‘With rising threats to free speech and open debate, the Federalist Society is celebrating the students who every day defend the Constitution.’
If Charlie Kirk’s assassin intended to stifle the star political activist’s ideas on American college campuses, he badly miscalculated.
Confronted with a climate of campus radicalism and rising political violence, the Federalist Society is doubling down on its commitment to support conservative law students in their push to secure the future of American jurisprudence.
“With rising threats to free speech and open debate, the Federalist Society is celebrating the students who every day defend the Constitution in the face of the groupthink and intimidation that dominates too many campuses,” said Sheldon Gilbert, president and CEO of the Federalist Society.
Gilbert was named the Federalist Society’s second president at the start of the year, marking a new era for the conservative legal network. At the Federalist Society’s annual convention last week, organizers emphasized the importance of putting law students in a position to safely showcase their ideas.
The focus on the next generation of conservative lawyers takes place against the backdrop of monumental conservative legal victories at the Supreme Court, in part thanks to Federalist Society co-chairman Leonard Leo, who played a crucial role in President Trump’s selection process.
“The conservative legal movement is incredibly strong and has had a great level of continuity and stability over the years,” Leo told National Review in a wide-ranging interview.
“I think that strength is not only evidenced by what you’re seeing inside the Federalist Society but what you’re seeing at the Supreme Court with an incredibly important run of significant jurisprudential wins,” he added.
But the Federalist Society isn’t content to stop there: The decades-long project of developing talent continues with a new generation that’s coming of age in a political environment riven with violence and extremism.
“What you saw at this convention was an unprecedented number of law student leaders who were here in a very high-profile capacity,” Leo said.
“Sheldon Gilbert and the leadership of the Federalist Society has been on the road more than ever, visiting student chapters and student leaders to really bolster them morally and also to help them operationally,” he added.
Student leaders at several elite law schools introduced speakers at the convention and hosted casual “sidebar” events to speak to esteemed judges about their hobbies. Hundreds of law school students nationwide attended the conference to network and learn from the nation’s leading conservative scholars, judges, and political officials.
University of Michigan law student Matt Holmes hosted one of the “sidebar” events on law and baseball cards at the beginning of the conference. The lighthearted discussion set the tone for a conference that put students — and their interests — at the center of its programming.
“When Sheldon Gilbert assumed leadership of the Federalist Society, he set out to return to the roots of our founding — empowering students to lead. That commitment was on full display at this year’s [National Lawyers Convention],” Holmes told NR.
“From introducing speakers to interviewing some of our nation’s most distinguished jurists, the enthusiasm and engagement of our student chapters was palpable. As proud as we are of our organization’s recent successes, I can promise you this: We are just getting started,” Holmes added.
The Federalist Society’s campus leaders are often part of a small conservative minority at progressive-dominated law schools. Like Charlie Kirk, those students promote rigorous campus debate in order to strengthen likeminded people and potentially win over opponents.
New York University student Tom Crean, president of the school’s Federalist Society, experienced the difficulties of being a campus conservative in October when NYU refused to approve an event with Manhattan Institute scholar Ilya Shapiro because of supposed security concerns.
The security concerns stemmed from potential anti-Israel protests because of anniversary of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. Facing pushback from free speech groups, NYU reversed its decision and agreed to work with the Federalist Society on hosting the event.
Crean’s experience was an example of the difficulties campus conservatives deal with whether they are undergraduates or law students at elite schools.
“This year has been really special,” Crean said. “Sheldon and the leadership have done a really good job at centering students, really letting us take the reins as we step into leadership roles,” he added.
Crean called the Federalist Society network a “necessary counterbalance” at NYU and other schools like it.
Crean and Holmes both said they have worked with university administrators to ensure all security concerns are handled following the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September.
Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh were keynote speakers at the conference’s celebratory dinner Thursday night. The justices participated in an intimate fireside chat where they gave advice to students about overcoming adversity as public figures and handling the challenges that come with being an outspoken campus conservative.
In a striking moment, Barrett advised law students to follow Erika Kirk’s example and take the high road of forgiveness rather than fighting “poison with poison.”
Erika Kirk forgave the suspected assassin of her husband during an emotional memorial for Kirk in September. The widowed Kirk’s statement of forgiveness was a powerful demonstration of her Christian faith even in a time of deep sorrow.
Barrett and Kavanaugh, both devout Catholics, invoked Pope St. John Paul II in urging law students to “be not afraid” and maintain faith even when dealing with harsh criticism.