Mike Davis – Article III Project
Mike Davis is the founder and president of the Article III Project (A3P), a new 501(c)(4) nonprofit group established to fight to confirm President Trump’s judicial nominees, defend these new judges from left-wing attacks, defend the integrity of the confirmation process, and fight back against the assault on judicial independence – including radical court-packing, term-limit, and even impeachment schemes.
Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary during the 115th Congress (2017-19). Davis led a team of attorneys, law clerks, and other professionals that advised Chairman Grassley and other senators on presidential nominations and Senate confirmations of federal judges, senior Justice Department officials, and other senior Executive Branch appointees. Davis served as the Chairman's staff lead for 30 hearings, 41 markup meetings, or floor votes for 278 nominees, including the confirmations of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit judges confirmed during a president's first year and a president’s first two years in office. Davis also served as the Chairman's staff lead for the hearings for 50 judicial nominees, including 6 circuit nominees, readied for confirmation votes in 2019.
Before joining Chairman Grassley's team on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Davis, a former law clerk to Justice Neil Gorsuch, served as the "general" of Justice Gorsuch's outside support team for his successful confirmation to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2017.
Davis has served in all three branches of the federal government, including for President George W. Bush, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. Davis has also served in several capacities in the Justice Department, including as a federal prosecutor. Davis has assisted with hundreds of appointments to every part of the federal government, including Supreme Court justices, district and circuit judges, cabinet secretaries, ambassadors, heads of independent agencies, and sub-cabinet officials, along with members of boards, commissions, and delegations.
For nearly ten years before returning to public service in 2017, Davis was a civil litigator in Denver. Davis worked at one of the largest law firms in the world and one of the top-ranked law firms in Colorado, before starting and running his own law practice for over five years. Super Lawyers recognized Davis as a “Colorado Super Lawyer” in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, along with a “Colorado Rising Star” in 2010, 2012, and 2013. In 2013, Colorado Business Magazine recognized Davis as a “Top 25 Most Influential Young Professionals in Colorado.”
Davis is from Des Moines, Iowa. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 2000 and Juris Doctor in 2004, both from the University of Iowa. In 2017, Davis received Iowa Law’s “Emerging Leader Award.” Davis also serves on the University of Iowa Political Science Advisory Board.
Mike Thompson – CRC Strategies
A Senior Vice President at CRC Public Relations since 2003, Mike serves as strategic counsel to a wide variety of clients on communications and advocacy issues while also helping to oversee the company’s advocacy and digital/social media practices.
He has worked with Fortune 50 companies, movie studios, associations, advocacy groups, startups, think tanks, political committees and more. Mike has worked with a wide variety of clients some of which include: Chevron, Judicial Crisis Network, Amazon.com, The Heritage Foundation, Paramount Pictures, The Federalist Society, Visa, Tea Party Patriots, EADS North America, Club for Growth, Northrop Grumman, Job Creators Network, US Steel, the Knights of Columbus, the Republican National Committee, and many others.
Referred to by National Journal as, “…a scruffy… tech wiz whose digital prowess is celebrated in conservative circles,” Mike brings a wealth of experience in determining how to best use various communications and marketing strategies as well as different social and digital platforms to achieve an organization’s goals.
Mike has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Emory University and a JD from the University of Richmond’s TC Williams School of Law. Mike and his wife, Maureen, have two daughters and live in Burke, VA.
Keith Appell – CRC Strategies
Mr. Appell is a senior vice president at CRC Strategies and has been at the firm for over 20 years. Over that time he has been the lead on some of the firm’s biggest corporate accounts, providing strategic communications and public relations counsel, and leading the tactical implementation of earned media, crisis communications and issue advocacy efforts yielding numerous success stories.
Keith’s clientele has included Amazon, Accenture, Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, EADS North America, Disney, Yum Foods (Taco Bell, Long John Silvers), Domino’s Pizza and Viacom.
Mr. Appell has also successfully promoted several feature motion pictures for Paramount Pictures, New Line Cinema, Walden Media, Apex Entertainment and Icon Productions. He has also successfully led the promotion of many best-selling books for Regnery Publishing over the past 20 years.
Keith was also asked to serve as the communications lead for the Trump-Pence Transition Team’s effort to confirm U.S. Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions. For this he took a two and a half month leave from CRC and then returned after a successful confirmation.
Mr. Appell’s career began at the statewide radio network in West Virginia after graduating from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. He worked as a reporter, editor, producer and even served as a substitute sports talk show host.
Keith, his wife Lauren and their two daughters live in Fairfax Station, Virginia.
The Honorable Donald F. McGahn II – Partner, Jones Day and Former White House Counsel
Prior to rejoining Jones Day in 2019, Don served as Counsel to the President of the United States, advising Donald J. Trump on all legal issues concerning the President and his administration, including constitutional and statutory authority, executive orders, international agreements, tariffs, trade, administrative law, and national security. Don also managed the judicial selection process for the President. During Don's tenure, a historic number of judges were appointed to the federal bench, including two Supreme Court justices. In addition, he spearheaded President Trump's deregulation efforts, which resulted in deregulation at record rates. Following Don's departure from the White House, the President appointed him to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a nonpartisan, independent agency dedicated to promoting improvement to administrative agency processes.
Don's accomplishments have been recognized at the highest levels of government. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that Don concluded his tenure "not only as the best White House Counsel I've seen on the job, but more broadly, as one of the most successful and consequential aides to any President in recent memory."
Don was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2008, and confirmed in the Senate by unanimous consent, to serve as a member of the Federal Election Commission. He also served as outside Counsel to the Committee on House Administration during the 113th and 114th Congresses and as general counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee.
The Honorable Beth Williams – Assitant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice
Beth A. Williams was sworn in as Assistant Attorney General on August 21, 2017, after unanimous confirmation by the Senate.
Ms. Williams graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude, with a degree in History and Literature. She earned her law degree from Harvard Law School, where she served as Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. After graduation, she served as a law clerk to Judge Richard C. Wesley of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
From 2005-2006, Ms. Williams served as Special Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, where she assisted with the confirmations of Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. and Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court.
Prior to becoming Assistant Attorney General, Ms. Williams was a litigation and appellate partner at a national law firm, where her practice focused on complex commercial, securities, and First Amendment litigation. Ms. Williams litigated cases in federal and state courts across the country. She also served as chair of the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative in Washington, D.C. Ms. Williams received the firm’s Pro Bono Service Award seven years in a row for her dedication to pro bono work.
President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Ms. Williams on June 12, 2017. The Senate confirmed her nomination on August 3, 2017.
Michael Morley – Assistant Professor, Florida State University College of Law
Professor Morley joined FSU Law in 2018, and teaches and writes in the areas of election law, constitutional law, remedies and the federal courts.
Before joining FSU Law, Professor Morley was an associate professor at Barry University School of Law. Prior to his experience in academia, he held numerous positions in both private practice and government, including as special assistant at the Office of the General Counsel, Department of the Army, at the Pentagon, clerk for Judge Gerald B. Tjoflat, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and as an associate at Winston & Strawn, LLP, in Washington, D.C.
Professor Morley earned his J.D. from Yale Law School in 2003, where he was a senior editor on the Yale Law Journal, served on the moot court board and received the Thurman Arnold Prize for Best Oralist in the Morris Tyler Moot Court of Appeals.
Todd Gaziano – Pacific Legal Foundation
Todd Gaziano joined PLF in 2014. He is the Chief of Legal Policy and Strategic Research, and he directs PLF’s Center for the Separation of Powers. Todd has served in all three branches of the federal government, worked in the private sector, and is a well-known scholar and leader in the liberty legal movement.
Todd attended the University of Chicago Law School, where he was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics. His public law work includes service as a law clerk for U.S. Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones, in the U.S. DOJ Office of Legal Counsel, as a chief subcommittee counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as the founding director of The Heritage Foundation’s Legal Center. He also had a six-year term as commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where he reported on civil rights developments and conducted oversight and investigations of civil rights agencies. Early in his career, he was as a litigator in Houston, and more recently, was the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of an innovative healthcare delivery and IT company.
Todd is a frequent legal commentator in print, on radio and TV, before congressional committees, and in other public settings. With more than 20 years in the liberty movement, Todd continues to publish scholarly papers and op-eds on constitutional and legal reform topics. He has a special interest in the constitutional limits of government, especially federalism and the separation of powers, and protections for individual rights. Several of his scholarly articles have influenced landmark Supreme Court litigation, congressional policy, and presidential actions. He also has worked to increase the effectiveness of many organizations within the freedom-based public interest legal movement.
Todd and his wife, also a practicing attorney, reside in Northern Virginia and are proud of their liberty-minded daughter, who is studying at the Antonin Scalia Law School to continue the family trade.
The Honorable Edith H. Jones – Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Edith Jones has been a federal judge since May 1985, when she was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan. She assumed the chief judgeship of the Fifth Circuit in January, 2006 and served until October, 2012.
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1949, she grew up in San Antonio, Texas, graduating from Alamo Heights High School, where she was a National Merit Scholar. In 1971, she received her B.A. in Economics from Cornell University, graduating with honors. In 1974, she was awarded her J.D. at the University of Texas Law School, where she was a law review editor and received the Order of the Coif.
Judge Jones was employed by Andrews, Kurth, Campbell & Jones (now Hunton Andrews Kurth) in Houston in 1974, became the first female partner of the firm, and left when she was confirmed to the bench.
Judge Jones served on the board of the Sam Houston Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America for many years and received BSA’s Silver Beaver Award. She has been a member of the Garland Walker Inn of Court in Houston since 1998 and is its current President.
From 2002 to 2008, Judge Jones served as a White House Fellows Commissioner, by appointment of President George W. Bush. She is a former member of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission (1994-97). Judge Jones is also on the Board of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.
Tom Hungar – Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP
Thomas G. Hungar is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. His practice focuses on appellate litigation, and he assists clients with congressional investigations and complex trial court litigation matters as well. He has presented oral argument before the Supreme Court of the United States in 26 cases, including some of the Court’s most important patent, antitrust, securities, and environmental law decisions, and he has also appeared before numerous lower federal and state courts.
Mr. Hungar served as General Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives from July 2016 until January 2019, when he rejoined the firm. As General Counsel, he provided legal advice and litigation representation on a non-partisan basis to the House and its leadership, members, officers, and staff, and he worked closely with numerous House committees in connection with their oversight and investigative activities. Previously, he served as a Deputy Solicitor General of the United States. In that position, he supervised business-related appellate litigation for the federal government, with particular emphasis on patent, antitrust, securities, and environmental appellate cases, and he also oversaw appellate litigation in banking, bankruptcy, tax, government contracts, communications, copyright, labor, trademark, and international trade matters. In private practice, Mr. Hungar’s appellate experience has encompassed those areas as well as class actions, constitutional law, employment law, product liability, administrative procedure, insurance coverage and bad faith, and general commercial litigation. He has handled scores of business-related appeals in the Supreme Court and lower appellate courts, and has briefed and argued many high-profile matters.
Mr. Hungar is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and is a frequent lecturer in his areas of expertise. While at the Department of Justice, he served as Appellate Counsel to the Intellectual Property Task Force Executive Staff, and he was awarded the John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement, the Department’s highest award presented to attorneys for contributions and excellence in legal performance, in recognition of his handling of patent-law matters before the Supreme Court.
Mr. Hungar served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States from 1992-1994. In that position he presented oral argument before the Court and handled numerous other appellate matters for the government. He also served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court and to Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received his law degree from Yale Law School in 1987, where he was a Senior Editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. He received his bachelor of science degree magna cum laude in mathematics/computer science and economics from Willamette University in 1984.
Willy Jay – Goodwin Procter, LLP
Willy Jay is a partner in and co-chair of Goodwin’s Appellate Litigation practice and is head of the Litigation Department in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. A former Assistant to the Solicitor General, Mr. Jay uses his deep experience litigating before the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Courts of Appeals to help clients formulate winning appellate strategy. He has argued 17 cases before the Supreme Court, briefed 50 Supreme Court cases on the merits, and briefed more than 150 cases at the certiorari stage. In recent years he argued five of the most significant intellectual-property cases at the Court, involving patent, copyright, and trademark law.
Mr. Jay has handled cases in every federal court of appeals as well. He has filed more than 200 briefs in federal and state appeals courts and argued in nine federal circuits, both in private practice and on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environment, Criminal and Civil Divisions. Mr. Jay also regularly counsels clients on appellate strategy at the trial level, preparing key motions and post-trial briefing before district courts and federal and state administrative agencies.
Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business described Mr. Jay as “‘a rocket scientist’ whose ‘spectacular brief writing’ and ‘keen and analytical mind’ mark him out as a ‘rising star’ at the appellate bar.” In 2017, Managing IP named him “Appellate Litigator of the Year,” among other recognitions. Mr. Jay is also listed in Legal500 and Best Lawyers in America. Law360 named him an “Appellate MVP.” He has been named “Litigator of the Week” by the AmLaw Litigation Daily and a “Rising Star” by both the National Law Journal and Law360.
Mr. Jay has particular experience in appellate cases involving intellectual property (including patent, copyright, and trademark law), financial services, administrative law (with a particular focus on pharmaceutical regulation), environmental law, class action practice, federal preemption of state law, and the First Amendment (including campaign finance regulation, election law, and election crimes).
Dean Reuter – The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is General Counsel, Vice President & Director of the Practice Groups of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country.
He is the editor of two books, Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security.
He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law. He is licensed to practice in Maryland, Virginia and Illinois.