To end the insatiable expansion of the federal bureaucracy and stem the tide of new regulations, the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AmFree Chamber) formed a Center for Legal Action (CLA). With the goal of returning rulemaking authority to the citizens and their elected representatives, CLA will challenge the barrage of federal regulations and mandates that raise energy costs, reduce employment, diminish consumer choice, restrict basic freedoms, and erode the constitutional rights of individuals and businesses.
With two-time former Attorney General Bill Barr serving as the Chairman of CLA’s Advisory Board, CLA will deploy a wide range of tactics, including litigation, congressional testimony, media appearances, thought leadership and support of lawsuits brought by other parties in important regulatory and constitutional cases.
Our Team
Hon. William Barr
Chairman of the Center for Legal Action Advisory Board
Two-time former United States Attorney General William Barr will serve as the Chairman of the Center for Legal Action’s Advisory Board, working alongside AmFree’s Chairman Terry Branstad and CEO Gentry Collins.
General Barr will advise the Center for Legal Action on growing its advisory board, and on developing its legal action strategy. General Barr will help CLA develop a network of outside firms comprised of the best legal talent in America.
A native New Yorker, Barr earned his A.B. and M.A. degrees at Columbia University and, while working at the CIA, earned his law degree at night at George Washington University. Barr spent a decade practicing law at a Washington firm, interrupted by a stint in the Reagan White House. President George H.W. Bush successively appointed Barr Assistant Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and finally the 77th Attorney General.
After the Bush Administration, Barr spent 15 years as General Counsel of GTE Corporation, and its successor company, Verizon, where he headed legal, regulatory and government affairs activities; played a lead role on behalf of local phone companies in framing the litigation strategy, and personally arguing cases, that successfully dismantled the FCC’s regulatory regime, forcing deregulation of telecommunications companies and paving the way for the wide-scale deployment of broadband.
After retiring from Verizon, Barr served on a number of public company boards and as Of Counsel at Kirkland & Ellis. In late 2018, with the Trump Administration careening toward a possible constitutional crisis, Barr agreed to serve again as Attorney General, and was confirmed as the 85th Attorney General.
Barr is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute, and a Co-Founder of the Torridon Group LLC.
William (Bill) McGinley
President, Center for Legal Action
William (Bill) McGinley serves as the president of the Center for Legal Action, the litigation component of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (CLA). CLA is dedicated to promoting free enterprise and a pro-growth, pro-job American economy through strategic litigation focused on deregulation at the state and federal level.
Bill served as Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary in President Donald J. Trump’s first term White House and was responsible for managing the Office of Cabinet Affairs. In this role, Bill served as a primary liaison between the White House and the Cabinet of the United States. When he left government, Bill was praised by Cabinet Members as a “dedicated public servant who has worked hard to deliver wins for the Administration and the American people.”
In addition, Bill has successfully served and represented the interests of both political and private sector clients, serving as Deputy Counsel at the Republican National Committee (RNC), General Counsel at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), outside counsel to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and as a partner in two top-rated international law firms. Bill also served as an Adjunct Professor at The George Washington University Law School (GWULS) and chaired the Political Law Studies Initiative Steering Committee at GWULS.
Bill’s success has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine and Chambers USA, which ranked him among national leaders in Government and Political Law. Bill has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, BBC, Sky News, CBC, and Bloomberg Business Radio offering commentary on issues of the day, and his op-eds have appeared in Politico and The Hill.
In addition to CLA, Bill also has a consulting business where he helps clients navigate the difficult intersection of law, policy, and politics in the Nation’s Capital.
Bill received his B.A. in History from the University of California at Los Angeles, M.A. in History from California State University, and J.D., with honors, from The George Washington University Law School.