Constitutional Litigation Partnership

Pam Bondi is from Tampa, Florida, and serves as the Chair for the Constitutional Litigation Partnership, and Co-Chair of the Center for Law and Justice at AFPI. A fourth-generation Floridian, Bondi spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor, trying cases ranging from domestic violence to capital murder. She served as Florida’s 37th and first female Attorney General. When Bondi took office, Florida was referred to as the pill mill capital of the United States, and in her first legislative session she successfully advanced reforms to eliminate unscrupulous doctors and clinics operating in Florida. Bondi served on the President’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission under President Donald Trump, where she worked alongside other national leaders in areas of drug prevention, interdiction, and treatment. Bondi was also a strong champion for the First Step Act, which helps formerly incarcerated inmates re-enter society safely and prevents recidivism. Bondi is a partner at Ballard Partners’ Washington, D.C. office, where she chairs the firm’s corporate regulatory practice. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Florida and her Juris Doctor from Stetson Law School. Bondi splits her time between Tampa and Washington, D.C, where she is on the Board of Trustees for the Kennedy Center. In Tampa, Bondi enjoys watching all the great Tampa Bay sports teams and spending time with her family and rescue dogs.

“Keep your heels, head and standards high”

Coco Chanel

Catharine Cypher is a Hilton Head Island, South Carolina native, but calls Fenton, Michigan, home and serves as Deputy Chief of Staff; Chief Of Staff, Constitutional Litigation Partnership; Advisor, Center for the American Child at AFPI. Cypher most recently worked for First Lady Melania Trump as Special Assistant to the President and Director of Media Affairs. Cypher also spearheaded many policy projects, including the First Lady’s 19th Amendment Centennial Anniversary engagements and her “Be Best” policy engagements within the issue areas of foster care, opioids/neonatal abstinence syndrome, and children’s well-being. Previously, Cypher worked for Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, where she served as Special Assistant to the President and Director of External Affairs. Cypher also worked at the law firm Hogan Lovells, for U.S. Senator David Perdue, and served as the National Political Director at the College Republican National Committee. Cypher graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies from Grand Valley State University. Growing up, Cypher was a top-3 nationally ranked equestrian and a member of a multi-national championship water ski team. She has carried on those passions into adulthood and enjoys spending her free time riding horses and spending time with her family on the lake in Michigan.

“There Comes A Time When One Must Take A Position That Is Neither Safe, Nor Politic, Nor Popular, But He Must Take It Because Conscience Tells Him It Is Right.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Alexandra Kirschbaum is from Macon, Georgia, and serves as both Case Manager for the Constitutional Litigation Partnership and Policy Analyst for the Center for the American Child at AFPI. Kirschbaum most recently worked at the Republican National Committee (RNC) in the Office of Legal Counsel, where she assisted with litigation efforts, election integrity, and campaign finance. Before her time at the RNC, she worked in the Office of White House Counsel, where she helped ethics attorneys process and review financial disclosure reports. She was also an Executive Assistant in the Office of the Chief of Staff and served as an Associate for Presidential Advance. Kirschbaum previously interned in the White House Office of Management and Administration. She graduated magna cum laude from Mercer University in 2019, double majoring in political science and German and minoring in communications. She served as Class President for three years on the university’s Student Government Association. In her spare time, Kirschbaum enjoys fitness, playing tennis, and traveling to Georgia to spend time with her family.

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father, who is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

Richard Lawson is from Tampa, Florida, and serves as Executive Director of the Constitutional Litigation Partnership. During the last 20 years, Lawson has handled cases involving fraudulent and deceptive practices across the county. He is an experienced litigator who has tried more than 50 jury trials, and clients facing complex legal challenges are able to draw on his years of courtroom experience to successfully navigate the most complex civil disputes and government investigations. Before joining AFPI, Lawson served in the Office of the Florida Attorney General as the Director of the Consumer Protection Division. This unit is responsible for enforcing Florida’s “little FTC Act,” the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). In this role, Lawson handled matters as diverse as deceptive marketing, enforcement of financial regulations, and data security. He also worked closely with other state attorney general offices and the Federal Trade Commission; during his tenure, Florida became the first state to receive the FTC’s Partnership Award. Though a native of Florida, Lawson has also practiced in New York as a partner with a national law firm, an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx, and as a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. In addition to his time with the Attorney General, Lawson’s public service in Florida also included serving as Deputy Chief of the Economic Crime Unit for the State Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Florida. Lawson is admitted to practice law in Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia. In his free time, Lawson enjoys reading history books, listening to operas, and chauffeuring his three children to their various engagements.

“I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.”

Ronald Reagan

Jase Panebianco is from Selden, New York, and serves as an Associate Attorney for the Constitutional Litigation Partnership at AFPI. Most recently, Panebianco was a research assistant and legal intern with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, where he conducted a 50-state review of firearm regulations. He received his undergraduate degree in 2017 from St. Joseph’s College, completing four majors in the same number of years. Panebianco graduated from Antonin Scalia Law School in May 2022 with his Juris Doctorate. In his free time, Panebianco enjoys the outdoors. He is an avid hiker, mountain biker, cyclist, and rock climber.

“And, of course, stability isn’t nearly as spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt … I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness.”

Aldous Huxley