2023 Annual Meeting CLE Materials

Below you will find the CLE schedule with materials for the 2023 Annual Meeting.

Under each CLE program description, CLE materials are listed. Please click each hyperlink to access that specific CLE material. If you have any issues accessing these materials, please contact Melisa Maisel Vanis, Director of Professional Development and Assistant Director of Meetings, at mmaisel@iadclaw.org or Ashley Hatfield, Director of Communications, at ahatfield@iadclaw.org.

Monday, July 10, 2023

ON DEMAND
Pixels and (Session) Replays and Chatbots, Oh My! – Recent Federal Rulings and the New Wave of Data-Privacy Litigation   
Committee Co-Sponsors: Class Actions and Multi-Party Litigation, Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Technology 
The presenters will walk through coordinated efforts by plaintiffs’ attorneys to capitalize on recent rulings out of the Third and Ninth Circuits, along with related rulings from state and federal courts across the nation, to unleash a wave of data privacy consumer class actions and litigation involving the use of website pixels (Meta and Google), session replay, and other forms of website tracking. The panelists will discuss their experience litigating these cases along with emerging trends, successful defenses and arguments, and where things may go from here.

Speakers: Joshua Becker, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., Atlanta, Georgia USA; Eric S. Boos, ADT LLC, Boca Raton, Florida USA; Jason Scott, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P., Kansas City, Missouri USA

Materials:

ON DEMAND
Reconstructing Reality   
Committee Sponsor: Product Liability​                                                                             
Events that involve dramatic losses are frequently unwitnessed or unreliably witnessed. Over the past 30 years, tools and techniques have evolved to provide accurate, reliable insight into these unwitnessed events. By combining modern data capture methods (i.e., laser scanning and photogrammetry) with commonly found material, like security camera footage or first responder photos, scientists and engineers can accurately recreate an event. Using this data, Virtual Reality (VR) applications and 3D animations allow all stakeholders to experience the viewpoint of a witness, or the driver’s view in an accident. Fact finders witness the reconstruction firsthand. This panel will show the audience how data capture technologies are visualized including demonstrations of 3D animations and VR. Attendees will develop an understanding of how these highly influential tools are utilized. The panelists will also discuss how each element used to build a quality visualization provides the foundation for what may ultimately be an admissible demonstrative aid or evidence.

Speakers: R. Matthew Cairns, Textron Inc., Providence, Rhode Island USA; Charles A. Fox, ESi, Peachtree Corners, Georgia USA; Lindsay Lorimer, McMillan LLP, Toronto, Ontario Canada

Materials:

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Injunctions without Due Process: Combatting Anti-Competitive Actions on E-Commerce Platforms
Committee Co-Sponsors: Business Litigation, Intellectual Property
There has been a recent uptick in the number of competitor complaints submitted to Amazon. Amazon takes action and asks questions later, effectively removing the product from the market and forcing you to address the issue with the party that made the complaint, or wait for the appeal process to run its course. Or, if it is fake reviews, it reduces the status of the seller and impacts whether they win the buy it now window. There are widely varying decisions across the country as to whether this is actionable, and what claims are viable. The program would discuss the process, how to litigate these claims or defend against these claims.

Speakers: Mollie Benedict, Tucker Ellis LLP, Los Angeles, California USA; Selena Kim, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Toronto, Ontario Canada; Alexandra Simotta, PAYONE GmbH, Vienna, Austria

Materials:

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Mental Health, Wellness, and Diverse Employees
Committee Co-Sponsors: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Employment Law​                            
Studies show that diverse employees report discrimination, harassment, and micro-aggressions more frequently than non-diverse employees. These experiences can lead to lower levels of engagement and wellbeing for those employees. This program will address the background of the issue and discuss strategies for employers to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion with wellness. In addition to discussing what voluntary steps employers should consider to promote wellbeing for marginalized employees, the panel will also address what mental health policies employers may be required to implement under the law.

Speakers: Stacy L. Douglas, Everett Dorey LLP, Irvine, California USA; Zandra E. Foley, Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Iron, LLP, Houston, Texas USA; Alfred H. Perkins, Jr., Starnes Davis Florie LLP, Birmingham, Alabama USA; Kenneth Sharperson, Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP, Bedminster, New Jersey USA

Materials:

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
The Aftermath of Exoneration – Insurance Coverage in Wrongful Incarceration Cases
Committee Co-Sponsors: Insurance Executives, Insurance and Reinsurance                         
Wrongful incarceration is a disaster for everyone involved. Victims often spend decades in prison for crimes that they did not commit. When they are exonerated, civil litigation often follows – and, naturally, most defendants look to their insurance to defend them against tort claims. This program will explore the unique and surprisingly complex insurance-coverage issues that arise out of wrongful-incarceration claims, including trigger of coverage, the duty to defend, allocation, and bad faith issues. The program will examine the impact that these claims have on the communities where they occur, and what can and is being done to avoid them in the future. It will also offer some practical pointers about how to approach resolution efforts, and how best to preserve indemnity limits to address the harms that the plaintiffs have.

Speaker: William A. Bulfer, Teague Campbell Dennis & Gorham, LLP, Asheville, North Carolina USA

Materials:

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Courtroom Code: Navigating the Litigation Risks of AI and the Metaverse
Committee Co-Sponsors: Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Technology, Insurance and Reinsurance
AI and the “Metaverse” is a new and, frankly, mysterious world to risk managers, lawyers, and insurance companies. This program will attempt to de-mystify the technology and explore some of the real-world implications for actions that happen online and through the use of Artificial Intelligence. This program will include a review of the technology, the risk exposures with AI and the Metaverse, and what can be done to insure against these and other types of emerging risks.

Speakers: David B. Anderson, Woodruff Sawyer, New York, New York USA; Taylor Beck, UBER, Seattle, Washington USA; Christopher J. Seusing, Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP, New York, New York USA; Violet Sullivan, Redpoint Cybersecurity, Waco, Texas USA​

Materials:

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Navigating Protection of Attorney-Client and Work Product Privileges in Uncertain Times
Committee Co-Sponsors: In-House and Law Firm Management, Product Liability, Professional Liability
The parameters of the attorney-client and work product privileges remain unclear. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to clarify the scope of the attorney-client privilege for communications involving both legal and non-legal advice in In re Grand Jury, when it dismissed the writ of certiorari as improvidently granted. We will examine how best to protect the company's interests while protecting privileged communications and documents. Attorneys are frequently called on to assist a company or client in crisis and give advice to hire a consultant to manage the public relations and experts to preserve evidence and conduct a scientific or forensic investigation. We will share lessons learned to guide you through the bounds of the ethics rules to protect the attorney-client and work product privileges.

Speakers: Melissa D. Matthews, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Dallas, Texas USA; Scott O'Connell, Holland & Knight LLP, Boston, Massachusetts USA; J. Calhoun "Cal" Watson, Robinson Gray Stepp & Laffitte, LLC, Columbia, South Carolina USA; Jessalyn H. Zeigler, Bass, Berry & Sims PLC, Nashville, Tennessee USA

Materials:

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
The Next Frontier: Greenwashing Litigation
Committee Co-Sponsors: Business Litigation, Corporate Compliance and Government Enforcement Actions, Environmental and Energy Law, Intellectual Property​
A new wave of litigation is targeting products labeled as being environmentally friendly. Who has standing to bring such claims? What statements are misleading or deceptive and which are acceptable? What kind of damages can be awarded? What does this tsunami mean for in-house counsel? Our panel has answers!

Speakers: Cassandra Hooks, Niagara Bottling, Diamond Bar, California USA; Creighton Magid, Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, Washington, District of Columbia USA

Materials:

8:45 – 10:15 a.m.
Litigio! Litige! 訴訟 Soshō, Rechtsstreit! Special Considerations When Your Client is from Another Part of the World
Committee Co-Sponsors: Business Litigation, International Arbitration, Product Liability
As cross-border trade and business transactions continue to increase, so do the number of disputes arising between parties from different countries. Differences in legal systems, business practices, cultural norms, languages, time zones, and other factors, including bias, all contribute to create potential difficulties when representing a foreign client in litigation and arbitration matters. This program will identify many of the pitfalls and special issues that you need to consider when representing a foreign client, including special issues in discovery, case handling, and during trial. The program will be presented as a fireside chat where a U.S. federal court judge and experienced lawyers from different countries will offer guidance on how to avoid many of those pitfalls that can occur during your representation, enabling you to protect your foreign client’s interests more successfully.

Speakers: Roderick Bourke, McCann FitzGerald LLP, Dublin, Ireland; Joséane Chrétien, McMillan LLP, Montreal, Quebec Canada; Bains Fleming, Norman, Wood, Kendrick & Turner, Birmingham, Alabama USA; Kurt Gerstner, Dentons Lee, Seoul, Korea; Hon. Leslie Kobayashi, United States District Court, District of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii USA

Materials:

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Data Privacy, Piracy, and Conspiracy: New International Data Regulations Can Impose Dire Consequences on the Unprepared
Committee Sponsor: Cyber Security, Data Privacy and Technology
Europe, China, and Latin American countries have enacted sweeping data privacy regulations with far reaching consequences for companies with a global footprint. An international panel of experts will discuss insights, key provisions and the status of current and pending international and U.S. federal privacy legislation, including the American Data Privacy and Protection Act. The panel will address challenges to ensuring consistency and uniformity in enforcing data privacy requirements internationally, trends regarding government enforcement actions, with an emphasis on some of the more significant breaches in 2022, and best practices for companies to ensure compliance with privacy laws.

Speakers: Brent Arnold, Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, Toronto, Ontario Canada; Sherylle Francis, Universal Property and Casualty Ins. Co., Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA; Walt Green, Phelps Dunbar LLP, New Orleans, Louisiana USA; Marcia Narine Weldon, University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida USA

Materials:

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
What Makes Witness Testimony Convincing in International Arbitration? What Works to Convince Arbitrators?
Committee Sponsor: International Arbitration
In Round 2 of the International Arbitration Committee’s project, initiated in 2022, on witness testimony in international arbitration, a panel of specialist shall focus and engage in a dialogue with the audience on the following questions:
- are prepared witnesses more convincing than less prepared or even unprepared witnesses? If so, why and in which type of cases or circumstances?
- what works best to assist arbitrators in resolving questions of fact?
- when is preparation really necessary?
- when is it not, or less, necessary?
- are there any limits to witness preparation and, if so, what are they?
- are there guidelines, best practices, or other soft law guidance on the subject?
- would such guidance be a useful tool to improve the process, including in terms of costs/benefit?

Speakers: Antje Baumann, BAUMANN Resolving Disputes, Hamburg, Germany; Dominique Brown-Berset, Brown&Page SA, Geneva, Switzerland; Fernando Serec, TozziniFreire Advogados, Sao Paulo, Brazil; Robert Wachter, Lee & Ko, Seoul, Korea

Materials:

7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
The Modern In-House Perspective on Outside Counsel: Case Management, Creativity, and Collaboration
Committee Co-Sponsors: Corporate Counsel, Product Liability
This panel of dynamic corporate leaders will discuss how outside counsel can effectively partner with and optimize relationships with their clients. They will identify key performance indicators that drive in-house and corporate decision making, ways external counsel can use their budgeting and reporting to foster alignment with clients, and successful fee and phased billing structures. The panel will also offer best practice recommendations for how to collaborate in a meaningful way – including discussing unique national counsel/core counsel/local counsel structures and the types of invitations or programming that are welcomed from outside counsel.

Speakers: Evelyn Fletcher Davis, Hawkins Parnell & Young LLP, Atlanta, Georgia USA; William McClelland, TD Bank Group, Toronto, Ontario Canada; Jill V. Termini, United Parcel Service, Atlanta, Georgia USA; Mahsa Kashani Tippins, DCo LLC, Nashville, Tennessee USA

Materials:

9:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Human Trafficking: Protecting Humanity Across the Seas, Skies, and Lands
This panel will examine international human trafficking issues internationally, across manufacturing, transportation, and supply chain and discuss efforts every company and counsel can take to combat human trafficking.

Speakers: J. Dominic Campodonico, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, San Francisco, California USA; Laurie Hill, American Airlines, Fort Worth, Texas USA; Shamere McKenzie, Sun Gate Foundation, Pikesville, Maryland USA; Hon. Mary Vallee, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Barrie, Ontario Canada

Materials:

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. 
AI! AI? AI. Oh?!?: AI Is ‘Intelligent’ but Is It Fair? Unbiased? Non-Discriminatory? Legal and Business Resolutions to Implementing This Intelligent Tool
Committee Sponsor: Transportation
A panel discussion of the evolving and cutting-edge issues confronting companies regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employee assessments and decisions. As companies become more reliant on new AI technologies in making decisions involving employees and employment matters, these technologies can both prevent and increase risk associated with discriminatory practices, disparate impact claims, compensation decisions, negligent hiring, and many other employee and third-party claims. The program will include a discussion about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s new initiative on AI and algorithmic fairness and other international bodies’ efforts to regulate the use of AI regarding the promotion of equality and prevention of discrimination. The program will also explore how employers are using ethical technology as a means of mitigating risk.

Speakers: Blake Barnes, Microsoft, Redmond, Washington USA; Jo Lynn Clemens, RiskKarma.io, Scottsdale, Arizona USA; David L. Greenspan, McGuireWoods LLP, Tysons, Virginia USA; Keith E. Sonderling, US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, District of Columbia USA

Materials:

Thursday, July 13, 2023

7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Civil Law Versus Common Law – A Legal Risk and Comparative Law Primer
Committee Sponsor: International
We all know that civil law is code based, yet many civil law jurisdictions look at judicial precedence as well as the code. Likewise, we all know that common law is judicial based, yet statutes trump judicial precedence in many common law jurisdictions. So, what exactly are the real-world differences between civil law and common law? It is of critical importance to companies and their attorneys who operate globally to understand the risks of being a defendant in a civil law system and in a common law system. Is the old adage – that you do not want to get sued in a common law country, but it is okay to get sued in a civil law country – really true? Was it ever true? And, is examining the world of law through the old common law / civil law distinction a valid way for companies to distinguish their legal risks by jurisdiction?

Speakers: Neftali Garro, BLP, Santa Ana, Costa Rica; Dong Wook Kang, Bae, Kim & Lee LLC, Seoul, Korea; Daniela Karollus-Bruner, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz Rechtsanwalte GmbH, Vienna, Austria; Jordan Lipp, Childs McCune LLC, Denver, Colorado USA; Robin Reinertson, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada

Materials:

7:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Objection! The Game, The Strategy, The Win, The Cost – Plan, Don’t Guess Your Way to Victory
Committee Co-Sponsors: Business Litigation, Trial Techniques and Tactics
IADC’s own trial talent will demonstrate real-time objections in the courtroom showing how lawyers strategize, and judges rule, with a clerk providing legal-based analysis (for both in-person and Zoom hearings) setting out the bases for each of the objections and counter-objections and the ‘reasons’ for the win. Attend, watch, and learn and vote for the winning objection.

Speakers: Amy E. Askew, Kramon & Graham, P.A., Baltimore, Maryland USA; Sean Griffin, Dykema Gossett PLLC, Washington, District of Columbia USA; D. Michael Hurst, Jr., Phelps Dunbar LLP, Jackson, Mississippi USA; Gordon McKee, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Toronto, Ontario Canada; Margaret Fonshell Ward, Downs Ward Bender Herzog & Kintigh, P.A., Hunt Valley, Maryland USA; Monté Williams, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, The Woodlands, Texas USA

Materials:

9:15 – 10:45 a.m.
Authentic Success in the International Realm: Distinguished Female Partners Forging New Trails Share Strategies, Successes, and Failures
Committee Co-Sponsors: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Medical Defense and Health Law, Professional Liability
A panel of successful female lawyers will share insights and lessons learned along their journeys to the top levels of their field and into key leadership roles at their firms. From overcoming roadblocks to partnering with allies and realizing the true value in unwavering commitment to diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces, their experiences will help build greater understanding and appreciation for the work behind their success. The panel will also highlight key factors for others to consider as they seek to build more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments.

Speakers: Kathleen Buck, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota USA; Amy K. Fisher, McCarter & English, LLP, Indianapolis, Indiana USA; Erin K. Higgins, Conn Kavanaugh Rosenthal Peisch & Ford, LLP, Boston, Massachusetts USA; Asa Shinkawa, Nishimura & Asahi, Tokyo, Japan

Materials:

11:00 – 12:15 p.m.
How to Cool the Temperature to Prevent Nuclear Verdicts
Committee Co-Sponsors: Transportation, Trial Techniques and Tactics
The global supply chain system which stimulates cross border business expansion creates a playing field that is ripe for litigation, that can have devastating results for businesses. This is particularly evident in the open economic marketplace in North America, where a business may be part of the manufacturing or transportation process in another country, but find themselves subject to a truly company-annihilating verdict in US litigation. With Nuclear Verdicts on the rise, this panel will explore the “explosion points” along the way, particularly with an international focus, and discuss how to use those systems to “cool the temperatures” to reduce risk and limit Nuclear Verdicts. This panel will have the perspective from the insurance market on how Nuclear Verdicts have an impact on global insurance, excess policies, and trends; and special emphasis will be provided from the panel on strategies for preventative measures along the way, taking advantage of different legal systems’ discovery and privacy laws.

Speakers: Miguel Angel De La Fuente, DAC Beachcroft, Mexico City, Mexico; Brian Del Gatto, Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP, Phoenix, Arizona USA; Pui C. Hong, Trimac Transportation, Calgary, Alberta Canada; Bonnie J. Katubig, Hudson Insurance Group, Chicago, Illinois USA

Materials:

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