Karen M. Blum is a Research Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School where she taught for forty-three years in the areas of Federal Courts, Police Misconduct Litigation and Civil Procedure. She received her B.A. from Wells College, a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and an LL. M. from Harvard Law School. Professor Blum has authored numerous articles in the section 1983 area and is co-author, along with Michael Avery, David Rudovsky, and Jennifer Laurin of POLICE MISCONDUCT: LAW AND LITIGATION.

Brett M. Bollinger is a member of the Zaunrecher Treadaway law firm. His primary areas of practice include general liability premises liability, construction, trucking and transportation, and workers' compensation litigation. He also advises and assists clients with various risk management and business operations issues.

Frederick K. Brewington earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Northeastern University School of Law. After working at a number of prestigious firms and law offices, including a clerkship at the Office of the Legal Counsel of the United States Senate, Fred began a private practice on Long Island. He is an adjunct Professor at the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, Touro College and an advisor to many community groups with whom he maintains a continued commitment to justice spanning such issues as affordable housing, community revitalization efforts, employment and civil rights, the environment and, especially, voting rights and fair representation in government.

Gary M. Carter, Jr. is the 2016 recipient of the Sheryl J. Willert Pioneer Diversity Award, an honor bestowed on an individual who has embraced, celebrated and applied diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

Erwin Chemerinsky esteemed educator, litigator and legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky has been named dean of Berkeley Law. He is the founding dean of UC Irvine School of Law, a position he's held for the past nine years. His five-year term at Berkeley started on July 1, 2017. While at Irvine, Chemerinsky also served as the Raymond Pryke Professor of First Amendment Law. He taught courses on constitutional analysis, appellate litigation, and free speech rights among others.

Timothy T. Coates is a partner at the appellate firm of Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland LLP in Los Angeles, and over the past 33 years he has briefed and argued more than 250 matters in the state and federal appellate courts, including successfully arguing five cases in the United States Supreme Court, and obtaining a per curiam reversal in a sixth case. Tim's Supreme Court victories have addressed absolute and qualified immunity (Van de Kamp v. Goldstein, 555 U.S. 335 (2009), Messerschmidt v. Millender, 565 U.S. 535 (2012), Stanton v. Sims, 571 U.S. __, 134 S.Ct. 3 (2013)), Monell liability (Los Angeles County v. Humphries, 562 U.S. 29 (2010)) and warrantless arrests (County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991)). He has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer in the area of appellate practice from 2007-2017, and has also been named in The Best Lawyers In America (Appellate Law) (2014-2017). The Los Angeles Daily Journal has repeatedly recognized Tim as one of the Top 100 Attorneys in California. Tim lectures widely on issues related to appellate practice, as well as section 1983 liability.

Jody C. Corbett has been practicing law in Phoenix, Arizona for 17 years. She has represented numerous public entities throughout Arizona in cases involving the following issues: civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C.1983, premises liability, construction and maintenance liability, road design, personal injury, and intentional torts. She also has experience in contract law, insurance, and collections, including garnishment actions. Jody has extensive experience representing clients in state, federal, and tribal appellate courts regarding numerous issues some of which include jurisdiction, immunities, proper jural entities, and res judicata.

Phillip E. (Phil) Friduss is a partner with Hall Booth Smith PC practicing public sector law throughout the State of Georgia In representing over 200 public entities in his career, Phil has handled hundreds of education law, and First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment student lawsuits. He also represents school districts in matters involving Georgia's Fair Dismissal Practices Act. Mr. Friduss is a long time Super Lawyer, is AV-Preeminent Rated, Chaired ABA First Amendment and Civil Rights Committees, is a Member of Georgia Trend Magazine's Legal Elite, and a 17-year DRI Governmental Liability Committee, Chairing our Committee from 2012-14.

David P. Karamessinis is a second vice president in the Travelers Complex Claims Department. Mr. Karamessinis practices law in state and federal court and has over 20 years' experience handling public sector claims, including tort, civil rights, and employment. Mr. Karamessinis has written and delivered the public sector training to Travelers claim personnel. He assists the risk control department with its employment and law enforcement training sessions.

Ryan M. Kunhart is an Attorney with Dvorak Law Group, LLC in Omaha, Nebraska. He focuses his practice on employment law and civil litigation and is experienced representing municipalities and the local transit authority in defense litigation issues concerning political subdivisions, alleged civil rights violations, personal injury claims, and other matters common to municipalities. In his employment practice, Ryan advises clients on day-to-day employment matters, including hiring, discipline, discharge, discrimination, employee vs. independent contractor classification matters, non-compete agreements, and compensation. He has extensive experience representing clients in state and federal courts and administrative agencies, including the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board.

Scott D. MacLatchie is a partner in the Charlotte, NC office of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. For 31 years he has defended law enforcement agencies on both coasts in civil rights litigation while serving as a reserve officer for a large agency. Scott also provides in-service legal instruction, and his training program for patrol officers, "Dangerous Crossroads Ahead," examines the liability minefield where the First and Fourth Amendments intersect and addresses how to deal with people who are actively trying to bait officers into overreaction.

David J. MacMain is the Managing Partner of The MacMain Law Group LLC located in Malvern, Pennsylvania. David is a member of the Defense Research Institute and the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, has been named a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" multiple times in the field of Civil Rights, is rated "AV" Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been selected for inclusion in the Best Attorneys of America. After college, David served as a Pennsylvania State Trooper stationed at the Avondale, Chester County Barracks where he engaged in all aspects of police work in the twenty-seven (27) municipalities that the Avondale station covered, before attending Temple University School of Law where he graduated cum laude.

Dana K. Maine is a partner with Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP, in its Atlanta office. Her practice focuses on professional liability defense and governmental litigation. Dana heads the firm's LPL and MPL practice groups. Dana has been named a Super Lawyer for several years and was named Lawyer of the Year for Atlanta Municipal Law by Best Lawyers in America.

Wayne S. Melnick is a Partner and Vice-Chair of Freeman Mathis & Gary's Government Law practice section. He also is a member of the firm's CGL and Business Liability practice section where he is Vice-Chair of FMG's Transportation practice group. Mr. Melnick is an accomplished trial attorney and has tried over 50 jury trials to verdict in cases throughout the country. For every year since 2013, Mr. Melnick has been named a "Georgia Super Lawyer" in the areas of civil law defense and he currently is one of only three Northern District of Georgia Representatives on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association.

Barry M. Miller focuses his practice on insurance coverage opinions and litigation, including coverage issues related to municipal liability, bad faith and extra-contractual damages, and data management and cyber security law. He has considerable experience handling technology issues involving data breach defense and electronic discovery as well. Barry regularly provides instruction and counsel to a variety of groups, including attorneys and business owners, regarding preservation of digital evidence and insurance aspects of cyber liability. In 2017, he earned his accreditation as a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US), credentialed through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

Laurie K. Miller is a member in the Charleston, West Virginia office of Jackson Kelly PLLC. She practices in the firm's Litigation Department within the Health Care Practice Group where she represents hospitals, doctors, nursing homes and other health care providers in litigation matters. She is also experienced in pharmaceutical/medical device litigation, product liability, and commercial litigation. Ms. Miller is a member of DRI's Law Institute.

Eugene P. (Gene) Ramirez, a founding member of the firm, graduated from Whittier College School of Law (J.D., 1987), where he was Notes & Comments Editor of the Law Review, a member of the Moot Court Honors Board and President of the Student Bar Association. At Whittier, he received an award as the Best Oral Advocate and the Outstanding Moot Court Graduate Award. Before joining the firm, Mr. Ramirez worked as a Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, where he conducted numerous misdemeanor and felony jury trials, including murder trials. He serves as an advisor to several public entities on the issues of use of force, canine and SWAT issues and policies and procedures. He has provided training to thousands of police officers and supervisors, from around the country and Canada, over the past 20 years. Mr. Ramirez regularly speaks to Chiefs of Police Organizations on liability and supervision issues. He also addresses supervisors of all ranks on how to recognize risk management issues.

The Honorable Karen Wells Roby is a Chief Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. Judge Roby has served on the court for eighteen (18) years where she handles criminal and civil matters and also serves as a mediator. She is the Co-Chair of the ABA Litigation Sections, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She has served nationally as President of the Federal Magistrate Judges Association and she is a frequent speaker on various legal topics and she has had numerous speaking engagements throughout the United States during her career. She is also published in the areas of social media and ethics, settlement and ethics and attorney's fees. Judge Roby serves as an Adjunct Professor at Tulane University Law School where she teaches a course on E-Discovery and Digital Evidence. She is a graduate of Tulane University Law School and Xavier University of New Orleans. In addition to her dedication to the law, Judge Roby received a Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate, (July 2017), through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and Cornell University's Online Program.

David Rudovsky is a founding partner of Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg, LLP. He has practiced in the civil rights and criminal defense fields for over forty years, including cases on police and governmental misconduct, prisoners' rights, first amendment freedoms, and racial discrimination.

Casey C. Stansbury focuses his practice on civil rights and governmental liability issues, insurance coverage and bad faith, professional liability and licensing, product liability, construction and commercial litigation, including auto and commercial trucking. He represents local, regional and national clients. He is a frequent speaker, has received numerous awards, including DRI's 2014 Albert H. Parnell Outstanding Program Chair Award, and he is also the DRI Government Liability Committee Vice-Chair and the Kentucky Defense Counsel President.

Wayne T. Stewart, Ph.D., is a 1988 graduate of Duke University, receiving a B.S. degree. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from LSU in 1994. He received his J.D. in 2006 from Loyola University in New Orleans. He joined the Law Offices of Hammonds, Sills, Adkins & Guice, LLP in 2008. Dr. Stewart's law practice focuses on Special Education and Section 504/ADA law. He is admitted to practice before all Louisiana State courts, all Louisiana federal district courts, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association, DRI, the National Council of School Attorneys, the American Bar Association, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and the National Association of School Psychologists, and. Prior to his employment as an attorney, he was a school psychologist for the Jefferson Parish Public School System (JPPSS) from 1993 to 1996 and a special education administrator for JPPSS from 1996 to 2006. He is a licensed psychologist in Louisiana with a specialization in school psychology.

Aaron T. Stone is the Vice President of Claims for OneBeacon Government Risks. Prior to OneBeacon, Mr. Stone worked for Travelers for 7 years and St. Paul Companies for 4 years, managing their Employment Practices Liability Claim units and handling claims. Prior to working in the insurance industry, Mr. Stone was in private practice for 12 years in Minnesota. He represented both employees and employers in all facets of civil litigation in both the state and federal courts in Minnesota. Mr. Stone obtained his Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. Olaf College in 1988. He graduated magna cum laude from William Mitchell College of Law in 1992. Following graduation from law school, Mr. Stone clerked for a Minnesota State District Court Judge for one year. Mr. Stone has authored articles in industry publications and has participated in national and regional conferences as a panelist and as a moderator.

Edward (Ed) Sweeney, CJM, CCHP worked for 32 years in county corrections, advancing from Corrections Officer to Director before retiring in January 2017 to start Sweeney Corrections Consulting, LLC. A DeSales University graduate, Certified Jail Manager, and Certified Correctional Health Professional, Ed has authored multiple corrections related articles for national publications and has been active for many years at the state and national level, working to improve the criminal justice process and to advance professionalism within the field of corrections.

Mary Beth Tinker grew up in Iowa, where her father was a Methodist minister. The family became involved in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and then, in the early 1960s, calls for negotiation in Vietnam.When Mary Beth was in eighth grade in 1965, she and a group of students were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to school to mourn the Vietnam war dead. A court challenge by the American Civil Liberties Union led to a landmark 1969 Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v Des Moines that neither teachers nor students "shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate." Speaking frequently throughout the country with students, teachers, school administrators and community groups, Mary Beth is currently on a national "Tinker Tour" to promote civics education, the rights of students and youth voices. Mary Beth lives in Washington D.C.

Stephen D. (Steve) Tuttle is the 2nd longest employee at Axon as Vice President, Strategic Communications (formerly TASER International) and was one of five startup team members 23 years ago. He serves as the company spokesman and in deeply entrenched in public affairs, crisis management, risk management and brand reputation. He's an expert in crisis and strategic communications and was extensively involved in government affairs at Axon and in previous positions on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Defense. He's on the front lines of controversy and technology breakthroughs for law enforcement with extensive media relations experience rivaling Fortune 100 companies with approximately 10,000 media interviews during the past two decades. In addition to his startup experience at Axon in 1994, Steve is also the lead minority owner of the 2014 startup of Mother Bunch Brewing in downtown Phoenix.