Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
William W. Buzbee is a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In his teaching and scholarship, he specializes in environmental law, legislation and regulation, and administrative law. Recent publications focus on climate regulation, deregulation and law governing agency policy change, and federalism. He also offers seminars on advanced environmental, regulatory, and constitutional law subjects, with his most recent seminar focused on “The Art of Regulatory War.”
Professor Buzbee’s books include the recently published Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City (Cornell University Press 2014) and Preemption Choice: The Theory, Law and Reality of Federalism’s Core Question(Cambridge University Press, hardcover 2009, paperback 2011) (William W. Buzbee editor and contributor). He has been a co-author of the 5th , 6th, 7th and forthcoming 8th editions of Environmental Protection: Law and Policy (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer). Law review scholarship includes publications in New York University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Stanford Law Review (co-authored), Cornell Law Review (co-authored), Duke Law Journal (forthcoming), George Washington Law Review, Iowa Law Review, The Journal of Law and Politics and in an array of other journals, books, news outlets, and blogs. Three of his articles have been named among the 10 best environmental or land use law articles of that year and republished in the Land Use and Environment Law Review. He regularly assists with appellate and Supreme Court environmental, federalism, and regulatory litigation, and also has testified before congressional committees on environmental and regulatory matters. He has published op-eds on regulatory and environmental issues with The New York Times, The Hill, CNN, and been quoted and interviewed by numerous press and media outlets.
Professor Buzbee joined Georgetown from Emory Law School, where he was a professor of law and directed its Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. He also co-directed Emory’s Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance. He has been a visiting professor of law at Columbia, Cornell and Illinois law schools. He has also served as a professor for the Leiden-Amsterdam-Columbia Law School Summer Program in American Law. Professor Buzbee is a founding Member Scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform, a Washington D.C.-based regulatory think tank. Professor Buzbee was awarded the 2007-2008 Emory Williams Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. Professor Buzbee clerked for United States Judge Jose A. Cabranes, and before becoming a professor was an attorney-fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and did environmental, land use and litigation work for the New York City law firm, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. JD, Columbia Law School, 1986; BA, Amherst College, magna cum laude, 1983.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Damien Schiff is a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. He leads its environmental practice group, a unique initiative that draws broadly from PLF’s expertise and success in property rights and separation of powers litigation. Over the years, Damien has represented hundreds of landowners and property rights advocates to defend their liberties against heavy-handed and unwarranted environmental and land-use regulation. His litigation experience includes Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a groundbreaking decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of landowners to challenge Clean Water Act compliance orders issued by EPA, and Contoski v. Norton, PLF’s successful effort to force the federal government to make good on its promise to delist the bald eagle from the Endangered Species Act.
Besides litigation, Damien has written academic articles on a variety of subjects, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, greenhouse gas torts, the duty to rescue, and international water law. He has appeared on a variety of television and radio programs and has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harper’s Magazine, and The Economist, among other publications.
He obtained his law degree magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law, and his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University. While at USD, he was a research assistant for Professor Bernard Siegan, a leading constitutional theorist and advocate for property rights and economic liberty. Immediately prior to joining PLF, Damien clerked for Judge (and former PLF attorney) Victor Wolski of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Damien credits the mentoring and examples of Professor Siegan and Judge Wolski for his decision to pursue a career in liberty-based public interest litigation.
Damien lives in Sacramento with his wife, two young sons, four chickens, and a cat named Princess. In his off hours he enjoys stamp collecting, Gregorian chant, and martinis—preferably at the same time.
Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, USTelecom
Diana Eisner joined USTelecom from Frontier Communications where she served as Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs and helped develop the communications company’s regulatory strategy on broadband deployment, robocalls and cybersecurity, among others. Previously Eisner worked as an associate attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Director of Broadband and Spectrum Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Joe Kane is director of broadband and spectrum policy at ITIF. Previously, he was a technology policy fellow at the R Street Institute, where he covered spectrum policy, broadband deployment and regulation, competition, and consumer protection. Earlier, Joe was a graduate research fellow at the Mercatus Center, where he worked on Internet policy issues, telecom regulation, and the role of the FCC.
Joe interned in the office of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. He also interned with the satellite and terrestrial network provider SES, the Satellite Industry Association, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the American Action Forum. Joe holds a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, a master’s in economics from George Mason University, and a bachelor’s in political science from Grove City College.
Senior Policy Counsel, Public Knowledge
Jenna is a Senior Policy Counsel, where she focuses on promoting Public Knowledge’s mission through government affairs.
Prior to joining Public Knowledge, Jenna served as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Workforce Data Quality Campaign (WDQC) at the National Skills Coalition, where she led WDQC’s state policy advocacy and technical assistance efforts on state data system development and use. She also served as an Associate at Upturn, where she analyzed the civil rights implications of new technologies, and as Manager and Legal Counsel of the International Intellectual Property Institute, where she led the organization’s efforts to utilize intellectual property for international economic development. Jenna has also held internships with the American Civil Liberties Union and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Jenna received her J.D, cum laude, and B.A from Case Western Reserve University. In her free time, Jenna enjoys yoga, international travel, and experimenting with new recipes.
Deputy Staff Director, United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation
Crystal Tully is the Deputy Staff Director at the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. Tully had previously led the Commerce Committee’s communications and technology policy team since September 2017. Prior to her current role, Ms. Tully served as counsel to Chairman Thune and senior advisor to Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet. Ms. Tully previously worked in the cable and mobile wireless industries advocating before Congress and Federal agencies. She also served as legislative aide to Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) and as a law clerk at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission. Ms. Tully holds a JD from the George Washington University School of Law and a BA from the University of New Hampshire.
Special Advisor to Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Deputy Managing Director, The Office of the Managing Director, Federal Communications Commission
Sanford S. Williams has worked at the FCC since 1999, and is currently both a Special Advisor to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and a Deputy Managing Director of the FCC. Mr. Williams is also a Lecturer in Law at UCLA School of Law.
Mr. Williams received his B.S. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Cornell University, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review.
Mr. Williams was elected three times to the Manassas City Virginia School Board, and is the first African American Board Chair in the history of Manassas. Mr. Williams most recently wrote an article published in Medium, "It's Not Just About George Floyd."
Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, USTelecom
Diana Eisner joined USTelecom from Frontier Communications where she served as Director, Federal Regulatory Affairs and helped develop the communications company’s regulatory strategy on broadband deployment, robocalls and cybersecurity, among others. Previously Eisner worked as an associate attorney at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. She is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned her JD from Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Director of Broadband and Spectrum Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Joe Kane is director of broadband and spectrum policy at ITIF. Previously, he was a technology policy fellow at the R Street Institute, where he covered spectrum policy, broadband deployment and regulation, competition, and consumer protection. Earlier, Joe was a graduate research fellow at the Mercatus Center, where he worked on Internet policy issues, telecom regulation, and the role of the FCC.
Joe interned in the office of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. He also interned with the satellite and terrestrial network provider SES, the Satellite Industry Association, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and the American Action Forum. Joe holds a J.D. from The Catholic University of America, a master’s in economics from George Mason University, and a bachelor’s in political science from Grove City College.
Senior Policy Counsel, Public Knowledge
Jenna is a Senior Policy Counsel, where she focuses on promoting Public Knowledge’s mission through government affairs.
Prior to joining Public Knowledge, Jenna served as a Senior Policy Analyst for the Workforce Data Quality Campaign (WDQC) at the National Skills Coalition, where she led WDQC’s state policy advocacy and technical assistance efforts on state data system development and use. She also served as an Associate at Upturn, where she analyzed the civil rights implications of new technologies, and as Manager and Legal Counsel of the International Intellectual Property Institute, where she led the organization’s efforts to utilize intellectual property for international economic development. Jenna has also held internships with the American Civil Liberties Union and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Jenna received her J.D, cum laude, and B.A from Case Western Reserve University. In her free time, Jenna enjoys yoga, international travel, and experimenting with new recipes.
Deputy Staff Director, United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation
Crystal Tully is the Deputy Staff Director at the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. Tully had previously led the Commerce Committee’s communications and technology policy team since September 2017. Prior to her current role, Ms. Tully served as counsel to Chairman Thune and senior advisor to Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) of the Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet. Ms. Tully previously worked in the cable and mobile wireless industries advocating before Congress and Federal agencies. She also served as legislative aide to Senator John E. Sununu (R-NH) and as a law clerk at the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission. Ms. Tully holds a JD from the George Washington University School of Law and a BA from the University of New Hampshire.
Special Advisor to Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Deputy Managing Director, The Office of the Managing Director, Federal Communications Commission
Sanford S. Williams has worked at the FCC since 1999, and is currently both a Special Advisor to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and a Deputy Managing Director of the FCC. Mr. Williams is also a Lecturer in Law at UCLA School of Law.
Mr. Williams received his B.S. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Cornell University, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law where he was a member of the Virginia Law Review.
Mr. Williams was elected three times to the Manassas City Virginia School Board, and is the first African American Board Chair in the history of Manassas. Mr. Williams most recently wrote an article published in Medium, "It's Not Just About George Floyd."
General Counsel, James Madison Center for Free Speech
Managing Partner, Statecraft
Kory Langhofer is the Managing Attorney at Statecraft PLLC, a law firm focusing on government and political law. His practice is concentrated in campaign finance, constitutional litigation, and political matters. He has previously worked as a federal prosecutor, as litigation counsel to the presidential campaigns for Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, and as general counsel for the 2016-2017 presidential transition team.
Kory received his A.B. in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an Editor of The Yale Law Journal.
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Press is a trial attorney who has litigated a wide variety of complex business cases, including class actions, in federal and state courts throughout the United States. He has represented international and national clients in numerous industries including pharmaceuticals, software, chemicals, telecom, and retail. He achieves success for his clients in litigation by being ready, willing and able to take those cases to trial.
Press is willing to roll up his sleeves to learn his clients’ business and to always seek results consistent with his clients’ business goals.
Press has been named by Business North Carolina as one of its Legal Elite in both Antitrust and Litigation, and, in 2015, was named to its Hall of Fame in Antitrust.
Press has taught Pre-Trial Litigation at Duke Law School and is a recognized authority on various legal issues related to complex litigation. He frequently lectures and writes on the subjects of Antitrust, Unfair Trade Practices, Trade Secrets, Litigation Practice, and Intellectual Property.
Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Devin Watkins is an attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Devin Watkins previously worked at the Cato Institute as a legal associate and interned at the Institute for Justice. At the Cato Institute, Watkins worked on a variety of Supreme Court cases, and one of the briefs he worked on was cited by the Court. His op-eds have appeared in National Review Online, The Hill, Time, and The Federalist among others.
Watkins holds a Juris Doctor cum laude from George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he was the development editor on the Mason Law Review. Prior to his legal career Watkins was a senior software developer at Intel and WebMD. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Watkins is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Bar, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Bar.
General Counsel, James Madison Center for Free Speech
Managing Partner, Statecraft
Kory Langhofer is the Managing Attorney at Statecraft PLLC, a law firm focusing on government and political law. His practice is concentrated in campaign finance, constitutional litigation, and political matters. He has previously worked as a federal prosecutor, as litigation counsel to the presidential campaigns for Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, and as general counsel for the 2016-2017 presidential transition team.
Kory received his A.B. in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an Editor of The Yale Law Journal.
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Press is a trial attorney who has litigated a wide variety of complex business cases, including class actions, in federal and state courts throughout the United States. He has represented international and national clients in numerous industries including pharmaceuticals, software, chemicals, telecom, and retail. He achieves success for his clients in litigation by being ready, willing and able to take those cases to trial.
Press is willing to roll up his sleeves to learn his clients’ business and to always seek results consistent with his clients’ business goals.
Press has been named by Business North Carolina as one of its Legal Elite in both Antitrust and Litigation, and, in 2015, was named to its Hall of Fame in Antitrust.
Press has taught Pre-Trial Litigation at Duke Law School and is a recognized authority on various legal issues related to complex litigation. He frequently lectures and writes on the subjects of Antitrust, Unfair Trade Practices, Trade Secrets, Litigation Practice, and Intellectual Property.
Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Devin Watkins is an attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Devin Watkins previously worked at the Cato Institute as a legal associate and interned at the Institute for Justice. At the Cato Institute, Watkins worked on a variety of Supreme Court cases, and one of the briefs he worked on was cited by the Court. His op-eds have appeared in National Review Online, The Hill, Time, and The Federalist among others.
Watkins holds a Juris Doctor cum laude from George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he was the development editor on the Mason Law Review. Prior to his legal career Watkins was a senior software developer at Intel and WebMD. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Watkins is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Bar, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Bar.
General Counsel, James Madison Center for Free Speech
Managing Partner, Statecraft
Kory Langhofer is the Managing Attorney at Statecraft PLLC, a law firm focusing on government and political law. His practice is concentrated in campaign finance, constitutional litigation, and political matters. He has previously worked as a federal prosecutor, as litigation counsel to the presidential campaigns for Mitt Romney and Donald Trump, and as general counsel for the 2016-2017 presidential transition team.
Kory received his A.B. in political science, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he served as an Editor of The Yale Law Journal.
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Press is a trial attorney who has litigated a wide variety of complex business cases, including class actions, in federal and state courts throughout the United States. He has represented international and national clients in numerous industries including pharmaceuticals, software, chemicals, telecom, and retail. He achieves success for his clients in litigation by being ready, willing and able to take those cases to trial.
Press is willing to roll up his sleeves to learn his clients’ business and to always seek results consistent with his clients’ business goals.
Press has been named by Business North Carolina as one of its Legal Elite in both Antitrust and Litigation, and, in 2015, was named to its Hall of Fame in Antitrust.
Press has taught Pre-Trial Litigation at Duke Law School and is a recognized authority on various legal issues related to complex litigation. He frequently lectures and writes on the subjects of Antitrust, Unfair Trade Practices, Trade Secrets, Litigation Practice, and Intellectual Property.
Attorney, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Devin Watkins is an attorney at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Devin Watkins previously worked at the Cato Institute as a legal associate and interned at the Institute for Justice. At the Cato Institute, Watkins worked on a variety of Supreme Court cases, and one of the briefs he worked on was cited by the Court. His op-eds have appeared in National Review Online, The Hill, Time, and The Federalist among others.
Watkins holds a Juris Doctor cum laude from George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he was the development editor on the Mason Law Review. Prior to his legal career Watkins was a senior software developer at Intel and WebMD. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Watkins is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the District of Columbia Bar, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Bar, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Bar.
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Daren Bakst is Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment and a Senior Fellow. In this role, he manages, develops, and leads the coalition, advocacy, and research activities of the Center, which is one of the most effective advocates for Free Market Environmentalism.
Before joining CEI as Deputy Director in March, 2023, Daren was a Senior Research Fellow in Environmental Policy and Regulation at the Heritage Foundation, where he played a leading role in the launch of the organization’s new energy and environment center, and created and hosted the Heritage Foundation’s energy and environment podcast the “PowerCast.” During his decade at Heritage, Daren wrote about energy and environmental policy, food and agricultural policy (including editing and co-authoring the book Farms and Free Enterprise), regulation, and trade among other topics.
Daren also worked on environmental policy and regulation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he was a policy counsel and served as the executive to the association’s Government Oversight, Operations & Consumer Affairs committee, which was responsible for issues such as regulatory process reform. Daren has significant state level experience, working for seven years at the Raleigh, N.C.-based John Locke Foundation, one of the largest state-based, free-market think tanks. As director of legal and regulatory studies, his broad portfolio included energy and environmental policy, regulatory reform, and property rights.
Daren has testified numerous times before Congress, regularly submits comments to federal agencies and has appeared in or been quoted by a wide range of media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Washington Times, CNN, Fox Business News, Al-Jazeera America, and U.S. News and World Report. He is a member of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Executive Committee and serves on the College Level Advisory Board for Constituting America, an organization that informs and educates about the importance of the U.S. Constitution.
Daren, who hails from Florida, received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from George Washington University. A licensed attorney, he holds a law degree from the University of Miami and a master of laws degree from American University.
Professor of Law, Georgetown Law
William W. Buzbee is a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center. In his teaching and scholarship, he specializes in environmental law, legislation and regulation, and administrative law. Recent publications focus on climate regulation, deregulation and law governing agency policy change, and federalism. He also offers seminars on advanced environmental, regulatory, and constitutional law subjects, with his most recent seminar focused on “The Art of Regulatory War.”
Professor Buzbee’s books include the recently published Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City (Cornell University Press 2014) and Preemption Choice: The Theory, Law and Reality of Federalism’s Core Question(Cambridge University Press, hardcover 2009, paperback 2011) (William W. Buzbee editor and contributor). He has been a co-author of the 5th , 6th, 7th and forthcoming 8th editions of Environmental Protection: Law and Policy (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer). Law review scholarship includes publications in New York University Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Michigan Law Review, Stanford Law Review (co-authored), Cornell Law Review (co-authored), Duke Law Journal (forthcoming), George Washington Law Review, Iowa Law Review, The Journal of Law and Politics and in an array of other journals, books, news outlets, and blogs. Three of his articles have been named among the 10 best environmental or land use law articles of that year and republished in the Land Use and Environment Law Review. He regularly assists with appellate and Supreme Court environmental, federalism, and regulatory litigation, and also has testified before congressional committees on environmental and regulatory matters. He has published op-eds on regulatory and environmental issues with The New York Times, The Hill, CNN, and been quoted and interviewed by numerous press and media outlets.
Professor Buzbee joined Georgetown from Emory Law School, where he was a professor of law and directed its Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. He also co-directed Emory’s Center on Federalism and Intersystemic Governance. He has been a visiting professor of law at Columbia, Cornell and Illinois law schools. He has also served as a professor for the Leiden-Amsterdam-Columbia Law School Summer Program in American Law. Professor Buzbee is a founding Member Scholar of the Center for Progressive Reform, a Washington D.C.-based regulatory think tank. Professor Buzbee was awarded the 2007-2008 Emory Williams Teaching Award for excellence in teaching. Professor Buzbee clerked for United States Judge Jose A. Cabranes, and before becoming a professor was an attorney-fellow at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and did environmental, land use and litigation work for the New York City law firm, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler. JD, Columbia Law School, 1986; BA, Amherst College, magna cum laude, 1983.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Damien Schiff is a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. He leads its environmental practice group, a unique initiative that draws broadly from PLF’s expertise and success in property rights and separation of powers litigation. Over the years, Damien has represented hundreds of landowners and property rights advocates to defend their liberties against heavy-handed and unwarranted environmental and land-use regulation. His litigation experience includes Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a groundbreaking decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of landowners to challenge Clean Water Act compliance orders issued by EPA, and Contoski v. Norton, PLF’s successful effort to force the federal government to make good on its promise to delist the bald eagle from the Endangered Species Act.
Besides litigation, Damien has written academic articles on a variety of subjects, including the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, greenhouse gas torts, the duty to rescue, and international water law. He has appeared on a variety of television and radio programs and has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harper’s Magazine, and The Economist, among other publications.
He obtained his law degree magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law, and his undergraduate degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University. While at USD, he was a research assistant for Professor Bernard Siegan, a leading constitutional theorist and advocate for property rights and economic liberty. Immediately prior to joining PLF, Damien clerked for Judge (and former PLF attorney) Victor Wolski of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Damien credits the mentoring and examples of Professor Siegan and Judge Wolski for his decision to pursue a career in liberty-based public interest litigation.
Damien lives in Sacramento with his wife, two young sons, four chickens, and a cat named Princess. In his off hours he enjoys stamp collecting, Gregorian chant, and martinis—preferably at the same time.
Professor of Philosophy & Church-Studies at Baylor University
Francis J. Beckwith is Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University, where he also serves as Associate Director of Graduate Studies in Philosophy. Writing and teaching in the areas of law and religion, jurisprudence, and politics, his over one dozen books include Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2015), A Second Look at First Things: A Case for Conservative Politics (St. Augustine Press, 2013), Politics for Christians: Statecraft as Soulcraft (InterVarsity Press, 2010), Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice (Cambridge University Press, 2007), and Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air (Baker Books, 1998). His articles have appeared in a wide-range of journals including Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, American Journal of Jurisprudence, Journal of Law & Religion, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, Nevada Law Journal, International Philosophical Quarterly, Journal of Medicine & Philosophy, San Diego Law Review, Liberty University Law Review, Ratio Juris, Christian Bioethics, Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Journal of Medical Ethics, Philosophia Christi, Catholic Social Science Review, Journal of Church & State, Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Chapman Law Review, Journal of Social Philosophy, Human Life Review, and Social Theory and Practice.
Associate, Dechert LLP
Jenna C. Newmark focuses her practice in the area of complex litigation, with a focus on product liability and mass torts. Ms. Newmark has extensive experience handling litigation strategy, including all aspects of motion practice, discovery, expert work, trials and appeals. Ms. Newmark is particularly passionate about the intersection of law and science; and plays a key role in science teams, which are critical to the core defenses at issue in the cases she defends.
Her clients have included Fortune 500 companies located nationwide involved in mass tort and other types of litigations in state and federal court. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Newmark was an associate at another global law firm and represented clients in various complex litigation matters, including product liability matters.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Lawrence VanDyke serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prior to that appointment in January 2020, he served as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice. Before that, he served consecutively as the Solicitor General of two western states – Nevada and Montana. At the beginning of his legal career, he worked as an attorney in the Appellate and Constitutional Issues practice group at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, LLP.
Judge VanDyke received his law degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor on the Harvard Law Review. He has engineering and theology undergraduate degrees and a masters degree in engineering management. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Janice Rogers Brown of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Judge VanDyke and his wife Cheryl live in Reno, Nevada, and they have three children.
Partner, Cooper & Kirk
Megan M. Wold focuses her practice on legal issues and brief-writing in complex commercial matters, constitutional litigation, and administrative law disputes. She has argued cases in both state and federal court, drafted briefs at all levels of state and federal litigation, and regularly practices before the U.S. Supreme Court. She has represented Fortune 500 clients in international arbitrations, complex tort and fraud litigation, class actions, commercial property disputes, and complex multi-district litigation. She has frequently represented clients in regulatory disputes with state and federal agencies.
Ms. Wold previously served as a Simon Karas Fellow and Deputy Solicitor General in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Ms. Wold has practiced as an associate at Bancroft PLLC and as a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
Ms. Wold served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito of the U.S. Supreme Court and to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame School of Law in 2011 and is a member of the bars of Ohio and the District of Columbia. Ms. Wold graduated summa cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2008 with an undergraduate degree in international studies and religion. She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a recipient of the Meek Family Service Leadership Prize.
Sackett v. EPA: How Will the U.S. Supreme Court Define "Waters of the United States?"
Daren Bakst, William W. Buzbee, Damien Michael Schiff
One of the most controversial and long-standing environmental issues deals with what waters are regulated...
Sackett v. EPA: How Will the U.S. Supreme Court Define "Waters of the United States?"
A Regulatory Transparency Project Webinar
Teleforum"Digital Discrimination" Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Diana Eisner, Joe Kane, Jenna Leventoff, Crystal L. Tully, Sanford Williams
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires the Federal Communications Commission and the Department...
"Digital Discrimination" Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Diana Eisner, Joe Kane, Jenna Leventoff, Crystal L. Tully, Sanford Williams
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act requires the Federal Communications Commission and the Department...
Topics
Biden v. Texas: SCOTUS Decides Case Involving Remain in Mexico Policy
On June 30, 2022, the Supreme Court decided Biden v. Texas and, by a vote of...
Necessary & Proper Episode 77: Who Decides if January 6 Was an Insurrection Prohibiting the Election Of Participants?
James Bopp, Kory Langhofer, Pressly M. Millen, Devin Watkins
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits anyone who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United...
Who Decides if January 6 Was an Insurrection Prohibiting the Election Of Participants?
James Bopp, Kory Langhofer, Pressly M. Millen, Devin Watkins
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits anyone who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United...
Who Decides if January 6 Was an Insurrection Prohibiting the Election Of Participants?
James Bopp, Kory Langhofer, Pressly M. Millen, Devin Watkins
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits anyone who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United...
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After Fifty Years of Clean Water Act Confusion, the Supreme Court Should, in Sackett v. EPA, Finally Apply a Reasonable Standard to Federal Government Regulation
The first case of the Supreme Court’s October 2022 term is Sackett v. EPA, No....
Life After Roe: The Supreme Court's Decision in Dobbs and the Future of Abortion in America
Co-sponsored by the Hale Institute
Moscow, ID