President, Americas and Global Chief Legal Officer, Merkle Science
Mary Beth Buchanan is currently President, Americas and Global Chief Legal Officer at Merkle Science. She was former General Counsel for Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange. She was a partner at Bryan Cave LLP in the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations and Securities Litigation and Enforcement Client Service Groups. She concentrated her practice on white collar criminal defense, SEC and FINRA enforcement matters, corporate and accounting fraud, internal investigations, corporate compliance, foreign corrupt practices violations, Congressional investigations and complex civil litigation.
Ms. Buchanan served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from September 2001 to November 2009, having been appointed by President George W. Bush. She is the only woman in Pennsylvania's history to be presidentially appointed to this position. As the United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan oversaw the prosecution of more than 5,000 cases, including corporate and securities fraud, bank fraud, foreign corrupt practices, false claims, money laundering, health care fraud, public corruption and a broad range of violent crimes. Prior to that time, Ms. Buchanan spent more than 13 years as an Assistant United States Attorney litigating criminal, civil and appellate cases.
During her tenure as the United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan also held several posts at the DOJ, including serving as the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, acting director of the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women and chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. Ms. Buchanan also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Organizational Guidelines Advisory Committee, which made recommendations to the Commission for amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines for Business Organizations.
Associate, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Brooke Cook is a member of the firm’s Commercial Disputes and Investigations, Financial Regulation, and White Collar Practice Groups. She serves as counsel in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters in both state and federal court, including business litigation, commercial contract disputes, real estate litigation, and employment litigation. Her practice also includes representing both individuals and large companies in government enforcement actions and investigations. Ms. Cook also maintains an active pro bono practice.
Ms. Cook was a summer associate in Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s New York office in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Cook was a judicial intern to the Honorable Norman K. Moon of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and an extern for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in the criminal division. During law school, Ms. Cook served as a Dillard Fellow for the Legal Research and Writing program at the University of Virginia School of Law where she assisted first year law students with drafting legal memoranda and appellate briefs and judged an appellate oral argument competition. She was also the assistant managing editor for the Journal of Law & Politics.
Before law school, Ms. Cook worked in public policy in Washington, D.C.
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations; Former Governor of South Carolina; Author, With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace
Nikki Haley is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration. She is the 29th person to serve in the position.
President Donald Trump asked Haley to serve in the position on November 23, 2016. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 24, 2017 and served until December 2018.
Haley previously served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. From 2005 to 2010, Haley served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 87, Lexington County.
Professor of Law, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Margaret Ryznar is an Associate Professor of Law at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. She teaches and researches in the areas of family law, tax, trusts & estates, property, and juvenile law. Her scholarship focuses on the rights of family members under federal and state law, with particular emphasis on how family members hold and transfer property among themselves. Professor Ryznar edits the Family Law Prof Blog and has published over twenty law journal articles. Her work has been featured in the media and cited in law journals and judicial materials.
Prior to joining the faculty in 2012, Professor Ryznar served as a law clerk to the Honorable Myron H. Bright of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and practiced law with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in Washington, DC.
Professor Ryznar is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School, where she served as a Note Editor of the Notre Dame Law Review, competed in the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court, and received the Bainbridge Fellowship for the Study of International and Comparative Law. She holds a master’s degree in European Studies from Jagiellonian University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago with majors in Economics; English Language & Literature; Political Science; and Law, Letters, & Society.
Chairman & CEO, The Abraham Group
Secretary Spencer Abraham is Chairman & CEO of The Abraham Group.
He served as the tenth Secretary of Energy of United States from 2001-2005. He helped President George W. Bush devise America’s first national energy plan in over a decade and oversaw its implementation. As part of this plan, he led efforts to broaden America’s international energy partnerships as well as forge closer ties to key oil producing nations.
Secretary Abraham has been a close observer of world energy markets, and under his leadership the Department of Energy conducted a number of important short and long-term studies of world oil, gas, electricity and other markets.
According to the Presidential Management Agenda scorecard, the Department of Energy went from “worst to first” of well-run agencies under Secretary Abraham’s leadership.
Prior to being a Cabinet Member, Secretary Abraham served as an effective and highly productive U.S. Senator from Michigan for six years. In the Senate, he was a member of the Senate Commerce, Judiciary and Budget Committees and served as chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee and the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing and Competitiveness. He was also a senior official in the Administration of former President George H.W. Bush as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President.
Secretary Abraham is a member of the Board of Directors of Occidental Petroleum, NRG Energy, PBF Energy, Uranium Energy Corp and Two Harbors Investment Corporation.
In addition, he is a frequent commentator on FOX News, CNN and Bloomberg TV as well as a periodic contributor of op-ed articles to the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard and other publications.
Spencer Abraham and his wife, Jane, are the parents of adult children. He holds a law degree from Harvard University, where he co-founded the Federalist Society, and is a native of East Lansing, Michigan.
Former United States Senator, Utah
Over nearly four decades of public service, Senator Orrin Hatch established himself as a leading conservative voice in the United States Senate. As the upper chamber’s most senior Republican, he served as President Pro Tempore and as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In this capacity, he fought to create jobs and strengthen the economy by repealing and replacing Obamacare, reforming the tax code, and opening up overseas markets to American exports.
As a long-time member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch also fought to check judicial activism and protect our liberties. He was instrumental in confirming conservative judges to the federal bench and played an indispensable role in confirming Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito as well as scores of district and circuit court judges.
One of Senator Hatch’s particularly noteworthy achievements on the Judiciary Committee is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993—a bill he co-authored with the late Senator Ted Kennedy. This landmark legislation prohibits substantial government burdens on the free exercise of religion, allowing all Americans to live, work, and worship in accordance with their beliefs.
In addition to protecting our individual liberties, Senator Hatch was on the front lines of legislative battles to protect our free-market economy and system of limited government under the Constitution. His reputation as a statesman and his record of fiscal responsibility earned him the nickname “Mr. Balanced Budget” from President Reagan.
By virtually all measures, Senator Hatch was among the most effective and consequential legislators in history. Since he first came to Congress in 1977, no legislator alive today has authored more bills that have become law than Senator Hatch.
Of all Senator Hatch’s achievements, he is proudest of his family, and he credits the love of his wife and children as the key to his success. He and Elaine have been married for more than fifty years. Together, they are the parents of six children, twenty-three grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren.
Chairman & CEO, The Abraham Group
Secretary Spencer Abraham is Chairman & CEO of The Abraham Group.
He served as the tenth Secretary of Energy of United States from 2001-2005. He helped President George W. Bush devise America’s first national energy plan in over a decade and oversaw its implementation. As part of this plan, he led efforts to broaden America’s international energy partnerships as well as forge closer ties to key oil producing nations.
Secretary Abraham has been a close observer of world energy markets, and under his leadership the Department of Energy conducted a number of important short and long-term studies of world oil, gas, electricity and other markets.
According to the Presidential Management Agenda scorecard, the Department of Energy went from “worst to first” of well-run agencies under Secretary Abraham’s leadership.
Prior to being a Cabinet Member, Secretary Abraham served as an effective and highly productive U.S. Senator from Michigan for six years. In the Senate, he was a member of the Senate Commerce, Judiciary and Budget Committees and served as chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee and the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing and Competitiveness. He was also a senior official in the Administration of former President George H.W. Bush as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Vice President.
Secretary Abraham is a member of the Board of Directors of Occidental Petroleum, NRG Energy, PBF Energy, Uranium Energy Corp and Two Harbors Investment Corporation.
In addition, he is a frequent commentator on FOX News, CNN and Bloomberg TV as well as a periodic contributor of op-ed articles to the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Weekly Standard and other publications.
Spencer Abraham and his wife, Jane, are the parents of adult children. He holds a law degree from Harvard University, where he co-founded the Federalist Society, and is a native of East Lansing, Michigan.
Former United States Senator, Utah
Over nearly four decades of public service, Senator Orrin Hatch established himself as a leading conservative voice in the United States Senate. As the upper chamber’s most senior Republican, he served as President Pro Tempore and as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In this capacity, he fought to create jobs and strengthen the economy by repealing and replacing Obamacare, reforming the tax code, and opening up overseas markets to American exports.
As a long-time member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Hatch also fought to check judicial activism and protect our liberties. He was instrumental in confirming conservative judges to the federal bench and played an indispensable role in confirming Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito as well as scores of district and circuit court judges.
One of Senator Hatch’s particularly noteworthy achievements on the Judiciary Committee is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993—a bill he co-authored with the late Senator Ted Kennedy. This landmark legislation prohibits substantial government burdens on the free exercise of religion, allowing all Americans to live, work, and worship in accordance with their beliefs.
In addition to protecting our individual liberties, Senator Hatch was on the front lines of legislative battles to protect our free-market economy and system of limited government under the Constitution. His reputation as a statesman and his record of fiscal responsibility earned him the nickname “Mr. Balanced Budget” from President Reagan.
By virtually all measures, Senator Hatch was among the most effective and consequential legislators in history. Since he first came to Congress in 1977, no legislator alive today has authored more bills that have become law than Senator Hatch.
Of all Senator Hatch’s achievements, he is proudest of his family, and he credits the love of his wife and children as the key to his success. He and Elaine have been married for more than fifty years. Together, they are the parents of six children, twenty-three grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren.
Partner, Barr & Klein PLLC
Steve Klein, a partner at Barr & Klein PLLC, is an experienced free speech attorney who has successfully fought for the First Amendment rights of his clients against local, state and federal regulators. As a lobbyist, Steve’s advocacy has led to the successful amendment of state laws to respect political engagement and prevented the enactment of laws that burden it. Steve has published articles in several legal journals, and his commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Detroit News, and other outlets. Steve earned a bachelors degree in politics at Hillsdale College and a law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. He is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois and Michigan.
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information Applications, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Department of Commerce
Doug Kinkoph is Associate Administrator of NTIA’s Office of Telecommunications and Applications, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Kinkoph joined the Department of Commerce in 2010 and has served in a number of roles, most recently as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary where he worked on issues including spectrum management, broadband, and public safety communications.
While serving as head of the Office of Telecommunications and Applications, Kinkoph created the agency’s BroadbandUSA program, which works to promote broadband deployment and adoption across communities nationwide. He also oversaw a $4 billion broadband grant program that funded the deployment of broadband infrastructure, public computer centers, sustainable adoption of broadband service, and statewide broadband planning.
Before joining the Department of Commerce, Kinkoph held multiple executive roles in the communications industry as well as in the public and private sectors as a telecommunications policy expert. He served as Vice President of Operations at Soundpath Conferencing where he was responsible for all sales, marketing, and customer service operations. His private sector experience also includes serving in senior regulatory and policy roles at XO Communications, Nextlink, and LCI.
Kinkoph earned his M.A. in Administration from Central Michigan University and his B.S. in Telecommunication Management from Ohio University.
U.S. Amb. and Head of Delegation to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2019
Ambassador Grace Koh is the U.S. Ambassador and Head of Delegation to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC -19). She also serves as a Special Advisor for International Communications and Information Policy in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
Prior to joining the State Department in 2019, Ambassador Koh was a partner in DLA Piper LLP’s telecommunications group, where she represented technology and telecommunications companies before Congress and government agencies.
Before joining DLA Piper, she served as Special Assistant to the President for Technology, Telecom, and Cybersecurity Policy at the National Economic Council, coordinating policy and advising the White House on these matters. Ambassador Koh also previously served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology in the U.S. House of Representatives. In this role, she advised the chair and committee members on policy and legal issues arising in the telecommunications and technology sectors.
Ambassador Koh was previously Policy Counsel at Cox Enterprises, Inc.’s Public Policy Office, working on technology policies affecting the Cox Enterprise’s Internet, cable, and broadcast properties. Ambassador Koh began at Cox Enterprises after working in the communications group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Ambassador Koh received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities from Yale University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Partner, HWG LLP
Patricia Paoletta is a partner with the law firm of HWG LLP, where she specializes in telecommunications, trade and technology policy. Ms. Paoletta provides advice on regulatory, trade and legislative policy to clients before the FCC, Congress and the Administration. Her clients include providers of content, cloud, mobile broadband, VoIP, international telecommunications, small cells, cognitive radio, public safety and homeland security solutions. She serves on Advisory Boards for several entities engaged in information services, communications and technology.
Ms. Paoletta has accrued considerable experience with telecommunications trade and policy in the public sector. From 1990 to 1995, she was senior advisor to the International Bureau Chief and Office Director at the Federal Communications Commission. In the mid 1990s, Ms. Paoletta served as Director of Telecommunications Trade Policy in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President, where she worked on the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the Basic Telecommunications Agreement. After USTR, Ms. Paoletta served as Majority Counsel to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She then moved to Level 3 Communications, as Vice President, Government Relations.
Ms. Paoletta is on the Steering Committee of the Transatlantic Roundtable on Telecommunications and Information Technology of the European Institute. She is a member of the USTR Alumni Association, Washington International Trade Association, the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA), and Women in Technology. Ms. Paoletta has served on the Board of Advisors for the Inter-American Dialogue's Latin America Telecom Advisor, Co-Chairman of the American Bar Association International Communications Committee, and as a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Technology Policy Committee.
Ms. Paoletta served as a delegate in 2012 to the ITU-R's Study Group 6 Working Party 6A Meeting and in 2009 and 2010 to the ITU-R's Study Group I Working Party IB Meetings; the 2009 meetings of CITEL (the Committee on International Telecommunications at the Organization of American States) PCC-II; the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunications Standards Assembly (2000); the ITU Internet Protocol Telephony Experts Group and the ITU World Telecommunications Policy Forum in 2001; as Chairman of the National Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) Steering Committee (2000-2001); as Board Member for the Voice on the Net Coalition (2001); as Co-Chairman of the FCBA's Annual Seminar Committee (2009-2011); as a member of the FCBA's Ad Hoc Speakers Committee (2006-2007); as Co-Chairman for the FCBA International Practice Committee (2001-2002 and 2005-2006); and as a Co-Chairman of the FCBA Legislative Practice Committee (1999-2000).
Chief, International Bureau, Federal Communications Commission
Thomas Sullivan is Chief of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) International Bureau, which represents the FCC in international meetings and oversees the licensing and policy activities for international telecommunications services and satellite services.
From March 2010 to January 2017, Mr Sullivan served as the Chief of Staff for the International Bureau, where he coordinated International activities within the FCC and advanced the FCC’s international representation within the US Government and at international events.
He joined the FCC in 1991 after receiving his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan.
President, Americas and Global Chief Legal Officer, Merkle Science
Mary Beth Buchanan is currently President, Americas and Global Chief Legal Officer at Merkle Science. She was former General Counsel for Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange. She was a partner at Bryan Cave LLP in the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations and Securities Litigation and Enforcement Client Service Groups. She concentrated her practice on white collar criminal defense, SEC and FINRA enforcement matters, corporate and accounting fraud, internal investigations, corporate compliance, foreign corrupt practices violations, Congressional investigations and complex civil litigation.
Ms. Buchanan served as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania from September 2001 to November 2009, having been appointed by President George W. Bush. She is the only woman in Pennsylvania's history to be presidentially appointed to this position. As the United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan oversaw the prosecution of more than 5,000 cases, including corporate and securities fraud, bank fraud, foreign corrupt practices, false claims, money laundering, health care fraud, public corruption and a broad range of violent crimes. Prior to that time, Ms. Buchanan spent more than 13 years as an Assistant United States Attorney litigating criminal, civil and appellate cases.
During her tenure as the United States Attorney, Ms. Buchanan also held several posts at the DOJ, including serving as the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, acting director of the DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women and chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. Ms. Buchanan also served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Organizational Guidelines Advisory Committee, which made recommendations to the Commission for amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines for Business Organizations.
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations; Former Governor of South Carolina; Author, With All Due Respect: Defending America with Grit and Grace
Nikki Haley is the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration. She is the 29th person to serve in the position.
President Donald Trump asked Haley to serve in the position on November 23, 2016. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 24, 2017 and served until December 2018.
Haley previously served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. From 2005 to 2010, Haley served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 87, Lexington County.
Associate, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Brooke Cook is a member of the firm’s Commercial Disputes and Investigations, Financial Regulation, and White Collar Practice Groups. She serves as counsel in a variety of complex commercial litigation matters in both state and federal court, including business litigation, commercial contract disputes, real estate litigation, and employment litigation. Her practice also includes representing both individuals and large companies in government enforcement actions and investigations. Ms. Cook also maintains an active pro bono practice.
Ms. Cook was a summer associate in Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s New York office in 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Cook was a judicial intern to the Honorable Norman K. Moon of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia and an extern for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California in the criminal division. During law school, Ms. Cook served as a Dillard Fellow for the Legal Research and Writing program at the University of Virginia School of Law where she assisted first year law students with drafting legal memoranda and appellate briefs and judged an appellate oral argument competition. She was also the assistant managing editor for the Journal of Law & Politics.
Before law school, Ms. Cook worked in public policy in Washington, D.C.
Partner, Barr & Klein PLLC
Steve Klein, a partner at Barr & Klein PLLC, is an experienced free speech attorney who has successfully fought for the First Amendment rights of his clients against local, state and federal regulators. As a lobbyist, Steve’s advocacy has led to the successful amendment of state laws to respect political engagement and prevented the enactment of laws that burden it. Steve has published articles in several legal journals, and his commentary has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Detroit News, and other outlets. Steve earned a bachelors degree in politics at Hillsdale College and a law degree from Ave Maria School of Law, where he served as Managing Editor of the Ave Maria Law Review. He is licensed to practice law in the District of Columbia, Illinois and Michigan.
A Discussion with Hon. Nikki Haley
Mary Beth Buchanan, Brooke Cook Wilson, Nikki R. Haley
On January 16, 2020, the Federalist Society's New York City Lawyers and Young Lawyers Chapters...
Monasky v. Taglieri - Post-Argument SCOTUScast
Margaret Ryznar
On Dec. 11, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Monasky v. Taglieri, a...
The Hong Kong Protests and U.S.-China Strategic Competition
San Diego Student Chapter
San Diego, CAA Discussion with Hon. Nikki Haley
New York City Lawyers Chapter and New York City Young Lawyers Chapter
New York, NYOpening Remarks and Keynote Address by Senator Orrin Hatch [Archive Collection]
E. Spencer Abraham, Orrin Hatch
On September 13-14, 1991, the Federalist Society held its Fifth Annual National Lawyers Convention on...
Opening Remarks and Keynote Address by Senator Orrin Hatch [Archive Collection]
E. Spencer Abraham, Orrin Hatch
On September 13-14, 1991, the Federalist Society held its Fifth Annual National Lawyers Convention on...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Wire and Federal Program Fraud: A ‘Bridgegate’ Too Far?
Stephen R. Klein
Bridget Anne Kelly and William Baroni were convicted of wire fraud, federal program fraud and...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Wire and Federal Program Fraud: A ‘Bridgegate’ Too Far?
TeleforumThe Hong Kong Protests and U.S.-China Strategic Competition
California-Berkeley Student Chapter
Berkeley, CAThe Race to 5G and the World Radio Conference
Doug Kinkoph, Grace Koh, Patricia J. Paoletta, Thomas Sullivan
Heard about the “Race to 5G”? Wonder who are the U.S.’ leading rivals, and when...