FedSoc Events

Many critics of modern administrative law want a world where Congress does more things, and the executive does less—which would lead to relative stability across administrations. Simultaneously, many also want their vote in presidential elections to have meaningful policy consequences. Between these two competing intuitions lies a tension at the heart of much contemporary political strife, which, of course, has a great deal to do with who controls Congress and who controls the White House.
Featuring:

Prof. Julian Davis Mortenson, James G. Phillipp Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
Eli Nachmany, Associate, Covington & Burling LLP
Prof. Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Professor of Law and Joseph Lipsett Scholar, Boston University School of Law
Prof. Christopher J. Walker, Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
Moderator: Hon. Jennifer Walker Elrod, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

Professor Cass Sunstein and Judge Raymond Kethledge will open the symposium with a fireside chat exploring the conceptual question of why states choose to separate powers along with the relationship between the separation of powers and the rule of law.
Featuring

Hon. Raymond M. Kethledge, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School
Prof. Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard Law School

Featuring:

Hon. Joseph Deters, Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio
Hon. Michael Donnelly, Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio
Hon. Lisa Forbes, Judge, 8th District Court of Appeals, State of Ohio
Hon. Daniel Hawkins, Judge, Franklin County Court
Hon. Megan Shanahan, Judge, Hamilton County Court
Hon. Melody Stewart, Justice, Supreme Court of Ohio
Moderator: Professor Chris Walker, University of Michigan Law School

Zionism: An Indigenous People’s Fight for its Ancient Homeland
Judge Altman led us on a journey from 1208 BC (when the Merneptah Stele, the first extra-biblical mention of the People of Israel, was composed) to Israel's current war with Hamas. Along the way, Judge Altman showed that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel, that Jews have lived in (and often ruled) the land of Israel for thousands of years, and that the State of Israel is a legitimate sovereign over the lands it now governs. Judge Altman also addressed--and refuted--claims that Israel is an apartheid state, that Gaza was in any way occupied by Israel on October 7, and that Jews have obstructed the establishment of a Palestinian state. Finally, Judge Altman explained that Israel's military response to the horrific terror attacks of October 7 was (and remains) proportional under international law.
Featuring:

Hon. Roy K. Altman, U.S District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Perspectives on the Role of the Nation’s Chief Legal Officer
A Conversation with Three U.S. Attorneys General

Featuring:

Hon. John Ashcroft, Former U.S Attorney General (2001-2005)
Hon. William P. Barr, Former U.S Attorney General (1991-1993 and 2019-2020)
Hon. Jeff Sessions, Former U.S Attorney General (2017-2018)
Moderator: Beth Williams, Board Member, U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; former Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy

Lawmakers and courts have been reforming Florida’s tort and insurance laws for decades. From expansion of insurance bad faith and contraction of comparative fault in the 1990’s, to restrictions on medical malpractice suits in the 2000’s, to changes in tort and insurance litigation in the 2020’s, the legal landscape shifted dramatically. This panel will examine the latest reforms in the context of recent history, and it will debate where Florida policy should go from here.
Featuring:

Kansas R. Gooden, Shareholder & Practice Group Leader, Boyd & Jenerette, PA
Fred Karlinsky, Shareholder and Global Co-chair, Greenberg Traurig
William Large, President, Florida Justice Reform Institute
Hon. Paul Renner, Speaker, Florida House of Representatives
Prof. Jay Tidmarsh, Judge James J. Clynes, Jr. Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School
Moderator: Pat Kilbane, Partner, General Counsel & Wealth Advisor, Ullmann Wealth Partners, President of Jacksonville Lawyers Chapter

The panel will discuss how these decisions are transforming the admissions process in higher education and the impact on the legal profession. Included in the discussion will be the response from academia, the permissible limits of the use of race in admissions after these decisions, and what impact this is expected to have on corporate America and the legal profession.
Featuring:

Prof. Tracey Maclin, Raymond & Miriam Ehrlich Chair in US Constitutional Law , University of Florida Levin College of Law
Cameron Norris, Partner, Consovoy McCarthy PLLC
Devon Westhill, President and General Counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity
Moderator: Hon. Meredith Sasso, Justice, Florida Supreme Court

The state and federal bench has transformed in recent years, with more textualist/originalist judges appointed or elected. These changes are influencing how advocates should prepare to make winning arguments. A panel of jurists and leading litigators will offer their best advice to young advocates in making successful oral arguments and incorporating originalism and textualism into their briefs. They will offer their perspectives on how litigation tactics might change, if at all, at the appellate or trial court levels. They will also discuss why litigators play such a key role in encouraging textualist and originalist decisions.
Featuring:

Whitney Hermandorfer, Director of Strategic Litigation Unit and Assistant Solicitor General, Office of the Tennessee Attorney General
Hon. Bobby Long, Judge, 1st District Court of Appeal, Florida
Hon. Jay Mitchell, Associate Justice, Alabama Supreme Court
Ed Wenger, Partner, Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC
Moderator: Hon. Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida

The citizen-initiative process allows the People of Florida to propose amendments to the state constitution, subject to Supreme Court review. But what is the appropriate scope of judicial review of such ballot initiatives? Does the single-subject rule enable outcome-driven judicial decision-making? This panel will discuss these questions and others in the context of the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana and the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion initiatives.
Featuring:

Daniel Bell, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Office of Florida Attorney General
Anastasia Boden, Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute
Hon. Alan Lawson, Shareholder, Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLC
Prof. Jonathan Marshfield, Associate Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law
Moderator: Hon. Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe, Judge, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida

It has been said that American-style split sovereignty provides the people a “double security” for their liberties. And a distinct security too: where the Framers’ primary restraint on the avarice of the United States was the enumeration of its powers, each state is omnipotent and yet typically bound by a thicker conception of the proper ends of government. But these separate sovereigns interact in unique and sometimes puzzling ways that leave the state of the vertical separation of powers in flux. And given that “split[ting] the atom of sovereignty,” as Justice Kennedy characterized it in US Term Limits v. Thornton, is a uniquely American contribution, is it really necessary to secure the people’s liberty?
Featuring

Prof. Maureen Brady, Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law and Deputy Dean, Harvard Law School
Hon. Sarah K. Campbell, Justice, Tennessee Supreme Court
Hon. James E. Tierney, Lecturer on Law, Harvard Law School and former Attorney General, Maine
Prof. Ernest A. Young, Alston & Bird Distinguished Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law
Moderator: Hon. Stephanos Bibas, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit