Archive of Past Inn Events (2001-2014)

January 2001

The first formal meeting was Tuesday, January 30, 2001.  The program topic was "The Judicial Appointment Process in the Bush Administration."  Ted Olson was the moderator and the panel consisted of Manus Cooney, The Honorable Sarah Wilson, C. Boyden Gray, and Eleanor D. Acheson.  More than 60 people attended.  Attendees included members of the Inn, judges of the Federal Circuit, as well as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Macedonia.

March 2001

Gray team's program.  The topic was "Moot Courts--Are They Worthwhile? What Works Best?"  Robert Long, Jr. was the moderator and the panel consisted of Professor Richard Lazarus, Louis Cohen, and Walter Dellinger.  Topics covered included details of Georgetown's Supreme Court moot court program, picking "judges" for moot courts, how a moot court/oral argument differs from the brief, preparing for "rule of law" judges and "pragmatic" judges, timing, client involvement, the difference between preparing for Supreme Court arguments versus arguments in other courts, and using moot courts to "get things out of your system" (such as humor, metaphors, and annoyance with the lower court or opposing counsel).

April 2001

Green team's program. The topic was "How to Train Young Lawyers," including a discussion of the differences, if any, between government and private practice in terms of methods of training.  The panel consisted of Carter Phillips, Jonathan Frankel, and Damon Wright.  One of the principal themes of the evening was using pro bono appeals as a way for less experienced attorneys to get more experience.  One suggestion was for a law firm to approach a court and tell the court that the firm would take a certain number of pro bono appointments every year.  Another suggestion was for less experienced attorneys to sign up for a pro bono case.

A second theme was how to improve brief writing skills.  Topics discussed included using a "story conference" early in the brief writing process, the "sex or cancer" approach to brief writing, and the frequent lack of simple clarity in appellate briefs.

May 2001

White Team's program.  The topic was "Appellate Briefing: A Judicial Perspective."  Kenneth Bass was the moderator, and the panel members were Judge Sentelle, Judge Michel, and Judge Nebeker.

September 2001

Yellow Team's program.  The topic was Certiorari.  Moderator: Donald Dunner.  Panel: Seth Waxman, Barbara McDowell, and Silvija Strikis.

October 2001

Red Team's program.  The topic was Changes in Oral Argument in the Past 20 years.  Moderator: Ed Bruce.  Panel: Judge Michel, John Fisher, and Jonathan Hacker.

November 2001

Appeals From the Perspective of the Client.  Moderator: John Roberts.  Panel members: Bill Frick from American Petroleum Institute, Lou Goldfarb, formerly from Daimler Chrysler, and Mike Kennedy of Associated General Contractors.

January 2002

Cameras in the Courtroom.  Moderator: Miguel Estrada.  Panel members: Barbara McDowell, commentator Bruce Fein, and Doug Jacobs of Court TV.  A debate on whether cameras should be in the courtroom.

February 2002

Department of Justice Control of Federal Government Litigation.  Panel: Professor Neal Devins of William & Mary Law School, Carolyn Wheeler, and Doug Jordan.  A discussion/debate regarding the advantages/disadvantages of DOJ versus agency control of litigation.

Professor Devins presented an article in progress entitled "The Uneasy Case for Department of Justice Control of Litigation."  Responses to the presentation included: the need for an objective view of the merits of cases; the different systems in various states; the agency's intimate knowledge of its own area could blind it to weaknesses in its arguments; the presentation of the "position of the United States" versus the position of an agency; DOJ's "gatekeeping" function; and the disadvantages of the decentralized federal government litigation in the 19th century.

March 2002

"Everything You Wanted to Know About The Office of the Solicitor General But Were Afraid to Ask."  Moderator: Jonathan Franklin.  Panel: Kenneth Starr, Edwin Kneedler, and Louis Cohen.  Topics included "independence" of the Solicitor General, continuity and change in the Office of the Solicitor General with changes of administration, the relationship between the Solicitor General and the Office of Legal Counsel, the relationship between the Solicitor General and the President, and historical perspectives

April 2002

"Amicus Briefs."  Moderator: Christopher Wright.  Panelists: Professor Thomas Merrill (Northwestern University Law School), Judge Tatel (D.C. Circuit), and Judge Michel (Federal Circuit).  Topics included the large increase in amicus briefs filed in the Supreme Court over the last few decades, the small number of amicus briefs filed in the Courts of Appeals, the need for more amicus briefs in some types of cases in the Courts of Appeals, as well as whether "amicus" should be pronounced AH-mi-cus or uh-MEE-cus.

May 2002

"War Stories" from the Masters.

September 2002

Solicitor General Ted Olson talked about the last Term of the Supreme Court and about the upcoming Term.  Judge Silberman of the D.C. Circuit, our first "honored guest" to make remarks at dinner, talked about the differences between trial lawyers and appellate lawyers.

November 26, 2002

The program consisted of a moot court argument between Carter Phillips and John Payton on the issue of press access to INS deportation proceedings, with Maureen Mahoney, Ken Bass, and others serving as judges.

September 30, 2003

The topic was "A Preview of the 2003 Supreme Court Term." The panelists were the Honorable Theodore B. Olson, master of the Inn and Solicitor General of the United States; Paul D. Clement, Principal Deputy Solicitor General; and Edwin S. Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General.

December 9, 2003

The discussion was "Reflections of an Appellate Advocate," and the featured speaker was the Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr., Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

February 24, 2004

Postponed from January 27, 2004 due to bad weather, our panel discussed "Agencies and Courts: The Perspective of General Counsels' Offices." Our panelists were Alex M. Azar II, general counsel,Department of Health and Human Services; Brian Jones, general counsel, Department of Education; John A. Rogovin, general counsel, Federal Communications Commission; our own Daniel E. Troy, chief counsel, Food and Drug Administration; and our own Carolyn L. Wheeler, assistant general counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The moderator was Edward W. Warren of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

March 30, 2004

We were honored to receive Justice O'Connor as a guest at dinner. Thereafter, we heard a re-enactment of arguments in Brown v. Board of Education.

May 25, 2004

The Inn heard a panel discussion on the topic "The War on Terror: Executive Power and Individual Liberties." Our participants were Bradford A. Berenson, partner at Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, and Frank W. Dunham, Jr., Federal Public Defender, Alexandria, Va. The moderator was Stuart Taylor Jr., opinion columnist at National Journal and contributing editor of Newsweek magazine.

June 22, 2004

Our program for the sixth and final meeting of our Inn for would have been "Reflections of a Washington Lawyer" by Ken Starr. Due to programs at LaGuardia, Judge Starr was unavailable. The Honorable Theodore B. Olson offered words of praise for Judge Starr and his service to the Inn. The Solicitor General then led an impromptu discussion of Supreme Court litigation and war stories.

September 20, 2004

Solicitor General Paul Clement graciously agreed to be our speaker. He presented a preview of the Supreme Court's upcoming term.

November 16, 2004

Our speaker was Judge John M. Ferren of the D.C. Court of Appeals, whose biography of Justice Wiley Rutledge has just been released to highly favorable reviews. Writing recently in the Washington Post's Book World, Cliff Sloan described the book as "first rate" and "an important contribution in reclaiming the lost life of an outstanding justice," whose "pathbreaking positions in favor of civil rights, a high wall between church and state, broad First Amendment rights, and defendants rights became classics and often carried the day in later years." Judge Ferren spoke about his book, the lessons that modern lawyers and judges might learn from Justice Rutledge, and the unusual experience of one appellate jurist's writing about another.

January 18, 2005

Due to inaccessibility to our building, the program was cancelled. We would have heard from Linda Greenhouse, Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, regarding her experiences in covering the Court, her predictions for the major news stories coming out of the Court this term, and perhaps something about her soon-to-be-published biography of Justice Blackmun.

March 15, 2005

Our inn conducted a joint meeting with the Giles Sutherland Rich American Inn of Court, which specializes in intellectual property. The program, led by Bill Herbert, included a panel discussing differences among the various Circuits, particularly the Federal Circuit and other Circuits, as well as the relative deference/review given by Circuits to the courts below, and the relative deference/review given by the Supreme Court to the various Circuits. Members of the panel included Chief Judge Michel of the Federal Circuit, Judge Merrick B. Garland of the DC Circuit, Carter Phillips of Sidley, Austin, Brown and Wood and the Coke Inn, and Don Dunner of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner and the Rich Inn. The latter two argue in the Federal and other Circuits. Ken Bass of Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox and the Coke Inn, also a federal appellate practitioner, served as moderator.

May 16, 2005

The program focussed on the unique challenges and rewards of doing appellate work for a public interest, legal services, or issues advocacy organization. The panelists were: Rebecca Troth of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty; Art Spitzer of the ACLU; Walter M. Weber, Senior Litigation Counsel for the ACLJ in the Washington, D.C. office; Chris Bartolomucci, a partner at Hogan and Hartson, who recently prepared a Supreme Court amicus brief through the Federalist Society's new Pro Bono Network; and Robin Maher, director of the ABA's Death Penalty Representation Project. Becky and Art are members of the Inn. 

June 21, 2005

Several members of the inn participated in a panel discussion of this Supreme Court term and prognostications on the evolution of the law. 

September 20, 2005

Various members of the inn shared their remembrances of the late Chief Justice Rehnquist and shared their admiration for Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. 

November 15, 2005

The program focused on what appellate lawyers should know about recent developments in class action law. Our speakers were Professor Robert Klonoff, the senior author of the only law school textbook on class actions, and Brian Wolfman, Director of Public Citizen Litigation Group. 

January 17, 2006

Linda Greenhouse, Supreme Court reporter for the New York Times, was our speaker after an unusually busy day at the Court. She talked about her experiences in covering the Court, her predictions for the major news stories coming out of the Court this term, and her recently published biography of Justice Blackmun. 

March 21, 2006

Tobias Dorsey, a former appellate lawyer who served as assistant counsel with the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives, provided an inside account of the statutory drafting process tailored to those of us who spend our careers arguing about what Congress really meant. He is the author of the forthcoming "Legislative Drafter's Deskbook: A Practical Guide," which is designed, among other things, to provide a better understanding of why laws are drafted the way they are. 

May 16, 2006

Jointly with the Rich Inn, we enjoyed a program on appellate mediation. Participants in the panel discussion included members George Patton and Karen Federman-Henry. 

June 20, 2006

How have the interests of the United States fared in the Supreme Court this term? What are we to make of the Court's new interest in intellectual property? What significant criminal law decisions have recently come out of the Court? And what hasn't People magazine told you about the Anna Nicole Smith case? These are among the topics that were addressed at our annual wrap-up of the Supreme Court term. A panel of Inn members who have argued, briefed, and/or written about the Term's cases shared their insights. The participants included (in alphabetical order) Roy Englert, Jonathan Franklin, Seth Galanter, Greg Garre, Steffen Johnson, Bob Long and Deanne Maynard. Other members were encouraged to provide their perspectives on the Term as well. 

September 19, 2006

General Paul Clement joined us to discuss the upcoming Term. 

November 15, 2006

This month's session focused on practice in the Virginia and Maryland state appellate courts and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals . Our panel included Justice Elizabeth Lacy of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Judge Tim Meredith of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, and Judge John Fisher of the D.C. Court of Appeals. Inn member Karen Federman-Henry moderated. 

January 16, 2007

We met jointly with the Prettyman-Leventhal American Inn of Court. The program focused on the Chevron doctrine and, particularly, on the considerable attention Chevron is receiving in the United States Supreme Court. Chris Wright of the Coke Inn moderated a panel discussion on (1) the Wachovia case, argued this past November, which involves the relationship between Chevron and the presumption against preemption; (2) the Global Crossing case, argued last October, involving the question of whether Chevrondeference applies where the issue is whether a party has a private right of action; and (3) the 2005 Brand X decision, where the Court dealt with the question of deference after a court of appeals has ruled on an issue. We were treated to a distinguished panel of noted appellate practitioners. We heard from the lawyers who presented arguments in these three cases in the Supreme Court: Bob Long, who handled Wachovia; Roy Englert, who argued in Global Crossing; and Tom Goldstein, who argued in the Brand X case. 

March 14, 2007

A joint meeting with the Giles Rich Inn. Our program for the evening was entitled The Supreme Court and Intellectual Property Law.The highlight of the program was a panel discussion on Supreme Court jurisprudence and practice featuring The Honorable Pauline Newman; Mr. John M. Whealan, Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor for the United States Patent and Trademark Office; Mr. Thomas G. Hungar, Deputy Solicitor General, Department of Justice; and Mr. Mark S. Davies, O’Melveny & Myers (formerly on the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division, Department of Justice). The discussion wase moderated by Professor Jay Thomas. The program also featured a brief introduction to the history of Supreme Court involvement in intellectual property cases. 

May 15, 2007

The program this month featured a conversation between Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Jan Crawford Greenburg. 

June 19, 2007

The program this month featured Justice Alito discussing his first year on the United States Supreme Court. 

September 26, 2007

United States Solicitor General (and briefly, during his appearance, then-Acting Attorney General) Paul Clement discussed the upcoming Supreme Court term. 

November 27, 2007

David Gossett, Chris Vasil, and Pam Harris spoke about the new Supreme Court rules and the commenting process that preceded their adoption. 

January 15, 2008

At this meeting, Richard Lazarus, head of the Supreme Court Institute at the Georgetown Law Center, discussed his forthcoming paper, Advocacy Matters Before and Within the Supreme Court: Transforming the Court by Transforming the Bar, 96 Georgetown Law Journal (2008). Professor Lazarus contended that the rise of the modern Supreme Court Bar is beginning to have a profound effect on the development of the law by setting the Court’s agenda and influencing the Court’s rulings. He claimed that business interests, who serve as the Bar’s primary clients, are enjoying heightened success before the Court as a result. 

March 14, 2008

Chief Justice Roberts graciously agreed to join us for a reception at the Supreme Court. Justice Alito and his wife graciously agreed to join us for both the reception and a dinner there. Justice Alito made some remarks during dinner and took some questions from Inn members. 

May 20, 2008

At this meeting, a panel of three appellate judges -- Judge Motz from the Fourth Circuit, Judge Kavanaugh from the D.C. Circuit, and former Judge Tim Lewis from the Third Circuit – spoke generally about appellate practice in their courts. Inn member Alisa Klein moderated. 

June 17, 2008

At this meeting, we heard from a distinguished panel about the October 2007 Supreme Court term. The panel featured Inn members Beth Brinkmann and Stephen Smith, as well as Edwin Kneedler, Deputy Solicitor General in the Solicitor General's Office. The panel was moderated by Inn member Greg Castanias. 

September 23, 2008

Acting Solicitor General Gregory G. Garre provided an overview of the current Supreme Court term. 

November 18, 2008

The program focussed on judicial selection in the new presidential administration. Panelists included Rachel Brand, who headed the Office of Legal Policy under President Bush, and Eleanor Acheson, who headed the same Office under President Clinton. Andrew Effron, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, moderated. 

January 14, 2009

The Coke Inn held a joint meeting with the Giles S. Rich Inn of Court, which focused on intellectual property law. Experienced appellate advocates Tom Hungar and Steven Lieberman presented a mock oral argument in a patent case before a panel consisting of D.C. Circuit Chief Judge David B. Sentelle, Federal Circuit Judge Richard Linn, and Federal Circuit Judge Sharon Prost. As the argument progresses, the judges stopped action to comment on common appellate advocacy mistakes that were scripted into the moot court. 

March 5, 2009

The program featured Seventh Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner and Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul R. Michel, both commenting on Judge Posner's recent book How Judges Think. 

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The May 19 meeting featured reflections by Coke Inn member John Payton on his first year as President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Mr. Payton's remarks included comments on the three civil-rights-related cases being heard in the Supreme Court's April 2009 argument session and a broader perspective on the history of the organization he heads (founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall) and its current mission. In addition to being LDF President and a Master of the Inn, Mr. Payton has been D.C. Bar President, D.C. Corporation Counsel, and a long-time partner at the Wilmer Cutler firm, and he was arguing counsel for the City of Richmond and the University of Michigan in major Supreme Court cases.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The program was a panel discussion of Justice Souter's tenure on the Supreme Court. Our Deanne Maynard moderated, and the panelists were Susan Low Bloch of Georgetown Law School, Matt Hellman of Jenner & Block, and Stephen Smith of the University of Virginia Law School. 

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Solicitor General Elena Kagan gave an overview of the upcoming Supreme Court Term and her experiences thus far as Solicitor General. 

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Inn held its first-ever (and hopefully annual) Book Club! Featuring three authors who've recently written books on subjects relating to appellate litigation: Cliff Sloan, the co-author of The Great Decision: Jefferson, Adams, Marshall, and the Battle for the Supreme Court; Charles Lane, the author of The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction; and Joan Biskupic, the author of American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The discussion was moderated by Kannon Shanmugam of Williams & Connolly. 

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The program revolved around one question: Are the British Copying Our Supreme Court? A discussion on the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, with a great panel featuring Nick Vamos, UK Liaison Prosecutor to the US seconded at the embassy here and two of our own Inn members, Simon Steel of Harkins Cunningham LLP (and, earlier in his career, a barrister in England) and Kevin Gingras of DOJ Criminal Appellate (who recently completed an American Inn of Court Pegasus Scholarship studying the British legal system by working closely with barristers and judges in chambers and in court). The program was moderated by Inn member Stephen Kinnaird of Paul Hastings (who studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar). 

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Appellate Lawyers and the War on Terror: Ian Gershengorn, Deputy Assistant Attorney General (Federal Programs), Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Larry Rosenberg, Partner, Jones Day; and Steve Vladeck, Professor, Washington College of Law, American University. Moderated by Patricia Millett of Akin Gump.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The program, held at the Dolley Madison House, featured a round-up of the SCOTUS Term, along with thoughts on Justice Stevens' legacy. Our distinguished panelists were Curtis Gannon of the Solicitor General's Office, Douglas Hallward-Driemeier of Ropes & Gray, and Pam Harris of Georgetown Law Center. Moederated by Tom Dupree of Gibson Dunn. 

Monday, September 20, 2010

The program, held at the Dolley Madison House, featured a distinguisehd speaker on the upcoming Supreme Court term: Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal. 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

An Oxford Union-style debate on this proposition: Resolved, there has never been a better time to be a Supreme Court litigator. Taking the affirmative (upon winning the coin flip) were Lisa Blatt of Arnold & Porter LLP and Andy Pincus of Mayer Brown LLp. Taking the negative were Rick Bress of Latham & Watkins LLP and Roy Englert of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber LLP. After opening statements and rebuttal, complete with Oxford-style audience participation, a vote was held on the proposition. Moderated by David Salmons of Bingham McCutchen LLP. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011 (joint meeting with Giles Rich Inn)

The Inn had another wonderful joint meeting with the Giles Rich Inn. The program was titled: "The Value of Having an Appellate Lawyer on a Patent Trial Team." The discussion was led by the Honorable Timothy Dyk and Alyson Barker. The panel of speakers included Thomas G. Hungar, Kannon K. Shanmugam, and Richard G. Taranto.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

There was a lively panel discussion on covering the Supreme Court, featuring: Tony Mauro of the National Law Journal, David Savage of the LA Times, Mark Sherman of AP, and Nina Totenberg of NPR. The Inn's Irv Gornstein, of the Georgetown Supreme Court Institute, moderated the discussion.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Steve Wermiel from American University's Washington College of Law discussed his new book, "Justice Brennan: Liberal Champion," which he co-authored with Seth Stern. Justice Brennan granted Steve access to a trove of personal and court materials that are not yet available to the public, including the Justice's "case histories," and Steve also conducted more than 60 hours of interviews with Justice Brennan over the course of six years.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

In anticipation of the coming elections, the program featured a distinguished panel of lawyers discussing election-law litigation that is already underway or is anticipated, including issues that are likely to make it to appellate courts. Our panelists were Marc Elias, Gerry Hebert, Rob Kelner, and Mark Braden. The panel was moderated by the Inn's own Willy Jay.

October 11, 2011

Solicitor General of the United States, Donald B. Verrilli, discussed the coming Supreme Court term.

November 15, 2011

“The Future of Appellate Practices In Big Law Firms.” Our special guests were Steve Harper, former partner at Kirkland & Ellis, author, and commentator on the state of life in large law firms today. Our other esteemed panelists were our own Seth Waxman, former Solicitor General and chair of WilmerHale’s Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice group; our own Roy Englert, eponymous partner of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber; and Marisa Kashino, staff writer at the Washingtonian covering the legal industry. The discussion was expertly moderated by Kannon Shanmugam.

January 24, 2012

We discussed litigation issues arising from the War on Terror 10 years since September 11. A panel of experienced practitioners was moderated by our Inn President, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh

March 14, 2012

The topic was the then-upcoming Supreme Court arguments in the litigation concerning the Affordable Care Act. There was a moot court on the Commerce Clause challenge to the individual-mandate provision, followed by a panel discussion on the litigation more generally. Our advocates were Catherine Carroll of WilmerHale (representing the government) and Jeremy Marwell of Vinson & Elkins (representing the challengers). The justices/panelists were Steve Bradbury of Dechert; Irv Gornstein of Georgetown Law Center; Jon Hacker of O’Melveny & Myers; and Simon Lazarus of the National Senior Citizens Law Center. The program was moderated by Chris Wright of Wiltshire & Grannis.

May 15, 2012

Our important program this meeting was a panel on the life and legacy of the late John Payton, a Master of the Inn and the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The panelists were Debo Adegbile of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Louis Cohen of WilmerHale, and Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells. Tillman Breckenridge of Reed Smith moderated.

June 19, 2012

The meeting was held at the D.C. Circuit at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse and William B. Bryant Annex: a celebration of the close of the Inn year with remarks from our outgoing President, Judge Kavanaugh, and our incoming President, Deanne Maynard.

September 19, 2012

Our first meeting of this term featured the Solicitor General of the United States (and our fellow Inn member), Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., who discuseds the upcoming Supreme Court Term and took members’ questions.

November 13, 2013

We discussed legal policy for President Obama's second term. Panelists were: John Elwood, Vinson & Elkins; Steve Engel, Dechert; Marty Lederman, Georgetown University Law Center; Rob Weinter, Arnold & Porter. 

January 22, 2013

The life and career of the later Judge Henry Friendly, U.S Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held our attention. David Dorsen discussed his award-winning biography (Judge Friendly: Greatest Judge of His Era), with the Honorable Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and a former law clerk to Judge Friendly. Jessica Amunson of Jenner & Block moderated the discussion.

March 12, 2013

We heard from a penal of experienced in-house counsel from three premier high-tech companies on innovation, the courts, and the perspective of in-house lawyers. Our moderator was John Thorne of Kellog Huber and former Deputy General Counsel at Verizon Communications. Our panelists were Austin Schlick, former General Counsel at the FCC and now Director of Communications Law at Google; Gail Levine, Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications; and Colin Stretch, Deputy General Counsel at Facebook. 

May 14, 2013

Our Supreme Court dinner honored General Suter for 22 years of service as Clerk of the Supreme Court.

June 18, 2013

A distinguished panel of appellate experts gave us their perspective on the 2012-2013 Supreme Court term. Panelists were: Bert Reing of Wiley Rein; Allison Ziewve, director at Public Citizen Litigation Group; Nicole Saharsky, Ass't to the Solicitor General; and Amanda Leiter, associate professor of law, American University Washington Collecte of Law. This panel was ably moderated by Lawrence Hurley, Supreme Court correspondent for Reuters. 

September 14, 2013

We were honored to hear from the Solicitor General on the upcoming Supreme Court term. 

November 12, 2013

Our program was Thinking Outside the Box: Creative Responses to Difficult Situations on Appeals. Jeff Wall, former Assistant to the Solicitor General and new co-leader of Sullivan & Cromwell's appellate practice, moderated the discussion. Panelists were Eric reigin of the Office of the Solicitor General; Erin Murphy of Bancroft; and Hashim Mooppan of Jones Day. 

January 29, 2014

We discussed emergency brief-writing, oral argument on one day's notice, and other such topics with our panel: Michelle Brace, senior staff attorney, Virginia Capital Representation Resource Center; Todd Geremia of Jones Day; Andrew Mergen, deputy chief of DOJ's ERND Appellate Section. The moderator was Scott Meisler, DOJ Criminal Division, Appellate. As his schedule permitted, we welcomed Dany Bickell, the Emergency Applications Clerk at the Supreme Court. need entry here

March 18, 2014

We welcomed a distinguished group of current and former state Solicitors General. They discussed the growth of the state SG role, challenges facing an SG within a state AG's office, and advocating for the States before the Supreme Court. The panel included: Barbara Underwood, Solicitor General of New York; Elbert Lin, Solicitor General of West Virginia; Ben Mizer, Deputy Assistant Attorney General at OLC and former Solicitor General of Ohio; and Mike Scodro of Jenner & Block, former Solicitor General of Illinois. 

May 15, 2014

A panel of three highly successful appellate advocates who are have recently become appellate judges spoke on the topic The Other Side of the Bench. Our moderator, the Honorable William C. Bryson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, made the transition to the bench nearly 20 years ago. The panel explored the new judges' thinking about briefs, now that they are consumers, and oral argument, now that they are questioners. The panel consisted of the Honorable Patricia A. Millet, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; the Honorable Richard G. Taranto, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; and Roy W. McLeese III, District of Columbia Court of Appeals.