Over the past year, college campuses have been filled with student protests and demonstrations. A large number of these protests involved students camping out on campus for weeks, taking over administrative and academic buildings, harassing and threatening other students and faculty members, and destruction of property. Many administrators have refused to discipline students or enforce their policies because of First Amendment concerns. Instead, they contend the First Amendment prohibited them from punishing the students or enforcing their policies because the students were engaged in protected speech. When it comes to protests and demonstrations, what does the First Amendment protect? When does protected speech cross the line into unprotected conduct? What duties does a public university have to protect its students from harassment and intimidation? How does a university determine what speech is likely to incite imminent violence?
This panel will examine the scope and limits of the First Amendment, especially as it relates to public colleges and universities.
Featuring:

Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Dean Thomas J. Miles, Dean & Clifton R. Musser Professor of Law and Economics, The University of Chicago Law School
Prof. Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law, Emerita, New York Law School; Former President, American Civil Liberties Union
Prof. Eugene Volokh, Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution; Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor, UCLA School of Law
Moderator: Hon. David R. Stras, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit

As international courts have addressed issues arising from the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars, we will explore whether engagement with the ICC and ICJ institutions is beneficial or harmful to the United States and how U.S. policymakers should approach these courts.
Feature:

Hon. Charles Brower, Judge, Iran-United States Claims Tribunal and Arbitrator Member, Twenty Essex Chambers
Prof. Diane Desierto, Professor of Law and Global Affairs, Notre Dame Law School; Faculty Director, LL.M. in International Human Rights Law; Global Director, Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic
Prof. Richard Epstein, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law; Director, Classical Liberal Institute, New York University Law
Prof. Michael A. Newton, Professor of the Practice of Law and Professor of the Practice of Political Science, Vanderbilt Law School
Moderator: Hon. Stephanos Bibas, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit

Featuring a conversation addressing regulation of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, tech platform regulation, privacy, spectrum policy, broadband funding and other government spending, and consumer protection issues.
Featuring:

Ms. Robin Colwell, Principal, BGR Government Affairs, LLC
Mr. Scott Blake Harris, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Crest Hill Advisors
Mr. Umair Javed, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, CTIA
Prof. Mario Loyola, Research Assistant Professor, Florida International University; Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Moderator: Hon. Michael H. Park, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

Critics have raised concerns about the inadequacy of the consumer welfare standard for the 21st century, while others defend the standard as a proven and manageable test. Has the focus on consumer welfare led to under-enforcement? Is there an objective and administrable alternative to replace it? This panel will discuss which approach to antitrust is best and ways forward to increase U.S. competitiveness and economic growth.
Featuring:

Mr. Adam Cella, Chief Counsel for the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, House Committee on the Judiciary
Mr. Thomas DeMatteo, General Counsel, Senate Judiciary Committee
Mr. Michael Kades, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Mr. Christopher Mufarrige, Chief of Staff and Attorney Advisor, FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak
Mr. Alex Okuliar, Co-Chair of Morrison Foerster’s Global Antitrust Law Practice Group, Morrison Foerster
Moderator: Hon. Jennifer Walker Elrod, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Featuring:

Hon. Eric Schmitt, United States Senator, Missouri
Moderator: Mr. Elbert Lin, Former Solicitor General, West Virginia; Chair, Issues & Appeals, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Accomplishing anything of significance in this political environment requires courage. The legal industry has a few well-trodden pathways: law school, clerkship, large law firm, and perhaps a brief stint in government. Yet without courage, there is little potential for lasting impact along these pathways. While prior administrations may have emphasized conventional career paths and credentials in their selection process, there is an emerging interest in selecting for courage, independent thought, and sound judgment.
But what paths best equip future leaders to accomplish great things in public service? Does the pressure to keep the option to return to a large law firm hinder one from accomplishing great things? What should we be doing to support people who demonstrate courage - including those who make the courageous choice to balance their careers with responsibilities to family and children?
Featuring:

Ms. Libby Locke, Partner, Clare Locke LLP
Hon. Jonathan Mitchell, Principal, Mitchell Law PLLC
Hon. Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General, Tennessee
Ms. Annie Donaldson Talley, Partner, Luther Strange & Associates
MODERATOR: Hon. Gregory G. Katsas, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

Most would agree that all of these [tribalism, polarization, racism, religious enmity, and antisemitism] are bad for society. They are perhaps a particular threat in a democracy like ours, which is predicated on the idea that people of very different backgrounds and ideas can coexist peacefully. Following decades of improvement in all these areas, they seem to be resurgent in the United States. What role have the law, the courts, and the culture played in contributing to this state of affairs? How can law best be deployed to combat it and what is the role of civil society vs. law?
Featuring:

Mr. Jay Edelson, Founder & CEO, Edelson PC
Prof. Michael W. McConnell, Richard and Frances Mallery Professor of Law, Director of the Constitutional Law Center, Stanford Law School
Prof. David M. Schizer, Harvey R. Miller Professor of Law and Economics and Dean Emeritus, Columbia Law School
Mr. Matt Stoller, Director of Research, American Economic Libertie
Moderator: Hon. Steven J. Menashi, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

The Supreme Court's latest term was one of its most significant for administrative law. The Court ended Chevron deference, declared a right to a jury trial in securities fraud adjudications at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and expanded the statute of limitations to challenge agency decisions. Other leading cases included a challenge to a major Trump-era rulemaking on guns and a challenge to a significant federal environmental implementation plan. The Court's opinions have raised important questions about the separation of powers, the role of Congress, and the future of regulatory governance in America. Now that the Court has issued its rulings, the panel considers: What comes next for the regulated public, Congress, executive branch agencies, and the States?
Featuring

Hon. Paul D. Clement, Partner, Clement & Murphy, PLLC
Prof. Cary Coglianese, Edward B. Shils Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science; Director, Penn Program on Regulation, Penn Carey Law, University of Pennsylvania
Prof. Philip A. Hamburger, Maurice & Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Hon. Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, Judge, United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
Moderator: Hon. Neomi Rao, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit

In recent years, the legal profession has increasingly prioritized diversity in law firm hiring and litigation leadership, driven by demands from corporate clients, alumni, and judges. Efforts to increase the representation of women and non-white lawyers have become so integral that they are now reflected in proposed formal rules, such as the FRCP 16.1, which would require judges to consider identity characteristics when selecting leadership teams for multidistrict litigation (MDL). This potential codification raises important questions about the legality and implications of identity-based preferences in the legal profession. How should client preferences for diversity be balanced with Title VII commitments, and what role should diversity of background play in law firm hiring and the selection of MDL legal teams? This panel will explore these issues, examining both the legal and policy arguments surrounding identity-based preferencing in legal employment.
Featuring:

Dean andré douglas pond cummings, Dean and Professor of Law, Widener University Commonwealth Law School
Prof. Darrell D. Jackson, Winston Howard Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Wyoming College of Law
Mr. Roger Severino, Vice President, Domestic Policy & The Joseph C. and Elizabeth A. Anderlik Fellow, The Heritage Foundation
Ms. Tobi Young, Senior Vice President Legal & Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Cognizant; Board of Directors, Halliburton
Moderator: Hon. Patrick J. Bumatay, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

State and federal laws in a wide variety of settings tend to support gender transition in children. This has given rise to religious liberty and parental rights lawsuits. Conflicts include parental objections to gender ideology in public school curricula, secret gender transitions in public schools, state conversion therapy bans, denials of parental custody, foster care, and adoption, and gender transition treatment in the healthcare context. This panel will explore the intersection of the transgender legal movement, religious freedom, and parental rights.
Featuring:

Prof. Ira Lupu, F. Elwood and Eleanor Davis Professor Emeritus of Law, The George Washington University Law School
Hon. Jason Miyares, Attorney General, Virginia
Prof. Melissa Moschella, Professor of the Practice, Philosophy, McGrath Institute, University of Notre Dame
Prof. Steve Sanders, Associate Dean and Professor of Law, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Moderator: Hon. Kyle Duncan, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit