USA conservative thinktank and infohub The Heritage Foundation has announced the retirement of of longstanding law and government policy wonk, Edwin Meese III (formerly Attorney General USA); Meese will only "semi-" retire as he will stay on at Heritage as Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus. Starting February 1, 2013, David Addington will become the new chairman of Heritage's newly-renamed Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, replacing Meese himself. Both Meese and Addington served in government during intense political and legal debates.
20 years ago, the existence of conservative thinktanks without govt/taxpayer support (most leftwing tanks are financed one way or another by govt) was pioneered by Heritage Foundation. Nowadays, activist agencies has risen to defend various conservative and other dissentient causes in the courts. A list of thinktanks in America, especially where policy issues come to the fore, has been compiled by Wikipedia. From the content of the article, the authors may be respected for at least listing a plethora of conservative and other tanks. I've attached a good part of this list to the bottom of this blog-entry. The list refers to "Examples" (any claim to completeness woud not ring true, and datedness, or red-lettered entries (where an online URL address was not available and may indicate that an organization has gone out of existence, or at least is no longer functional). Examples provided are categorized by jurisdiction or scope: Global, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Scotland, European, Denmark, Australia.
—Lawt, refWrite Frontpage juridics newspotter, analyst, columnist
Hat Tip to Volokh Conspiracy blog of law scholars
Heritage Foundation (Jan5,2k13)
Meese to Retire as Head of Legal Center; Addington to Take on Role
January 3, 2013
Washington, D.C., Jan. 3, 2013 -- After nearly 25 years of leadership and service to The Heritage Foundation, former Attorney General Edwin Meese III today announced he is “semi-retiring.” Meese will leave his full-time position as chairman of Heritage’s Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, but remain onboard as the think tank’s Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow Emeritus. In this capacity, he will oversee special projects and act as an ambassador for Heritage within the conservative movement.
Effective Feb. 1, David Addington will become senior vice president for legal and judicial policy, heading the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies. In this new capacity, Addington will be responsible for the Legal Center’s research and education programs. Addington currently serves as Heritage’s senior vice president and deputy chief operating officer.
“It has been an incredible honor to work with one of the greatest, most honorable men of our time,” Heritage President Edwin J. Feulner said of Meese. “His lifelong dedication to the principles of government, as established by this nation’s Founders, has helped preserve freedom, opportunity and justice in America for two generations.
“Ed Meese’s wisdom, humanity and patriotism are second to none,” Feulner added, “and I can think of no one more capable or talented to take over the reins of our Legal Center than David Addington.”
The center was renamed the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies last fall, in recognition of Meese’s contributions to the rule of law and the nation’s understanding of constitutional law.
After his announcement, Meese stated: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my tenure with The Heritage Foundation and appreciate the opportunity to continue working with such wonderful colleagues. Heritage is an outstanding organization that remains dedicated to the principles President Reagan served so well, and David Addington is an outstanding choice to lead the Legal Center for years to come.”
Meese served as the 75th attorney general of the United States from February 1985 to August 1988. Earlier in the Reagan administration, Meese held the position of counsellor to the president and functioned as Reagan’s chief policy adviser. Meese joined Heritage in 1988 as the think tank’s first Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow. In 2001, Meese became the founder and chairman of its Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
