FedSoc Events

Latest Episodes:

Fireside Chat: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Live Not By Lies Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Nearly fifty years ago, Alexander Solzhenitsyn released the text of a four-page essay titled Live Not By Lies. The account of his eight-year imprisonment as a political dissident in a Russian gulag had just been published in the West. In retaliation, the Russian government exiled Solzhenitsyn to Zurich. The day before his expulsion from Russia, Solzhenitsyn released the text and eventually made his way to America.
In his essay, Solzhenitsyn argued that the totalitarian regime which had silenced a generation of his fellow Russians existed only because lies were allowed a foothold. Out of an understandable desire to conform—“not to stray from the herd, not to set out on our own, and risk suddenly having to make do without the white bread, the hot water heater, a Moscow residency permit”—individuals had allowed crushing authoritarian violence to take over little by little.
Liberation was still possible, but it had to begin with the individual and a “personal non participation in lies.” In the essay, Solzhenitsyn calls on his fellow Russians to “stand straight as . . . honest m[e]n” so that the "rule [of the lies] hold not through [us].”
Solzhenitsyn’s insight into psychology and human society is evergreen—and well worth revisiting today. Join us for a Fireside Chat to discuss Solzhenitsyn’s famous essay and more.
Featuring:
Professor Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law
Moderator: Hon. Stephanos Bibas, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
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To register, click the link above.

Freedom of Thought Dinner & Panel Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

We recognize the risks of agency overreach when rulemaking seeks to impose ESG considerations on business. But to what extent have private banks and institutional investors also been able to leverage their economic power to shape firm behavior on climate and other ESG questions – outside of the democratic process? And if we worry that the administrative state lacks political accountability for contentious policy choices, should we also be concerned about the role of private economic influence?
Join us for a dinner at the Mayflower Hotel as our panelists discuss these questions and more. Dinner tickets will be available when purchasing conference tickets at a discount to logged in members. Login or Join today!
Featuring:
Christina Parajon Skinner, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Julia Mahoney, John S. Battle Professor of Law, Univeristy of Virginia School of Law
Matthew Stoller, Director of Research, American Economic Liberties Project
Hon. C. Boyden Gray, Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates
Moderator: Hon. Gregory G. Katsas, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Reading Materials:
The New Separation of Ownership and Control: Institutional Investors and ESG - Julia Mahoney
Banks and Climate Governance - Christina Skinner

Courthouse Steps Decision: Carson v. Makin Jul 06, 2022

Show notes

On June 21, 2022, the Supreme Court decided Carson v. Makin. In a 6-3 opinion, the Court reversed and remanded the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The Court held that Maine's "nonsectarian" requirement for otherwise generally available tuition assistance payments to parents who live in school districts that do not operate a secondary school of their own violates the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.
Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court. Justice Breyer filed a dissenting opinion, in which Justice Kagan joined, and in which Justice Sotomayor joined as to all but Part I-B. Justice Sotomayor filed a dissenting opinion.
Please join our legal expert to discuss the case, the legal issues involved, and the implications going forward.
Featuring:
Arif Panju, Managing Attorney, Institute for Justice

Regulating the New Crypto Ecosystem: Necessary Regulation or Crippling Future Innovation? Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

This event is sold out. We will take walk-ins at the door if room becomes available.
Cryptocurrency. Decentralized finance. Nonfungible tokens. Once only experts on the cutting edge of financial services were familiar with these terms. Now, with the emergence of digital assets within the global financial system, crypto, DeFi, and NFTs are becoming part of the mainstream financial services lexicon.
The rapidly emerging crypto ecosystem faces uncertainty within a regulatory regime designed for very different institutions and securities. In response, on March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an executive order, “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” which ordered agencies to submit policy recommendations based upon multiple principles such as: providing consumer protection, ensuring U.S. financial system stability, mitigating systemic financial risk, responsibly developing digital assets, and examining the creation of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Supporters of increased financial regulation over cryptocurrency see this as a necessity to provide security essential to ensuring financial stability and consumer protection within the digital asset space. Others view these federal regulatory efforts as a threat to future opportunities for economic innovation.
SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce and an expert panel including Jerry Brito, Ryan Selkis, C. Todd Phillips, moderated by J.W. Verret, will address current and future efforts at regulation of cryptocurrency and its implications for innovation, financial stability, and consumer protection.
Schedule:
12:00pm - Lunch
12:30pm - Opening Remarks
Hon. Hester M. Peirce, Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
12:45pm - Panel
Ryan Selkis, Co-Founder and CEO, Messari
Todd Phillips, Director, Financial Regulation and Corporate Governance, Center for American Progress
Jerry Brito, Executive Director, Coin Center
Moderator: Prof. J.W. Verret, Associate Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Lunch will be provided. The event is free, but advance registration is required.
This event will be livestreamed on the web page. Registration is not required to watch the livestream.

Regulating the New Crypto Ecosystem: SEC Commissioner Hon. Hestor M. Peirce Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

Cryptocurrency. Decentralized finance. Nonfungible tokens. Once only experts on the cutting edge of financial services were familiar with these terms. Now, with the emergence of digital assets within the global financial system, crypto, DeFi, and NFTs are becoming part of the mainstream financial services lexicon.
The rapidly emerging crypto ecosystem faces uncertainty within a regulatory regime designed for very different institutions and securities. In response, on March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an executive order, “Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets,” which ordered agencies to submit policy recommendations based upon multiple principles such as: providing consumer protection, ensuring U.S. financial system stability, mitigating systemic financial risk, responsibly developing digital assets, and examining the creation of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Supporters of increased financial regulation over cryptocurrency see this as a necessity to provide security essential to ensuring financial stability and consumer protection within the digital asset space. Others view these federal regulatory efforts as a threat to future opportunities for economic innovation.
At a live Regulatory Transparency Project event, SEC Commissioner Hester M. Peirce addressed current and future efforts at regulation of cryptocurrency and its implications for innovation, financial stability, and consumer protection.
Featuring:
Hon. Hester M. Peirce, Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Introduction: Moderator: Prof. J.W. Verret, Associate Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

The Return of Supplemental Environmental Projects Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

On May 5, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a new "Comprehensive Environmental Justice Strategy." One piece of this new strategy was an Interim Final Rule reintroducing the use of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) in environmental enforcement action settlements.
As defined by the Biden administration, SEPs are "local projects that defendants can agree to undertake as part of an enforcement case settlement to help rectify environmental violations." These projects were outlawed under the Trump DOJ due to concerns that their use expands DOJ discretionary authority beyond its statutory limits. The Biden administration, however, argues that "SEPs help to fulfill the goals of the underlying statutes being enforced and can provide important environmental and public health benefits to communities that have been harmed by environmental violations."
Join us at 12:00 PM ET on June 15 for a virtual discussion on the return of SEPs featuring three DOJ veterans with a range of views on the issue.
Featuring:
Michael Buschbacher, Counsel, Boyden Gray & Associates PLLC
Justin Savage, Global Co-Lead, Environmental Team, Sidley Austin LLP
[Moderator] Annie Donaldson Talley, Partner, Luther Strange and Associates
Visit our website – www.RegProject.org – to learn more, view all of our content, and connect with us on social media.

The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act: Is this the beginning of the end of mandatory employment arbitrat Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

The “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act” amended the Federal Arbitration Act to bar mandatory employment arbitration agreements covering sexual harassment and sexual assault claims. This program will feature Prof. Alexander J.S. Colvin and G. Roger King who testified before Congress as the legislation was being considered (see here and here respectively, for their written testimony).
The panel will discuss the new statute, its intended purposes, and its impact more broadly on mandatory employment arbitration. The program will also cover why sexual harassment and assault claims, in particular, have been excluded from mandatory arbitration. Will this exclusion for such claims remain unique under the FAA or will it lead towards a ban on mandatory arbitration for employment claims generally? How does the Act connect to the more general issue of class, collective, and joint action waivers in predispute arbitration, and will the Act impact the mass filing strategy that plaintiff side firms are increasingly using?
Featuring:
Prof. Alexander J.S. Colvin, Kenneth F. Kahn '69 Dean and Martin F. Scheinman Professor of Conflict Resolution, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
G. Roger King, Senior Labor and Employment Counsel, HR Policy Association
Moderator: Christopher C. Murray, Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart

Address on Judges and the Law [Archive Collection] Jun 17, 2022

Show notes

On January 30-31, 1987, the Federalist Society hosted its first-ever national lawyers convention at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The conference featured an address by Dr. Thomas Sowell on "Judges and the Law"
Featuring:
Introduction: William Bradford Reynolds, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice
Dr. Thomas Sowell, Hoover Institute

Public and Private Regulation: What's Driving ESG? Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

We recognize the risks of agency overreach when rulemaking seeks to impose ESG considerations on business. But to what extent have private banks and institutional investors also been able to leverage their economic power to shape firm behavior on climate and other ESG questions – outside of the democratic process? And if we worry that the administrative state lacks political accountability for contentious policy choices, should we also be concerned about the role of private economic influence?
Join us for a dinner at the Mayflower Hotel as our panelists discuss these questions and more. This registration link above will direct registrants to the Executive Branch Review conference ticket sales page, where dinner tickets will be available at a discount to logged in members. Login or Join today!
Featuring:
Christina Parajon Skinner, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Julia Mahoney, John S. Battle Professor of Law, Univeristy of Virginia School of Law
Matthew Stoller, Director of Research, American Economic Liberties Project
Hon. C. Boyden Gray, Founding Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates
Moderator: Hon. Gregory G. Katsas, Judge, United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
Reading Materials:
The New Separation of Ownership and Control: Institutional Investors and ESG - Julia Mahoney
Banks and Climate Governance - Christina Skinner

Panel One: The Modern Evolution of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

Featuring:
Anthony LoCoco, Deputy Counsel, Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL)
Colin T. Roth, Partner, Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
Ryan J. Walsh, Partner, Eimer Stahl LLP
Moderator: Hon. Shelley A. Grogan, Judge, District II, Wisconsin Court of Appeals

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