I’m so excited that the University of Michigan Law School will be hosting the Federalist Society’s 44th annual student symposium here in Ann Arbor on March 7-8, 2025. The symposium theme is Congress: Reviving the Impetuous Vortex, and the program is going to be terrific. You are welcome to join us on in person or watch the livestream or recordings here.

Here is the program:

Friday, March 7, 2025

Opening Remarks

Prof. Kyle D. Logue, Michigan Law School Interim Dean

(5:30 PM to 5:45 PM)

Arthur N. Rupe Debate: Public Servants or Permanent Rulers? The Future of the Civil Service

Interlocutors:

• Prof. John F. Duffy, University of Virginia School of Law
• Prof. Christopher J. Walker, Professor, University of Michigan Law School

Moderator: Sarah Isgur, Senior Editor at The Dispatch

(5:45 PM to 6:45 PM)

Panel I: How We Got Here – The Supreme Court’s “Anti-Administrative” Turn?

Panelists:

• Prof. Jeffrey Pojanowski, Notre Dame Law School
• Prof. Jennifer L. Mascott, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law
• Prof. Nina A. Mendelson, University of Michigan Law School
• Prof. Thomas W. Merrill, Columbia Law School
• Prof. Aaron Nielson, Solicitor General of Texas and Brigham Young University Law School

Moderator: Hon. Chad A. Readler, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

(7:00 PM to 8:45 PM)

Saturday, March 8, 2025

Panel II: Congress and the Constitution: The Separation of Powers in Action

Panelists:

• Prof. Jonathan H. Adler, Case Western Reserve University School of Law
• Justin Amash, former United States Congressman from Michigan
• Prof. Joshua Chafetz, Georgetown University Law Center
• Prof. Gillian E. Metzger, Columbia Law School
• Amanda H. Neely, Gibson Dunn and former General Counsel to Senator Rob Portman

Moderator: Hon. Robert J. Luck, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

(9:00 AM to 10:45 AM)

Panel III: Congress and the Administrative State: Prospects for Regulatory Reform

Panelists:

• Prof. Nicholas Bagley, University of Michigan Law School
• Prof. Emily Bremer, Notre Dame Law School
• Prof. Jennifer Nou, University of Chicago Law School
• Hon. Paul J. Ray, Heritage Foundation and former OIRA Administrator

Moderator: Hon. Neomi Rao, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

(11:00 AM to 12:30 PM)

Debate: Presidential Power and Congress’s Response

Interlocutors:

• Prof. Michael W. McConnell, Stanford Law School
• Prof. Julian Davis Mortenson, University of Michigan Law School

Moderator: Hon. Joan Larsen, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

(2:00 PM to 3:15 PM)

Panel IV: Congress and Court Reform: Jurisdiction Stripping, Court Packing, and Beyond

Panelists:

• Prof. Jamal Greene, Columbia Law School
• Prof. Tara Leigh Grove, University of Texas School of Law
• Prof. Richard Primus, University of Michigan Law School
• Prof. Amanda Tyler, University of California, Berkeley School of Law
• Prof. Keith E. Whittington, Yale Law School

Moderator: Hon. Raymond Kethledge, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

(3:30 PM to 5:15 PM)

Closing Banquet and Fireside Chat at Michigan Stadium (“The Big House”)

• Hon. James C. Ho, Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Allyson Newton Ho, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP