Federalist Society picks only its second president after more than 40 years in existence

The Federalist Society has chosen Sheldon Gilbert as its second president, the group has announced. Gilbert is currently Walmart’s senior lead counsel for strategic initiatives. He will succeed Eugene Meyer, according to a Saturday announcement.

Gilbert graduated from the University of Utah and George Washington University Law School. He has served as a fellow at the National Constitution Center, director of the Institute for Justice’s Center for Judicial Engagement, and as a counsel at the US Chamber of Commerce’s Litigation Center.

Meyer, who has led the organization for more than 40 years, said he intended to step down earlier this year, according to Bloomberg Law.

“The Society is doing well, and this transition can, and I trust will, lead to even better things ahead in what will undoubtedly continue to be a very challenging environment,” Meyer wrote in an email sent to Federalist Society members earlier this year.

“Founded by law students from around the country in 1982, the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies is a group of conservatives and libertarians dedicated to reforming the current legal order,” according to the group’s website. “Under Eugene Meyer’s leadership, the organization has grown from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law.”