FedSoc Events

At the end of an administration, the President and Vice President are required to relinquish control over certain documents, pursuant to the Presidential Records Act. Recently, it has come to light that former officials of both parties have brought certain classified documents to their private residences and other non-governmental property.
This panel will explore the legal, ethical, national security, and policy issues that confront executive-branch lawyers as they assist Presidents and Vice Presidents to comply with the law.

This panel will evaluate efforts in the Biden administration, building upon executive actions dating back to the Clinton administration, to refocus federal agencies in a “whole of government” manner on “environmental justice” (EJ). The Civil Rights Act and various executive orders are cited as the primary legal support for these initiatives. On this basis, enforcement priorities are being adjusted across all federal agencies. Agency budgets for EJ programs are being increased and new EJ offices opened.
The panel will explore the myriad legal, regulatory, and policy issues that arise in this context. It will offer a primer on administration EJ actions, and evaluate the use of disparate impacts under current law as well as related issues.

Earlier this month, the White House released much-anticipated changes to federal regulatory practices, including a new Executive Order 14094 on “Modernize Regulatory Review,” draft revisions to Circular A-4 governing regulatory impact analysis, and draft guidance on meetings with entities outside of the executive branch. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has the lead for implementing these changes, which comprise the most significant regulatory policy initiatives of the Biden administration. In this opening session, OIRA experts, including several former OIRA administrators will review these developments.

Policymaker interest in alternatives to traditional public schools has sharply increased post-pandemic, with some states considering and adopting proposals to provide educator regulatory relief; increase access to charter schools; offer additional vouchers and tax credit programs; and create education savings account options to increase choice in education. Optics on professions in education have been challenging. Many of these proposals address the number of religious schools in school choice programs, which has led to both new legislation and litigation. Panelists will survey relevant proposals and developments in the midwest while considering the perspective of stakeholders in the field.
Featuring:

Séamus Boyce, Partner, Kroger, Gardis & Regas, LLP
Leslie Davis Hiner, Vice President of Legal Affairs & Director of Legal Defense & Education Center, EdChoice
Daniel Suhr, Senior Fellow, National Opportunity Project
Moderator: Hon. Sarah Pitlyk, Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri

Anxiety regarding parental rights in American healthcare and education is at an all time high. Our panel will discuss questions such as, “Are parental rights being circumvented at the schoolhouse and medical office doors?”; “Who decides the best interest of the child?”; “When should the state’s judgment supersede parents’ judgment?”; and “Who determines the parental right to know?”
Featuring:

Luke Berg, Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Thomas M. Fisher, Solicitor General, Indiana Office of the Attorney General
Emilie Kao, Senior Counsel, Vice President of Advocacy Strategy, Alliance Defending Freedom
Moderator: Hon. Matthew W. McFarland, United States District Judge, Southern District of Ohio

Featuring:

The Honorable Todd Rokita, Attorney General, State of Indiana

Panelists will offer their diverse perspectives on the current state of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the issues it is facing, its potential docket, and emerging legal controversies that may affect the court's future work. They will explore issues such as the role of the court in shaping public policy, the importance of judicial independence, and challenges that the court will face as it adapts to a rapidly changing legal landscape.
Featuring:

Jeffrey A. Mandell, Partner, Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
Ryan J. Walsh, Partner, Eimer Stahl LLP
Prof. Robert Yablon, Associate Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Moderator: Hon. Shelley A. Grogan, Judge, District II, Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Although many lawyers spend their careers in front of judges, the process by which a judge is elected or appointed can sometimes seem shrouded in mystery. What makes for a good judge? How are they chosen? Are there opportunities Wisconsin lawyers aspiring to the state or federal bench should pursue, or pitfalls they should avoid? A panel of Wisconsin-based judges from a variety of courts joins us to discuss the path to the judiciary in Wisconsin, moderated by Milwaukee Chapter President Matthew Fernholz.
Featuring:

Hon. Michael J. Aprahamian, Judge, Waukesha County Circuit Court
Hon. Rebecca Grassl Bradley, Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court
Hon. William C. Griesbach, Senior District Judge, United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin
Moderator: Matthew M. Fernholz, Partner, Cramer, Multhauf & Hammes, LLP & President, Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter

We’ve grown accustomed to learning about government actions only because an enterprising person or group brought them to light using the Freedom of Information Act. Enacted in 1967 after a decade of debate and Congressional hearings, and most recently amended in 2016, FOIA was intended to correct what some viewed as the Administrative Procedure Act’s tendency toward nondisclosure.
This panel will discuss the law, how FOIA requests are used by reporters, researchers, academics, interest groups, trial lawyers and others to obtain information from the government, how the government protects information it considers covered by FOIA exemptions, how courts review government denials of FOIA requests, and some of the more newsworthy disclosures obtained using FOIA.

Join us for a Texas-sized BBQ banquet featuring Austin BBQ. Dress in your Texas best! Attire is dressy, but cowboy boots and hats are welcome!
*This event requires the purchase of a separate ticket.