![[LIVE] The End of ESG Collusion? A Conversation on the Vanguard Case @TheFederalistSociety](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v_tsKjQ-hRQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This week, investment fund manager The Vanguard Group committed to ending its ESG-driven investment initiatives, ceasing any efforts to influence portfolio companies’ business strategies toward carbon-emissions reductions, enhancing disclosure of its proxy voting activities, and producing records related to its participation in climate-related organizations. The multi-state suit, led by Texas, asserted that Vanguard and other investment managers engaged in a coordinated effort to drive up the price of coal and misrepresented the nature of their funds to investors. In this landmark settlement agreement, Vanguard has agreed to make the strongest passivity commitments in the industry and empower investors with proxy voting. What are the implications of this settlement for future federal and state action against coordinated ESG-driven market manipulation? Join us for a timely discussion as experts unpack the details of the Vanguard settlement.
Featuring:
• Will Hild, Executive Director, Consumers' Research
• Brent Webster, First Assistant Attorney General of Texas
• (Moderator) Paul N. Watkins, Partner, Fusion Law
Register for the live webinar at fedsoc.org/events/the-end-of-esg-collusion-a-conversation-on-the-vanguard-case
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.
This week, investment fund manager The Vanguard Group committed to ending its ESG-driven investment initiatives, ceasing any efforts to influence portfolio companies’ business strategies toward carbon-emissions reductions, enhancing disclosure of its proxy voting activities, and producing records related to its participation in climate-related organizations. The multi-state suit, led by Texas, asserted that Vanguard and other investment managers engaged in a coordinated effort to drive up the price of coal and misrepresented the nature of their funds to investors. In this landmark settlement agreement, Vanguard has agreed to make the strongest passivity commitments in the industry and empower investors with proxy voting. What are the implications of this settlement for future federal and state action against coordinated ESG-driven market manipulation? Join us for a timely discussion as experts unpack the details of the Vanguard settlement.
Featuring:
• Will Hild, Executive Director, Consumers' Research
• Brent Webster, First Assistant Attorney General of Texas
• (Moderator) Paul N. Watkins, Partner, Fusion Law
Register for the live webinar at fedsoc.org/events/the-end-of-esg-collusion-a-conversation-on-the-vanguard-case
* * * * *
As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.
![[LIVE] The End of ESG Collusion? A Conversation on the Vanguard Case](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/v_tsKjQ-hRQ/mqdefault.jpg "[LIVE] The End of ESG Collusion? A Conversation on the Vanguard Case
This week, investment fund manager The Vanguard Group committed to ending its ESG-driven investment initiatives, ceasing any efforts to influence portfolio companies’ business strategies toward carbon-emissions reductions, enhancing disclosure of its proxy voting activities, and producing records related to its participation in climate-related organizations. The multi-state suit, led by Texas, asserted that Vanguard and other investment managers engaged in a coordinated effort to drive up the price of coal and misrepresented the nature of their funds to investors. In this landmark settlement agreement, Vanguard has agreed to make the strongest passivity commitments in the industry and empower investors with proxy voting. What are the implications of this settlement for future federal and state action against coordinated ESG-driven market manipulation? Join us for a timely discussion as experts unpack the details of the Vanguard settlement.
Featuring:
• Will Hild, Executive Director, Consumers Research
• Brent Webster, First Assistant Attorney General of Texas
• (Moderator) Paul N. Watkins, Partner, Fusion Law
Register for the live webinar at https://fedsoc.org/events/the-end-of-esg-collusion-a-conversation-on-the-vanguard-case
* * * * *
As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.")
![This or That - National Student Symposium Edition [Ep.4]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wNn5qdd3ahc/mqdefault.jpg "This or That - National Student Symposium Edition [Ep.4]
This or that? Student Symposium edition! 🤔
Share your answers with us in the comments!")
![[LIVE] SOC! Sidebar: Triathlons](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yefxBev2iFw/mqdefault.jpg "[LIVE] SOC! Sidebar: Triathlons
The Federalist Societys Student Division & University of Virginia School of Law Chapter present
SOC! SIDEBAR:
Triathlons
featuring
Hon. Ryan Nelson
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
8:00 P.M. ET
https://fedsoc.org/sidebar-14
Each month, the Student Division and a rotating Student Chapter co-host SOC! SIDEBAR, a Zoom conversation with a judge about a personal passion and its connection to the law. Our fourteenth episode airs Tuesday, March 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET, featuring Judge Ryan Nelson on the topic of Triathlons.
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.")
![[LIVE] Civil Rights in the Second Trump Administration: A Whole-of-Government Shift](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zASIvgg-vWk/mqdefault.jpg "[LIVE] Civil Rights in the Second Trump Administration: A Whole-of-Government Shift
Shortly after retaking office, President Trump signed executive orders reorienting the federal government’s approach to civil rights. Those orders directed agencies to identify and eliminate unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and other practices involving race- or sex-based discrimination, while emphasizing equal treatment, individual merit, and nondiscrimination. In April of last year, Executive Order 14281 (Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy) went further, announcing a policy to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible — placing renewed focus on one of the oldest and most consequential debates in antidiscrimination law.
Join us for a webinar that examines how the administration’s civil rights agenda is being implemented across the federal government.
Featuring:
Hon. Brittany Bull Panuccio, Commissioner, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Hon. Craig Trainor, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Hon. Devon Westhill, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Agriculture
(Moderator) Hon. Ken Marcus, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law
Register for the live webinar at https://fedsoc.org/events/civil-rights-in-the-second-trump-administration-a-whole-of-government-shift
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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.")
