FedSoc Forums

On May 7, 2025, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit challenging Microsoft's $69 billion purchase of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard, affirming the lower judge's order finding that the FTC was not entitled to a preliminary injunction blocking the deal, which closed in 2023. Hear from former agency officials and amici filers for the Business Roundtable, Communications Workers of America, and TechFreedom as they discuss the various views presented in the briefing and the ramifications of this decision on future merger enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.
Featuring:

Allen P. Grunes, Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Hon. Maureen Ohlhausen, Partner, Antitrust and Competition, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Rahul Rao, Antitrust Partner, White & Case
Bilal Sayyed, Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom
Moderator: Lawrence J. Spiwak, President, Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies

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Eric Claeys’ new publication, Natural Property Rights, presents a novel theory of property based on individual, pre-political rights. The book argues that a just system of property protects people's rights to use resources and also orders those rights consistent with natural law and the public welfare. Drawing on influential property theorists such as Grotius, Locke, Blackstone, and early American statesmen and judges, as well as recent work in normative and analytical philosophy, the book shows how natural rights guide political and legal reasoning about property law. It examines how natural rights justify the most familiar institutions in property, including public property, ownership, the system of estates and future interests, leases, servitudes, mortgages, police regulation, and eminent domain. Thought-provoking and comprehensive, the book challenges leading contemporary justifications for property and shows how property both secures individual freedom and serves the common good.
Join this Talks with Authors program to discuss all this and more!
Featuring:

Prof. Eric Claeys, Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
J. Kennerly Davis, Senior Attorney, Former Deputy Attorney General for Virginia

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On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order effectively ending birthright citizenship for children born to mothers who are unlawfully present or temporary lawful residents in the United States and whose fathers are not lawful permanent residents at the time of the child’s birth. One day later, four states and three individuals challenged this order in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, which three days later granted a universal temporary restraining order enjoining the government from implementing this order. Two weeks later, this became a nationwide injunction. Other similar nationwide injunctions have since been issued from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The government has appealed all of these, and the question of whether the Supreme Court should stay the district courts' preliminary injunctions (except as to the individual plaintiffs and identified members of the organizational plaintiffs or states) was argued on May 15.
Join this FedSoc Forum to discuss this case, its argument before the Supreme Court, and the broader issues at play.
Featuring:

Michael R. Williams, Solicitor General, West Virginia
Moderator: Elbert Lin, Chair, Issues & Appeals, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

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To register, click the link above.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order effectively ending birthright citizenship for children born to mothers who are unlawfully present or temporary lawful residents in the United States and whose fathers are not lawful permanent residents at the time of the child’s birth. One day later, four states and three individuals challenged this order in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, which three days later granted a universal temporary restraining order enjoining the government from implementing this order. Two weeks later, this became a nationwide injunction. Other similar nationwide injunctions have since been issued from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The government has appealed all of these, and the question of whether the Supreme Court should stay the district courts' preliminary injunctions (except as to the individual plaintiffs and identified members of the organizational plaintiffs or states) is now set to be argued on May 15.
Join this FedSoc Forum to discuss this case and the broader issues at play, including its implications for the separation of powers.
Featuring:

Michael R. Williams, Solicitor General, West Virginia
Moderator: Elbert Lin, Partner and Chair, Issues & Appeals, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Elizabeth Odette is the Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division in the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General and the Antitrust Task Force Chair for the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). Tune in to this conversation to hear about her work, the antitrust enforcement priorities of NAAG, reflections on the current direction of state antitrust enforcement, and more.
Featuring:

Elizabeth Odette, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Office of the Minnesota Attorney General; and Antitrust Task Force Chair, National Association of Attorneys General
Moderator: John Wiegand, Antitrust Attorney, Federal Trade Commission

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To register, click the link above.

Currently, the FDIC and NCUA—apart from a limited number of state credit unions—maintain a government-enforced duopoly on deposit insurance. This webinar will explore whether the existing framework should be preserved or reformed, including the potential expansion of private deposit insurance beyond the few states that currently permit it for state credit unions to all banks and credit unions.
Featuring:


Dennis R. Adams, Principal, Dennis R. Adams Consulting; former CEO, American Share Insurance


Margaret E. Tahyar, Partner, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Moderator: Bryan Schneider, Partner, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Stablecoins are important emerging financial products, and this webinar will explore their benefits, opportunities, and use cases. Additionally, it will identify risks, challenges, and concerns associated with stablecoins. The webinar will provide an overview of the State of Wyoming’s stablecoin program, known as Wyoming Stable Tokens. Furthermore, it will delve into private sector stable coins, their practical applications, and provides valuable insights from panelists in the stablecoins space.
Featuring:

Anthony Apollo, Executive Director, Wyoming Stable Token Commission
Prof. Dan Awrey, Beth and Marc Goldberg Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
Jerome Roche, Head of Legal for Blockchain, Crypto and Digital Currencies, Paypal Inc.
Sarah Wilson, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Circle
Moderator: Prof. Gary Kalbaugh, Deputy General Counsel & Director, ING Holdings Corps; Special Professor of Law, Maurice A. Dean School of Law

On April 17, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that Google violated antitrust law through the monopolization of digital advertisement. Google’s “exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,” said the Court. This is the second case in which the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has scored a win against Google, the first having come in August 2024 and relating to Google’s monopoly of “general search.” Google has vowed that they will appeal both cases. Join this FedSoc Forum to discuss the case and its possible future effects.
Featuring:

Prof. Rebecca Haw Allensworth, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair of Law, Vanderbilt University Law School
Bilal Sayyed, Senior Competition Counsel, TechFreedom
Joel Thayer, President, Digital Progress Institute
Moderator: Asheesh Agarwal, Consultant, American Edge Project and U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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To register, click the link above.

Feliciano v. Department of Transportation the Court was presented with the question of whether a federal civilian employee called or ordered to active duty under a provision of law during a national emergency is entitled to differential pay even if the duty is not directly connected to the national emergency.
The Federal Circuit had initially held that Nick Feliciano, an air traffic controller with the FAA and reserve officer in the coast guard was not entitled to differential pay for parts of his time when he had been called to active duty during the early and mid-2010s. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on December 9, 2024, and on April 30, 2025 a 5-4 court reversed the decision below. Justice Gorsuch penned the majority opinion, and Justice Thomas wrote the dissent, which was joined by Justices Alito, Kagan, and Jackson.
Join us for a Courthouse Steps Decision program where we break down and analyze the decision and the opinions, and discuss the potential ramifications of this case.
Featuring:

Prof. Gregory Dolin, Associate Professor of Law, University of Baltimore School of Law
(Moderator) Craig E. Leen, Partner, K&L Gates, and Former OFCCP Director

On October 20, 2023, the Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sued the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board for signing a contract with St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, claiming that St. Isidore cannot participate in the charter school program because it is a religious school. The Oklahoma Supreme Court agreed, holding that the contract violated the Establishment Clause.
The United States Supreme Court is hearing this case to address 1) if the teaching decisions of a private school are considered state action when the school contracts with the state to provide free education and 2) if a state is prohibited from excluding a religious school from its charter school program because of the Free Exercise Clause or if it can justify the exclusion under the Establishment Clause. Arguments are scheduled for April 30.
Featuring:

Philip A. Sechler, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
(Moderator) Prof. Michael P. Moreland, University Professor of Law and Religion and Director of the Eleanor H. McCullen Center for Law, Religion and Public Policy, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law