Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

Leah Litman is the co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, & Bad Vibes which is available for purchase here.

She received the American Constitution Society's Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholar Award, the American Law Institute's Early Career Scholars Medal, and the Richard Cudahy Prize for Administrative and Regulatory Scholarship. She regularly appears as a commentator on NPR, MSNBC, and other outlets. She has also written for media outlets including The Atlantic, Slate, and more. 

She lives in Ann Arbor with her partner and their miniature goldendoodle Stevie Nicks.

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Partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP

Attended Harvard Law School, J.D. |

Stanford University, B.A. with honors

Robert Van Nest is among the nation’s pre-eminent trial lawyers for complex business and intellectual property litigation. Leading technology companies have entrusted him with some of the most consequential business disputes of the 21st century. His cases have set legal precedents and shaped tech industry standards. Google’s win over Oracle defined the boundaries of fair use for software interoperability. Qualcomm’s FTC antitrust defense reaffirmed innovative licensing practices. OpenAI’s copyright litigation will determine the bounds of fair use in machine learning. He recently led four trials to successful outcomes in the span of 12 months, including billion-dollar patent cases for Google and Dexcom. Bob has spent his career translating the technical and simplifying the complex to connect with juries in trials where innovative technologies and business fortunes are at stake.

Among his many honors, Bob is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He is the 31st member inducted into the California Lawyers Association Trial Lawyers Hall of Fame. He is recognized as one of the nation’s top-tier patent litigators in Chambers USA and among California's Top 75 Intellectual Property Lawyers and Top 100 Attorneys by The Daily Journal.

A name partner in the firm since 1992, Bob has helped the firm become one of the leading litigation and trial boutiques in the nation. 

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After earning her law degree at Stanford, Hon. Verna A. Adams (Ret.) spent two decades in family law practice before being appointed to the Marin County Superior Court in 1999.

 Over the years, she served in every department of the court, launched its mental health and domestic violence courts, served as Presiding Judge, and helped found Marin’s Legal Self-Help Center and the courts pioneering Interdisciplinary Settlement Conference program. 

Along the way, she was inducted into the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame, named Judge of the Year by the Marin Trial Lawyers' Association, and in 2024, became the first woman to receive the Marin County Bar Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She officially retired that same year—but continues to give back to the community.  

Now in her third act, she is working as a consultant, mediator and private judge for ADR Services, Inc. and volunteering in the Marin court's settlement conference program. 

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Meghann Burke is the Executive Director, National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA)

Meghann Burke has spent her career fighting for justice—first as a Player, then as an attorney, and now as a union leader. As Executive Director of the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association (NWSLPA), she has advanced the rights and dignity of women athletes, helping to build one of the most transformative unions in professional sports.

At the NWSLPA, she has been instrumental in reshaping labor conditions across the league. Under her leadership, the union negotiated two landmark Collective Bargaining Agreements, most recently eliminating the draft and establishing guaranteed contracts and free agency rights for all Players. She also helped lead a reckoning from 2021 to 2023 that exposed and addressed systemic abuse, misconduct, and harassment in the NWSL, catalyzing sweeping reforms. She launched Support the Players NET to provide financial assistance to Players and oversaw the creation and substantial year-over-year growth of the union’s group licensing program.

In 2022, Burke was elected Vice President of the AFL-CIO, reflecting her rising influence in athlete advocacy and labor. That same year, she was named a “Power Player” by Sports Business Journal and was previously recognized among Raleigh-Durham’s top ten most influential people in sports by the News & Observer in 2021.

Burke’s playing career spanned some of the earliest U.S. women’s professional leagues, including the WUSA and WPS. She didn’t just take the field; she helped organize it, founding the WPS Players Union. She also competed in the W-League, WPSL, and England’s Women’s Premier League, bringing a global perspective to her leadership in the sport.

In her legal career, Burke has passionately litigated and won cases that established marriage equality and advanced civil rights across the South. She has exonerated the accused in the criminal justice system and fought to vindicate the rights of marginalized communities. Her leadership has extended beyond the courtroom, serving as Vice President of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, President of her local criminal defense bar, and a board member of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. In recognition of her impact, she was honored with the prestigious Themis Award from the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys.

Burke earned her J.D. from Northeastern University and her undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University, where she made history as the first woman drafted into the professional ranks during her collegiate career. A standout Player, she was twice named Conference USA Player of the Year, earned All-American honors, and was later recognized as Conference USA Co-Player of the Decade. As a youth, she was selected for the U.S. U-16 Girls National Team.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Burke now lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her wife and their three children.

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Arianna Sholes-Douglas MD FACOG is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Maternal-Fetal Medicine and has been practicing medicine for three decades. She is the author of the best-selling book, The Menopause Myth: What your mother, doctor and friends haven’t shared about life after 35. 

She completed her undergraduate degree in Biology and African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Arianna then went on to earn her Doctor of Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. She completed her residency and Maternal-Fetal Medicine fellowship at Martin Luther King Medical Center and UCLA School of Medicine, respectively. She later graduated from the Integrative Medicine Fellowship at the University of Arizona. She has served as clinical faculty at UCLA, University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a diplomate of the American Board of OB/GYN and Maternal-Fetal Medicine. 

Dr. Arianna is the founder and medical director of Tula Wellness and Aesthetics, a unique medical practice in Tucson, Arizona focusing on women’s integrative health and wellness. She incorporates evidenced-based, alternative medical therapies to promote healing. Her practice of medicine recognizes that the mind, body, and spirit all greatly affect health. She takes a holistic approach to patient care, combining her extensive knowledge of women’s health with the field of integrative and functional medicine. 

As avisionary and innovator in the women’s health community, Dr. Arianna has received multiple awards, including Outstanding Women’s Health Provider by Inside Tucson Business, Women of Influence: Business Woman of the Year award, the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona’s: Woman of Impact award and the Enterprising Women of the Year award. She serves as a Women United member of the United Way Tucson chapter and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Association 

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Judge Sheila Shah Lichtblau is a judge in the Marin Superior Court since January 2017.  She has served in the criminal and family divisions, and is currently a judge in the civil division.  She was previously the supervising judge of the family division.  Since 2019, she has also served in the appellate division and has served as the presiding judge of the appellate division since 2021.  She also presides over Community Court in conjunction with Legal Aid of Marin.  Additionally, Judge Lichtblau serves as the court liaison for the Marin County Office of Education mock trial competition, and the Real DUI in high schools program. 

Judge Lichtblau received her JD in 1993 from UC Hastings (now UC College of the Law San Francisco) and her undergraduate degree in 1989 from UC Berkeley.  Following graduation, she spent five years working for a non-profit organization representing low income and disabled Spanish speaking clients.  Judge Lichtblau also practiced civil law as a partner at Wright, Robinson, Osthimer & Tatum.  In 2006, Judge Lichtblau began working at the Office of the County Counsel, County of Marin.  Prior to 2017, she also served as a volunteer judge pro tem in small claims court, and as a mediator at the US Northern District Court. 

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Gabrielle McKee (“Gaby”) is a Director of Business & Legal Affairs for the Golden State Warriors.  In her current role, Gaby is responsible for a broad range of legal matters impacting the Golden State Warriors, the Golden State Valkyries, the Santa Cruz Warriors, Chase Center and other related assets and properties.

 Prior to joining the Warriors, Gaby worked as associate counsel for the Detroit Pistons and in Detroit, Michigan where she was responsible for a wide range of legal matters impacting the Detroit Pistons, Motor City Cruise and other related properties. Gaby also served as the Executive Director of the Detroit Pistons Foundation. Prior to the Detroit Pistons, Gaby worked as an associate in the Estate Planning department at Dickinson Wright, PLLC in Detroit advising clients on a wide range of issues including drafting estate planning, prenuptial agreements, estate administration, tax planning and wealth management.

Gaby is a native of Oakland, California.  She attended Duke University and received her JD from the University of Michigan and is happy to finally be back home in the Bay Area!

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Daniel Osborn joined the Attorney General’s Office nearly ten years ago as an Honors Attorney. In that time Daniel has helped recover billions of dollars in civil penalties and consumer restitution, including the largest consumer protection civil trial verdict in California history. In addition to his civil enforcement matters, Daniel also leads the Office’s price gouging response during times of declared emergencies.

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Carolyn Rosenblatt is a retired RN, Public Health Nurse and attorney at AgingParents.com, consulting with families with age-related issues. She has 27 years of P.I. litigation and trial experience. She has subject matter expertise in age-related healthcare, legal and financial issues with families, and she mediates family disputes. She is an ABA published author. She volunteers at Marin County Courts as a settlement panelist. She is passionate about wellness and has developed successful strategies for managing stress within legal practice and beyond.

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Nonnie Shivers is an Attorney at Law and shareholder with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash Smoak & Stewart

Nonnie partners with employers and managers in three primary ways: litigation avoidance through proactive and maximally compliant 50-state counseling and training; complex workplace investigations including at the C-Suite level; and litigating legally complex and factually challenging cases to defend employers’ actions. Nonnie is a super-subject matter expert on cutting edge employment law issues and trends including LGBTQ+ workplace issues, lawful diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives post-Fair Admissions, and lawful parental leave offerings to maximize recruitment and retention. Nonnie regularly partners with clients to plan and implement reductions in force, severance plans and agreements, and pre-litigation disciplinary matters. Nonnie regularly conducts high-level internal investigations for clients and assists in identifying and resolving potential areas of liability and exposure in a proactive but practical way. Nonnie regularly speaks and trains. Nonnie's advanced degree in education and years of experience as an instructor and student affairs professional at Arizona State University help make her training sessions and presentations simultaneously educational and engaging. Nonnie has also published several scholarly articles focused on employment law, including a book chapter on the impact of reasonable workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities on employers, employees' expectations of privacy for off-duty conduct, and most recently an article on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) caselaw related to benefits and other evolving protections for transgender employees. 

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Kristine Fowler Cirby brings over 32 years of expertise in family law, with a focused practice in Marin County for the last 25 years. She represents both men and women across the full spectrum of family law matters. Kristine earned her degree in Law & Society from UC Santa Barbara and her Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law. Prior to establishing her own practice 5 years ago, she held several leadership roles including Executive Director at the Family & Children's Law Center. Her dedication to excellence in family law has been recognized through prestigious honors, including the Marin Trial Lawyer’s President’s Award in 2021. She was also named Best Family Law Attorney by the Pacific Sun in both 2023 and 2024.

In addition to her legal practice, Kristine serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Marin County Bar Association and as a member of the Board of Directors for Community Violence Solutions. She also lends her expertise to the Rally Family Visitation Services Advisory Board and has previously served on the Board of Directors for Youth Transforming Justice (formerly known as Marin Youth Court).  

Previously, Kristine was appointed by the Marin County Superior Court to the Board of Trustees for the Marin County Law Library, where she served from 2018 to 2023. Her long-standing commitment to public service includes a decade of representing District Five (Novato) on the Marin Women’s Commission, where she served two terms as Chair. Kristine co-founded and co-chaired the Marin Teen Girl Conference from 2011 to 2017.

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Nestor Schnasse is the principal attorney at Schnasse Law. He has practiced law in California for more than eighteen years and is based in Novato. He represents people who have been seriously hurt or lost a loved one in personal injury and wrongful death cases, including bicycle, auto, premises liability and government liability. He is also a cyclist who, in his youth, competed in international road-races throughout the U.S, Europe and Australia. Bicycle cases are one focus of his law practice, an opportunity to draw on personal experience. In addition to his law practice, Nestor makes time to give back to the community through professional associations, local government and volunteer work. He has served on the boards of the Marin County Bar Association and Marin Trial Lawyers Association. He currently serves on the City of Novato’s Complete Streets and Pathways Oversight Committee, using his experience with how things can go horribly wrong to push for improvements to the City’s infrastructure.  Being a youth-program leader also keeps Nestor involved in volunteer work throughout the year, from conservation projects to food-drives.  

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