Symposiums

Michael S. McGinniss

Professor of Law and J. Philip Johnson Faculty Fellow, UND School of Law

Declaring Independence to Secure Integrity: The Supreme Court Justices' Code of Conduct

Michael S. McGinniss joined the faculty in 2010 and served as Dean from 2019-2022. This academic year, he is teaching courses on professional responsibility, civil procedure, and advanced legal ethics. Previously, he has taught evidence, conflict of laws, federal courts, and remedies. He currently serves as faculty advisor for the North Dakota Law Review and the UND Law Federalist Society student chapter.

Professor McGinniss received the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the State Bar Association of North Dakota - the highest and most prestigious honor given by the Association. He is also the recipient of a UND Outstanding Advisor Award in 2023 for his work with the Federalist Society, and the 2024-2025 UND School of Law Randy H. Lee Faculty Service Award. 

He currently serves as chair of the North Dakota Joint Committee on Attorney Standards, the chair of the Operations Committee for the North Dakota Lawyer Disciplinary Board, a member of the Board of Directors of the North Dakota Catholic Conference, and a long time active member of the national Federalist Society for Law & Public Policy Studies where he currently serves as the chair for the Execuitve Committee of its Professional Responsibility & Legal Education Practice Group. 

Professor McGinniss' research and scholarship interests have primarily focused on questions concerning the professional, ethical, and moral responsibilities of lawyers and judges, as well as constitutional law, federal courts, and cultural changes and challenges in the legal profession and law schools.

Jason Ochs

General Managing Partner and Lead Trial Attorney, Ochs Law Firm

Harness the Power of F.E.A.R. & Beyond the Grind: Your Strategic Roadmap to a Thriving Small Law Business

Jason Ochs manages a complex litigation practice in Jackson, Wyoming, representing plaintiffs in personal injury, wronful death, and a variety of mass tort and class action cases across the country. His experience includes key involvement in major litigations such as the Opioid MDL Litigation, Juul Vape Litigation, and cases against Johnson & Johnson and Halliburton.

Prior to establishing his firm in 2012, Mr. Ochs was a Complex Civil Litigation and Trial Attorney at Lopez McHugh, LLP, and also served as a Deputy District Attorney in Orange County, California. 

He is a member of the bar in multiple states including California, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Arizona. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and President-elect of the Teton County Bar Association.

Ben Kastan

Director, Cyber Legal, and Senior Counsel for Data Protection and Cybersecurity, Visa

Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Ethics

Ben Kastan advises on the full breadth of global cybersecurity law issues, including cybersecurity regulatory compliance, incident response, contracts, cyber threat information sharing, security implications of artificial intelligence, as well as other data protection, crisis management, and operational resilience matters around the world.

Kastan served for more than eight years with the National Security Agency (NSA), most recently as Associate General Counsel for Cybersecurity, leading NSA's Cybersecurity Law Practice Group. Throughout his time as NSA, Kastan worked on a wide range of intelligence and cyber cryptography, industry engagement, and information sharing with governmentand industry partners. 

Prior to NSA, Kastan clerked for the Honorable Donna Stroud on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. He received his J.D. and L.L.M. in International and Comparative Law from Duke University School of Law and his A.B. in International and Area Studies from Washington University in St. Louis.

Blake Klinkner

Assistant Professor of Law, UND School of Law

Moderator

Professor Blake A. Klinkner is an award-winning legal educator and author. Klinkner currently serves as an assistant professor of law at the University of North Dakota School of Law where he teaches civil procedure, cybersecurity law, law & technology, law practice management, and international law. 

Prior to entering academia, Klinkner practiced in the areas of energy law, environmental law, natural resources law, cybersecurity law, and complex commercial litigation. 

He completed his undergraduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his master's degree at Northern Illinois University, and his J.D. at the University of Utah School of Law.