FedSoc Forums

The advisory committee on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is considering proposed amendments to Rule 26 that would require disclosure of litigation financing arrangements. Specifically, the proposal would require disclosure of any agreement under which any person, other than an attorney permitted to charge a contingent fee representing a party, has a right to receive compensation that is contingent on, and sourced from, any proceeds of a civil action. Travis Lenkner, a senior advisor at litigation finance firm Burford Capital, and John Beisner, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP will join us to discuss the proposal.
Featuring:
Travis Lenkner, Senior Advisor, Burford Capital
John Beisner, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

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On March 5, the committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) raised objection to the hostile take over a bid of Qualcomm by Broadcom. Shortly there after, the administration announced that it was blocking the deal altogether. Join us for a detailed analysis of these decisions, and what they mean for U.S. national security and business.
Featuring:

Stewart Baker, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson LLP

John Shu, Attorney and Legal Commentator


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Recently, in a case called Sokolow, et al v. Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the Solicitor General's Office filed a brief in opposition to the Supreme Court cert petition being sought by the petitioners. The petitioners brought a lawsuit against PLO under the 1992 Anti-Terrorism Act, because of its support for terrorist activities that harmed American nationals. The Second Circuit held that the petitioners case should be dismissed because of lack of personal jurisdiction (PJ) over PLO. While the Second Circuit has held that foreign states do not have due process rights, they ruled that PLO does enjoy such rights because it is not a state. Nevertheless, it held that the facts in the record do not support the assertion of either general PJ or specific PJ over the PLO. David Rivkin of BakerHostetler will join us to discuss the case.
Featuring:
David Rivkin, Partner, BakerHostetler

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On March 26, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in China Agritech, Inc. v. Resh, a case which will further clarify statutes of limitation in class actions.
In 2011, company shareholders alleged fraudulent business practices and sued China Agritech in two successive putative class actions in 2011 and 2012. The plaintiffs alleged various securities law violations against the company and several individual defendants. Class certification was denied in both cases.
A third putative class action suit was brought by shareholder Michael Resh in 2014, alleging securities law violations arising from the same facts and circumstances as the first two cases. China Agritech moved to dismiss the complaint on the basis that it had been filed after the two year limitations period. Resh and the additional plaintiffs argue that under the precedent set in American Pipe & Construction v. Utah, the limitations period had been tolled on their claims during the pendency of the two prior class actions. The District Court rejected this contention, and the Ninth Circuit reversed. The Supreme Court will now hear arguments on whether the American Pipe tolling rule allows a previously unnamed plaintiff to bring a subsequent class action after the applicable limitations period has passed.
Christopher C. Murray of Ogletree Deakins will join us to give his impressions of the oral argument.
Featuring:
Christopher C. Murray, Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On March 21, the U.S. District Court for D.C. will hear arguments in U.S. v. AT&T Inc. et al. AT&T plans to acquire Time Warner to combine its nationwide mobile and satellite distribution networks with one of the biggest producers of content in the market. The Department of Justice filed a complaint in November of last year, seeking an injunction to block the transaction. The DOJ argues that the merger breaches antitrust laws, and would greatly harm American consumers by raising monthly television bills and preventing emerging competitive services. AT&T rejects this conclusion as an improbable hypothesis, claiming the acquisition would not change the company's incentives to keep prices low to remain competitive in the TV market.
Is this merger unlawful and would consumers be worse off? Jim Tierney will join us to give us his impressions of the pleadings for this case.
Featuring:
James Tierney, Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP



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Recently, 20 States, led by Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas and Attorney General Brad Schimel of Wisconsin, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Obamacare based upon Chief Justice John Robert's reasoning in NFIB. The Chief Justice had reasoned that Obamacare's individual mandate is only constitutional because it can be read together with a related tax penalty provision as a single tax. In the recent tax reform law, Congress eliminated the tax penalty, but left the individual mandate in place. Misha Tseytlin, Solicitor General of Wisconsin, explains the States' argument that this change in law renders the individual mandate unconstitutional under the Chief Justice's reasoning and that other portions of the law are inseverable from the mandate. Professor Jonathan Adler explains why he is skeptical of the state AGs' claims and identify potential obstacles to this suit's success.
Featuring:
Prof. Jonathan Adler, Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Business Law & Regulation, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Misha Tseytlin, Solicitor General for the State of Wisconsin
Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

When President Trump nominated Scott Pruitt to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, environmentalists warned that Pruitt would "make America gasp again." After all, as Attorney General of Oklahoma, Pruitt had sued EPA several times to challenge the Agency’s environmental regulations.
One year into Pruitt’s tenure as Administrator, his Agency claims that it is “focusing on cleaning up contaminated lands, improving air quality, and rebuilding America’s water infrastructure”—all while restoring cooperative federalism and rescinding costly regulations. Panelists Jeff Holmstead and John Walke and Moderator Adam Gustafson will join us to review Administrator Pruitt’s first year at EPA, evaluating the Agency’s priorities and its progress and discussing EPA’s evolving role.
Featuring:
Jeffrey R. Holmstead, Partner, Bracewell LLP
John Walke, Director, Natural Resources Defense Council, Clean Air Project, Climate & Clean Air Program
Moderator: Adam Gustafson, Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates PLLC.
Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

On March 20, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra. NIFLA is a religiously-affiliated pro-life pregnancy clinic that sought to enjoin the California Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency Act on constitutional grounds. The Act requires licensed clinics to provide information on publicly funded reproductive health services, including contraception and abortion, and unlicensed clinics to inform patients of their license status. NIFLA claims the Act violates its First Amendment rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion. The District Court denied an injunction, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision.
Prof. Michael Moreland of Villanova will join us to give his impressions of the oral argument.
Featuring:
Prof. Michael Moreland, University Professor of Law and Religion & Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law


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With the official publication of the FCC's Open Internet Order, opponents in Congress will commence their efforts to repeal the Order under the Congressional Review Act. John Kneuer and Paul Larkin joined us for a Teleforum on March 5th at 2:00 pm as they discussed the likelihood of a successful repeal of the FCC's decision and the political and policy implications of continued uncertainty in Internet regulations.
Featuring:
Hon. John Kneuer, President and Founder, JKC Consulting LLC and Senior Partner, Fairfax Media Partners
Paul Larkin, Senior Legal Research Fellow, the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.

The SEC fined the petitioner Raymond J. Lucia $300,000 and barred him from working as an investment advisor for anti-fraud violations of the anti-fraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act. The petitioner requested SEC review, arguing that the administrative proceedings were invalid, as the administrative law judge (ALJ) who decided his case was unconstitutionally appointed. ALJs are appointed by SEC staff in a manner that Lucia claimed violated the Appointments Clause under Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution. When the SEC ruled against Lucia, he appealed to the D.C. Circuit which denied the petition for review by a divided court, issuing a new decision affirming the SEC's decision as required under D.C. Circuit Rule 35(d).

Featuring:
Shane Kelly, Associate, Wiley Rein LLP

Teleforum calls are open to all dues paying members of the Federalist Society. To become a member, sign up here. As a member, you should receive email announcements of upcoming Teleforum calls which contain the conference call phone number. If you are not receiving those email announcements, please contact us at 202-822-8138.