FedSoc Events

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

Much has been made of the promise and concerns around AI technical advances, and guardrails that might be considered to reduce the downside of opaque quasi-algorithmic outcomes associated with current large language model approaches. This panel will examine the current AI regulatory debate and explore how current and proposed corporate and governmental AI is being shaped and normed to provide outputs that reinforce “mainstream” economic, ideological and operational norms, with the risk of vested interests defining such norms. From national security applications, autonomous vehicle safety decisions, economic predictions, pareto-optimal and social benefit determinations, and health care deployment, to how you are entertained and educated, can we control what most of us can’t understand?
Featuring:

Mr. Stewart A. Baker, Of Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Mr. Christopher Ekren, Global Technology Counsel, Sony Corporation of America
Ms. Victoria Luxardo Jeffries, Director, United States Public Policy, Meta
Prof. John C. Yoo, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law, University of California at Berkeley; Nonresident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Moderator: Hon. Stephen Alexander Vaden, Judge, United States Court of International Trade

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

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

It has been almost ten years since the advent of the ‘progressive prosecutor,’ local elected district attorneys and attorneys general throughout the country who ran on and then implemented a revolutionary new model of public prosecution. If states are the “laboratories of democracy” then there plainly has been a series of bold experiments testing the efficacy of this new model of law enforcement. Was it a success, or a failure? Has public safety and order been promoted, or jeopardized? Or is it all simply too soon to tell? Please join us as we present a panel of distinguished current and former elected officials, academics, and other experts in the field as they discuss all facets of these important questions of law, order, and the public interest.
Featuring:

Hon. John Creuzot, District Attorney, Dallas
Prof. Carissa Byrne Hessick, Anne Shea Ransdell and William Garland "Buck" Ransdell, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina School of Law
Mr. Zack Smith, Legal Fellow and Manager, Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program, The Heritage Foundation
Hon. Ray Tierney, District Attorney, Suffolk County, New York
Moderator: Hon. Kevin C. Newsom, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit

Recent times have seen growing criticism of the Supreme Court's legitimacy, with some claiming that the Supreme Court has amassed too much governmental and political power. Such critics have proposed judicial reform to even out this perceived imbalance, suggesting changes like term limits for justices and a binding code of ethics. Opponents say, however, that these changes could undermine the authority of the Supreme Court and upset the delicate system of checks and balances between the branches of government put in place by our Constitution. These debates have led to increased polarization within the legal profession. What is the real purpose and importance of preserving an independent judiciary? How can one engage with the Court's decisions without undermining its authority? Can we champion the integrity of the Court while fostering respectful and constructive dialogue within the legal community?
Featuring:

Prof. Daniel Epps, Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis
Hon. Edith H. Jones, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
Mr. Kannon K. Shanmugam, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Prof. Stephen I. Vladeck, Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center
Moderator: Hon. James C. Ho, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

CLE credit for this event is available at On-Demand CLE.
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

In 2022, the ABA updated its Standard 303, Curriculum which relates to “cross-cultural competency” and “professional identity.” Because the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar is responsible for law school accreditation through an appointment from the U.S. Department of Education (and the agreement of State Bars), this change and the ways it can be implemented could have widespread implications.
This panel will discuss the nature of the obligations the revised Standard places on law schools and the scope of such terms as "cross-cultural competency" and "racism." Do these new standards require new courses or course changes? Will the new courses displace any of the old ones? Will the implementation turn out to be education or training? Does this standard create any tension with later developments in law including Students for Fair Admissions v. UNC (2023)? What role does the Department of Education and State Bars have in scrutinizing and altering the effects of this new standard?
Featuring:

Dean Michael F. Barry, Professor of Law and Former President and Dean, South Texas College of Law Houston
Dr. Dayna Bowen Matthew, Dean & Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
Ms. Jennifer L. Rosato Perea, Managing Director, Accreditation and Legal Education, ABA
Hon. Nels Peterson, Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia
Moderator: Hon. Carlos T. Bea, 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