Partner, Briscoe Prows Kao Ivester & Bazel LLP
Tony Francois is experienced in Water and Real Property Law, Land Use and Zoning, Environmental Regulation, Natural Resources Development, Agricultural Law, and Constitutional Law. He has represented homeowners, builders, farmers and ranchers, trade associations, and water districts in administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings before state and federal administrative agencies and state and federal trial and appellate courts. He is a member of the California State Bar and the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California and the Districts of New Mexico and North Dakota, and has litigated cases in federal courts in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He has appeared before the Supreme Courts of California, Idaho, Nevada, and the United States.
Prior to attending law school, he served as an infantry officer in the United States Army, and was stationed in the former West Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Tony was an Attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation from 2012 to 2021. He was a lobbyist for 10 years, first with California Farm Bureau Federation from 2003 to 2007, and then with KP Public Affairs from 2007 to 2012. He was an attorney at McQuaid, Bedford & Van Zandt in San Francisco from 1999 – 2003.
Charles Yates is an attorney in Pacific Legal Foundation’s environmental practice group, where he litigates to defend private property rights and uphold the structural protections guaranteed by the Constitution’s separation of powers.
His inspiration to focus on environmental law comes from the special case of government overreach it presents, where individual rights too often give way to collectivist notions and where misguided government policies create a cure worse than the disease. Charles has a particularly strong belief in the important role that the productive use of natural resources plays for human flourishing. To these ends, his practice at PLF focuses primarily on the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, and related regulatory issues.
Charles credits his strong belief in the principles of individual liberty and limited, constitutional government to his family. His personal philosophy developed further while studying the works of Adam Smith, John Locke, James Madison, and other classical liberals. Born and raised in Australia, Charles has always admired the U.S. Constitution as the purest and most enduring application of the ideals of individual liberty and limited government. It was these influences that impressed upon him the desire to pursue a career in public interest litigation.
After obtaining a B.A. in political science and international relations from the University of Western Australia, Charles moved to the U.S., where he earned his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law. During law school, he served as president of his school’s chapter of The Federalist Society and was an editor of the University of Baltimore Law Review. Other highlights from his law school days include an internship at the Cato Institute and a clerkship at the Institute for Justice.
Charles lives in Sacramento with his wife Maxine. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and playing the bass guitar.
Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Earl Maltz is a Distinguished Professor and the author of two books and more than 50 articles on constitutional law, statutory interpretation, the role of the courts and legal history. He teaches constitutional law, employment discrimination, conflicts of law and a seminar on the Supreme Court.
Professor Maltz is the author of Rethinking Constitutional Law: Originalism, Interventionism, and the Politics of Judicial Review (1994), Civil Rights, The Constitution and Congress, 1863-1865 (1990), and over 50 articles on constitutional law, statutory interpretation, the role of the courts and legal history. He received his B.A. from Northwestern University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. cum laude from Harvard. Professor Maltz teaches Constitutional Law, Employment Discrimination, Conflicts of Law, and a seminar on the Supreme Court.
Professor, University of Minnesota Law School
Ilan Wurman is the Julius E. Davis Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota, where he teaches administrative law and constitutional law. He previously taught at Arizona State University. He writes primarily on the Fourteenth Amendment, administrative law, separation of powers, and constitutionalism. His academic writing has appeared in the Yale Law Journal, the Stanford Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, the Duke Law Journal, the Minnesota Law Review, the Notre Dame Law Review, and the Texas Law Review among other journals.
Professor Wurman is the author of a casebook, Administrative Law Theory and Fundamentals: An Integrated Approach (Foundation Press 2d ed. 2024). He is also the author of A Debt Against the Living: An Introduction to Originalism (Cambridge 2017), and The Second Founding: An Introduction to the Fourteenth Amendment (Cambridge 2020). His next book, The Constitution of 1789: A New Introduction, is also forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.
Professor Wurman practices law with the firm Tully Bailey. He has litigated a variety of administrative law and constitutional law cases, including cases involving COVID-19 restrictions, transmission lines, and Appointments Clause challenges. He also devised winning public nuisance theories to force city governments to address the increasingly challenging public camping crises throughout the country.
Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Theodore B. Olson is a Partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C. office; a founder of the Firm’s Crisis Management, Sports Law, and Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Groups.
Mr. Olson was Solicitor General of the United States during the period 2001-2004. From 1981-1984, he was Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. Except for those two intervals, he has been a lawyer with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. since 1965.
Selected by Time magazine in 2010 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Mr. Olson is one of the nation’s premier appellate and United States Supreme Court advocates. He has argued 65 cases in the Supreme Court and has prevailed in over 75% of those cases. These include the two Bush v Gore cases arising out of the 2000 presidential election; Citizens United v Federal Election Commission; Hollingsworth v Perry, the case affirming the overturning of California’s Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriages; Murphy v NCAA, overturning a federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting; and U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security v Regents of the Univ. of Calif., challenging the Trump Administration’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”). Mr. Olson’s practice is concentrated on appellate and constitutional law, federal legislation, media and commercial disputes, and assisting clients with strategies for the containment, management and resolution of major legal crises. He has handled cases at all levels of state and federal court systems throughout the United States. Mr. Olson co-authored “Redeeming the Dream, the Case for Marriage Equality” with David Boies. Both were featured in HBO’s award-winning documentary, “The Case Against 8.”
Mr. Olson's Supreme Court arguments have included cases involving separation of powers; federalism; voting rights; the Tenth Amendment; the First Amendment; the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses; jury trial rights; punitive damages; takings of property; the Commerce Clause; administrative law; taxation; criminal law; sports wagering; copyright, patent and antitrust; securities; campaign finance; foreign sovereign immunities; telecommunications; the environment; the internet; the Supremacy Clause; and other federal constitutional and statutory questions. As Solicitor General, during the presidency of George W. Bush, Mr. Olson was the Government's principal advocate in the United States Supreme Court, responsible for supervising and coordinating all appellate litigation of the United States, and a legal adviser to the President and the Attorney General. As Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel during the Reagan Administration, Mr. Olson was the Executive Branch's principal legal adviser, rendering legal guidance to the President and to the heads of the Executive Branch departments on a wide range of constitutional and federal statutory questions, and assisting in formulating and articulating the Executive Branch's position on constitutional issues.
Mr. Olson has served as private counsel to two Presidents, Ronald W. Reagan and George W. Bush, in addition to serving those two Presidents in high-level positions in the Department of Justice. He has twice been awarded the United States Department of Justice's Edmund J. Randolph Award, its highest award for public service and leadership, and also received the Department of Defense's Distinguished Public Service Award, its highest civilian award, for his advocacy in the courts of the United States, including the Supreme Court. He also received the American Bar Association Medal, its highest award for “exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence.” Mr. Olson is to receive the 2021 Jack Valenti Friend of the White House Fellows Award in the Fall of 2021 to be presented by the White House Fellows Foundation and Association.
Mr. Olson is a member of the Commission on White House Fellowships; a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; a member of the Board of Visitors of the Federalist Society; the Board of Directors of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; and the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Foundation. He was a visiting scholar at the National Constitution Center in 2007. He served on the President's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from 2006 to 2008; and of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 2010 to 2020. He was Co-Chair of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy from 2008-2009, and served two terms on the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts.
Mr. Olson is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He has been repeatedly listed in legal publications as one of the nation’s leading appellate lawyers. The late New York Times columnist William Safire described Mr. Olson as his generation's "most persuasive advocate" before the Supreme Court and "the most effective Solicitor General in decades.”
Mr. Olson received his law degree in 1965 from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) where he was a member of the California Law Review and Order of the Coif. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of the Pacific, where he was recognized as the outstanding graduating student in both forensics and journalism. He has written and lectured extensively on appellate advocacy, oral communication in the courtroom, civil justice reform, and constitutional and administrative law.
Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Theodore B. Olson is a Partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s Washington, D.C. office; a founder of the Firm’s Crisis Management, Sports Law, and Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Groups.
Mr. Olson was Solicitor General of the United States during the period 2001-2004. From 1981-1984, he was Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice. Except for those two intervals, he has been a lawyer with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. since 1965.
Selected by Time magazine in 2010 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, Mr. Olson is one of the nation’s premier appellate and United States Supreme Court advocates. He has argued 65 cases in the Supreme Court and has prevailed in over 75% of those cases. These include the two Bush v Gore cases arising out of the 2000 presidential election; Citizens United v Federal Election Commission; Hollingsworth v Perry, the case affirming the overturning of California’s Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriages; Murphy v NCAA, overturning a federal law prohibiting states from authorizing sports betting; and U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security v Regents of the Univ. of Calif., challenging the Trump Administration’s rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”). Mr. Olson’s practice is concentrated on appellate and constitutional law, federal legislation, media and commercial disputes, and assisting clients with strategies for the containment, management and resolution of major legal crises. He has handled cases at all levels of state and federal court systems throughout the United States. Mr. Olson co-authored “Redeeming the Dream, the Case for Marriage Equality” with David Boies. Both were featured in HBO’s award-winning documentary, “The Case Against 8.”
Mr. Olson's Supreme Court arguments have included cases involving separation of powers; federalism; voting rights; the Tenth Amendment; the First Amendment; the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses; jury trial rights; punitive damages; takings of property; the Commerce Clause; administrative law; taxation; criminal law; sports wagering; copyright, patent and antitrust; securities; campaign finance; foreign sovereign immunities; telecommunications; the environment; the internet; the Supremacy Clause; and other federal constitutional and statutory questions. As Solicitor General, during the presidency of George W. Bush, Mr. Olson was the Government's principal advocate in the United States Supreme Court, responsible for supervising and coordinating all appellate litigation of the United States, and a legal adviser to the President and the Attorney General. As Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel during the Reagan Administration, Mr. Olson was the Executive Branch's principal legal adviser, rendering legal guidance to the President and to the heads of the Executive Branch departments on a wide range of constitutional and federal statutory questions, and assisting in formulating and articulating the Executive Branch's position on constitutional issues.
Mr. Olson has served as private counsel to two Presidents, Ronald W. Reagan and George W. Bush, in addition to serving those two Presidents in high-level positions in the Department of Justice. He has twice been awarded the United States Department of Justice's Edmund J. Randolph Award, its highest award for public service and leadership, and also received the Department of Defense's Distinguished Public Service Award, its highest civilian award, for his advocacy in the courts of the United States, including the Supreme Court. He also received the American Bar Association Medal, its highest award for “exceptionally distinguished service by a lawyer or lawyers to the cause of American jurisprudence.” Mr. Olson is to receive the 2021 Jack Valenti Friend of the White House Fellows Award in the Fall of 2021 to be presented by the White House Fellows Foundation and Association.
Mr. Olson is a member of the Commission on White House Fellowships; a member of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation; a member of the Board of Visitors of the Federalist Society; the Board of Directors of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; and the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Foundation. He was a visiting scholar at the National Constitution Center in 2007. He served on the President's Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from 2006 to 2008; and of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States from 2010 to 2020. He was Co-Chair of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy from 2008-2009, and served two terms on the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts.
Mr. Olson is a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He has been repeatedly listed in legal publications as one of the nation’s leading appellate lawyers. The late New York Times columnist William Safire described Mr. Olson as his generation's "most persuasive advocate" before the Supreme Court and "the most effective Solicitor General in decades.”
Mr. Olson received his law degree in 1965 from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall) where he was a member of the California Law Review and Order of the Coif. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of the Pacific, where he was recognized as the outstanding graduating student in both forensics and journalism. He has written and lectured extensively on appellate advocacy, oral communication in the courtroom, civil justice reform, and constitutional and administrative law.
President, US-China Business Council
On July 26, 2018, Craig Allen began his tenure in Washington, DC as the president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business with China. Prior to joining USCBC, Craig had a long, distinguished career in US public service.
Craig began his government career in 1985 at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA). He entered government as a Presidential Management Intern, rotating through the four branches of ITA. From 1986 to 1988, he was an international economist in ITA’s China Office.
In 1988, Craig transferred to the American Institute in Taiwan, where he served as Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. He held this position until 1992, when he returned to the Department of Commerce for a three-year posting at the US Embassy in Beijing as Commercial Attaché.
In 1995, Craig was assigned to the US Embassy in Tokyo, where he served as a Commercial Attaché. In 1998, he was promoted to Deputy Senior Commercial Officer. In 1999, Craig became a member of the Senior Foreign Service.
From 2000, Craig served a two-year tour at the National Center for APEC in Seattle. While there, he worked on the APEC Summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico. In 2002, it was back to Beijing, where Craig served as the Senior Commercial Officer. In Beijing, Craig was promoted to the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service.
After a four-year tour in South Africa, Craig became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. He later became Deputy Assistant Secretary for China. Craig was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Brunei Darussalam on December 19, 2014. He served there until July 2018, when he transitioned to President of the US-China Business Council.
Craig received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Political Science and Asian Studies in 1979. He received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1985.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Judge Carlos Bea serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University in 1956 and his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1958. Judge Bea was born in San Sebastian, Spain, and immigrated with his family to Cuba in 1939. In 1952, he represented Cuba on the Cuban National basketball team in the Helsinki Olympics. Judge Bea became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1958. He engaged in private practice in San Francisco, principally in the area of civil trials (jury and non-jury), from 1959-75 at Dunne, Phelps & Mills and from 1975-90 at Carlos Bea, A Law Corporation. He taught courses in civil litigation advocacy at Hastings College of Law and Stanford Law School. From 1990 to 2003, Judge Bea served as a judge of the San Francisco Superior Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and was confirmed in 2003.
Judge Bea and his wife Louise reside in San Francisco, where they raised their four sons, Sebastian, Alexander, Nicholas, and Dominic.
Adjunct Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for New American Security; Senior Advisor, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, Purdue University
Throughout her career in foreign policy, Ambassador Kelley E. Currie has specialized in human rights, political reform, development, and humanitarian issues, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Ambassador Currie is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington D.C. think tank, and a Senior Advisor to the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University. She is a member of the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democray; the board of governors of the East-West Center; and the advisory boards of Spirit of America and the Vandenberg Coalition.
Ambassador Currie was unanimously confirmed in December 2019 as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues and the U.S. Representative at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and served in that position until January 2021. Prior to that appointment, she served under Ambassador Nikki Haley as the U.S. Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council and Alternative Representative to the UN General Assembly (2017-2018). While awaiting confirmation between ambassadorial appointments, she was appointed interim senior official in the Department of State's Office of Global Criminal Justice. From 2009 until her appointment to the USUN leadership, she was a Senior Fellow with the Project 2049 Institute and the founding Director of the Institute's Burma Transition Initiative. Ambassador Currie also held senior policy positions with the U.S. Congress, international organizatons, and non-governmental organizations.
Ambassador Currie received a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center with a focus on International Human Rights Law, and an undergraduate degree cum laude in Political Science from the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, TE Connectivity
John S. Jenkins Jr. is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel of TE Connectivity. John is responsible for the company’s global legal, compliance, corporate governance, government affairs, intellectual property, security and risk management, and corporate social responsibility activities. He is also responsible for bringing TE’s industry-leading connectivity solutions, engineering, and operations expertise to the emerging markets with focus on India, China, and South America. He joined TE Connectivity in October 2012.
Prior to joining TE Connectivity, John was with Tyco International for ten years and was the Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and International General Counsel. John was responsible for the Board of Directors activities, securities and capital markets transactions and reporting, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, global procurement, real estate, and tax planning. Prior to 2003, John worked as a litigator with McGuireWoods, LLP. John began his career in 1987 as an Officer in the United States Navy, and served as a judge advocate both as Military Prosecutor and Senior Defense Counsel, and finally as Legislative Counsel to the Secretary of the Navy.
John earned his law degree from George Washington University with high honors and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Kori Schake leads foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. She is the author of Safe Passage: the Transition from British to American Hegemony, and with Jim Mattis the editor of Warriors and Citizens: American Views on Our Military. Dr. Schake has taught at Stanford, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and West Point. She has also had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council.
President, US-China Business Council
On July 26, 2018, Craig Allen began his tenure in Washington, DC as the president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing over 200 American companies doing business with China. Prior to joining USCBC, Craig had a long, distinguished career in US public service.
Craig began his government career in 1985 at the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA). He entered government as a Presidential Management Intern, rotating through the four branches of ITA. From 1986 to 1988, he was an international economist in ITA’s China Office.
In 1988, Craig transferred to the American Institute in Taiwan, where he served as Director of the American Trade Center in Taipei. He held this position until 1992, when he returned to the Department of Commerce for a three-year posting at the US Embassy in Beijing as Commercial Attaché.
In 1995, Craig was assigned to the US Embassy in Tokyo, where he served as a Commercial Attaché. In 1998, he was promoted to Deputy Senior Commercial Officer. In 1999, Craig became a member of the Senior Foreign Service.
From 2000, Craig served a two-year tour at the National Center for APEC in Seattle. While there, he worked on the APEC Summits in Brunei, China, and Mexico. In 2002, it was back to Beijing, where Craig served as the Senior Commercial Officer. In Beijing, Craig was promoted to the Minister Counselor rank of the Senior Foreign Service.
After a four-year tour in South Africa, Craig became Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. He later became Deputy Assistant Secretary for China. Craig was sworn in as the United States ambassador to Brunei Darussalam on December 19, 2014. He served there until July 2018, when he transitioned to President of the US-China Business Council.
Craig received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Political Science and Asian Studies in 1979. He received a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1985.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Judge Carlos Bea serves as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Stanford University in 1956 and his J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1958. Judge Bea was born in San Sebastian, Spain, and immigrated with his family to Cuba in 1939. In 1952, he represented Cuba on the Cuban National basketball team in the Helsinki Olympics. Judge Bea became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1958. He engaged in private practice in San Francisco, principally in the area of civil trials (jury and non-jury), from 1959-75 at Dunne, Phelps & Mills and from 1975-90 at Carlos Bea, A Law Corporation. He taught courses in civil litigation advocacy at Hastings College of Law and Stanford Law School. From 1990 to 2003, Judge Bea served as a judge of the San Francisco Superior Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and was confirmed in 2003.
Judge Bea and his wife Louise reside in San Francisco, where they raised their four sons, Sebastian, Alexander, Nicholas, and Dominic.
Adjunct Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Center for New American Security; Senior Advisor, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy, Purdue University
Throughout her career in foreign policy, Ambassador Kelley E. Currie has specialized in human rights, political reform, development, and humanitarian issues, with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Ambassador Currie is currently an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington D.C. think tank, and a Senior Advisor to the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University. She is a member of the board of directors of the National Endowment for Democray; the board of governors of the East-West Center; and the advisory boards of Spirit of America and the Vandenberg Coalition.
Ambassador Currie was unanimously confirmed in December 2019 as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues and the U.S. Representative at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and served in that position until January 2021. Prior to that appointment, she served under Ambassador Nikki Haley as the U.S. Representative to the UN Economic and Social Council and Alternative Representative to the UN General Assembly (2017-2018). While awaiting confirmation between ambassadorial appointments, she was appointed interim senior official in the Department of State's Office of Global Criminal Justice. From 2009 until her appointment to the USUN leadership, she was a Senior Fellow with the Project 2049 Institute and the founding Director of the Institute's Burma Transition Initiative. Ambassador Currie also held senior policy positions with the U.S. Congress, international organizatons, and non-governmental organizations.
Ambassador Currie received a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center with a focus on International Human Rights Law, and an undergraduate degree cum laude in Political Science from the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs.
Executive Vice President and General Counsel, TE Connectivity
John S. Jenkins Jr. is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel of TE Connectivity. John is responsible for the company’s global legal, compliance, corporate governance, government affairs, intellectual property, security and risk management, and corporate social responsibility activities. He is also responsible for bringing TE’s industry-leading connectivity solutions, engineering, and operations expertise to the emerging markets with focus on India, China, and South America. He joined TE Connectivity in October 2012.
Prior to joining TE Connectivity, John was with Tyco International for ten years and was the Vice President, Corporate Secretary, and International General Counsel. John was responsible for the Board of Directors activities, securities and capital markets transactions and reporting, mergers and acquisitions, executive compensation, global procurement, real estate, and tax planning. Prior to 2003, John worked as a litigator with McGuireWoods, LLP. John began his career in 1987 as an Officer in the United States Navy, and served as a judge advocate both as Military Prosecutor and Senior Defense Counsel, and finally as Legislative Counsel to the Secretary of the Navy.
John earned his law degree from George Washington University with high honors and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Kori Schake leads foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. She is the author of Safe Passage: the Transition from British to American Hegemony, and with Jim Mattis the editor of Warriors and Citizens: American Views on Our Military. Dr. Schake has taught at Stanford, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and West Point. She has also had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Stephanos Bibas is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Bibas was previously a professor of law and criminology at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. As director of the Penn Law Supreme Court Clinic, he argued six cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and filed briefs in dozens of others. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 1989 with a B.A. in political theory and from Oxford University in 1991 with a B.A. in jurisprudence. He then earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1994.
After graduating from Yale Law, Judge Bibas clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court and was a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. Thereafter, Judge Bibas served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he successfully prosecuted the world’s leading expert in Tiffany stained glass for hiring a grave robber to steal priceless Tiffany windows from cemeteries. Before his tenure at Penn Law, Judge Bibas taught at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Iowa College of Law and was a research fellow at Yale Law School. He has published two books and seventy scholarly articles.
District Attorney, City of Philadelphia
Lawrence S. Krasner was officially sworn in on January 2, 2018, as the City of Philadelphia’s 26th District Attorney. Before being elected District Attorney, Mr. Krasner served of-counsel at Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt, and Flores, LLC. Larry was born in 1961 in St. Louis, the son of a World War II veteran and author father and evangelist mother. After attending public schools in St. Louis and the Philadelphia area, Larry earned degrees from the University of Chicago and Stanford Law School with the help of student loans and scholarships.
Mr. Krasner attended public school in the St. Louis and Philadelphia areas. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago in 1983 and his law degree from Stanford Law School in 1987, where he was selected to the Stanford Law Review. After multiple offers of employment in prosecutors’ and public defenders’ offices throughout the country, he worked as a public defender in Philadelphia from ’87 – ’91 and was then promoted to the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Philadelphia (’91- ’93). In 1993 he started his own private practice, specializing in criminal defense and police misconduct matters. He has remained in private practice ever since. During that time, Mr. Krasner has tried thousands of bench and jury trials in criminal and civil court in the Philadelphia area as well as other counties and states.
Throughout his 30 year career, Mr. Krasner has also proudly demonstrated a steadfast commitment to social justice, having defended protesters pro bono who were involved with movements including ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, progressive clergy with POWER, Casino-Free Philadelphia, DACA Dreamers, Decarcerate PA, anti-gun clergy with Heeding God’s Call, anti-poverty and homelessness advocates with Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Occupy Philly and Reclaim Philadelphia, and Grannies for Peace, among many others.
He has resided in Philadelphia for over 30 years with his wife of 28 years. His wife has been a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for 17 years. They have two adult sons.
Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Tracey Meares is the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor and a Founding Director of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. Before joining Yale, she was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 1995 to 2007. She was the first African American woman granted tenure at both law schools. Meares is a nationally recognized expert on policing in urban communities, who has worked extensively with the federal government, including being a member of President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In 2019, Meares was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, a 34-county district with an area that stretches from the Oregon border to Bakersfield, Greg Scott is an experienced trial lawyer who represents major companies facing government investigations and litigation, with a focus in the healthcare, retail, and construction industries. He has extensive knowledge on matters involving consumer protection, construction disputes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
Greg represents corporations under investigation by state district attorneys concerning potential violations of consumer protection laws, as well as corporations operating senior assisted livingfacilities under investigation by the state attorney general regarding potential violations of elder abuse laws. In addition, he represents construction companies under investigation by state district attorneys when employees are involved in serious accidents at worksites.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel after serving more than 20 years in the California Army National Guard & United States Army Reserve, Greg went on to become a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County and twice-elected District Attorney of Shasta County. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of National Security Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law following his first term as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California. Between his two terms as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California, Greg was the vice chair of the white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice at an AmLaw 50 firm.
Sheriff (Ret.); Co-Founder and Principal Consultant, Public Safety Strategies Group LLC
Rich Stanek is co-founder and Principal Consultant with Public Safety Strategies Group, LLC., bringing his wealth of knowledge from 36 years of public safety experience to clients across the country, including organizational leadership, agency management, national law enforcement best practices, crime reduction strategies, public policy advocacy, corporate security, and expert testimony.
Rich served as the 27th Sheriff of Hennepin County, Minnesota for 12 years, with responsibility for the safety and security of 1.2 million residents. He managed over 1100 employees and volunteers, a budget of $125 million, and provided care and custody for inmates in the largest Jail and Sheriff’s Office in the Upper Midwest.
He is the author of numerous publications providing education for residents regarding emerging public safety and justice issues: Mental Illness among Jail inmates, Opioid Abuse and Addiction, the nexus between Mass Shootings and Mental Illness, the Collapse of the 35W Bridge, Intelligence-led Policing, and FirstNet, the dedicated National Public Safety Broadband Network for First Responders.
Rich served two terms on the Board of Directors for FirstNet: its mission is to develop, build and operate the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network that equips first responders. FirstNet operates within the U.S. Department of Commerce with a nonpartisan Congressional authorization and $7 billion appropriation. Rich was first appointed in 2014 and in his second term, Rich served as FirstNet’s Chair of Outreach and Advocacy efforts nationwide.
Rich started his policing career in 1983, with the Cottage Grove Police Department and joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 1986; he rose through the ranks to Captain and led the Criminal Investigations Division (Homicide, Burglary, Robbery, Rape, Gangs & Narcotics). During those years, Rich developed strong relationships with residents, pastors, business owners, community groups and local elected leaders; they developed strategies to fight and lower violent crime in Minneapolis. They worked to elect Rich as Hennepin County Sheriff and he re-prioritized Agency personnel and resources for three proven crime fighting initiatives: a Violent Offender Task Force, Criminal Information Sharing & Analysis Unit (CISA) to serve the Sheriff’s Office and 36 local Police Departments in Hennepin County and 7 Counties regionally; and new Crime Lab technology (DNA testing, firearms testing, and Property Crime initiatives). As a result of his leadership, these efforts, and new partnerships, violent crime in Hennepin County dropped by 38% from 2006-2018.
Prior to serving as Sheriff, Rich was appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty as the State’s Commissioner of Public Safety, and Director of Homeland Security, overseeing nine State Agencies with over 2200 employees; including the Minnesota State Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Emergency Management, Office of Justice Programs and State Fire Marshal.
Rich came to the forefront of State leadership when he was appointed Chairman of the State Peace Officer Standards & Training Board (POST) and then elected as a State Legislator; he served for 5 terms while also working as a Minneapolis Police Officer. He chaired the House of Representatives Public Safety Policy & Finance Committees and authored numerous key legislative initiatives, including Minnesota’s entry into the Nation’s Emergency Management Assistance Compact (“EMAC”), and post-9/11 information sharing and communications initiatives to better equip First Responders.
At both the state and national level, Rich has become well-known for his strong and visible advocacy for advancements in law enforcement public policy, technology, education, and best practices, through his elected and appointed leadership roles. As a result, Rich is a much sought-after media spokesperson, faculty presenter and keynote speaker.
During his service as Sheriff, Rich served as President of the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), Vice President of the National Sheriffs Associations (NSA); and President of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association (MSA). He served as a Law Enforcement Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); He is the Past President of the Leaders in National Counterterrorism (LinCT); and served on the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC) and FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), where he held a top-secret national security clearance. Rich has testified numerous times before Congress regarding community policing strategies, 21st century Policing, countering violent extremism and community engagement.
Rich’s educational background includes an M.A. in Public Administration from Hamline University and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Minnesota. Additional professional training includes; the Southern Police Institute in Louisville, PERF’s Senior Management Institute for Police at Cambridge University, the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, FBI National Executive Institute in Virginia and the Leaders in National Counterterrorism Training in Australia and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) in Israel.
Rich lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota, and has been married to his wife, Sally for 36 years; they have 2 adult children and a dog named Teddy. Rich is an avid Northwoods outdoorsman; where he enjoys time at his northern Minnesota cabin; hunting, fishing, boating, hiking and snowmobiling.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Stephanos Bibas is a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Judge Bibas was previously a professor of law and criminology at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. As director of the Penn Law Supreme Court Clinic, he argued six cases before the Supreme Court of the United States and filed briefs in dozens of others. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University in 1989 with a B.A. in political theory and from Oxford University in 1991 with a B.A. in jurisprudence. He then earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1994.
After graduating from Yale Law, Judge Bibas clerked for Judge Patrick Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court and was a litigation associate at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. Thereafter, Judge Bibas served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he successfully prosecuted the world’s leading expert in Tiffany stained glass for hiring a grave robber to steal priceless Tiffany windows from cemeteries. Before his tenure at Penn Law, Judge Bibas taught at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Iowa College of Law and was a research fellow at Yale Law School. He has published two books and seventy scholarly articles.
District Attorney, City of Philadelphia
Lawrence S. Krasner was officially sworn in on January 2, 2018, as the City of Philadelphia’s 26th District Attorney. Before being elected District Attorney, Mr. Krasner served of-counsel at Greenblatt, Pierce, Funt, and Flores, LLC. Larry was born in 1961 in St. Louis, the son of a World War II veteran and author father and evangelist mother. After attending public schools in St. Louis and the Philadelphia area, Larry earned degrees from the University of Chicago and Stanford Law School with the help of student loans and scholarships.
Mr. Krasner attended public school in the St. Louis and Philadelphia areas. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago in 1983 and his law degree from Stanford Law School in 1987, where he was selected to the Stanford Law Review. After multiple offers of employment in prosecutors’ and public defenders’ offices throughout the country, he worked as a public defender in Philadelphia from ’87 – ’91 and was then promoted to the Federal Public Defender’s Office in Philadelphia (’91- ’93). In 1993 he started his own private practice, specializing in criminal defense and police misconduct matters. He has remained in private practice ever since. During that time, Mr. Krasner has tried thousands of bench and jury trials in criminal and civil court in the Philadelphia area as well as other counties and states.
Throughout his 30 year career, Mr. Krasner has also proudly demonstrated a steadfast commitment to social justice, having defended protesters pro bono who were involved with movements including ACT UP, Black Lives Matter, progressive clergy with POWER, Casino-Free Philadelphia, DACA Dreamers, Decarcerate PA, anti-gun clergy with Heeding God’s Call, anti-poverty and homelessness advocates with Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Occupy Philly and Reclaim Philadelphia, and Grannies for Peace, among many others.
He has resided in Philadelphia for over 30 years with his wife of 28 years. His wife has been a judge of the Court of Common Pleas for 17 years. They have two adult sons.
Walton Hale Hamilton Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Tracey Meares is the Walton Hale Hamilton Professor and a Founding Director of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School. Before joining Yale, she was a professor at the University of Chicago Law School from 1995 to 2007. She was the first African American woman granted tenure at both law schools. Meares is a nationally recognized expert on policing in urban communities, who has worked extensively with the federal government, including being a member of President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. In 2019, Meares was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Partner, King & Spalding LLP
Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, a 34-county district with an area that stretches from the Oregon border to Bakersfield, Greg Scott is an experienced trial lawyer who represents major companies facing government investigations and litigation, with a focus in the healthcare, retail, and construction industries. He has extensive knowledge on matters involving consumer protection, construction disputes, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
Greg represents corporations under investigation by state district attorneys concerning potential violations of consumer protection laws, as well as corporations operating senior assisted livingfacilities under investigation by the state attorney general regarding potential violations of elder abuse laws. In addition, he represents construction companies under investigation by state district attorneys when employees are involved in serious accidents at worksites.
A retired Lieutenant Colonel after serving more than 20 years in the California Army National Guard & United States Army Reserve, Greg went on to become a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa County and twice-elected District Attorney of Shasta County. He also served as an Adjunct Professor of National Security Law at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law following his first term as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California. Between his two terms as U.S. Attorney for the E.D. of California, Greg was the vice chair of the white-collar defense and corporate investigations practice at an AmLaw 50 firm.
Sheriff (Ret.); Co-Founder and Principal Consultant, Public Safety Strategies Group LLC
Rich Stanek is co-founder and Principal Consultant with Public Safety Strategies Group, LLC., bringing his wealth of knowledge from 36 years of public safety experience to clients across the country, including organizational leadership, agency management, national law enforcement best practices, crime reduction strategies, public policy advocacy, corporate security, and expert testimony.
Rich served as the 27th Sheriff of Hennepin County, Minnesota for 12 years, with responsibility for the safety and security of 1.2 million residents. He managed over 1100 employees and volunteers, a budget of $125 million, and provided care and custody for inmates in the largest Jail and Sheriff’s Office in the Upper Midwest.
He is the author of numerous publications providing education for residents regarding emerging public safety and justice issues: Mental Illness among Jail inmates, Opioid Abuse and Addiction, the nexus between Mass Shootings and Mental Illness, the Collapse of the 35W Bridge, Intelligence-led Policing, and FirstNet, the dedicated National Public Safety Broadband Network for First Responders.
Rich served two terms on the Board of Directors for FirstNet: its mission is to develop, build and operate the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network that equips first responders. FirstNet operates within the U.S. Department of Commerce with a nonpartisan Congressional authorization and $7 billion appropriation. Rich was first appointed in 2014 and in his second term, Rich served as FirstNet’s Chair of Outreach and Advocacy efforts nationwide.
Rich started his policing career in 1983, with the Cottage Grove Police Department and joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 1986; he rose through the ranks to Captain and led the Criminal Investigations Division (Homicide, Burglary, Robbery, Rape, Gangs & Narcotics). During those years, Rich developed strong relationships with residents, pastors, business owners, community groups and local elected leaders; they developed strategies to fight and lower violent crime in Minneapolis. They worked to elect Rich as Hennepin County Sheriff and he re-prioritized Agency personnel and resources for three proven crime fighting initiatives: a Violent Offender Task Force, Criminal Information Sharing & Analysis Unit (CISA) to serve the Sheriff’s Office and 36 local Police Departments in Hennepin County and 7 Counties regionally; and new Crime Lab technology (DNA testing, firearms testing, and Property Crime initiatives). As a result of his leadership, these efforts, and new partnerships, violent crime in Hennepin County dropped by 38% from 2006-2018.
Prior to serving as Sheriff, Rich was appointed by Governor Tim Pawlenty as the State’s Commissioner of Public Safety, and Director of Homeland Security, overseeing nine State Agencies with over 2200 employees; including the Minnesota State Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Emergency Management, Office of Justice Programs and State Fire Marshal.
Rich came to the forefront of State leadership when he was appointed Chairman of the State Peace Officer Standards & Training Board (POST) and then elected as a State Legislator; he served for 5 terms while also working as a Minneapolis Police Officer. He chaired the House of Representatives Public Safety Policy & Finance Committees and authored numerous key legislative initiatives, including Minnesota’s entry into the Nation’s Emergency Management Assistance Compact (“EMAC”), and post-9/11 information sharing and communications initiatives to better equip First Responders.
At both the state and national level, Rich has become well-known for his strong and visible advocacy for advancements in law enforcement public policy, technology, education, and best practices, through his elected and appointed leadership roles. As a result, Rich is a much sought-after media spokesperson, faculty presenter and keynote speaker.
During his service as Sheriff, Rich served as President of the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA), Vice President of the National Sheriffs Associations (NSA); and President of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association (MSA). He served as a Law Enforcement Senior Advisor to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Secretary of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); He is the Past President of the Leaders in National Counterterrorism (LinCT); and served on the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC) and FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), where he held a top-secret national security clearance. Rich has testified numerous times before Congress regarding community policing strategies, 21st century Policing, countering violent extremism and community engagement.
Rich’s educational background includes an M.A. in Public Administration from Hamline University and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from the University of Minnesota. Additional professional training includes; the Southern Police Institute in Louisville, PERF’s Senior Management Institute for Police at Cambridge University, the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania, FBI National Executive Institute in Virginia and the Leaders in National Counterterrorism Training in Australia and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) in Israel.
Rich lives in Maple Grove, Minnesota, and has been married to his wife, Sally for 36 years; they have 2 adult children and a dog named Teddy. Rich is an avid Northwoods outdoorsman; where he enjoys time at his northern Minnesota cabin; hunting, fishing, boating, hiking and snowmobiling.
Principal, Sharon Fast Gustafson, Attorney at Law, PLC
SHARON FAST GUSTAFSON is the immediate past General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Ms. Gustafson graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991 and has concentrated her practice in employment law. She worked for four years in the labor and employment law group at Jones, Day in Washington, D.C. Since that time, she has had a broad-based solo practice advising and representing employers and employees in handling all aspects of the employment relationship, in compliance with federal and state workplace laws, and in designing and implementing sound employment policies and practices.
Ms. Gustafson is an experienced litigator in federal and state courts; before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, state and local civil rights offices, and the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division; and in mediation and arbitration. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Gustafson successfully litigated a pregnancy discrimination case, Young v. UPS, 575 U.S. 206 (2015), from EEOC intake to a successful outcome at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she received the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s “Lawyer of the Year” award “in recognition of outstanding dedication to Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice.”
Ms. Gustafson represents both employers and employees in matters relating to employment law.
Managing Partner, Crabbe Brown & James LLP
Larry James has been at the heart of the Columbus business, legal, civic, and political scene for the last thirty years. He is a respected litigator, as well as an advisor to local and national leaders. In recognition of his many achievements, the law firm changed its name from Crabbe, Brown, Jones, Potts & Schmidt to Crabbe, Brown & James in January 2001.
In 2011, The Ohio State University selected Mr. James as lead counsel to represent its student athletes in NCAA investigations. In 2013, Armen Keteyian published his book The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football, a chapter of which is dedicated to Larry’s work in representing the OSU football players.
In 2012, Mr. James and his wife, Donna, were awarded the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus’ Humanitarians of the Year Award. In 2015, noted journalist Wil Haygood published his award-winning book Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America, which he dedicated to Mr. James.
Mr. James is a life member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, and he has served as General Counsel of the National Fraternal Order of Police since 2001.
Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Peter focuses his legal practice on representing management in employment-related litigation and in contract negotiations, NLRB proceedings, EEO matters and arbitration.
Peter Kirsanow is a partner with Benesch’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. He returned to Benesch in January 2008 after serving as a presidential appointee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington D.C. for two years. While serving on the NLRB, he was involved with significant decisions including Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., Dana/Metaldyne and Oil Capital Sheet Metal, Inc. In addition, Peter testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. He also continues to testify before and advise members of the U.S. Congress on employment law matters, most recently on November 18 before the House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight regarding disparate impact theory.
Peter was recently reappointed by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives to his fourth consecutive six-year term on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. This is a part-time position which will expire in December 2025.
Recently, Peter and a team of Benesch attorneys served as lead counsel to the National Association of Manufacturers in litigation before the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia against the NLRB, challenging the Board’s Notice of Employer Rights Posting Rule. The court ruled in favor of Benesch’s client, striking down the NLRB’s Rule in its entirety. This ruling impacts over 6,000,000 employers nationwide which would have been subject to the posting requirement.
Additionally, Peter is past chair of the board of directors of the Center for New Black Leadership and is a member of Benesch’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. This committee helps ensure that the firm promotes an environment in which differences are respected, employees are treated fairly, and individual skills and talents are valued.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Judge Paul Matey was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2019 by President Trump.
Before his judicial service, Judge Matey was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler in New Jersey where he practiced complex commercial litigation and criminal defense. Earlier, Judge Matey was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for University Hospital Newark, an academic medical center and teaching hospital.
He also served as the Deputy Chief Counsel to Governor Chris Christie, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of New Jersey, where he was awarded the Justice Department’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance. He also practiced at the Washington D.C. firm of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, and served as a law clerk to judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton, a Jesuit University, in 1993, and his juris doctorate, summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2001, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Seton Hall Law Review.
In 2019, Judge Matey was elected to membership in the American Law Institute and, since 2020, has lectured on administrative law and the American legal history at Seton Hall.
CEO, Intelligent Partnerships
Daniel Villao is Chief Executive Officer at Intelligent Partnerships, Inc. and the Immediate Past Chair of the National Board of Directors for the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). He is also the former Deputy Administrator in the Office of Apprenticeship for the U.S. Department of Labor under both Republican and Democratic Administrations.
With decades of experience in policy development, Daniel has had proven success in innovative supplier-access design and training. As Deputy Administrator, Daniel was successful in helping major employers such as Microsoft, Lufthansa, Zurich, and AON adopt apprenticeship to create workforce development systems that benefit America's workers and employers.
Daniel specializes in implementing an innovative and accessible workforce design that transforms businesses and adds value to all aspects of organizations. Daniel has dedicated his career to analyzing the ever-changing landscape of the workplace and helping organizations navigate the world of work and creating jobs that make sense in emerging models.
Daniel Villao is the author of the acclaimed Beyond Green Jobs, which addresses a systems approach to diversity and inclusion in the construction sector in a future world defined by climate change.
Principal, Sharon Fast Gustafson, Attorney at Law, PLC
SHARON FAST GUSTAFSON is the immediate past General Counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), where she enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
Ms. Gustafson graduated with honors from Georgetown Law Center in 1991 and has concentrated her practice in employment law. She worked for four years in the labor and employment law group at Jones, Day in Washington, D.C. Since that time, she has had a broad-based solo practice advising and representing employers and employees in handling all aspects of the employment relationship, in compliance with federal and state workplace laws, and in designing and implementing sound employment policies and practices.
Ms. Gustafson is an experienced litigator in federal and state courts; before administrative agencies, including the EEOC, state and local civil rights offices, and the Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division; and in mediation and arbitration. She is admitted to practice in state and federal courts in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, and in the United States Supreme Court.
Ms. Gustafson successfully litigated a pregnancy discrimination case, Young v. UPS, 575 U.S. 206 (2015), from EEOC intake to a successful outcome at the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2016, she received the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s “Lawyer of the Year” award “in recognition of outstanding dedication to Civil Rights, Equality, and Justice.”
Ms. Gustafson represents both employers and employees in matters relating to employment law.
Managing Partner, Crabbe Brown & James LLP
Larry James has been at the heart of the Columbus business, legal, civic, and political scene for the last thirty years. He is a respected litigator, as well as an advisor to local and national leaders. In recognition of his many achievements, the law firm changed its name from Crabbe, Brown, Jones, Potts & Schmidt to Crabbe, Brown & James in January 2001.
In 2011, The Ohio State University selected Mr. James as lead counsel to represent its student athletes in NCAA investigations. In 2013, Armen Keteyian published his book The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football, a chapter of which is dedicated to Larry’s work in representing the OSU football players.
In 2012, Mr. James and his wife, Donna, were awarded the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus’ Humanitarians of the Year Award. In 2015, noted journalist Wil Haygood published his award-winning book Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America, which he dedicated to Mr. James.
Mr. James is a life member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Conference, and he has served as General Counsel of the National Fraternal Order of Police since 2001.
Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Peter focuses his legal practice on representing management in employment-related litigation and in contract negotiations, NLRB proceedings, EEO matters and arbitration.
Peter Kirsanow is a partner with Benesch’s Labor & Employment Practice Group. He returned to Benesch in January 2008 after serving as a presidential appointee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington D.C. for two years. While serving on the NLRB, he was involved with significant decisions including Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., Dana/Metaldyne and Oil Capital Sheet Metal, Inc. In addition, Peter testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. He also continues to testify before and advise members of the U.S. Congress on employment law matters, most recently on November 18 before the House Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight regarding disparate impact theory.
Peter was recently reappointed by the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives to his fourth consecutive six-year term on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. This is a part-time position which will expire in December 2025.
Recently, Peter and a team of Benesch attorneys served as lead counsel to the National Association of Manufacturers in litigation before the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia against the NLRB, challenging the Board’s Notice of Employer Rights Posting Rule. The court ruled in favor of Benesch’s client, striking down the NLRB’s Rule in its entirety. This ruling impacts over 6,000,000 employers nationwide which would have been subject to the posting requirement.
Additionally, Peter is past chair of the board of directors of the Center for New Black Leadership and is a member of Benesch’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee. This committee helps ensure that the firm promotes an environment in which differences are respected, employees are treated fairly, and individual skills and talents are valued.
Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Judge Paul Matey was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2019 by President Trump.
Before his judicial service, Judge Matey was a partner at Lowenstein Sandler in New Jersey where he practiced complex commercial litigation and criminal defense. Earlier, Judge Matey was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for University Hospital Newark, an academic medical center and teaching hospital.
He also served as the Deputy Chief Counsel to Governor Chris Christie, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of New Jersey, where he was awarded the Justice Department’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance. He also practiced at the Washington D.C. firm of Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, and served as a law clerk to judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton, a Jesuit University, in 1993, and his juris doctorate, summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2001, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Seton Hall Law Review.
In 2019, Judge Matey was elected to membership in the American Law Institute and, since 2020, has lectured on administrative law and the American legal history at Seton Hall.
CEO, Intelligent Partnerships
Daniel Villao is Chief Executive Officer at Intelligent Partnerships, Inc. and the Immediate Past Chair of the National Board of Directors for the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA). He is also the former Deputy Administrator in the Office of Apprenticeship for the U.S. Department of Labor under both Republican and Democratic Administrations.
With decades of experience in policy development, Daniel has had proven success in innovative supplier-access design and training. As Deputy Administrator, Daniel was successful in helping major employers such as Microsoft, Lufthansa, Zurich, and AON adopt apprenticeship to create workforce development systems that benefit America's workers and employers.
Daniel specializes in implementing an innovative and accessible workforce design that transforms businesses and adds value to all aspects of organizations. Daniel has dedicated his career to analyzing the ever-changing landscape of the workplace and helping organizations navigate the world of work and creating jobs that make sense in emerging models.
Daniel Villao is the author of the acclaimed Beyond Green Jobs, which addresses a systems approach to diversity and inclusion in the construction sector in a future world defined by climate change.
Roiling the Waters: Clean Water Act “Navigable Waters” Definition – Litigation and Regulatory Developments
TeleforumExploring America’s “Second Founding” and the Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment
With guest speakers Professor Ilan Wurman and Professor Earl Maltz
Morristown, NJ20th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture
Theodore B. Olson
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
20th Annual Barbara K. Olson Memorial Lecture
Theodore B. Olson
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
China, Global Companies, and Human Rights
Craig B. Allen, Carlos T. Bea, Kelley Currie, John S. Jenkins, Kori Schake
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
China, Global Companies, and Human Rights
Craig B. Allen, Carlos T. Bea, Kelley Currie, John S. Jenkins, Kori Schake
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
Criminal Justice 2021 and The Rule of Law
Stephanos Bibas, Lawrence S. Krasner, Tracey Meares, McGregor W. Scott, Rich Stanek
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
Criminal Justice 2021 and The Rule of Law
Stephanos Bibas, Lawrence S. Krasner, Tracey Meares, McGregor W. Scott, Rich Stanek
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
"Progressive" HR in 2021: The Solution or the Problem?
Sharon Fast Gustafson, Larry H. James, Peter Kirsanow, Paul B. Matey, Daniel Villao
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...
"Progressive" HR in 2021: The Solution or the Problem?
Sharon Fast Gustafson, Larry H. James, Peter Kirsanow, Paul B. Matey, Daniel Villao
The 2021 National Lawyers Convention took place November 11-13, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in...