Blake C. Norvell is an attorney and mediator whose practice areas include litigation, transactional, and appeals. He is admitted to the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Texas. He has authored numerous articles that analyze significant legal and public policy issues. His articles have been published in law journals throughout the country, including Yale, USC, and Temple. He has been a frequent guest on the radio program Legal Beagle and has been interviewed by news stations to comment on a wide variety of topics such as national security and civil liberties in the post 9/11 era, the influence of free trade and NAFTA in the closing of textile mills in North Carolina, and Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst's bid for the US Senate. He is an innovative legal thinker who has the ability to be creative with the law to develop novel legal theories that win difficult cases. Mr. Norvell received his J.D. from the UCLA School of Law, where he was a member of the Moot Court Honors Program and a managing editor of the UCLA Entertainment Law Review. He received his B.A. from Southern Methodist University, where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. At SMU, he served in the student senate for four years and was a member of the honor council, the senior class council, and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. He was sponsored by his university to compete for the Rhodes Scholarship. About TEDx, x = independently organized event: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)