US Constitution Day And Panel With Texas Solicitor General Kyle Hawkins

Join us and welcome our outstanding panelists and other Downtown Houston VIP’s for our luncheon on Oct. 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Dress is business.RSVPs made within 72 hours of an event may not have a guaranteed seat or meal.

Due to an unforeseen emergency, Texas Attorney General will not be attending our Rotary Celebrates U.S. Constitution Day and Panel on Wednesday.

In his place, we will be honored to hear from Kyle Hawkins, Texas Solicitor General.

FEATURED PANELISTS

Solicitor General for the State of Texas Kyle Hawkins

Attorney General Ken Paxton appointed Kyle Hawkins, who was serving as Texas Assistant Solicitor General, to be the new Solicitor General in September 2018. Hawkins succeeds Scott Keller, who accepted an offer to join Baker Botts as a partner in the law firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

“Since joining the attorney general’s office in 2017, Kyle Hawkins has used his legal expertise to fight federal overreach, uphold the rule of law and defend Texas in a number of important cases impacting our state and citizens,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Kyle’s experience as assistant solicitor general and his background in private practice and as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito have fully prepared him to continue the great work Scott Keller has done as Texas Solicitor General.”

Hawkins previously practiced law in the Washington, D.C., and Dallas offices of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he was a member of the appellate and constitutional law practice group. Besides serving as a law clerk to Justice Alito, Hawkins also clerked for the Hon. Edith Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Hawkins is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and Harvard College.

“I’m deeply grateful to Attorney General Paxton for giving me the opportunity to serve as Solicitor General,” Hawkins said. “I’m grateful to Scott for his leadership and mentorship, and I am excited to continue to represent the interests of the State of Texas.”

 

Josh Blackman — South Texas College of Law Houston

Josh is Professor of Law at the South Texas College of Law Houston who specializes in constitutional law, the United States Supreme Court, and the intersection of law and technology. Josh is the author of the critically acclaimed Unprecedented: The Constitutional Challenge to Obamacare.

Josh was selected by Forbes Magazine for the “30 Under 30” in Law and Policy. Josh has testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the constitutionality of executive action on immigration. He is an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute. Josh is the founder and President of the Harlan Institute, the founder of FantasySCOTUS, the Internet’s Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League, and blogs at JoshBlackman.com. Josh leads the cutting edge of legal analytics as Director of Judicial Research at LexPredict. Josh is the author of over two dozen law review articles, and his commentary has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, L.A. Times, and other national publications.

Josh clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and for the Honorable Kim R. Gibson on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Josh is a graduate of the George Mason University School of Law.

 

Harold R. DeMoss Jr.

Harold R. DeMoss Jr. is a former Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge DeMoss was nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by President George H.W. Bush on June 27, 1991. The American Bar Association rated DeMoss Unanimously Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on DeMoss' nomination were held before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary on September 26, 1991, and his nomination was confirmed by the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on November 27, 1991, and he received his commission on December 2, 1991. DeMoss assumed senior status on July 1, 2007.

A native of Houston, Texas, DeMoss graduated from Rice University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952 and the University of Texas School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1955. After serving in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957, he joined the Houston law firm Bracewell & Patterson, where he became a partner and remained until his appointment to the bench.

Harry Reasoner

The “Magnificent Lawyer’ Harry Reasoner is widely seen as one of the most talented trial lawyers of his generation. He puts his formidable advocacy skills to play in both civil litigation and arbitrations, and has extensive experience handling proceedings related to antitrust, securities, insurance and tort.” (Chambers USA, 2017). Harry practices primarily in complex civil litigation. Harry has served as lead trial counsel in litigation and arbitration involving antitrust, securities, insurance, contract, and tort claims in the billions of dollars. He has also handled the appeals of multi-million dollar verdicts in matters not originally tried by the firm, including antitrust, insurance, oil and gas, RICO, securities law, utility regulation, and UCC issues. In recent years, he has represented major oil companies, investment bankers, chemical companies, pipeline companies, television networks, and computer companies. Harry is Chair of V&E’s Pro Bono efforts and was the firm’s Managing Partner from 1992-2001. A member of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Harry currently is Chair of the Texas Access to Justice Commission, Supreme Court of Texas.