SCOTUS Term in Review for 2025–2026 Term (Presented by the Federal Bar Association’s Professional Development Committee)

Amy Howe (presenter), Co-Founder | SCOTUSblog

Amy Howe is a legal journalist and appellate attorney best known for her work covering the United States Supreme Court as a reporter for SCOTUSblog. She has extensive experience analyzing Supreme Court litigation, constitutional law, and federal appellate practice, and is widely recognized for making complex legal issues accessible to attorneys, academics, and the public. In addition to her work as a journalist, she has represented clients in significant appellate and Supreme Court matters and has written extensively on developments in Supreme Court jurisprudence.

• Education & Credentials

Amy Howe earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School and her A.B., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University.

• Recognition & Leadership

Amy is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading Supreme Court journalists. Through her work at SCOTUSblog, she has become a trusted authority on Supreme Court proceedings and decisions, providing in-depth reporting and analysis on the Court’s docket and its impact on the legal profession.

• Professional Involvement

Amy is a frequent speaker and commentator on Supreme Court practice and constitutional law. She has participated in numerous legal education programs, panel discussions, and professional events focused on Supreme Court advocacy, appellate litigation, and significant developments in federal law. She also contributes ongoing legal analysis through her reporting and commentary on Supreme Court cases.

• Experience

Before focusing on legal journalism, Amy practiced appellate litigation and argued cases before federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court. She co-founded SCOTUSblog and has spent many years reporting on Supreme Court litigation, covering virtually every aspect of the Court’s work while providing analysis of major constitutional, statutory, and procedural issues affecting the legal community.

Jean Phillip Shami (Moderator), Associate | Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Jean-Phillip Shami is an associate at Bartlit Beck LLP, where he focuses on complex commercial litigation, appellate advocacy, and trial practice. He represents clients in high-stakes disputes involving constitutional law, antitrust, intellectual property, product liability, class actions, and other complex business litigation. His practice includes briefing and arguing appeals in federal and state courts, including matters before the United States Supreme Court.

• Education & Credentials

Jean-Phillip Shami earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he served as an Articles Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Rice University.

• Recognition & Leadership

Jean-Phillip has been recognized for his accomplishments in complex litigation and appellate advocacy. His practice includes representing clients in precedent-setting cases before appellate courts and the United States Supreme Court, reflecting his leadership in high-profile litigation and constitutional law.

• Professional Involvement

Jean-Phillip is an active author and speaker on appellate advocacy, constitutional law, and complex litigation. He contributes to legal scholarship and regularly participates in professional programs addressing developments in Supreme Court practice and federal litigation.

• Experience

Before joining Bartlit Beck LLP, Jean-Phillip served as a law clerk to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. At Bartlit Beck, he represents clients in complex commercial disputes, appellate litigation, and Supreme Court matters involving constitutional, antitrust, intellectual property, and other significant legal issues.

SESSION 1 – The Merits Docket: Executive Power, Culture Wars, Civil Rights and Election Law, and Immigration | 2:00pm – 2:20pm

This session walks through the 2025–2026 term’s most significant merits decisions across executive power, culture wars, civil rights and election law, and immigration. It examines the legal principles and reasoning underlying each ruling and their practical implications for practitioners and lower courts across key areas of federal practice.

SESSION 2 – The Emergency Document | 2:20pm – 2:40pm

The Court’s emergency docket stayed as consequential as its merits work this term. This session reviews the term’s most significant emergency rulings, what they reveal about the Court’s reasoning and direction, and how practitioners should account for emergency-docket orders when advising clients and litigating pending cases in the lower courts.

SESSION 3 – Looking Ahead: Retirements?, 2026-2027 Term | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

Drawing on the term’s emerging doctrinal trends and themes, this session assesses where the Court may head next — including possible retirements and the cases shaping the 2026–2027 term. Attendees leave ready to apply these insights to litigation strategy, advocacy, and issue-spotting as the next term’s developments reach their federal practice.