Sheldon Gilbert to Lead Federalist Society

The conservative legal organization has announced Eugene Meyer's successor as President of the Federalist Society.

Today the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies announced that attorney Sheldon Gilbert will succeed Eugene Meyer as President of the Federalist Society. This is an excellent choice (though not one that had been foreshadowed in prior news reports). Text of the announcement is below.

The Federalist Society's Board of Directors is delighted to announce that Sheldon Gilbert will become its second president on January 2, 2025. Gilbert, currently Walmart's Senior Lead Counsel for Strategic Initiatives, will succeed Eugene B. Meyer, who has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for  more than 40 years.

"Sheldon is a superb choice to take over as President of the Federalist Society," said co-chairman of the Board of Directors Steven Calabresi. "His boundless energy and enthusiasm and deep engagement with all segments of the legal community, including different strands of the conservative and libertarian legal movement, make him the right person to lead the Federalist Society at this time."

"Sheldon is both a thinker and a doer," said co-chairman of the Board Leonard Leo. "His unmatched strategic sense, entrepreneurial mindset, leadership qualities, and vision make him uniquely qualified for leading the generational change the Society is poised to begin while preserving the Society's core assets and commitments."

"We are delighted to welcome Sheldon, who is joining the organization at a pivotal moment," said outgoing President Eugene Meyer. "He shares a deep commitment to our mission and purpose, to provide a forum for fair, serious, and open debate about the role of the courts in saying what the law is rather than what they wish it to be, and to the centrality of the rule of law in protecting individual freedom and traditional values. It's been an honor to have served over many decades. I am grateful to my colleagues, our members and those who have supported this mission over the years."

"The Federalist Society's strength comes from our members, and I'm proud to work alongside them to promote the Society's founding principles and provide a thoughtful forum for discussion and debate," said Gilbert. "It's an honor to serve our members—including law school students and faculty, public servants in every branch of government, and private sector and non-profit lawyers— who tirelessly and fearlessly work to defend the Constitution, preserve freedom, and promote the rule of law."

Before joining Walmart, Gilbert served as Vice President for Content and Development and Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies at the National Constitution Center, as Director for the Institute for Justice's Center for Judicial Engagement, and as Associate Chief Counsel for Litigation at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Litigation Center. He is a graduate of the George Washington University Law School and the University of Utah.

Gilbert is married with four children, and is himself a child of the Mountain West, where he was born in a coal mining town in Utah and raised in Idaho near the Grand Tetons. Before going to law school, Sheldon's diverse interests led him to work in a wide range of roles, from software development project management for a nonprofit, to working in his University's radiobiology research lab, to volunteer service in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for his church. Gilbert was selected following a nationwide search by the Board's Presidential Search Committee, with key support from Andrea McDaniel Smith, a partner at CarterBaldwin Executive Search.

Founded by law students from around the country in 1982, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to reforming the current legal order. Under Eugene Meyer's leadership, the organization has grown from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law.

For my own views of the Federalist Society, see this post, which I wrote during the Gorsuch nomination fight in 2017.

Comments

[Dr. Ed 2]

I didn't know that Utah *had* coal...

[Stephen Lathrop]

In February 2012, Politico had this from Gilbert:

Like most others who spoke to POLITICO, Sheldon Gilbert , a 31-year-old D.C. attorney, emphasized that the Mormon moment transcends the presidential campaign. And regardless of who is elected to the White House in November, Gilbert said he is confident that his two young children will grow up with a fundamentally different Mormon experience, because the novelty of poking fun at the “quirks” of his community’s practices are beginning to fade.

But does he want this novelty to fade? The answer is both yes and no, Gilbert said.

“We yearn for mainstream acceptance, but at the same time, we’re absolutely not willing to give up our peculiarity,” he said. “People come to investigate Mormonism because they want to know what’s different about us. They’re often looking for a big change in their lives. There’d be no reason for anyone to explore Mormonism if we didn’t have something bold and unique to offer.”

Seems like Gilbert might have something to object to in a capsule biography which comes out worded this way:

"Sheldon's diverse interests led him to work in a wide range of roles, from software development project management for a nonprofit, to working in his University's radiobiology research lab, to volunteer service in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for his church."

If the nation is about to get a big dose of Mormon influence courtesy of the Federalist Society, I am here to say that a Mormon leader who represents the very best of that tradition could effect big improvements. But I do question whether if that is the kind of Mormon Mr. Gilbert turns out to be, whether the MAGA movement will be happy with him.

[Lee Moore]

What do you imagine Mr Gilbert might object to ?

[Stephen Lathrop]

I withhold judgment on Mr. Gilbert. I hypothesized MAGA objections to a hypothetical Mr. Gilbert, one patterned on the institutionalism and reliance on principle shown by former Arizona House leader Russell "Rusty" Bowers. Long experience living in Mormon inflected regions of the American West prepared me to recognize, and admire, that type of Mormonism whenever I see it.

[Lee Moore]

[SRG2]

Anyone who is both a lawyer and a Mormon must be extremely adept at partitioning their minds.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Indeed. It’s amazing how such an obvious hoax got so much traction.

[Brett Bellmore]

I'm more amazed about Scientology, frankly. Created on a drunken bet, the witnesses to which are still around to talk about it.

[JesusHadBlondeHairBlueEyes]

Well, to be fair, if you're either of those you don't have much mind to partition.

[gVOR08]

Thank you. I had wondered if that bio was dancing around “Mormon”.

[Dr. Ed 2]

Hopefully he is not another Mitt Romney

[BrotherMovesOn]

You aren't fit to sweep out Romney's stables.

[Stephen Lathrop]

Wouldn't that better be phrased, "Hose off Romney's car roof?"

[Frank Drackman]

Checked out his Bio, Wow! that "Missionary" assignment to Rio sounds horrible, almost as bad as Mitt Romeney's one to Paris. Wonder if he buys the magic underwear at Walmart?

Frank