Honorable James L. Ryan

Judge Ryan was nominated to United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1985 and began his service in 1986. Since 2000, he has been a senior judge on that court. From 1975 to 1985, Judge Ryan was a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. He began his legal career in 1960 in private practice. He became a Justice of the Peace in Redford Township, Michigan in 1963 and served as a judge on Michigan’s Third Circuit Court from 1966 to 1975. Judge Ryan received his bachelor of arts and LL.B degrees from the University of Detroit. From 1957 to 1992, he was a Captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the United States Naval Reserve. Judge Ryan has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Detroit Law School, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and the Ave Maria School of Law. Judge Ryan has also served in many civic and legal organizations, including the Federal Judges Association, the American Judicature Society, the Board of Governors of the Ave Maria School of Law, and the Board of Directors of the Michigan Supreme Court Historical Society. He has been awarded honorary doctorates of humane letters from Madonna College, the University of Detroit College of Law, the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and the Detroit College of Law.

Honorable Henry William Saad

Judge Saad was appointed to the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1994 and has been elected two six-year terms in 1996 and 2002. Before joining the Court, Judge Saad was a partner at Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman, where he practiced law for 20 years. He was also an arbitrator for the Michigan Employment Relations Commission and a hearing referee for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights. Judge Saad received his bachelor's degree from Wayne State University School of Business with honors and his law degree from Wayne State University, magna cum laude. Judge Saad served as an adjunct professor at the University of Detroit/Mercy School of Law and Wayne State University Law School where he taught evidence and professional responsibility, respectively. Judge Saad served on the boards of Detroit Public Television and the American Heart Association. He serves as a member of the board of Brother Rice High School. In 1992, President Bush nominated Judge Saad to the federal district court and in 2001, 2003, and 2005, President Bush nominated Judge Saad to the federal appellate bench.

Professor Steven P. Croley

Steven P. Croley is professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School, where he has taught since 1993 and where he served as associate dean for Academic Affairs from 2003 to 2006. He teaches and writes in the areas of administrative law, civil procedure, regulation, torts, and related subjects. Professor Croley received an A.B. from the University of Michigan, where he was a James B. Angell Scholar and won the William Jennings Bryan Prize. He earned his J.D. from the Yale Law School, where he was articles editor for the Yale Law Journal, a John M. Olin student fellow, and recipient of the John M. Olin Prize and the Benjamin Scharps Prize. He also earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. Following graduation from law school, he served as a law clerk for Judge Stephen Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He is a member of the Pennsylvania and Michigan bars, and is an active member of the Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice Section of the American Bar Association. He has also served as a consultant to the Administrative Conference of the United States, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Michigan Law Revision Commission. He additionally litigates on behalf of individual clients. His scholarly research appears in, among other places, the Administrative Law Journal, the Chicago Law Review, the Columbia Law Review, and the Harvard Law Review.