
Overview
Judge Thomas B. Griffith, special counsel to the firm, served on the DC Circuit from 2005–2020. The Washington Post has described him as “widely respected by people in both parties” and a “sober lawyer with an open mind.” Judge Griffith joined the firm in 2021, focusing his practice on appellate litigation, congressional and internal investigations, and strategic counseling.
Judge Griffith began his legal career in private practice before serving for four years as Senate Legal Counsel, the nonpartisan chief legal officer of the United States Senate (1995–1999). In this capacity, he represented the interests of the Senate in litigation as well as advising Senate leadership and committees on investigations. After a brief return to private practice, Judge Griffith served for five years as General Counsel of Brigham Young University, one of the largest religious universities in the country.
As a member of the DC Circuit, Judge Griffith was the author of approximately 200 opinions on a range of matters including administrative, environmental and energy law, and congressional investigations. He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the United States to serve on the Judicial Conference’s Committee on the Judicial Branch, which involves the judiciary’s relationship to the Executive Branch and Congress, and the Code of Conduct Committee, which sets the ethical standards that govern the federal judiciary. Judge Griffith is a Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, and has held the same faculty position at the law schools at Stanford and Brigham Young Universities. He has long been active in rule of law projects in Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Asia and domestically.
Accolades
Honors & Recognitions
- Recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award from BYU Management Society D.C. Chapter (2023)
- Lifetime Achievement Award, National Law Journal (2022)
- Defender of Democracy Award, Center for Election Innovation & Research (2022)
- Distinguished Service Award, Brigham Young University (2018)
- Recipient of the David W. Peck Sr. Medal for Eminence in the Law from Wabash College (2014)
Affiliations
Professional
- Member, Advisory Board, Karsh Institute of Democracy, University of Virginia
- Member, Board of Directors, Interfaith America
- Judge, Data Protection Review Court, US Department of Justice, Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties
- Deputy Member, First Composition of the Advisory Group of Experts on the Evaluation of Candidates for the Position of Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine
- Member, American Bar Association Task Force for American Democracy (Democracy Task Force)
- Board of Advisors, Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, University of Texas
- Member, American Law Institute
- Fellow, The Wheatley Institute
- Member, Board of Directors of the US Chamber Litigation Center
- Member, Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States
- Member, International Advisory Board of the CEELI Institute in Prague
- Senior Advisor, National Institute for Civil Discourse
- Member, Advisory Board of the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University
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Member, Advisory Board, the Election Official Legal Defense Fund
- Member, the Secretary of Education’s Commission on Opportunity in Athletics (the Title IX Commission) (2002–2003)
- General Counsel, Congressional Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (1999–2000)
Insights
Events & Speaking Engagements
- May 6, 2025EventPanelistRule of Law and Constitutional Crises for Lawyer Ambassadors, CLE
- April 2, 2025EventModerator of discussion among Justice Elena Kagan, Judge Stephanos Bibas (3rd Cir.), Judge Andrew Oldham (5th Cir.), and Professor Martha MinowWilliam J. Stuntz Legacy Project: Fireside Chat, Harvard Law School
- March 25, 2024EventKeynote SpeakerNavigating Political Polarization: A Call to Constitutional Action, President’s Forum on Conflict & Conflict Transformation, Utah State University
- March 14, 2025Event
- March 4, 2025EventPanelist appearing alongside Justice Stephen G. BreyerThe Constitution and the High Court Our Compass in a Changing World, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany
- February 25, 2025EventInterviewed alongside Yuval Levin by Governor Spencer Cox (UT)A Conversation: American Covenant, How the Constitution Unified Our Nation - And Could Again, Sutherland Institute
- January 29, 2025Event
- EventAttendeeUtah Interfaith Fireside 2025 Inauguration Celebration, Utah Inaugural Commission, Salt Lake City
- December 4, 2024EventModeratorHow to Strengthen American Democracy, The Conference Board Chief Legal Officers Council
- September 4, 2024EventSpeakerPeacemakers Needed Lecture Series, BYU Law
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- July 31, 2024Event
- PanelistJudicial Perspectives on Religious Liberty, Notre Dame Religious Liberty Summit
- June 28, 2024Event
- June 28, 2024Event
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- April 11, 2024EventSpeakerReligious Freedom Symposium & Gala, Religious Freedom Clinic at Harvard Law School
- April 9, 2024EventSpeakerAcross the Aisle Series, University of Missouri Law School
- April 3, 2024Event
- February 23, 2024Event
- February 15, 2024Event
- February 6, 2024EventKeynoteThe 4th Annual Government Enforcement & Investigations Seminar, The D.C. and Maryland Chapters of the Federal Bar Association
- January 6, 2024Event
- December 1, 2023Event
- November 30, 2023Event
- November 9, 2023Event
- November 2, 2023Event
- October 17, 2023Event
- May 12, 2023Event
- April 27, 2023Event
- April 24, 2023Event
- March 23, 2023Event
- March 20, 2023Event
- March 16, 2023EventSpeaker10th Anniversary of the Stanford Law School Religious Liberty Clinic, Stanford Law School
- March 16, 2023Event
- March 2, 2023Event
- February 13, 2023EventModeratorThe 2023 Seigenthaler Debate, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
- February 7, 2023Event
- January 9, 2023EventModeratorAdministrative Law in the States Symposium, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy
- December 13, 2022Event
- December 1, 2022Event
- November 15, 2022Event
- October 27, 2022Event
- September 13, 2022Event
- September 13, 2022EventSpeakerDefending Democracy and an Independent Judiciary, Utah Judicial Council’s 2022 Annual Conference
- July 14, 2022EventPanelistPreserving Judicial Integrity: The Case Against Court Packing, Orrin G. Hatch Foundation
- July 13, 2022Event
- June 13, 2022EventSpeakerThe Role of an Independent Judiciary, Henry Clay Center - Washington, DC Program
- May 26, 2022Event
- May 25, 2022Event
- May 12, 2022Event
- May 5, 2022Event
- March 21, 2022Event
- February 24, 2022Event
- February 17-18, 2022EventPresenterA Conversation on the Future of American Democracy, Johns Hopkins University
- January 6, 2022Event
- November 18, 2021Event
- November 8, 2021Event
- September 29, 2021EventSpeakerA More Perfect Union: Constitution Day Lecture, BYU
- September 22, 2021Event
- April 14, 2021EventJudgeThe Ames Moot Court Competition, Harvard Law School
- March 31, 2021Event
- March 24, 2021Event
- March 11, 2021Event
- February 25, 2021Event
- October 2020EventWitnessU.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee
Publications
- February 25, 2025Publication
- February 17, 2025Publication
- October 15, 2024Publication
- September 30, 2024Publication
- Publication
- Summer 2024Publication
- February 17, 2024Publication
- November 21, 2022Publication
- August 29, 2022Publication
- July 22, 2022Publication
- July 2022Publication
- July 14, 2022Publication
- May 11, 2022Publication
- March 28, 2022Publication
- January 29, 2022Publication
- December 13, 2021Publication
- December 12, 2021Publication
- November 8, 2021Publication
- September 25, 2021Publication
- August 25, 2021PublicationContributorBuilding The Rule Of Law: Firsthand Accounts Of A Thirty-Year Global Campaign, CEELI Institute
- August 22, 2021Publication
- 2021Publication
- June 5, 2021Publication
- June 2021Publication
- February 1, 2021Publication
- 2020PublicationAuthorThe Degradation of Civic Charity, 134 Harv. L. Rev. F. 119
- 2020PublicationAuthorCivic Charity and the Constitution, 43 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 633
- October 12, 2020PublicationAuthorAmy Coney Barrett’s Religion Won’t Dictate Her Rulings, Bloomberg Opinion
- 2011PublicationAuthorWas Bork Right About Judges?, 34 Harv. J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 157, 159–62
News
- March 30, 2025Media Mention
- March 27, 2025Media Mention
- March 27, 2025Media Mention
- March 12, 2025Media Mention
- March 10, 2025Media Mention
- December 3, 2024Media Mention
- October 8, 2024Media Mention
- September 15, 2024Media Mention
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- 4 Minute ReadApril 9, 2024News
- 2 Minute ReadApril 5, 2024News
- April 3, 2024Media Mention
- February 25, 2024Media Mention
- February 23, 2024Media Mention
- January 30, 2024Media Mention
- January 27, 2022Media Mention
- November 21, 2023News
- October 13, 2023Media Mention
- 3 Minute ReadOctober 11, 2023News
- August 27, 2023Media Mention
- 2 Minute ReadAugust 18, 2023News
- July 11, 2023Media Mention
- May 5, 2023Media Mention
- January 31, 2023Media Mention
- January 31, 2023Media Mention
- 2 Minute ReadDecember 19, 2022News
- October 21, 2022Media Mention
- September 15, 2022Media Mention
- 2 Minute ReadAugust 31, 2022News
- July 18, 2022Media Mention
- July 15, 2022Media Mention
- July 15, 2022Media Mention
- July 14, 2022Media Mention
- July 14, 2022Media Mention
- 1 Minute ReadJuly 12, 2022News
- July 8, 2022Media Mention
- June 15, 2022Media Mention
- April 12, 2022Media Mention
- March 22, 2022Media Mention
- March 21, 2022Media Mention
- Media Mention
- February 27, 2022Media Mention
- January 27, 2022Media MentionFeatured, CNN Newsroom With Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto
- January 21, 2022Media Mention
- December 29, 2021Media Mention
- December 28, 2021Media Mention
- December 26, 2021Media Mention
- December 14, 2021Media Mention
- December 12, 2021Media Mention
- December 10, 2021Media Mention
- 1 Minute ReadNovember 17, 2021News
- September 20, 2021Media MentionFeatured, Judges and Partisanship: Top of Mind with Julie Rose, BYU Radio
- 2 Minute ReadAugust 27, 2021News
- August 23, 2021Media Mention
- 1 Minute ReadAugust 20, 2021News
- August 12, 2021Media Mention
- July 19, 2021Media Mention
- July 8, 2021Media Mention
- April 28, 2021Media Mention
- April 12, 2021Media Mention
- April 9, 2021Media Mention
- 3 Minute ReadFebruary 1, 2021News
- Media Mention
JD, University of Virginia School of Law, 1985
BA, Brigham Young University, summa cum laude, 1978
District of Columbia