Explore every episode of the podcast The Marketplace of Ideas

Event Page on LEC Website

Recorded on Tuesday, September 23, 2025

On June 16, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Chevron USA Incorporated, et al., Petitioners v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, et al., Nos. 23-30294, 23-30422, agreeing to decide during this October Term 2025 whether defendant energy producers are entitled to remove the cases filed in state courts to a federal forum to resolve the nature of their federal rights and immunities as federal contractors. 

Background

Since 2013, local Louisiana parishes have filed forty-three lawsuits alleging that energy company activities associated with energy production caused harm by, among other things, dredging and maintaining a network of canals to access wells located on coastal or marsh lands and to transport resources to serve federal contracts and the energy needs of the region. These lawsuits, which have lingered in one stage or another in the state courts, seek damages and remediation funding for coastal land loss and increased hurricane vulnerability. Many of the alleged wrongful acts targeted were conceived, authorized, and paid for by state, local, and federal authorities. Oftentimes, the energy producers being sued were conducting activities on Louisiana coastlands as direct federal contractors, supporting the military capabilities of the United States during World War II, especially in the provision of refined gas. Consequently, they have tried to remove the state cases, but federal district courts have largely remanded. These cases raise serious concerns regarding the scope of tort law; federal preemption; due process and retroactivity; traceability; causation and attribution; the proper role and ethical responsibilities of government litigators; and separation of powers; and the limits of the judiciary; among others.

Listen to This Important Discussion of the Underlying Claims

This webinar brought together a group of experts who have closely followed these cases and examined the underlying claims in the lawsuits, their implications, and the questions SCOTUS will consider in the case before it.

Panelists:

James Baehr, Special Counsel, Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Mike Fragoso, Partner, Torridon Law PLLC

Melissa Landry, Director of the Pelican Center for Energy, Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Michael R. Williams, Solicitor General, Office of the Attorney General of West Virginia

Moderator: Donald J. Kochan, Professor of Law and Executive Director, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

https://masonlec.org/?p=6754

Recorded Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Time Stamp of Cases Previewed (in Order of Discussion):

(05:03): Berk v. Choy, No. 24-440

(15:32): Hain Celestial Grp. v. Palmquist, No. 24-724

(25:44): Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Par., No. 24-813

(43:50): Coney Island Auto Parts Unlimited v. Burton, No. 24-808

Q&A: (54:41) 

Description:

With the Supreme Court starting to hear cases for the upcoming year on October 6, a balanced panel of experts previewed some of the most interesting and potentially consequential cases for the coming year. The panelists focused on the civil justice-related cases on the docket, the cases where economic analysis is most at play, and those cases likely to have the most substantial economic impact or require adjustment to business activity.

The event took place at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School. It was open to the general public and offered in-person and live-streamed.

Our two expert panelists brought distinct experiences representing business interests and progressive litigants before the U.S. Supreme Court. Together, they offered a robust discussion informed by key countervailing perspectives on the civil justice issues the Supreme Court was set to address.

Panelists:

John H. Beisner, Of Counsel, Litigation; Mass Torts, Insurance and Consumer Litigation, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Robert S. Peck, President, Center for Constitutional Litigation, PC (CCL)

Moderator: Donald J. Kochan, Professor of Law and Executive Director, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Recorded on Friday, May 30, 2025

https://masonlec.org/events/delaware-disrupted-the-battle-for-corporate-america/

Delaware has long been the unrivaled home of American corporate law—but Senate Bill 21 may signal the start of a shift. This webinar examined the controversy surrounding SB 21 and what it reveals about deeper tensions in Delaware's approach to corporate governance and litigation. Our panel of experts analyzed recent legislative moves and their potential consequences, and asked: Is Delaware's dominance in jeopardy, and if so, who—or what—might come next?

Panelists: 
Michal Barzuza, Professor of Law and Director, John W. Glynn Jr. Law & Business Program, University of Virginia School of Law

Kyle Lachmund, Director, Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A.

Ann Lipton, Michael M. Fleishman Professor in Business Law and Entrepreneurship, Tulane University School of Law

Sean MacDonald, Associate, Hogan Lovells

Moderator:
Paolo Saguato, Professor of Law, Founder and Director, Program on Financial Markets, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

This discussion was Panel 4 of the 28th Annual George Mason Law Review Antitrust Symposium. 

Moderator:

• Abbott (Tad) B. Lipsky, Jr., Assistant Professor; Director of Competition, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School

Panelists:

• Dennis W. Carlton, Senior Managing Director, Compass Lexecon; David McDaniel Keller Professor of Economics Emeritus, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business
• Debbie Feinstein, Partner, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP
• W. Robert Majure, Vice President, Cornerstone Research

On Wednesday, March 26, the Law & Economics Center held a roundtable on Third Party Litigation Financing & Litigation Transparency, discussing transparency in our civil justice system, especially when it comes to third party litigation financing (TPLF)—an increasingly used and similarly scrutinized mechanism for financing lawsuits.

Speakers included

• Moderator: The Honorable Trevor N. McFadden, Judge, US District Court for the District of Columbia
• Seth Katsuya Endo, Vice Dean of Intellectual Life and Associate Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law
• Jamil N. Jaffer, Founder & Executive Director, National Security Institute and Assistant Professor of Law & Director, National Security Law & Policy Program at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University
• Donald J. Kochan, Professor of Law and Executive Director, Law & Economics Center, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School
• Maya Steinitz, Professor of Law and R. Gordon Butler Scholar in International Law, Boston University School of Law

This discussion was Panel 2 of the 28th Annual George Mason Law Review Antitrust Symposium. 

Moderator:

• Ai Deng, Director, Advanced Analytics Lab, Berkeley Research Group; Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University; Editor, American Bar Association; External Expert; Romanian National Council for Scientific

Panelists:

• Mark Gray, Copyright Policy Counsel, OpenAI
• Daryl Lim, H. Laddie Montague Jr. Chair in Law; Associate Dean for Research and Innovation; Director, Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Innovation Initiative, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson School of Law
• Elena Ponte, Attorney, Bureau of Competition, US Federal Trade Commission
• Kristian Stout, Director of Innovation Policy, International Center for Law and Economics

FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak joined Judge Douglas Ginsburg of the DC Circuit Court for a fireside chat.  This converation ended the 29th Annual George Mason Law Review Antitrust Symposium. 

A panel of experts provides a discussion on some of the important developments under the Biden administration, and what to expect in this area from the new Trump administration.

With the Court starting to hear cases for the upcoming year on October 7, 2024, a balanced panel of experts previewed some of the most interesting and potentially consequential cases for the coming year. The panelists focused on the civil justice-related cases on the docket, the cases where economic analysis is most at play, and those cases likely to have the most substantial economic impact or require adjustment to business activity.

Panelists:

John H. Beisner, Of Counsel, Litigation; Mass Torts, Insurance and Consumer Litigation, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Robert S. Peck, President, Center for Constitutional Litigation

Donald J. Kochan, Moderator, Professor of Law and Executive Director, Law & Economics Center

This one-hour talk examined the recent Department of Justice (DOJ) complaint against Apple, which alleges that Apple has designed and structured its iPhone platform in a manner that violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Join us as Professor James Cooper of George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Professor Erika Douglas of Temple University Beasley School of Law, Professor Thom Lambert of the University of Missouri School of Law, and moderator Professor John Yun of George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School discuss the scope of a platform's duty to deal, the relevance of privacy considerations in antitrust matters, and the applicability of the seminal Microsoft case in determining the likely outcome.

Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Law & Economics Center at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Donald J. Kochan, moderates a discussion about Climate Change Lawsuits and Preemption or Displacement of State Law: An Analysis of the Sunoco Cert Petition. This conversation, recorded in May, 2024, features Phil Goldberg of Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., Catherine M. Sharkey of New York University School of Law, and John Yoo of University of California at Berkeley School of Law, who analyzed, from diverse persepectives, the merits of the Sunoco Cert Petition and the arguments surrounding it.

Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Law & Economics Center at the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Donald J. Kochan, moderates a discussion about the Standards for Judicial Education on Scientific Topics. This conversation, recorded in January, 2024, features David Faigman of the University of California College of Law, Jonathan Klick of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Gary Marchant of the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, and Charles R. Santerre of Clemson University, who provide their expertise on teaching judges about science and how to understand scientific methodology, how to evaluate scientific topics as a non-expert, and how to consider the admissibility of expert testimony.

What standards can be employed to ensure that the teachers of judges remain objective educators rather than using the podium to teach the judges how to achieve policy outcomes and overcome scientific barriers to those outcomes? What is appropriate and what is not in educating judges about science? What should be the objective of this kind of specialized judicial education – is it to empower the judges to understand science or to provide tools for activism from the bench? How do you remain objective as an instructor and in the curriculum? What standards should be used when teaching science to ensure that you do not cross the line into helping judges manipulate science to achieve preferred policy objectives? What are some good and bad models of judicial education on science, and how can judges identify them? These and other questions were explored.

Luncheon Panel at the Fifteenth Annual Judicial Symposium on Civil Justice Issues in Charleston, SC

This is the second episode in the LEC's Native American Heritage Month series, "Reclaiming the Narrative: Voices from Indian Country." In this series, tribal leaders share their perspectives and discuss a wide range of issues from indigenous history to tribal courts.

This is the first episode in the LEC's Native American Heritage Month series, "Reclaiming the Narrative: Voices From Indian Country." In this series, tribal leaders share their perspectives and discuss a wide range of issues from indigenous history to tribal courts.

Forum on the Economic & Legal Foundations of Capitalism, with Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith; Cosponsored with the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy 

Forum on the Economic and Legal Foundations of Capitalism, with Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith; Cosponsored with the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy 

Forum on the Economic & Legal Foundations of Capitalism, with Nobel Laureate Vernon L. Smith; Cosponsored with the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy

Forum on the Economic & Legal Foundations of Capitalism, with Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith; Cosponsored with the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy

Forum on the Economic & Legal Foundations of Capitalism, with Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith; Cosponsored with the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy 

Forum on the Economic & Legal Foundations of Capitalism, with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith

Cosponsored with the Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy 

Panel on Privacy, Data, and Competition Policy at the 9th Annual Symposium on the Law & Economics of Privacy & Data Security.

Panel Members:

David LeDuc, Vice President of Public Policy, Network Advertising Initiative

Alison Pepper, Executive Vice President of Government Relations, The 4As

Lindsey Barrett, Fritz Family Fellow and Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown
University Law Center

Ari Levenfeld, Senior Manager, Government Affairs & Public Policy, Google

Panel on Perspectives on Surveillance Capitalism at the 9th Annual Symposium on the Law & Economics of Privacy & Data Security.

Panel Members:

Jane Bambauer, Professor of Law, University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of
Law

Neil Chilson, Senior Research Fellow, Charles Koch Institute

Moderator:

Andrew Stivers
Associate Director, NERA Economic Consulting

Panel on Privacy, Data, and Competition Policy at the 9th Annual Symposium on the Law & Economics of Privacy & Data Security.

Panel Members: 
Erika Douglas, Assistant Professor of Law, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Michael Kades, Director of Markets and Competition Policy, Washington Center for
Equitable Growth

John Yun, Associate Professor of Law, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law
School

Fireside Chat with FTC Commissioner Noah Phillips moderated by James C. Cooper at the 9th Annual Symposium on the Law & Economics of Privacy & Data Security.