Legal Learning Festival & Regent Law Annual Dinner

From 1971 to 1983, Judge Batchelder served as an attorney in private practice with Williams and Batchelder in Medina, Ohio. She obtained her first judicial post as a judge on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in 1983. After two years, she was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. While a district judge, Batchelder earned a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1988.

In 1991 President George Bush appointed her to her position as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which covers Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. From August 2009 to August 2014, Judge Batchelder served as Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Batchelder received her B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University, and her J.D. from the University of Akron School of Law. She is on the Board of Trustees of Grove City College, from which she received an Honorary Doctor of Law in 2009. She has been honored with several awards from The University of Akron and the University of Akron School of Law: the Law Outstanding Alumni Award in 1993; an Honorary Alumni Award in 1996; an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law in 2001; and in 2013 an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. In 1993, she received the Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from Lake Erie College. In 2011, Judge Batchelder received the Defender of the Constitution award from the Heritage Foundation. In 2016, she was honored with the Claremont Institute’s Ronald Reagan Jurisprudence Award. Most recently, in May of 2018, she was presented with the Sir Thomas More Award from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland in conjunction with the Akron Bar Association.

She was married for 55 years to her beloved husband, the late William G. Batchelder III, longtime Ohio legislator and former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives. She makes no effort to be objective about her two wonderful adult children and their wonderful spouses, and her eight grandchildren whom she adores and with whom she enjoys spending more time since taking senior status.

L.O. Natt Gantt, II received his A.B. in psychology and political science, summa cum laude, from Duke University; his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School; and his Master of Divinity, summa cum laude, from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

He served as a law clerk to the late Honorable Donald S. Russell of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; as an associate at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington, D.C.; and as a proxy analyst at Fidelity Investments in Boston, Massachusetts. Professor Gantt has taught Professional Responsibility, Civil Procedure, Sales, and Contracts.

During his time at Regent, Gantt’s scholarship and presentations focused on two primary areas: (1) law school academic support and legal education reform and (2) legal ethics and professional identity formation. Regarding his first focus, he has been active on committees and in meetings related to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the Academic Support Section of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), the Association of Academic Support Educators (AASE), and Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers (ETL). For instance, he served from 2004 to 2007 as editor of The Learning Curve, the newsletter of the Academic Support Section of the Association of American Law Schools. Regarding his second focus, he has authored or co-authored a book chapter and numerous articles related to legal ethics and legal education and has spoken in various venues related to those topics, ranging from speaking at the 2015 African Christian Legal Education Summit to serving from 2010 to 2013 as a faculty member for the Virginia State Bar Harry L. Carrico Professionalism Course. He also currently serves as an Arbitrator on the Virginia State Bar Circuit Committee, Resolution of Fee Disputes, Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Dr. Paul Kengor is the Senior Director and Chief Academic Fellow for the Institute for Faith and Freedom at Grove City College and is nationally known for his work on the American presidency. Click here for his profile page.

A 25-year seasoned educational leader, Dr. Kreassig has served as a principal, teacher, varsity coach, and university department chair and is known for innovation, teacher training and support, and improved student performance. In 2013, Kreassig led the undergraduate teacher education program in the Regent University College of Arts & Sciences from the bottom quartile ranking to #1 in Virginia and at the 95^th percentile nationally in 2016 – a ranking that is still maintained by Regent today. Kreassig served as chairman of the elementary education, secondary education, and early childhood education in the Regent University College of Arts & Sciences before being named Dean of the Regent University School of Education in 2018. Kreassig received his MBA (2021) from Regent University, Ed.D. (2007) and his Ed. S. (2001) from The George Washington University, his M.S. Ed. (2000) and Virginia Certification (1996) from Old Dominion University, and his B.S. and B.A. from Longwood College (1990).

Tyson Langhofer serves as senior counsel and director of the Center for Academic Freedom with Alliance Defending Freedom.  Langhofer represents students and faculty at public high schools and colleges in defending their First Amendment rights. For example, in Denton v. Hecht, he successfully defended a Florida State University student after he was removed as Student Senate President simply for sharing his Catholic views in a private group chat. In Cross v. Loudoun County Public Schools, he successfully defended an elementary school gym teacher after the school suspended him for peacefully sharing his views on a proposed policy at a public school board meeting. Langhofer has extensive experience in civil litigation and constitutional law. Before joining ADF, Langhofer was a partner with Stinson LLP, where he worked as a commercial litigation attorney from 2000 until he joined ADF in 2015. Langhofer is Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent in Martindale-Hubbell. He is a sought-after speaker on legal and cultural issues. He regularly comments on free speech issues in television, radio, and print media. He has appeared as a guest and written pieces for numerous major media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Washington Times, USA Today, Townhall, The Federalist, and The Daily Wire. Langhofer earned his Juris Doctor from Regent University School of Law in 1999, graduating cum laude. Langhofer is admitted to practice in multiple states, the Supreme Court, and numerous federal district and appellate courts.

Mallory Rechtenbach graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Law with Highest Distinction and was awarded Order of the Coif. During law school, she was a Blackstone Fellow, research assistant to Professor Richard Duncan, and Articles Editor of the Nebraska Law Review. After law school, Mallory was a fellow at the Institute for Free Speech, focusing on political speech First Amendment litigation. Next, Mallory completed a fellowship with the Alliance Defending Freedom where she primarily worked on First Amendment and parental rights litigation. Mallory is currently clerking for Judge Grasz on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Following her clerkship, Mallory will be returning to Alliance Defending Freedom as legal counsel on the parental rights team.

Coke Stewart is the Deputy Attorney General for Health, Education, and Social Services. Prior to joining the Office of the Attorney General in January of 2022, Ms. Stewart was a member of the faculty at Regent University School of Law, teaching contracts and appellate advocacy and supervising research in intellectual property law. Prior to that position, Ms. Stewart served as the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). In that role, Ms. Stewart helped manage one of the largest intellectual property offices in the world and helped oversee the agency’s more than 14,000 employees and $4 billion budget. Ms. Stewart is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Virginia School of Law.