. While studying abroad in London, Adam served as a legislative assistant and campaign staff to Cheryl Gillan, member of the United Kingdom Parliament. As a student, Adam also completed internships in Washington with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Congressman Steve King. Adam has considerable experience in campaign finance and election law, having work experience with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and having served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Free Speech and Election Law Practice Group of the national Federalist Society. He has also conducted significant academic research in the area of election law.
Adam graduated, summa cum laude, from Central College in 2006, receiving his B.A. in Political Science and History. While at Central College, Adam was twice honored as the school's top political science student. Adam received his J.D. in 2009, with high honors, from Drake University. At Drake Law School, Adam was a recipient of the Dwight D. Opperman Scholarship. He was also chosen by the faculty to receive the William and Ellen Cooney Hoye Award, given annually to the graduating student who "demonstrates the greatest promise as an advocate, a public servant and practitioner," and who "has demonstrated not only academic promise, but also leadership ability, the speaking and writing skills of an effective advocate, and a commitment to public service and Drake Law School." Adam was chosen as an Iowa Supreme Court Scholar and in that capacity conducted legal research in the area of election law with Justice Mark S. Cady. Additionally, Adam clerked for U.S. Magistrate Judge Celeste F. Bremer through Drake's Honors Judicial Internship program.
Adam also devotes his time to community service and volunteer activities. In March 2008, he organized a group of law students to volunteer with the Pro Bono Project in New Orleans, where he worked primarily on legal issues faced by the homeless. Adam was a founding member and currently serves as Vice President of the Iowa Federalist Society. He also volunteers his time as a member of the Committee on Accountable Government of the Iowa Taxpayers Association.
Adam is a member of the Polk County and Iowa State Bar Associations, and he was admitted to the Iowa bar in 2009.
Iowa House of Representatives and Partner, Whitaker Hagenow GBMG
State Representative Chris Hagenow is a founding partner of Whitaker Hagenow GBMG, working in the areas of litigation, trusts and estates, corporations, nonprofit organizations and real estate. Chris is serving his second term in the Iowa Legislature, re-elected in November 2010. Chris represents the west suburbs of the greater Des Moines area, in particular the communities of West Des Moines, Clive and Windsor Heights.
Chris is a sixth-generation Iowan, raised in Cedar Falls. Chris graduated from Northern University High School and went on to receive his BA Magna Cum Laude from the University of Northern Iowa in 1994. He earned his JD from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1997 and is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association. Chris has practiced law in both Waterloo and Des Moines, with experience in criminal defense, real estate, trusts and estates and civil litigation.
In the Iowa House, Chris is the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Oversight. In addition to his role on Government Oversight, Chris also serves on the House committees for Appropriations, Judiciary and Public Safety. He is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), and also serves on ALEC’s Telecommunications and Information Technology Task Force. Chris sits on the Steering Committee for the Iowa Federalist Society. He is also a member of the Windsor Heights Lions’ Club and the Iowa Prayer Breakfast Committee.
Chris lives in Windsor Heights with his wife Amanda and their sons Owen and Noah. The Hagenow family worships at Westkirk Presbyterian Church in Urbandale.
News Director, Radio Iowa
Covering politicians was apparently Kay’s destiny from day one. She was born on election day. Her parents were relieved their bundle of joy was “okay” considering the newborn’s mom was 45 years old, so they named her “O. Kay.” She grew up on the family farm near Lenox, Iowa, and paraded cattle in the show ring during her teenage years. (Kay still has the belt buckle and the 4-H badge to prove it.)
During her years at Iowa State University, Kay served as a statehouse correspondent for WOI-AM, the NPR affiliate in Ames. Between her freshman and sophomore years, she did a three-month, summertime “tour of duty” as the managing editor of the weekly newspaper in her hometown.
In 1987, Kay became one of the three founding members of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. You may recognize Kay’s mug from her Sunday television appearances. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press.” Kay was the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
Iowa House of Representatives and Partner, Swaim Law Firm
Kurt Swaim is serving his fourth term in the Iowa House. He is Chair of the Judiciary Committee and also serves on the Economic Growth, Government Oversight, and Appropriations Committees.
Kurt was born and raised in Davis County. He is the son of Basil and Betty Swaim. Basil was a rural mail carrier, and Betty worked as a teacher’s aide when not working in the home.
Kurt graduated from Davis County High School before attending Iowa Wesleyan. After graduating with a degree in economics and business administration, he went to the University of Iowa Law School. He was a member of its Order of the Coif. Kurt’s first job was as an associate attorney with Lundy, Butler, Wilson & Hall in Eldora from 1975-1978. He then served as the Senior Staff Attorney in the Northeast Regional Office of Legal Services Corporation of Iowa in Dubuque from 1978-1981.
Currently, Kurt is a partner in a three-person law firm in Bloomfield with his two sons, Justin and Joshua. In the past, Kurt served as the Davis County Attorney for thirteen years.
Kurt and his wife, Julie, have four children and five grandchildren. Julie works in the law office. Both are active members of the Bloomfield United Methodist Church. Kurt is a past chair of both the church’s administrative board and finance committee. He has also served as Lay Leader and is currently the Lay Representative to the Annual Conference. He has also been active in the Lions Club and the Masons in the past. He served as both president and treasurer of the Lions Club.
Kurt ran for the Statehouse because he believes that government should look beyond its next election cycle to develop long range solutions to the challenges facing the people of Iowa. He believes rural Iowa offers a great quality of life. He wants to work hard to see that rural Iowa is not left out as opportunities are expanded for all Iowans. This includes ensuring that local schools and county governments receive adequate authority from the state so they can be both economically efficient, and accessible to all citizens.
Frank Edwards Tyler Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
Stephen Ware is the author of four books, over 50 law review articles, and many other publications. His writings have been cited by the Supreme Court of the United States and in at least 36 other cases. Ware teaches and writes on: Arbitration, Mediation, and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Bankruptcy, Insolvency, and Debt Collection, Contracts and Commercial Law, and Judicial Selection, each with an international or comparative dimension.
Ware has testified before both houses of the U.S. Congress, several state legislatures and, as an expert witness, in court. He is a frequent guest lecturer and speaker at academic and professional conferences—having given such presentations throughout the U.S. and in several other countries. He has appeared on numerous television and radio stations and been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Financial Times, National Law Journal and many other news outlets. He is an elected member of the American Law Institute (ALI) and has served, at various times in his career, on the editorial board of the Journal of Legal Education and as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
An Insider’s Perspective on President Clinton’s Impeachment
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On February 22, 2011, the Iowa Lawyers Chapter hosted this event on "The Future of Judicial Selection...
The Future of Judicial Selection in Iowa
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