BOARD PRESIDENT

Ben Ginsberg, a nationally known political law advocate representing participants in the political process, is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and the co-chair of two nonprofits aiding election officials enhance confidence in American elections. His clients have included participants in all sectors of politics, including four of the last seven Republican Presidential nominees, the campaigns and leadership PACs of numerous members of the Senate and House, the Republican national party committees, Governors, and state officials. He played a central role in the 2000 Florida recount. Ben served as co-chair of the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration which produced a much-lauded report on best practices and recommendations for state and local officials to make U.S. elections run better. He co-chairs with Bob Bauer the Election Official Legal Defense Network and Pillars of the Community, both initiatives to promote understanding of and support for nonpartisan, professional election administration.  His academic background includes being a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and a Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics. He appears frequently on television as an on-air commentator about the law and politics and has written numerous articles on U.S politics. He was a partner at Jones Day from 2014 to 2020 and at Patton Boggs for 23 years before that. Prior to entering law school, Ben spent five years as a newspaper reporter at The Boston Globe, Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, The Berkshire Eagle (Massachusetts), and The Riverside Press-Enterprise (California).

BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT

Bob Bauer is Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the New York University School of Law and Co-Director of NYU Law’s Democracy Project and its Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic. In 2013, President Obama named him to be Co-Chair of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. Over the course of almost four decades in private practice, Bob has represented Democratic Party organizations and candidates, as well as other clients on election matters. He was General Counsel to President Obama’s presidential campaigns in 20008 and 2016, and a senior legal adviser to the Biden-Harris presidential campaign in 2020 and the Harris-Waltz campaign in 2024. Bob is also active in nonpartisan election administration and co-chairs with Benjamin Ginsberg the Election Official Legal Defense Network and Pillars of the Community, both initiatives to promote understanding of and support for nonpartisan, professional election administration.  Bob has co-authored numerous bipartisan reports on policy and legal reform, including “The American Voting Experience: Report and Recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration” (Presidential Commission on Election Administration, 2014); “The State of Campaign Finance in the United States” (Bipartisan Policy Center, 2018); and “Democratizing the Debates” (Annenberg Working Group on Presidential Campaign Debate Reform, 2015).

BOARD SECRETARY & TREASURER

Dana Remus is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, where she advises clients on election and political law matters, congressional investigations, government regulatory enforcement trends, and ethics matters. Prior to joining Covington, she served as Assistant to the President and White House Counsel to President Biden at the beginning of his term. She also served as General Counsel to the Biden-Harris campaign and Senior Advisor to the Harris-Walz campaign. During the Obama administration, Dana served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel for ethics and following the administration, as General Counsel of the Obama Foundation and of the personal office of President and Mrs. Obama. Previously, Dana was a Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she specialized in legal and judicial ethics and the regulation of the legal profession. Dana clerked for Justice Samuel Alito of the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Anthony Scirica of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, after graduating from Harvard College and Yale Law School.

JJohn Devaney is a nationally known litigator who specializes in election and political law matters.  He is the former firmwide Managing Partner of Perkins Coie LLP, where he continues to maintain his litigation practice. John served as senior outside counsel for the Biden-Harris campaign in 2020 and the Harris-Walz campaign in 2024. He has litigated election, voting, and redistricting matters throughout the country over the past 15 years. Following law school, John clerked for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and then served as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.

Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. is a partner with Munger, Tolles & Olson, and the founder of its Washington, D.C., office. Don is one of the nation’s premier Supreme Court and appellate advocates. He served as Solicitor General of the United States from June 2011 to June 2016. Since joining the firm after his government service, he has handled numerous significant cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, including  victories in Moore v. Harper, which rejected the independent state legislature  and California v. Texas, which upheld the Affordable Care Act, and .    and h Financial Oversight and Management Board v. Aurelius, which upheld the constitutionality of the federal law establishing the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico . He has also won victories for clients in high-stakes class action, antitrust, constitutional, government contracts and copyright appeals. During his time as Solicitor General, he argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, including landmark decisions upholding the Affordable Care Act (National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius and King v. Burwell) and recognizing marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges). In addition to handling matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and the courts of appeals, Don’s practice focuses on representing and counseling clients on multi-dimensional problems, where litigation, regulation and public policy intersect to shape markets and industries in our evolving economy. He is recognized as a Star Individual by Chambers USA and was named “Lawyer of the Year” for his appellate work in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Before serving as Solicitor General, Don served as Deputy White House Counsel, and previously as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice. In those positions, he counseled President Obama, Cabinet secretaries and other senior government officials on a wide range of legal issues involving national security, economic regulation, domestic policy and the scope of executive and administrative authority. Prior to his government service, Don spent two decades in private practice representing companies in high stakes matters, particularly in the areas of media and entertainment, and telecommunications law. During this time, he argued a dozen cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, the landmark case establishing that file sharing services were subject to the copyright laws, and FCC v. NextWave, which established that the bankruptcy laws allow FCC licensees to keep their licenses while reorganizing. He also achieved a landmark victory before the U.S. Supreme Court in Wiggins v. Smith, a case that established the standards for effective assistance of counsel in capital sentencing proceedings. Don is also a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches classes on the First Amendment and on the Supreme Court. Previously he taught First Amendment law for many years at the Georgetown University Law Center.

In his 35 years at the Justice Department and in private practice, Mike Carvin was one of the leading appellate and trial lawyers challenging state and federal regulations on constitutional and statutory grounds, with 10 Supreme Court arguments and numerous high-profile victories. In addition to his numerous cases in the United States Supreme Court, he argued in virtually every federal appeals court. His major cases include the recent constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act and the decisions invalidating Sarbanes-Oxley's accounting board, preventing the Justice Department from obtaining monetary relief against the tobacco industry under RICO, and overturning the federal government's plan to statistically adjust the census. Mike was one of the lead lawyers, and argued before the Florida Supreme Court, on behalf of George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election Florida recount controversy. He also has represented state governments, financial institutions, telecommunications, and energy companies in "takings," First Amendment, civil rights, and statutory challenges to federal government actions.

Dan Troy is a globally recognized healthcare lawyer and accomplished executive whose career has spanned leadership positions in the life sciences, legal, and regulatory sectors. His past experience includes working as chief counsel for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), general counsel at multinational life sciences and technology companies, partner at preeminent law firms, and with the Department of Justice during the Reagan administration.

Previously, Mr. Troy worked as a global general counsel at a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company for ten years. He employed hands-on and practical approaches to creatively resolve major issues, manage risks, and achieve critical strategic goals. He led and managed a global team of over 630 professionals, including more than 400 attorneys, across more than fifty countries.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Lanny Acosta, Jr. was an active-duty Judge Advocate in the U.S. Army for 25 years, from 1998 until 2023. His most recent civilian positions include as staff attorney Defense Advisory Committee on the Investigation, Prosecution, and Defense of Sexual Assault in 2024, and as Clerk of Court for the U.S Air Force Trial Judiciary from 2023 to 2024. While on active duty, Lanny served as Deputy Chief Trial Judge for the Army and Chief Trial Judge of the Military Commissions. Other assignments include Chief Circuit Judge for the First Judicial Circuit, Chief Circuit Judge for the Third Judicial Circuit and three previous terms as Circuit Judge in the Third and Fourth Judicial Circuits. Prior to joining the Trial Judiciary in July 2015, Lanny served as Senior Legal Advisor, Office of Security and Cooperation – Iraq; Chief Prosecutor, I Corps; and Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for US Army Special Operations Command. Other assignments include Special United States Attorney for the District of Columbia; Civil Litigation Attorney; and Brigade Judge Advocate, 2d Brigade, Third Infantry Division. He deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005, to the Philippines in support of disaster relief effort in 2013, and to Iraq before and during Operation Inherent Resolve in 2014 and 2015. His awards include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters. Lanny is a graduate of Mississippi State University in 1995 with a degree in Political Science. He earned his JD from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1998 and an LLM in Military Law from the Judge Advocate General's School in 2007.