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FedSoc Forums — Business
FedSoc Forums

*This series was formerly known as Teleforums.

FedSoc Forums is a virtual discussion series dedicated to providing expert analysis and intellectual commentary on today’s most pressing legal and policy issues. Produced by The Federalist Society’s Practice Groups, FedSoc Forum strives to create balanced conversations in various formats, such as monologues, debates, or panel discussions. In addition to regular episodes, FedSoc Forum features special content covering specific topics in the legal world, such as:

Courthouse Steps: A series of rapid response discussions breaking down all the latest SCOTUS cases after oral argument or final decision

A Seat at the Sitting: A monthly series that runs during the Court’s term featuring a panel of constitutional experts discussing the Supreme Court’s upcoming docket sitting by sitting

Litigation Update: A series that provides the latest updates in important ongoing cases from all levels of government

The Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speakers.

Latest Episodes:

Talks with Authors: Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

Join Mr. Peter Kirsanow and Mr. Vivek Ramaswamy in the latest installment of our Talks with Authors series to discuss Ramaswamy's newly published book: Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam. A description of the book originally published here and republished below follows:
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A young entrepreneur makes the case that politics has no place in business, and sets out a new vision for the future of American capitalism. There’s a new invisible force at work in our economic and cultural lives. It affects every advertisement we see and every product we buy, from our morning coffee to a new pair of shoes. “Stakeholder capitalism” makes rosy promises of a better, more diverse, environmentally-friendly world, but in reality this ideology championed by America’s business and political leaders robs us of our money, our voice, and our identity. Vivek Ramaswamy is a traitor to his class. He’s founded multibillion-dollar enterprises, led a biotech company as CEO, he became a hedge fund partner in his 20s, trained as a scientist at Harvard and a lawyer at Yale, and grew up the child of immigrants in a small town in Ohio. Now he takes us behind the scenes into corporate boardrooms and five-star conferences, into Ivy League classrooms and secretive nonprofits, to reveal the defining scam of our century. The modern woke-industrial complex divides us as a people. By mixing morality with consumerism, America’s elites prey on our innermost insecurities about who we really are. They sell us cheap social causes and skin-deep identities to satisfy our hunger for a cause and our search for meaning, at a moment when we as Americans lack both. This book not only rips back the curtain on the new corporatist agenda, it offers a better way forward. America’s elites may want to sort us into demographic boxes, but we don’t have to stay there. Woke, Inc. begins as a critique of stakeholder capitalism and ends with an exploration of what it means to be an American in 2021—a journey that begins with cynicism and ends with hope.
Featuring:
Vivek Ramaswamy, Author, Woke Inc.: Inside Corproate America's Social Justice Scam
Interviewer: Peter Kirsanow, Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Hijabs, Dreads, and Saturdays Off: Employees' Religious Rights in the Workplace Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

This webinar is the first in a two-part series covering employee and employer religious rights and related labor issues. What are employees' rights to express or practice their religion at work? Can they be exempt from dress codes or grooming requirements? Can they take prayer breaks or a day off to observe the Sabbath? Can they avoid having to participate in holiday parties, abortion procedures (as medical providers), using LGBTQ pronouns, or other actions that may contradict their religious beliefs? This discussion will provide an overview of employees' rights under Title VII and other laws to religious expression, accommodation, and nondiscrimination in the workplace.
Featuring:
Rachel Morrison, Policy Analyst, Ethics & Public Policy Center; former Attorney Advisor, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Moderator: Evelyn Hildebrand, Assistant Director, Practice Groups, The Federalist Society
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Litigation Update: SCOTUS and the Texas Heartbeat Bill Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

On September 1, 2021, the Texas Heartbeat bill went into effect, banning abortions as soon as cardiac activity is present in an unborn child—around six weeks gestation. The bill also allows private citizens to sue and enforce the new law. Opponents of the bill appealed to the Supreme Court for an emergency stay and the Court denied relief, allowing the Texas law to go into effect. Joining us to discuss the Supreme Court’s decision and its implications is Ethics and Public Policy Distinguished Senior Fellow Ed Whelan. Read additional comment from Mr. Whelan on National Review.
Featuring:
Edward Whelan, Distinguished Senior Fellow and Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Taxation by International Consent? Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Finance ministers from leading industrial states have been trying, this summer, to work out an agreement on a minimum rate for corporate taxes. Does it matter that this agreement won’t be adopted by the constitutional procedure for making treaties? Will it still matter, by itself, to U.S. tax law and tax enforcement? Should we expect other nations to abide by an agreement of this kind? Discussion with:
-- Michael Ramsey, San Diego Law School (author of “Evading the Treaty Power?” FIU L.Rev 2016)
-- Joshua Wu, former Deputy Assistant AG, Tax Division
-- Stephen Krasner, Professor of International Relations, Stanford University (author of Power, The State and Sovereignty).
-- Moderator: Jeremy Rabkin, Scalia Law School.

Litigation Update: Brach v. Newsom Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

In July 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that California's recent school closures violated parental rights to direct the education of children, and reversed the lower court's decision upholding California's regulations as they relate to private education. Robert Dunn, who argued the case at the Ninth Circuit for plaintiffs, joins us to discuss the litigation, this ruling, and its implications.
Featuring:
Robert Dunn, Partner, Eimer Stahl LLP
Moderator: Hon. Jennifer Perkins, Division One, Arizona Court of Appeals
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Fireside Chat: Professor George La Noue Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

Professor George La Noue joined us to discuss his recently published article, “The Race Card in ARPA’s Food Supply Deck,” published by the Federalist Society Review on July 12, 2021. In his article, Professor La Noue discused the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which appropriated $1.9 trillion, $28.6 billion of which would be administered by the Small Business Administration. Since passage, numerous lawsuits have been filed against the SBA on Fifth Amendment grounds alleging unconstitutional sex-based and race-based discrimination. Other suits have been filed against the United States Department of Agriculture for an allegedly unconstitutional loan forgiveness scheme on the same Fifth Amendment grounds. Read Professor La Noue’s analysis of the arguments and country-wide pending litigation is here.
Featuring:
Professor George La Noue, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland Baltimore County
Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

The Biden Administration’s Housing Policy Moves Aug 30, 2021

Show notes

In a January 26, 2021 White House Memorandum, President Biden directed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to reexamine actions taken during the Trump presidency, and ordering the Secretary to ensure the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which bans discrimination, was being properly administered. On that initiative, Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge moved to reinstate two Obama-era Fair Housing rules rejecting former Secretary Ben Carson’s previous directives.
Secretary Fudge rescinded Secretary Carson’s interpretation of the disparate impact rule, rescinded the Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice Rule, and reinstated the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule.
Featuring:
Howard Husock, Senior Fellow, Domestic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
Bryan Greene, Vice President, Policy Advocacy, National Association of Realtors
Daniel Huff, former General Deputy Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Moderator: Hon. Kenneth L. Marcus, Founder and Chairman, Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Vaccine Mandates and Exemptions: Public Universities, Private Colleges, and More Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

As students prepare return to universities across the country, many schools are putting in place Covid vaccine mandates. These mandates require proof of vaccination, and typically include medical and religious exemptions. But, as Professor Ronald Colombo's new paper raises, some kinds of exemption schemes may be unjustly discriminatory. Beyond the issue of exemptions, some students and staff object to the mandates as such. A group of students challenged one such mandate at Indiana University; in July, a district court judge sided with the university, and the ruling was recently upheld 3-0 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. These cases, the nature of the mandates and exemptions, and more were discussed in this virtual program.
Featuring:
-- Prof. Ronald J. Colombo, Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law, Hofstra University
-- Moderator: Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel, First Liberty
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Litigation Update: Crowe v. Oregon State Bar Aug 17, 2021

Show notes

Last year, the Oregon state bar Bulletin ran two controversial comments. State bar members objected, arguing that because membership in the state bar is mandatory, publication of the comments constituted impermissible political commentary, and mandatory state bar dues could not be used to subsidize activity unrelated to the regulation of the state bar.
The case landed in the Ninth Circuit which affirmed the district court without deciding whether the controversial comments were germane to the bar’s purpose. Instead, the Court held that the Supreme Court’s 1990 decision in Keller v. State Bar of California foreclosed the plaintiff’s speech claim, rejecting the plaintiffs’ argument that since Abood—which underwrote Keller—had been overruled, exacting scrutiny governed speech claims in the context of mandatory bar membership.
The plaintiffs appeal this question to the Supreme Court, asking the Court to either read Keller to require exacting scrutiny or to overrule Keller and provide clarity to the courts across the country that are fielding free speech claims from similarly situated attorneys who are also members of integrated state bars.
Featuring:
-- Jacob Huebert, Senior Attorney, Goldwater Institute
-- Moderator: Erik S. Jaffe, Partner, Schaerr Jaffe LLP
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Litigation Update: InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA v. University of Iowa et al. Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

On July 16, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit issued a decision in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA v. University of Iowa et al. A three-judge panel composed of Circuit Judges Loken, Grasz, and Kobes held that University officials violated the First Amendment when they deregistered a Christian student group, further holding that the university officials were not entitled to qualified immunity.
The University of Iowa deregistered two Christian student groups, finding that the groups violated the University’s “Human Rights Policy” by requiring their membership and/or leadership to sign a statement of faith in order to join. The first group—Business Leaders in Christ—sued and successfully received a preliminary injunction. Following that litigation, the University reviewed its human rights policy and then deregistered the second group—InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. InterVarsity fought the deregistration, then sued alleging the application of the human rights policy was discriminatory and arguing First Amendment free speech, free association, and free exercise violations in addition to several state law claims.
Not only did the District Court enter summary judgment for InterVarsity, but the Court also denied individual University defendants qualified immunity relying on the earlier Business Leaders in Christ preliminary injunction grant. The University appealed and the Eighth Circuit affirmed in a decision with implications for campus free speech, religious liberty after Fulton, and qualified immunity.
Featuring:
-- Casey Mattox, Vice President for Legal and Judicial Strategy, Americans for Propserity; Senior Fellow for Free Speech, Charles Koch Institute
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

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