The State Democracy Research Initiative Kickoff Featuring State Solicitors General on October 7, 2021 will be virtual webinar featuring four current and former State Solicitors Generals to discuss their roles and responsibilities, perspectives on state government, and interesting, non-pending cases they have dealt with in their states. Law students and interested members of the legal community will also have an opportunity to ask questions through a moderated Q&A discussion portion. Confirmed speakers include:
- Amit Agarwal (Former Solicitor General, Florida)
- Elizabeth “Bessie” Dewar (State Solicitor, Massachusetts)
- Michael Mongan (Solicitor General, California)
- Ryan Park (Solicitor General, North Carolina)
This free event is approved for 1 Wisconsin CLE credit. For questions about this event, please contact Allie Boldt.
Zoom Webinar Information:
Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:
Please click this URL to join. https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/97809246367
Or One tap mobile:
+19292056099,,97809246367# US (New York)
+13017158592,,97809246367# US (Washington DC)
Or join by phone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799
Webinar ID: 978 0924 6367
International numbers available: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/u/avQsSpRfV
Or an H.323/SIP room system:
H.323:
162.255.37.11 (US West)
162.255.36.11 (US East)
115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai)
115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad)
213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands)
213.244.140.110 (Germany)
103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney)
103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne)
149.137.40.110 (Singapore)
64.211.144.160 (Brazil)
149.137.68.253 (Mexico)
69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto)
65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver)
207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo)
149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka)
Webinar ID: 978 0924 6367
Panelist Biographies
- Amit Agarwal is a partner in the Tallahassee, Florida and Washington, DC offices of Holland & Knight. From June 2016 to June 2021, he served as Florida’s Solicitor General–the chief appellate litigator for the Office of the Attorney General, responsible for supervising civil and criminal appeals in federal and state courts. Before that, he served as Deputy Chief of the Appellate Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Major Crimes and Appellate divisions of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and as an attorney advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel at the United States Department of Justice. He was a law clerk to the Honorable Samuel Alito, of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable Brett Kavanaugh, of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the late Honorable Edward Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, PA. He earned his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and his B.A. from Duke University.
- Bessie Dewar is the State Solicitor in the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Before joining that office, she was in private practice at Ropes & Gray LLP, and she previously litigated civil rights cases at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Stephen G. Breyer of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Honorable William A. Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the late Honorable Louis A. Pollak of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia. She is a graduate of the Yale Law School, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard College.
- Michael J. Mongan is Solicitor General of California, the chief appellate lawyer for the California Department of Justice. His responsibilities include overseeing both civil and criminal appeals, advising the Attorney General and other senior officials on legal and policy matters, presenting oral argument in selected cases in the state and federal appellate courts, and supervising the Office of the Solicitor General and the Opinion Unit. Mike joined the California Department of Justice in 2014 as a Deputy Solicitor General and then became the Supervising Deputy Solicitor General in 2017. Prior to joining DOJ, Mike worked at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP in San Francisco, where he focused on complex civil appellate matters. Before that, he served as the Deputy Counsel to Vice President Joseph Biden during the first two years of the Obama Administration; clerked for Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; worked for the staff of Chairman Max Baucus on the U.S. Senate Finance Committee; and worked in the district office of U.S. Representative Michael Honda. Mike received his J.D. from Stanford Law School and his A.B. in Political Science from Stanford University.
- Ryan Park is the Solicitor General of North Carolina, where he oversees the State’s civil appellate litigation and advises Attorney General Josh Stein on legal policy and constitutional issues. He has previously practiced at a national law firm, worked as an attorney-adviser at the U.S. Department of State, and clerked for Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter, Judge Robert A. Katzmann on the Second Circuit and Judge Jed S. Rakoff on the Southern District of New York. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard Law School and with distinction from Amherst College, and has worked in South Korea on a Fulbright Fellowship. He teaches North Carolina Constitutional Law as an adjunct professor at UNC Law School.