How to Strategize for Litigation in an Increasingly Divided Judicial Landscape

Christine Schiffner | Bureau Chief| National Law Journal

Christine Schiffner is the bureau chief of the National Law Journal. She focuses on Washington, D.C. legal news at the intersection of law and politics, including latest developments at the U.S. Supreme Court. Before joining the National Law Journal, she held several newsroom management roles with various international news organizations and The Associated Press.

Amir H. Ali | Executive Director| MacArthur Justice Center

Amir H. Ali steers the organization’s overall mission and cutting-edge litigation to create a more just and humane legal system. Amir has dedicated his career to racial and economic justice issues, and to elevating the voices of marginalized communities. He also teaches at Harvard Law School. He has successfully litigated civil rights and criminal defense cases at all levels—including landmark victories in the U.S. Supreme Court that have been described as “stunning” and “absolutely monumental.” Before joining MJC, Amir was a member of the Supreme Court and Appellate practice at Jenner & Block LLP and clerked for judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court of Canada. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Paul Schiff Berman | Walter S. Cox Professor of Law | Holland & Knight LLP

Paul Schiff Berman is one of the world’s foremost theorists on the interactions among legal systems. He is the author of over sixty scholarly works, including Global Legal Pluralism: A Jurisprudence of Law Beyond Borders, published by Cambridge University Press in 2012 and the Oxford Handbook of Global Legal Pluralism, published by Oxford University Press in 2020. Professor Berman graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1988 and earned his law degree from New York University in 1995. He later clerked for Chief Judge Harry T. Edwards of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Michael Troncoso | Of Counsel | Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP

For over 15 years, Michael Troncoso has served as a legal and strategic advisor to elected leaders and chief executives across various sectors. A former prosecutor and senior in-house counsel, he has led numerous high-stakes litigation, investigation, and regulatory matters of national dimension. Michael recently led U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s judicial evaluation commission, evaluating and recommending judicial candidates for federal district court and circuit court appointments in California. He has led transition teams for two United States Senators, Senator Padilla in 2020-21 and then-U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris in 2016-17. He has also served as Vice President and head of Justice & Opportunity at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Michael is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and Georgetown University Law Center, and he completed a judicial clerkship with the Honorable J. Spencer Letts of the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Cassie Quinn (SPONSOR) | Marketing Content Specialist | LexisNexis

Cassie Quinn is a Marketing Content Specialist with LexisNexis. She is also a founding partner at Pittman & Quinn, focusing on family and child welfare law. Cassie attended Ball State University and University of Dayton School of Law. She is a licensed FINRA arbitrator and previously served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Cassie lives in Dayton, Ohio with her husband and daughter.