Panel 2: The Lawyer as Advocate - Moderator Pat Longan

Meet the Panelists\nMark R. Brown was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of Dayton in 1981. Following graduation from the University of Louisville School of Law in 1984, he earned his LL.M. at the University of Illinois (1988). He clerked for the Honorable Harry W. Wellford, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (1984-1985) and served as a Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States (October Term 1993) under the chief justice of the United States. Brown currently holds the Newton D. Baker/Baker & Hostetler Chair at Capital University where he teaches courses on constitutional law and constitutional litigation. He has authored and co-authored several books and scholarly works addressing matters in both subject areas. He has taught at Stetson University, the University of Illinois, Ohio State University, and Florida State University. Brown’s most recent works include LexisNexis Civil Rights & Strategy Series: Section 1983 Litigation (2023); A Critical and Historical Analysis of Ohio’s Post-Millennium Regression to Major-Party Monopoly, 50 Hast. Con. L.Q. 227 (2023); and Candidate Debates in Ohio: Can Corporations Fund the Major Parties?, 83 Ohio St. L.J. Online 160 (2022).\nJonathan Rapping is a professor of law and director of the Criminal Justice Certificate Program at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and the founder and president of Gideon’s Promise, a non-profit organization whose mission is to transform criminal justice by building a movement of public defenders who provide equal justice for marginalized communities. Before founding Gideon’s Promise, Rapping spent a decade as a public defender in Washington, D.C. before coming to Georgia to serve as the first training director for Georgia Public Defender Council. He then joined the leadership team in New Orleans to help rebuild the public defender office there in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He did work in Alabama and Mississippi and the challenges he saw public defenders facing across the South led him to start Gideon’s Promise to provide public defenders in under-resourced jurisdictions with training, mentorship, support, and leadership development.\nRapping is the author of Gideon’s Promise: A Public Defender Movement to Transform Criminal Justice. Most notably among numerous recognitions, Rapping was the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant for his cutting-edge approach to justice transformation. He has been awarded the Alumni Professional Achievement Award form his alma mater, The University of Chicago, and was elected for membership to the American Law Institute. He is a frequent contributor to the national conversation on criminal justice reform and has been featured by numerous media outlets. Rapping has been a speaker at TEDx Atlanta, and frequently presents nationally. Rapping’s work was the inspiration for the award-winning HBO documentary “Gideon’s Army.”\nChristian Stegmaier is a shareholder at Collins & Lacy, P.C., a Columbia, South Carolina-based civil defense firm where he leads the Retail & Hospitality practice group. He has extensive experience in defending businesses and their insurers in high exposure litigation. Stegmaier regularly advises clients on risk management and litigation strategies, and his expertise also includes alcohol liability, dram shop cases, and ADA compliance. In addition to his legal practice, he is a frequent speaker at legal seminars and a published author, contributing to industry blogs and legal publications. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and has appeared more than 45 times before state and federal appellate tribunals. Stegmaier also serves as the staff judge advocate for the South Carolina State Guard. He was educated at the University of South Carolina and has done post graduate coursework at the University of California, Los Angeles.