Richard J. Cohen, a founding partner of Goldberg Segalla, has been the firm's managing partner since its inception and has led its dynamic growth from a team of seven attorneys into one of the largest law firms headquartered in the United States. Rick oversees all of the firm's operations across a footprint that reaches from Los Angeles to London, and is responsible for developing and implementing the firm's strategic direction, driving its geographic expansion, and cultivating leadership within the firm and throughout the greater business community. Law360 noted Rick's uniquely successful approach to long-range strategic planning when it recognized Goldberg Segalla as the fastest-growing law firm in the U.S. — while workplace culture awards in nearly every state and region where the firm operates attest to his ability to keep the course Goldberg Segalla set in 2001. An AV-rated trial lawyer with nearly three decades of experience, Rick's practice spans sophisticated insurance and reinsurance coverage and regulatory matters; bad faith, D&O, and E&O; professional liability; sports and entertainment; and complex commercial litigation. He has served as chair of the firm's Professional Liability Practice Group and chair of its Global Insurance Services Practice Group, recognized as one of the largest of its kind in the United States. A leader outside as well as inside the firm, Rick has served DRI in numerous roles, including national co-chair of Insurance Company Relations Subcommittee, chair of the Insurance Law Subcommittee of the Construction Law Section, programming chair of the Law Practice Management Committee, and national membership chair of the Life, Health, and Disability Section. He is also a former chair of the National Committee for the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance (CLM). Rick has lectured across the U.S. and in Canada and has published dozens of works for publications including Mealey's and Appleman on Insurance. He also served for more than a decade as an instructor, lecturer, and keynote speaker for the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters (CPCU) Society. Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers repeatedly recognize him as a leading legal practitioner, while Business First has ranked him among its "Legal Elite" and "Power 250 " additionally honoring him with its "C-Level" award for prominent, visionary executives.

James R. (Jay) Courie is a Founding Member and the Managing Member of MGC. He represents businesses and individuals in a variety of matters including contract negotiations, employment matters, business development and strategic planning. As Managing Member, Jay devotes much of his time and energy to the evolving business of law. He is a frequent speaker on Law Firm Management topics including metrics, growth, governance, alternative fees and strategic planning. Jay also leads a dedicated team of lawyers and professionals at MGC Sports, representing both coaches and players in team negotiations, endorsement opportunities and NCAA matters. Jay is an NFL Players Association certified agent, as well as a member of the Sports Lawyers Association. In his spare time, Jay can be found cheering on the Clemson Tigers and spending time with his three children.

John E. Cuttino is a shareholder in GWB's Columbia, South Carolina, office. He has 32 years of experience as a trial attorney in the state and federal courts of South Caroline. John has handled cases in 40 of South Carolina's 46 counties, in all Divisions of U.S. District Court in South Carolina, and has tried more than 75 cases to verdict. His practice is focused on the litigation of a variety of matters including class actions, design and construction defects, toxic and mass torts, insurance coverage, tort and personal injury, intellectual property, products liability, and professional negligence. John is regularly retained by insurers, self-insureds, risk management entities, corporations, and individuals in the defense of matters related but not limited to: Catastrophic Personal Injury Including Traumatic Brain Injury Claims, Pharmacy Liability, Residential and Commercial Construction Defects, Insurance Bad Faith, Asbestos Personal Injury and Property Damage, Toxic Mold and Building Products.

Mark C. Fava has served as chief counsel for Boeing's South Carolina site since its inception in 2010, and as a member of the executive leadership team, manages all legal matters related to Boeing's presence in South Carolina. He is the senior Boeing lawyer in South Carolina and oversees over 6000 Boeing employees at the multi-billion dollar manufacturing and operations facility of the world's most advanced twin aisle aircraft, the Boeing 787 "Dreamliner " As a member of the Boeing Law Department, Fava is also responsible for Boeing Commercial Aircraft's FAA regulatory and compliance matters. He is admitted to practice in South Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, DC. Prior to Boeing, Fava led a national aviation law practice at a major Southeastern law firm. From 2001 to 2004, he worked as the chief operations attorney for Delta Air Lines, Inc. He began his legal career in 1994 as a federal judicial law clerk in Charleston. A retired Navy Reserve Captain with over 30 years of military service, Fava served on active duty in the United States Navy from 1985 to 1991 as a Naval Flight Officer in the P-3 Orion. He was the Commanding Officer of a P-3 squadron and a member of the National Navy Reserve Policy Board. Fava is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University Of South Carolina School Of Law. He has taught Legal Writing and Oral Advocacy and Aviation Law as an adjunct law professor. Fava resides in Mount Pleasant, SC, with his wife Dee Ann and three daughters. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.

Tom Finke is Managing Director of the West Region Operations at Axiom Law. Tom oversees the teams that serve some of the company's largest clients and he's been with Axiom for nearly ten years. Tom is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Northwestern University, from which he received his JD/MBA, and he's a recipient of the ACC Value Challenge Award. Prior to Axiom, Tom was a senior executive at Tribune Interactive, the online division of Tribune Company responsible for online revenue growth across newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times and over 30 broadcast stations.

Dennis C. Garcia is an Assistant General Counsel for Microsoft Corporation based in Chicago. He practices at the intersection of law, technology and business and provides a wide range of legal support to Microsoft's Sales, Marketing and Operations teams across the United States. Prior to joining Microsoft, Dennis worked as an in-house counsel for Accenture and IBM. Dennis received his B.A. in Political Science from Binghamton University and his J.D. from Columbia Law School. He is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut and Illinois (House Counsel). Dennis is a Fellow of Information Privacy, a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States and a Certified Information Privacy Technologist with the International Association of Privacy Professionals..

Thomas J. Hurney, Jr., has been defending businesses, health care providers and individuals for over thirty five years with Jackson Kelly PLLC. He has substantial experience litigating and trying serious injury and wrongful death actions related to various industries from coal to power to health care. He has frequently argued in the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia. Tom is the President of the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys, a member of the DRI Board of Directors and a past President of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He graduated with honors from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1983. At Jackson Kelly, Tom has chaired the firm's Litigation and Health Care groups and the Associates' Committee, and is currently on the firm's Compensation Committee. He is a frequent speaker on healthcare, trial practice and litigation and civil justice reform issues.

Zabrina M. Jenkins is an attorney for Starbucks Coffee Company. In her position as managing director of litigation, Zabrina heads a team responsible for intellectual property, real estate, commercial and general liability litigation for retail locations in North America. She currently serves as an advisor to the company's Policy Governance Council, and has served on the Diversity Committee for the Law & Corporate Affairs department and as the co-coordinator of the department's summer intern program. Prior to joining Starbucks, Zabrina was an associate at Garvey Schubert Barer in Seattle, Washington. During her tenure with the firm, Zabrina focused her practice on commercial litigation matters, including labor and employment litigation. Zabrina is an active volunteer in both legal and civic organizations. She currently serves on the advisory boards of the Washington Leadership Institute (WLI), Artist Trust, Girls Can Do, and Central Washington University College of Business, and is a member of the Loren Miller Bar Association. Zabrina was a mentor to the Seattle University Community Development and Entrepreneurship Clinic (CDEC), and served on the boards of the Washington State Bar Foundation, Central Washington University Foundation, Washington Women Lawyers, the King County Bar Association's Future of the Law Institute (FLI), the Loren Miller Bar Association, and the Phillip L. Burton Scholarship Dinner Committee from 2003 to 2006, which she chaired in 2006. She has also been recognized as a Rising Star by Washington Law & Politics and is a 2011 Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Leadership Institute Fellow and Graduate. Zabrina received her Bachelor of Science degree from Central Washington University, her Master of Science degree from Syracuse University School of Education and her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law.

William J. Josten is the Manager of Legal Industry Analytics for the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute. Bill's work focuses primarily on issues related to law firm profitability and law firm/client relationships. During his time with Thomson Reuters, Bill has also worked as a pricing and profitability consultant, helping firms evaluate their cost recovery strategy, and providing insight into some of the innovative approaches firms are using to change the ways costs are recovered and matters are priced. Bill has worked in account management for large law firms and as a Reference Attorney, and prior to joining Thomson Reuters, Bill was an attorney in private practice as well as a law clerk at the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Michael S. Kraft is the General Counsel of Kraft Kennedy. He founded the company with Peter Kennedy in 1988 and continues to provide guidance for the firm today, contributing his unique insight into the technology challenges that face businesses. An experienced lawyer, Michael was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York before joining Choate Doman Moore & Hahn, where he specialized in international litigation. He co-chaired the Technology and Privacy Committee, served on the Law Office Management Committee and was a member of the Board of the New York Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel. He is a frequent speaker on technology and its consequences for the practice of law, both for law firms and corporate legal departments. Prior to founding Kraft Kennedy, Michael was the Executive Vice President at a financial printing firm. He is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School.

John F. Kuppens, DRI President is a partner in the Columbia, South Carolina, office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. His practice focuses on product liability litigation, preventive counseling, and regulatory compliance. Mr. Kuppens is a national director of DRI, and chair of its Membership Committee.

Mark G. McCreary, CIPP/US As Chief Privacy Officer and co-chair of the Privacy and Data Security Practice, Mark focuses a segment of his practice on compliance with privacy-related laws, rules and regulations as well as responses in the event of a data breach. Because of the incredibly wide range of applicable laws, rules and regulations, Mark understands that advising on privacy-related issues is not an area of law that should be practiced "on the side," and diligently stays up-to-date on this ever-changing field. Mark, who is CIPP/US certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals, regularly prepares privacy policies (both intra-company and for customers), handles privacy issues under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and related requirements for the privacy of consumer financial information (including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)), prepares data security plans and assists with data breach responses and notifications.

Amy L. Miletich, a founding member of the Denver, Colorado firm Miletich PC, has been defending employers for over 20 years. Her practice is focused on employment law matters, civil litigation and insurance law. She has been a frequent speaker on employment-related topics and has published several articles on employment law. In 2014, Ms. Miletich was elected a National Director for DRI, the Voice of the Defense Bar. She is a former Chair of DRI's Employment and Labor Law Committee. Ms. Miletich has been recognized as a Colorado Super Lawyer every year since 2007 in employment defense. She has been named one of the Top 50 Women Colorado Super Lawyers and is listed in Best Lawyers in America. She is AV Preeminent® Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Ms. Miletich serves as a section vice-chair for the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel's Employment Practices and Workplace Liability Committee.

Katherine M. Miletich 30-year career has been dedicated to professional services marketing. She joined the legal marketing world with many years' experience in marketing for consultants, accountants and even architects. As such, she has extensive working knowledge in the area of B2B marketing including: strategic and marketing planning, account management, business development, competitive intelligence, contact relationship management, events management and media relations. Katherine currently manages the 17-person marketing function of Vedder Price, a 300-lawyer firm with offices in 7 locations.

Stacy Linn Moon is a shareholder in F&B Law Firm, P.C., in Huntsville, Alabama. Ms. Moon practices in the areas of government liability; municipal liability; insurance defense; employment law; construction contracts and law; commercial litigation; and civil litigation, and she is an experienced litigator, having tried cases in diverse subject areas, including personal injury cases, section 1983 claims, and construction and other commercial litigation matters. She is AV-rated and admitted to practice law in Alabama state courts, all federal courts within the State of Alabama, and the 11th United States Circuit Court. She is active in DRI, and is currently chair of the Law Practice Management Committee. She is also active in the Employment Law, Government Liability, and Trial Tactics Committees. Ms. Moon is also a member of Alabama Defense Lawyers' Association and the Huntsville/Madison County Bar Association.

Steven M. (Steve) Puiszis is a partner with Hinshaw & Culbertson and serves as the Firm's Deputy General Counsel. He is a member of the Firm's Lawyers for the Professions Practice Group, counseling and defending both lawyers and law firms in ethics, disciplinary, data security, breach risk and professional liability matters. He serves as Hinshaw's Privacy Officer. Steve is the Chair of DRI's Center for Law and Public Policy, and formerly served on DRI's Board of Directors, and as the Chair of DRI's Judicial Task Force. Steve was the editor of DRI's whitepaper, Without Fear or Favor in 2011—A New Decade of Challenges to Judicial Independence and Accountability and was one of the authors of The Economics of Justice. Steve has written book chapters on law firm risk management, data protection and privacy in the U.S., mitigating law firm cyber risk, ethics, and ediscovery. He was one of the authors of the American Bar Association's amicus brief filed in the United States Supreme Court in Williams–Yulee v. The Florida Bar.

John Remsen, Jr. is widely recognized as one of the country's leading authorities on law firm leadership, management, marketing and business development. Since 1997, TheRemsenGroup has worked with more than 350 law firms to help them develop and implement long-term strategic objectives to improve cohesiveness, performance and profitability. John is a frequent speaker and author on law firm leadership and marketing topics. He has spoken at national and regional conferences of the Legal Marketing Association, the Association of Legal Administrators, American Bar Association and numerous state and local bar associations. His articles have appeared in such well-respected publications as ABA Journal, Asian Lawyer, For the Defense, Law Practice Management, Law Practice Today, Law 360, Lawyers Weekly, Legal Management, Marketing for Lawyers, Marketing the Law Firm, Managing Partner, New York Law Journal and Rainmaker's Review. Since 1988, John has been an active member of the Legal Marketing Association, having served as President of LMA's Southeastern Chapter and Executive Editor of Strategies, LMA's newsletter, in the early 1990s. He also served on LMA's National Board of Directors. In 2002, John created The Managing Partner Forum, a highly-acclaimed conference series for managing partners and law firm leaders. In 2013, he was inducted a Fellow in the College of Law Practice Management.

Sally J. Schmidt President of Schmidt Marketing, Inc. in Edina, Minnesota, offering marketing services to law firms. The company's consulting clients have included over 400 law firms throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, ranging in size from two to over three thousand attorneys. Sally was a founder and the first President of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) (formerly called NALFMA). In 1994, she was inducted as a Fellow into the inaugural class of the College of Law Practice Management and is presently a trustee. In 2007, Sally was inducted into the Legal Marketing Association's first Hall of Fame and was the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Eric A. Seeger is a principal of Altman Weil Inc. He works with law firms in the areas of strategy formulation and execution practice group planning and training, merger search, and organizational issues including administrative audits and succession planning. Mr. Seeger directs Altman Weil's market research department. He conducts client surveys and client interviews for law firms and market research projects for legal industry vendors. He is the co-author of Altman Weil's highly-regarded annual industry survey, Law Firms in Transition. Mr. Seeger's prior experience includes positions as Chief Operating Officer of a regional law firm and Director of Strategic Planning and Practice Group Management at an AmLaw 200 law firm. He has worked as an independent consultant to law firms and corporate executives, performed market analysis for a global manufacturer, and served in budgeting and planning capacities for a major university. He has published more than twenty articles in legal industry publications, including ABA Law Practice, Of Counsel, Law Firm Partnership & Benefits Report and Pennsylvania Lawyer. He has presented at a host of law firm retreats, in-house programs, national and regional conferences and board rooms.

John R. Sparks, Jr. role includes the management and oversight of the firm's quality programs, training of the firm's associates and business development.Mr. Sparks speaks nationally on issues concerning litigation management and the "New Normal" in file handling. He has been quoted on numerous occasions in legal publications regrading law firm management issues. Mr. Sparks is a member of a national think tank dealing with case resolution strategies and the application of project management and process improvement concepts to law firms In recognition for his work with the think tank, he has been recognized for Value Innovation and Strategic Partnership. Mr. Sparks was also awarded the 2017 Blue Ocean MVP by the Westfield Insurance Group.Mr. Sparks oversees a broad range of activities related to the firm's quality programs. He collects and analyzes data from closed files to assure that the firm maintains an aggressive posture directed at minimizing the total case cost to the client. He regularly meets with file handlers and reviews cases at pre-determined intervals, emphasizing the need to establish and follow an aggressive and case specific litigation plan. This file review work is done without charge to our clients. He oversees the Firm's compliance with client and internal guidelines and to assure that each billing entry adds value to the file. He meets with clients to review closed file data and discuss firm performance. Mr. Sparks also serves as a resource for all firm lawyers on issues such as resolution strategies, trial tactics and cost efficient file management.

Marci Krufka Taylor is strategy consultant for professional services firms, corporate law departments and high growth companies. She advises clients on strategy, marketing and management issues, client relations programs and professional development. Marci also provides leadership, marketing and business development coaching to lawyers and executives and conducts mindfulness training programs for lawyers and legal organizations.Prior to launching Mantra Partner in 2015, Marci served as the Director, Marketing Operations for an AmLaw100 firm. In that role, she was responsible for the management of the marketing operations team, key firm marketing initiatives and marketing and business development efforts for the firm's 180+ lawyer Business Law Section. She worked on the firm's brand refresh, headed the project management on the firm's multiple new web sites and led the firm's client satisfaction program.

John C. Trimble is the Firm Counsel and former managing partner of the 36 lawyer Indianapolis law firm of Lewis Wagner, LLP. He is a member of DRI, IADC, and FDCC, and is a member and Past President of the Defense Trial Counsel of Indiana. John has received DRI's Fred H. Sievert Outstanding Defense Bar Leader Award, and has served on the DRI Board of Directors. He is the immediate past Chair of the DRI Law Practice Management Committee and is currently Vice Chair of the Law Practice Management Section of FDCC. He is also a recent past President of the Indianapolis Bar Association. John enjoys consulting and strategic planning for bar associations and law firms. His practice is devoted to the defense of catastrophic and complex claims in Indiana and elsewhere.

Marc E. Williams is the Office Managing Partner of the West Virginia office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, where he also serves as a Team Leader and as Co-Chair of the firm's Consumer, Mechanical and Products Practice Group. His practice focuses on class actions, mass torts, products liability and commercial litigation. He has had primary responsibility for over 100 trials and appeals during his career. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has served as President of DRI, Lawyers for Civil Justice and the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence.

Christopher T. (Chris) Wilson focuses his practice on corporate and finance legal issues. He has experience in private practice and as in-house counsel representing small and large companies in a variety of legal related matters. While in-house, he was responsible for all legal issues related to the finance and accounting, information systems and services, research and development, and manufacturing divisions. He has extensive experience with consulting agreements, confidentiality agreements, research agreements, toll manufacturing agreements, and license agreements. Mr. Wilson also has extensive experience with mergers and acquisitions and capital investments. He has negotiated and drafted asset purchase agreements, stock purchase agreements, merger agreements, shareholder agreements, and a wide variety of ancillary and supporting documents. He has also drafted and negotiated a wide variety of corporate contracts in multiple industries where his clients operate and is well versed in corporate formation and corporate governance issues.

Daniel A. Winkler is responsible for overseeing Westfield Insurance's litigation management and legal research functions. He has been a featured speaker and author on the topic of litigation management and the use of technology in enhancing the litigation management process, drawing upon both his experience as a practicing attorney and on his twenty plus years of experience in the claims and litigation management arena. The Westfield Claims Legal Department, which he leads, was recently honored as one of the ten most innovative legal departments in America by Inside Counsel magazine.

Michael D. Zeoli is Vice President, Legal Vendor Manager of Chubb's North American Claim's Litigation Management Unit ("LMU") and responsible for North American panel and non-panel counsel utilization as well as the audit services team and processes. The LMU's responsibilities include oversight and management of panel and non-panel counsel relationships, audit and ebilling processes, utilization and direction of legal spend metrics and analytics, and advancement of operational efficiency and effectiveness in all aspects of litigation management processes, including artificial intelligence initiatives. Michael joined Chubb in 2010 in the role of Assistant Vice President and Manager of the Litigation Cost Management Group wherein he was responsible for the day-to-day management of the audit, deductible tracking and customer service teams. He subsequently held the position of Assistant Vice President, Home Office Litigation Management Specialist, with responsibilities for management of counsel relationships, including panel counsel retentions and the Claim endorsed counsel process before transitioning to his current Vice President role.