Joshua H. Abramson is counsel with Porzio, Bromberg & Newman P.C. in New York, New York, and is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in complex commercial litigation, products liability defense, and mass torts, and regularly counsels clients on business related matters. He is a member of DRI and serves on the Steering Committee of DRI's Product Liability Committee. He currently serves as the Chair of the Manufacturers' Risk Prevention SLG.

Tiffany M. Alexander with Tananbaum Keele LLP, focuses her practice in the areas of product liability and personal injury matters. Her experience and training in business management enables her to provide exceptional service and counsel to her clients, both in and out of the courtroom. Before beginning her legal career, Ms. Alexander was a fixed operations manager for an automobile dealership in New Jersey. This pre-law business and management experience gives her a unique perspective and in-depth insight into the manufacturing sector and the automotive industry specifically, making her a nationally recognized specialist in automotive products and heavy equipment defense.

Robert P. (Bob) Alpert is a Partner in the Commercial, Class Action and Products Liability Litigation Practices. Mr. Alpert has represented clients in a wide variety of complex, high exposure litigation matters throughout the United States, including the following: National coordinating and lead trial counsel for national manufacturer in connection with its defense of public nuisance and personal injury claims arising from alleged exposure to lead paint. National coordinating counsel for one of the country's largest retailers in connection with its defense of multiple putative class action and individual cases arising from the sale of pressure treated wood. National coordinating counsel for international real estate developer in connection with defending more than 50 individual, multi-party and putative class action lawsuits arising

Joy L. Anderson with Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila, and is part of the firm's commercial litigation group, Joy represents clients in a variety of complex matters in both federal and state court. She has defended clients against charges of various state and federal statutory violations, and she advises clients with respect to breach of contract and other tort claims. Joy has also defended and advised a university against breach of contract and Title VI and IX claims as part of her work with the firm's Higher Education practice. Her clients have included large banks and financial institutions, private universities, a leading foodservice distributor, and a real estate capital management company. Joy is also active in the firm's airport concessions practice, representing concession operators in their efforts to win ACDBE (Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) certification and recertification.

Jess W. Arbuckle is General Counsel and CCO for Viega LLC. He has over 37 years of experience in business and class action litigation, insurance coverage and defense with over 19 years in the General Counsel role. He has appeared before the United States Supreme Court and is licensed to practice in Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. Arbuckle was recently named Business and Commercial Litigation Lawyer of the Year in the US by Lawyer Monthly Magazine (2017) and his legal department at Viega LLC was named 2018 Commercial and Business Law Firm of the Year in the US by Finance Monthly Magazine.

Michael H. Bai focuses his practice on litigating a wide range of disputes and advising clients on regulatory and commercial issues. He has defended and represented manufacturers of various products, both domestically and internationally, including manufacturers of vehicle components (such as seat belts, airbags and tires), construction, agricultural and material handling equipment (such as excavators, lift trucks, skid steer loaders and tractors), consumer electronics and appliances (such as microwave ovens, cell phones, refrigerators and televisions), helmets, and numerous other products. Mr. Bai also serves as national counsel and supervisory counsel to numerous foreign corporations including the products described above. He also advises and assists many companies with product recalls, regulatory compliance requirements and governmental investigations. In addition, Mr. Bai has defended contractors in construction accident and labor law cases, building owners in toxic tort cases and businesses in commercial disputes. Mr. Bai has handled these lawsuits throughout the world and in all venues, including serving as lead and co-counsel. He has appeared pro hac vice in cases in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico and Texas. Michael Bai has written and lectured on various jurisdictional issues, including the Hague Service Convention.

Julius Ballanco, PE, CPD, FASPE, President of JB Engineering and Code Consulting, P.C. is a Past President of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) and the American Society of Plumbing Engineers Research Foundation. Ballanco is a member of the ASPE College of Fellows. He is a monthly columnist. He has authored The Illustrated Plumbing Code Design Handbook, Ballanco on Plumbing, BOCA National Plumbing Code Commentary and The Plumbing of Residential Fire Sprinklers; and co-authored The Illustrated National Plumbing Code Design Manual. A graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, he is a Registered Professional Engineer and Licensed Master Plumber.

Rosangela Delgado Barreto with Veirano Advogados firm and focuses her practice in the area of complex litigation that includes product liability, commercial, contractual, general civil and regulatory litigation. She has significant expertise in the consumer products, automotive, transportation, publishing, marine, and hotel industries, counseling several top tier Brazilian and international corporations. Working daily with leading United States-based law firms as local counsel for these firms in Brazil, Ms. Delgado Barreto is adept at anticipating and managing in-house counsel and consulting attorneys' needs and expectations. Her early professional experience includes working as an international visiting attorney in the banking practice at a top United States-based law firm.

Ann Marie Barry CIPP/US, CIPP/E, Chief Privacy and Records Management Officer, Johnson Controls International, responsible for the global privacy program at Johnson Controls International, a leading manufacturing and services provider with over 120,000 employees in 50+ countries. Johnson Controls' Privacy Office implements comprehensive policies and procedures in response to a rapidly changing regulatory landscape and advises the company regarding transactional matters, product development, and cross-border data transfers, evaluation of data processing activities and other privacy issues. Prior to leading Johnson Controls' Privacy Office, Ms. Barry served as Assistant General Counsel for a number of Johnson Controls/Tyco International's installation, services, and manufacturing businesses.

Patrick O. Barry is Associate General Counsel, Emerson Electric Co., Patrick is responsible for advising on and managing global commercial matters for the Commercial & Residential Solutions entities of the Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR). This includes counseling on IoT, product liability and dispute resolution. Additionally, Patrick drafts and reviews contracts, including sales, information technology, procurement, logistics and nondisclosure agreements for these Commercial & Residential Solution entities. Further, he provides consultation to these companies on business record retention and discovery issues. Lastly, Patrick is a returning speaker for DRI and has guest lectured at the University of Dayton, School of Law class on Internet of Things, the nation's first law school class dedicated specifically to IOT . Specialties: Corporate Counsel, Product Liability, Contracts.

Frédéric Bastien is a passionate entrepreneur with a keen sense for innovation and business value creation, and spent the last 20 years at the forefront of the mobile and data industries. Since founding mnubo in 2012, Fred has been a catalyst in helping equipment manufacturers monetize their data and enable business transformation. Prior to mnubo, Fred built the vision and led the product organization at Blueslice Networks up to its acquisition by Tekelec, which was awarded the 2010 'Best Deal Maker Award' from Light Reading. Frederic also served in senior positions at Nortel, leading the product management teams for 3G, based in Paris and later on LTE, based in Dallas. Fred started his career in the early-day team at Fido, deploying Canada's first GSM network Frederic is deeply involved in the Montreal startup ecosystem and is advisor and mentor to a dozen startups, sits on the board of directors for ENCQOR, a Canada-Quebec-Ontario partnership to establish the first Canadian pre-commercial corridor of 5G digital infrastructure, while also co-chairing Technopolys, Quebec's most ambitious IT industry promotion movement. Recently, Frederic led mnubo to win the 2017 ADRIQ Innovation Award. He was also recognized as Quebec's 2014 EY Emerging Entrepreneur of the year and received the 2014 PWC Vision to Reality award. Fred holds a B.Eng in Electrical Engineering – Telecommunications from école Polytechnique de Montréal.

Thomas L. Bennett, M.D. has been active in forensic pathology for over 42 years. He has performed well over 12,000 forensic autopsies and testified hundreds of times in criminal and civil trials in state and federal courts in the majority of the states of our country, as well as overseas. He has served as the state medical examiner for Iowa and Mississippi, and associate state medical examiner for Montana, and is currently serving as a private forensic pathologist for Wyoming and adjacent states. He is also active in consulting across the country in criminal and civil matters. He has published numerous articles in the peer-reviewed literature and lectures extensively both here and overseas.

Denise Brinker Bense, a partner at Cozen O'Connor in West Conshohocken, PA, has 30 years of litigation experience focusing on products liability litigation, including life-science matters for medical device and tissue processing companies and hospitals. She represents these clients as national and local counsel in mass tort, class action, multidistrict, and individual litigation. Her responsibilities include oversight and management of teams of in-house lawyers, paralegals, and local counsel firms nationwide.

William B. Benson Bio Requested

Maureen A. Bickley is a trial lawyer who concentrates her practice on the diverse litigation needs of businesses and individuals. Maureen's practice includes: national product liability counseling and litigation in diverse industry sectors, ranging from consumer products to construction and agricultural equipment manufacturers; prosecution and defense of contract disputes, business torts and unfair competition claims; estate litigation; and personal injury and premises liability litigation.

Lynne Jones Blain Lynne began her career with Browder, Russell, Morris and Butcher and was a partner at Morris and Morris before joining Harman Claytor in February of 1999. She concentrates her practice on the defense of complex medical cases, including claims of traumatic brain injury, nursing home/long term care and products liability. Lynne has lectured on a number of occasions on the defense of the mild TBI case, analysis of life care plans, documentation in a nursing home setting, and the ethics of the relationship between the defense counsel, insured and insurer. Lynn is the Vice Program Chair for the DRI 2019 Product Liability Conference.

Fred E. (Trey) Bourn III Practices at Butler Snow LLP in Ridgeland, MS. Trey serves as Assistant Practice Group Leader for the Product Liability, Toxic Tort and Environmental Group. His practice is focused on representing clients in areas of recreational vehicles, watercraft, automobiles, and other machinery-related product liability cases. Trey is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, and he has been recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers® for his work in personal injury defense – products. He has served in leadership roles for the Defense Research Institute, Mississippi Bar Association, Capital Area Bar Association and Jackson Young Lawyers. He obtained his J.D. from the University of Mississippi and is admitted to the State Bars of Mississippi and Tennessee, the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi and Northern District of New York, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Trey is the Program Chair for the DRI 20189 Product Liability Conference.

Megan E. Boyd is a Lecturer at Georgia State University College of Law, where she teaches civil procedure, advanced legal writing, and professional responsibility. Before she left practice for academia, Boyd worked at an Atlanta law firm, where she was co-chairperson of the firm's appellate practice group. She is the author of numerous articles on legal writing and co-author of Show, Don't Tell: Legal Writing for the Real World. She maintains a legal writing blog, www.ladylegalwriter.blogspot.com.

Daniel M. Braude, co-chair of Wilson Elser's e-Discovery practice and a member of the firm's Information Governance Leadership Committee, focuses on complex litigation involving product liability and commercial disputes, with an emphasis on related electronic discovery and document preservation issues. Dan counsels clients in the area of information governance including challenges associated with changing technology, cloud computing, and related data privacy and information security issues. In addition, Dan is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) and he serves as an adjunct professor at Pace University School of Law where he teaches a course on e-discovery.

Sarah L. Brewwith Faegre Baker Daniels, has a national reputation for effectively defending food industry clients against labeling and class action consumer fraud claims and representing food processors, distributors and retailers in foodborne illness and contamination cases and supply chain disputes. She also assists food and dietary supplement clients with compliance matters. Sarah has served as national counsel in foodborne illness cases arising from many major outbreaks, involving products such as eggs, spinach, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts, cantaloupe, peanut butter, beef products, poultry products and pet food. She has represented Fortune 500 food companies and retailers facing consumer fraud class actions challenging aspects of product labeling.

Dennis B. Brickman is a Principal at ESi, a proven leader with a relentless, client-focused approach and a commitment to quality that have made him a trusted advisor to individuals, businesses, manufacturers, government agencies, and law firms. An industry veteran with over 30 years of mechanical engineering and materials science experience, Mr. Brickman is a staunch safety advocate with a passion for cutting through complexity and deploying technical expertise, tools and industry best practices in service to his clients. He has developed and delivered recommendations that range from the practical to the groundbreaking, and has helped clients successfully navigate a wide range of complex safety issues.

Heather A. Brown joined the company in 2009 and currently serves as Chief Counsel for the Canadian Johnson Controls business Johnson Controls is the industry leader providing comprehensive HVAC, fire protection, security and life-safety solutions serving a wide range of customers in more than 150 countries. In her role as Chief Counsel, Heather shapes and influences the business strategies to proactively create an environment that facilitates business growth in Canada while reducing legal risks. Heather is a member of the executive team that manages businesses across the HVAC & Controls, Fire Protection and Security domains. She manages the Canadian legal team and is responsible for Canadian legal matters including commercial sales, litigation/disputes, regulatory, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions integration and divestitures, corporate secretary and compliance.

Nicole M.Brunsonis Associate General Counsel-Litigation with Ingersoll Rand. In this role, Nicole practices general tort litigation, product liability, construction and commercial litigation. She also advises on various corporate matters dealing with contracts, fleet and collections.Before joining Ingersoll Rand in 2012, Nicole worked for Swanson Martin & Bell, LLP, a boutique litigation firm in Chicago, Illinois. In her current role, Nicole helps strategic business units to manage litigation costs and provides legal insight on business decisions ranging from in an effort to progress business strategies, meet business goals and address business needs.

David L. Campbell is with Bowman and Brooke's Bloomfield Hills office, and is licensed in both Michigan and Ontario, Canada. David's cross-border practice includes the defense of corporate clients in product liability and commercial litigation across North America. Outside the courtroom, David serves as an adjunct torts professor and is a prolific grant writer who has helped raise more than $100,000 for community based non-profit organizations. David is married, to his college sweetheart, with three young children.

Jameson B. Carroll founded Carroll & Weiss in 2011. He began his career at King & Spalding's Atlanta office and spent 20 years in its products group, resigning from the firm as an equity partner. Carroll & Weiss numbers three K&S alumni among its partners. Jamie's practice remains centered on product liability defense, across a number of industries, although he now also handles plaintiff's cases. Jamie received an A.B. from Princeton, a J.D. from Penn, and served four years on active duty as a U.S. Army Field Artillery officer between college and law school.

Allyson Claybourn is Associate General Counsel at Berry Global, Inc., a manufacturer and developer of innovative plastics packaging headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Her primary responsibilities include managing products liability and commercial disputes and litigation, and advising employees on regulatory issues. Prior to joining Berry, Allyson practiced with Jackson Kelly PLLC and served as a law clerk for a federal district court judge in the Southern District of Indiana.

Patrick P. Clyder is a partner in the Chicago office of Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP, a nationally recognized litigation firm whose hallmark is jury trial experience. Patrick's practice focusses on representing product manufacturers. He has represented clients in cases involving a variety of products including table saws, construction equipment, fire sprinkler systems, ladders, transformers, and wind turbines. While based in Chicago, he has actively defended product liability matters in multiple state and federal courts under pro hac vice admission.

Lori G. Cohen is Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig's Global Litigation Practice, and Chair of its Trial Practice Group and Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Practice. Her practice focuses on product liability litigation, where she has served as both national counsel and regional counsel for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. In the most recent version of Chambers USA, she was referred to by clients as "a trial wizard" with "great trial experience."

Michael E. Cundy, PhD, PE, CFEI is a licensed mechanical engineer with expertise in the fields of combustion, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, and measurement systems. He has utilized fundamental combustion knowledge with his experience and knowledge with internal combustion engines (ICEs) to better understand carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations exiting exhaust systems under various conditions. His extensive experience with ICE performance and operation was gained in part by developing and utilizing laser diagnostic systems to measure in-cylinder processes and observe engine performance variations for General Motors. In conjunction with this work, he utilizes fluid mechanics expertise and experience and knowledge with heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment and installations in vehicles and structures to evaluate CO transport and ingress into occupied areas. CO measurements are interpreted appropriately considering instrument capabilities and methodology, and any measurable CO concentrations over time are assessed and compared to relevant standards and to assist in the assessment of an injury associated with CO.

Sarah-Jane Dobson is a Legal 500-recommended international products lawyer. She has acted in high-profile litigation and regulatory matters for her clients during the course of international career spanning Australia, Germany, Netherlands (including UN international courts), Scotland and England. Sarah-Jane works across a broad range of sectors, including automotive, cosmetics, consumer goods, medical devices and new technologies. Her dual degree in Law/Science means she is particularly well placed to provide strategic and commercial legal advice that reflects a deep understanding of the often-complex technical scientific underpinnings of her clients' product law issues. She works with world-renowned companies on all their product-related queries across the entire product life cycle (from product launch, ad-hoc queries, recalls, litigation, to criminal investigations and public inquiries). She is involved in EU policy and legislative developments in product safety and liability.

John A. (Jack) Dolan PE is a 1991 graduate of the Florida Institute of Technology. Mr. Dolan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in structural engineering. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the States of Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and a Certified Building Contractor in the State of Florida. Mr. Dolan has extensive experience in all phases of planning, design and construction for a diverse list of projects ranging from bridge, infrastructure, and roadway projects as well as large scale commercial and industrial facilities and custom single family homes. These projects involved Federal, State, and Municipal levels of government, and project budgets up to $40 million and greater. His experience has a strong focus on fast track, design/build projects, where he had complete project responsibilities to include preparation of proposals, contracts, and cost estimates, generation of project schedules, awarding of subcontracts, and oversight of job site and office/engineering personnel. He is also trained and certified in construction safety and quality control programs.

Kevin G. Dougherty is a Partner at Warner Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, MI. He represents businesses and individuals in civil cases in state and federal courts throughout the United States, specializing in product liability defense and commercial litigation. For over 20 years, Kevin has represented Morbark as their national counsel defending product liability cases involving forestry equipment. He has tried cases for Morbark in eight states, including three wrongful death cases resulting in defense verdicts. Kevin has been named to Michigan Super Lawyers in 2017 and to Best Lawyers in America from 2013 to present.

Dannel C. Duddy is a partner with Harman, Claytor, Corrigan & Wellman, P.C., in Richmond, Virginia. He focuses his practice on the defense of product manufacturers and distributors, commercial litigation, and construction litigation in federal and state courts in Virginia and North Carolina. He received his B.A. from North Carolina State University and his J.D. from Washington and Lee University.Dannel is the Vice Chair of the DRI's Children's Products Specialized Litigation Group.

Keven Drummond Eiber is Assistant General Counsel for Litigation at MTD Products Inc., a major manufacturer of outdoor power equipment for residential and commercial lawns and gardens. Keven joined MTD in 2016 after more than 25 years in private practice at the law firm of Brouse McDowell, where she was a partner and former Litigation Practice Group chair. Keven's private litigation practice focused on insurance coverage matters. Keven is designated an Insurance Law Specialist by the Ohio State Bar Association, and is rated AV by Martindale Hubbell. She is admitted to practice law in Ohio and Florida.

Sandra Giannone Ezell is an undeniable force in the courtroom defending product liability and mass tort litigation, often as national trial counsel. For more than 25 years, she has handled high-exposure wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases for a broad range of product manufacturers. Her ability to connect with a jury and tell her client's story in a compelling fashion has earned her national recognition as "the number-one trial lawyer in Richmond" by Chambers USA. (2016)

Cheryl A. Falvey is co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Advertising & Product Risk Management Group, a member of the firm's Management Board, and former general counsel of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. An experienced trial lawyer, she defends class actions, unfair competition, product liability and other mass tort claims arising out of consumer, occupational, and environmental exposures and other complex litigation with a science or technology focus. Cheryl helps clients avoid liability in the marketing of their products, build safety and security into their products with science-based risk assessment, and successfully navigate product safety challenges with rapid response. She represents clients on litigation and counseling matters regarding statutes and regulations enforced by the CPSC, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). She handles product recalls conducted in cooperation with NHTSA, CPSC, and FDA, and defends clients in agency enforcement actions.

Harris Neal Feldman is Chairman of the Commercial Litigation Department at Parker McCay, P.A. in New Jersey. His practice focuses on the management of all phases of civil litigation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with an emphasis on commercial/business litigation and defense of product liability and employment matters. He regularly counsels businesses on pre-litigation issues geared toward cost-effective resolution and litigation avoidance. He has authored numerous articles on litigation topics and is a frequent presenter at regional and national legal conferences. Harris currently serves as the Chair of the Building Products SLG of the Product Liability Committee.

Ignatius Grande is a Director at Berkeley Research Group in their Global Investigations & Strategic Intelligence practice. He advises clients on issues relating to information governance, eDiscovery, cybersecurity and data privacy. Ignatius works with companies on their data privacy practices and advises companies on how they can comply with EU data privacy laws, including the recently enacted General Data Protection Regulation. With his legal and technical expertise, Ignatius is able to bridge the gap that can exist between IT and legal/compliance personnel. Ignatius serves as co-chair of the Social Media Committee of the New York State Bar Association's Litigation Section and teaches a course on eDiscovery at St. John's University School of Law. He has worked for two major law firms and also served as in-house counsel for a global commodities company. Ignatius graduated from Yale College in 1996 and Georgetown University Law Center in 1999.

Michael A. Gross is an AV® Martindale-Hubbell Rated Attorney and has litigated high profile defense and plaintiff cases for 38 years. Gross developed the PowerWitness™ Process and is the Managing Director of CogentEdge, which provides a highly structured, disciplined way to prepare for litigation testimony through which clients are able to develop the tools and emotional strength they need to testify clearly, confidently, and truthfully. CogentEdge is regularly retained by defense counsel, insurance carriers, and prominent law firms

Lisa P. Gruen is a partner in Goldberg Segalla's Product Liability Practice Group in its Los Angeles office. She represents clients in a variety of civil actions in the areas of product liability, fire law, premises liability, professional liability, medical devices, construction defect, and toxic tort. An AV Preeminent-rated attorney, Lisa has defended numerous lawsuits relating to consumer and industrial products for national and international manufacturing and service corporations. She is a member of the Steering Committee for DRI's Product Liability Committee, a past chair of its Fire Science and Litigation Specialized Litigation Group, and a former member of The Gavel Network Advisory Board.

Eric Guyer, PhD, PE, is a Principal Engineer and Director of Exponent's Atlanta office. His areas of expertise include fracture, fatigue, corrosion and more generally failure analysis. He has extensive experience investigating and solving complex multidisciplinary problems in medical devices, consumer products and industrial systems. These investigations typically relate to root cause analyses or product recalls. Dr. Guyer is a licensed professional engineer in both metallurgy as well as mechanical engineering.

Lisa P. Gwin, MD, DO, BSEE, has been an actively practicing emergency physician for 13 years. She also has experience as a firefighter and emergency medical technician including a certification as a fire investigator. She is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine and has a BS in both Nursing and Electrical Engineering. Prior to beginning her medical career, Dr. Gwin spent 6 years working with Ford Motor Company as an Automotive Test and Development Engineer. Dr. Gwin has been retained as a biomechanics expert in over 300 cases throughout the United States since 2012.

Jonathan E. Hall is a partner in Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein's Professional Negligence & Product Liability Defense group, where he brings extensive trial experience representing clients in far ranging areas of litigation. He concentrates his practice, however, on defending clients against claims of catastrophic injury and death due to allegedly defective or unreasonably dangerous products, due to alleged medical negligence, nursing home liability, trucking accidents, and mass torts. He has tried lawsuits in state and federal courts across North Carolina, having taken close to 75 cases to jury verdict over the course of his career, all in civil courts.

Jennifer Snyder Heis is a partner in the Cincinnati office of Ulmer & Berne, where she represents product manufacturers and sellers, including drug and medical device companies and dietary supplement manufacturers. She defends clients both locally and nationally, in multidistrict litigation and coordinated state proceedings. Ms. Heis is actively involved with DRI's Drug and Medical Device and Product liability Committees, and serves on the Law Institute.

Peter J. Henein is a partner in the Advocacy Department in the Toronto office of Cassels Brock who specializes in the areas of product liability, class actions and intellectual propert. He works with a wide variety of clients, including franchisors, certification bodies, international auto manufacturers and numerous other manufacturers and distributors around the world. Peter is the Vice Chair of the Recreational Products Specialized Litigation Group.

Daniel M. (Dan) Hill is with the firm of McCoyy Leavitt Laskey. Prior to joining the firm, Dan was general counsel of the New Mexico Public Education Department. There he handled a number of high profile lawsuits and administrative appeals. He now handles fire and explosion related matters around the country. In 2017, he completed the National Fire Investigation Training Program at Eastern Kentucky University. Dan is a member of the DRI Product Liability Steering Committee and is the Vice-Chair of the DRI Product Liability Young Lawyers Committee. He is a 2010 graduate of the University of Michigan School of Law, and a 2005 graduate of the University of Arizona (magna cum luade). Prior to becoming a lawyer Dan was a Teach For America Corps Member, teaching middle school on the Southside of Chicago. He currently serves as a board member for the New Mexico International School Foundation and for the New Mexico Center for School Leadership. He is admitted to practice in New Mexico.

Jonathan L.S. Hodes is a partner in the Vancouver, BC office of Miller Thomson LLP. His practice includes a wide variety of product liability claims arising out of such diverse products as gasoline, automatic doors, food products, sporting goods, electronics, furniture and construction materials. His practice also includes general liability and environmental litigation. He has appeared in the courts of several Canadian jurisdictions, including the Supreme Court of Canada, and has provided opinion evidence of Canadian product liability law in the Superior Court of Washington. Mr. Hodes is an SLDO Past President, a member of DRI International and currently the International Legal Issues SLG Vice Chair for DRI's Product Liability Committee.

Merton A. (Mert) Howard leads the Litigation practice at Hanson Bridgett in San Francisco. He handles product liability cases, class actions, and commercial disputes. He represents clients in matters concerning California's Proposition 65, unfair competition, warranty, and indemnity. Additionally, Mert assists with regulatory compliance, product labeling, and crisis management. He utilizes legal project management techniques to find opportunities for creative and cost effective conflict resolution. He is a frequent author and speaker regarding litigation and legal practice. Mert is the Vice Chair of the DRI Children's Products Specialized Litigation Group Merton A. (Mert) Howard leads the Product Liability and Tort practice at Hanson Bridgett, a San Francisco based firm with 160 lawyers. He handles product liability cases, class actions, and commercial disputes. He also represents clients in matters concerning product recalls and safety, California's Proposition 65, unfair competition, warranty, and indemnity. Additionally, Mert assists with regulatory compliance, product labeling, and crisis management. He utilizes legal project management techniques to find opportunities for creative and cost effective conflict resolution. Mert is a frequent author and speaker regarding litigation and legal practice.Mert is he Chair of the DRI Children's Products Specialized Liltigation Group.

Kimberly I. (Kim) Hughes is a Senior Attorney at Microsoft Corporation, where she focuses the areas of global product safety certification, and liability management. Prior to joining Microsoft, she was a senior legal counsel with Weyerhaeuser Company, where her practice addressed product safety, certification, and registration; environment, health, safety, and energy compliance, enforcement, and litigation; materials and services procurement; and business and transactional activities. Early in her career Kim was a litigation associate with the Seattle firm of Gaitán & Cusack, and a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney – Civil Division for Clallam County, Washington. She is admitted to practice in Washington state, the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of Washington, and before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Melissa Hung is Senior Corporate Counsel and Director at The Clorox Company, a leading multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer products based in Oakland, CA. Melissa has served as lead counsel responsible for commercial and global regulatory compliance for the company's food and dietary supplement businesses, which include Hidden Valley Ranch, Soy Vay marinades and dressings, Renew Life digestive health products, and the Nutranext portfolio of vitamins, minerals and supplements. Prior to joining Clorox, Melissa was a member of the FDA and life sciences practice group at Sidley Austin in Washington, DC.

Alexander P. Imberg is the chair of Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP's global German Practice. He is licensed to practice both in California and Germany and focuses his practice on the defense of German manufacturers (and their US subsidiaries) in complex litigation in US federal and state courts. Most of his clients stem from the automotive, building technology and energy industries. He has tried major cases, including product liability and construction defect cases, to verdict. Alex serves as national coordinating counsel for a number of companies, where he oversees litigation in all 50 US states and abroad.

Stacy M. Imler, PhD, PE has expertise in injury biomechanics and biomechanical accident reconstruction. Her work includes analysis of injuries associated with the transportation industry (passenger vehicle, heavy trucking, and railroad accidents), industrial equipment, recreational activities, slip/trip and falls, pedestrian accidents, and consumer products. Dr. Imler has performed biomechanical analyses for a wide range of motor vehicle accidents including rollover accidents, planar collisions, and low-speed collisions. In general, her analyses include evaluation of the injuries through an injury causation analysis or through determination of the mechanism of traumatic injury, as well as investigation of the effects of existing or hypothetical safety countermeasures such as air bags, seat belts, or personal protective equipment on the injury outcome.

Lynne O. Ingram defends manufacturers, contractors, and property owners in complex civil litigation matters throughout the country, from inception through mediation and trial. Prior to entering private practice, Lynne was an ADA in Philadelphia, where she tried over 40 felony jury trials. Lynne is the co-chair of her firm's Diversity Committee, active in DRI, the FDCC, and PADC, and volunteers at her local hospital's NICU.

Nilda M. Isidro is a partner in Goodwin's Food and Supplement and Product Liability Groups. Her practice focuses on consumer products law in FDA-regulated industries. She has extensive experience in products liability law, including mass torts and MDLs. Ms. Isidro also provides strategic counseling to food and supplement businesses on a broad range of issues, including FDA and FTC regulatory compliance, risk management and litigation avoidance. Ms. Isidro is a 2015 New York Law Journal Rising Star.

Jill D. Jacobson is Husqvarna Group's General Counsel, Americas. In that role, Jill leads a team of nine professionals who are responsible for all the legal issues involving Husqvarna's operations in North and South America. Before joining Husqvarna, Jill was a trial lawyer whose practice was focused on product liability litigation. Jill earned her law degree from the University of Virginia, and a bachelor's in Business (Marketing) from San Jose State University. The Husqvarna Group is the world's largest producer of outdoor power products including chainsaws, trimmers, lawn mowers and garden tractors. Husqvarna's products and solutions are sold via dealers and retailers to both consumers and professional users in more than 100 countries. Husqvarna has approximately 14,000 employees in more than 40 countries.

Joe Jankoski is Vice President of Retail Channel Development for Hunter Douglas, Inc., North America's leading manufacturer and marketer of custom window fashions, based in Pearl River, N.Y. He oversees a network of over 5,000 independently owned and operated retail customers in the US that sell and service the premium line of Hunter Douglas branded products. He is currently the President of the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) and Trustee of the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC).

Zachary J. Jason, PE CFI, CFEI has been a practicing, consulting and forensic engineer since 2005. He is a licensed mechanical engineer and a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator (CFEI). He specializes in fire origin and cause determination, explosion investigations, and carbon monoxide incidents. He has investigated numerous explosions ranging from small residential propane and natural gas incidents to large commercial accidents involving pipelines, chemical manufacturing plants, petrochemical refineries, and other industrial facilities. Mr. Jason has extensive experience involving the analysis of fuel-gas systems, appliances, and other mechanical components related to the oil and gas, process safety, fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC, and fireworks industries. Prior to receiving his engineering degree, he worked as a volunteer firefighter, and currently works part-time as a certified pyrotechnic display technician.

Mark W. Johnson is Chief Segment & International Counsel for Newell Brands Inc. Mark is the primary operations counsel for Newell's business segments, and directs the legal services provided to the company's international regions. Mark also manages the company's government affairs work. Prior to joining Newell, Mark was a commercial litigator at McGuire Woods in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mark earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and his undergraduate degree from Hampton University.

Michael G. Jones is a partner at the law firm of Martin, Pringle, Oliver, Wallace & Bauer, and focuses his practice on aviation law, products liability, and commercial litigation. He represents aviation clients, including Beechcraft Corporation and its predecessors, and now Textron Aviation Inc., in products liability actions and a variety of commercial litigation matters in federal and state courts throughout the United States. Mike is the DRI Products Liability Aviation Substantive Law Group Chair.

Sidney K. Kanazawa, a Los Angeles McGuireWoods partner, has won trials and reached agreements many thought improbable, including a 45 minute defense verdict in a pharmaceutical case preceded by a string of similar case plaintiff verdicts and the resolution, without lawsuits, of 2,000 claims in 3 months (600 in 2 weeks) following a massive oil spill. Mr. Kanazawa is a former chair of the DRI Trial Tactics Committee and is admitted to practice in California and Hawaii.

Mark D. Katz, is a founding member of Coronado Katz LLC, defends product manufacturers and distributors in product liability cases involving catastrophic damages, serious injuries and death. His practice also includes defending public entities in employment and general litigation. His experience spans 30 years of trials and appeals in state and federal courts in Kansas and Missouri. He is an active DRI member in the Product Liability Committee and the Fire Science and Litigation SLG, and he is the President of the Kansas Association of Defense Counsel, as well as a member of the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers.

Callum G. (Cal) Kelly After more than a decade of practicing in the Vancouver office of a national law firm, Cal joined Stevens Virgin as Associate Counsel in October of 2013. Cal practices primarily in the area of insurance defence and is known for his attentive customer service and respectful but firm dealings with the other side. Cal represents product manufacturers faced with product liability and recall issues. He acts regularly for a prominent international elevator and escalator company, as well as a number of sporting goods and retail manufacturers. He defends both personal injury and property damage claims, while also helping with advice on product recalls as necessary. He has experience in trials involving defamation, ownership of joint bank accounts, and all manners of personal injury. Cal has been involved in most aspects of litigation involving long-term disability insurers in the past 15 years, with extensive experience in the Federal Court of Canada and the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Cal also defends catastrophic personal injury claims, regularly handling claims that could warrant an award in excess of $1 million. His extensive experience in a number of other commercial litigation areas, including most forms of insurance litigation (with significant experience in defending life and disability claims). Cal enjoys the back and forth inherent in all litigated claims and takes pride in doing whatever is necessary to get the job done.

Ryan F. Kenny is a partner with Cetrulo LLP in Boston, MA. Ryan concentrates his practice in products liability and toxic torts with a focus on asbestos litigation. Ryan has extensive motion practice experience in complex litigation matters and has successfully argued numerous summary judgment motions, discovery related motions, and motions to dismiss. Ryan has pre-trial and trial experience before the Massachusetts Superior Courts, Connecticut Superior Courts, and the United States District Courts for the Districts of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Further, Ryan acts as coordinating counsel for several of Cetrulo LLP's toxic tort clients. Ryan has been named to the "Rising Stars" list in New England Super Lawyers from 2012-2018.

Scott Kirkpatrick is General Counsel, Vice President & Corporate Secretary of Coca-Cola Ltd., The Minute Maid Company and Coca-Cola Refreshments (Canada). Named in 2015 as one of Canada's Leading Lawyers Under 40 by Lexpert, Mr. Kirkpatrick moved to Coca-Cola in 2011 after practicing in the Toronto office of one of Canada's large full-service firms. In his current role, he sits on the executive team for all three entities and leads a Canadian team dealing with a broad range of legal issues including environmental risk, trademark compliance, marketing reviews, litigation, contract management, competition law, procurement, employment matters and corporate governance for over 350 recognizable beverages in Canada.

Andrea Studley Knowles is a partner at Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C. in Boston where she chairs the firm's Product Liability Practice Group. Andrea represents manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in complex product liability cases throughout New England and beyond involving catastrophic injuries or significant property damage. Andrea also serves as an adviser and an advocate for clients in a variety of commercial and employment matters.

Roman Lifson is a partner with Christian & Barton LLP in Richmond, Virginia. He has tried cases in federal and state courts across the country and focuses his practice on motorsports law, product liability and catastrophic injury litigation. Mr. Lifson is the past chair of DRI's Automotive Specialized Litigation Group and past chair of the Virginia Bar Association's Civil Litigation Section. Mr. Lifson has served as Chair of DRI's Product Liability Conference and DRI's Strictly Automotive seminar. Mr. Lifson devotes time to car racing at race tracks across the country. He is the Law Institute liaison of this conference.

C. Dewayne Lonas is the current Chair of the ACMIE SLG. He is a shareholder and officer of Moran Reeves & Conn PC in Richmond, VA, practicing predominantly in products liability and commercial litigation. Dewayne's products practice focuses on the defense of the designers and manufacturers of agricultural, construction, turf care and food processing equipment. Dewayne's products liability and commercial litigation practices are national in scope and span both state and federal courts. He has tried numerous cases to verdict, and successfully argued cases in the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lindsay Lorimer is a partner in the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Group at McMillan LL in Toronto. Her practice in-volves counseling clients on risk assessment and management. Prior to joining the Firm, Lindsay practiced with a prominent class action boutique and served as in-house counsel with a large insurance company, during which time she developed extensive knowledge of insurance laws. Lindsay regularly undertakes policy reviews and provides coverage opinions on all types of insurance, including but not limited to directors and officers policy coverage. Lindsay also has expertise in complex insurance disputes, insurance coverage issues and reinsurance. Lindsay enjoys a Distinguished rating from Martindale-Hubbell, is recognized in the international Who's Who Legal for Product Liability Defence and is described as a "top tier advocate who is known to be a very effective either at mediation or in the courtroom." Lindsay is the Specialized Litigation Group (SLG) Coordinator for the 2019 DRI Product Liability Conference

Christen E. Luikart is an experienced litigation attorney and has handled over 60 jury trials. Prior to joining attorneys in Jacksonville, FL, Murphy & Anderson, Mrs. Luikart served as a prosecutor at the State Attorney's Office in Jacksonville, where she was the lead attorney on a variety of cases. She is admitted to practice before all Courts in the State of Florida and the United States District Court, Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Florida. Mrs. Luikart is a litigation partner handling complex product liability, personal injury and commercial litigation disputes.

Kathryn S. Mansfield practices in the Charleston office of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. She focuses her practice on business litigation, specifically advising businesses at all phases of litigation in matters relating to construction defects and environmental and toxic tort litigation She also has experience advising municipalities and utility providers in both litigation and regulatory proceedings. She practices before South Carolina state and federal courts and the South Carolina Public Service Commission. Before attending law school, Kathryn worked as an associate engineer for the Nuclear & Criticality Safety Engineering group at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC on the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site.

Jeffrey B. Margulies is the Partner-in-Charge of the Los Angeles office of Norton Rose Fulbright, and practices in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Mr. Margulies graduated, cum laude, from Villanova University School of Law in 1986, received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University in 1982, and has been in practice for over 30 years. His practice focuses on class action litigation and regulatory and compliance issues regarding consumer products, in a variety of international, federal, state, and local product safety issues, including compliance, enforcement and regulatory and class action litigation over such issues.

Kelly Mariottiis the Vice President of Client Services at Association Headquarters and Executive Director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA). Kelly received her JD from Georgetown University in 1994 and practiced Mergers & Acquisitions and Securities Law at Dewey Ballantine in New York after graduating. In addition to bar memberships in both New York and Massachusetts, she is a certified public accountant, certified association executive and has graduate certificates in nonprofit management and advanced product safety management. Kelly is an entrepreneur who founded and operated a successful baby and children's products manufacturing company for 17 years. During that time she was an active member of JPMA and served as board chair. After selling the business, she made a deliberate move to the nonprofit sector as a strategic consultant and ultimately joined JPMA's staff in 2013. Kelly draws on her experience to speak on topics related to the juvenile products industry and baby safety, nonprofit strategy and growth, leadership, and team-building for private businesses, nonprofits, industry associations and womens' groups.

Jack Marshall is president and founder of ProEthics, Ltd. For over 21 years he has developed and presented nearly 250 entertaining and interactive ethics programs. His ethics analyses have been featured on numerous radio and television programs, including National Public Radio. A graduate of Harvard College and Georgetown University Law Center, Marshall is a member of the Massachusetts and D.C. Bars and serves as outside ethics counsel for several U.S. law firms. In 2014, Marshall was named to the prestigious "Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business."

The Honorable J. Thomas Marten currently sits on the bench as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Kansas. Judge Marten earned his undergraduate degree from Washburn University and his law degree from Washburn University School of Law. Following a clerkship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thomas C. Clark, Judge Marten practiced for nearly 20 years in private practice. Since his appointment in 1996, Judge Marten has been involved in a wide range of civil and criminal litigation. He is a judicial advisor to NYU's Civil Jury Trial Project.

Michael A. McCaskey is a partner with Swanson Martin Bell and is an accomplished litigator practicing in federal and state courts throughout the country. He has extensive experience in all phases of litigation and, over the course of his career, has successfully represented a diverse clientele in a broad range of complex commercial and catastrophic liability litigation. Mike's national practice includes advising clients in product liability, construction, insurance, banking and commercial disputes, and class actions. He has tried cases to verdict in some of the most challenging jurisdictions in the country.

Lisa J. McCrawis Assistant General Counsel, Litigation at Deere & Company in Moline, Illinois. She leads a group of 24 attorneys, paralegals and claims professionals who focus on product liability, toxic tort, commercial and general litigation and product safety matters. Lisa is a graduate of the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She has over 28 years of litigation experience. She also has experience in the areas of insurance recovery, government investigation, compliance, environment, health & safety and contract negotiation and management. She began her career representing defendants in civil litigation in Phoenix Arizona, before returning home to the Quad Cities to work for Deere. Lisa is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Arizona Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Corporate Counsel Committee of the Defense Research Institute. Lisa is passionate about giving back to her community through volunteering and pro bono legal service. She serves on the boards of various non- profits and is a board member of the Public Interest Law Initiative.

Joshua W. Mermis has broad experience in litigation, with a focus on construction, energy, product liability and business law. Mr. Mermis has extensive trial experience conducting jury and bench trials, as well as arbitrations, from homeowner claims to multimillion commercial projects throughout Texas. He represents domestic and international companies including developers, general contractors, subcontractors, product and equipment manufacturers, and business owners.

Byron N. Miller is a partner at Thompson Miller & Simpson PLC and concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and the defense of complex medical malpractice and products liability actions. He is an experienced trial lawyer having tried over 150 cases before juries, including mass tort cases involving multiple plaintiffs. He is a member of the Kentucky and South Dakota Bar Associations, as well as Kentucky Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute. He is licensed to practice in Kentucky, South Dakota and numerous federal courts. He is also a retired Colonel in the U.S. Army.

H. Lockwood (Chip) Miller III is a partner with Goldberg Segalla in Newark, NJ. Chip has broad litigation experience across a number of substantive areas, with a deep focus on the defense of product liability and toxic tort claims. He has litigated multiple matters involving a host of different prescription and over-the-counter medications, vaccines, and surgical devices, as well as a wide array of other product liability and toxic tort claims, including those involving asbestos, benzene, lead paint, cosmetics, and consumer goods, and industrial machinery. Chip is the Chair of the Toxic Tort Specialized Litigation Group.

Joseph P. (Joe) Mohorovic has operated at the intersection of business and government for twenty years. He's had measurable success in both the private sector as a testing executive and the public sector as a former legislator and Commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Joe is currently a Senior Consultant at Troutman Sanders LLP. He is part of a Product Safety Team offering best in class representation over the full life cycle of a consumer product: from proactive guidance on compliance and supply-chain interruption; to regulatory counseling; through product liability defense, including expert witness testimony, and dispute resolution.

Alan Moore, PE is a mechanical engineer and principal of A.B.Moore Forensic Engineering. He specializes in vehicle accident reconstruction, vehicle design analysis, and mechanical engineering consulting. Mr. Moore holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University and a Masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, a Board Certified Forensic Engineer, and an ACTAR-certified accident reconstructionist. His past experience includes two decades of accident reconstruction and automotive engineering. He previously worked at Ford Motor Company as a design engineer on the Ford Expedition and Excursion. Mr. Moore also serves as a high-performance driving coach for aspiring race car drivers through the Porsche Club of America.

Tara Moore, PhD, PE, is the president of Tara Moore Consulting. She received a Ph.D. in Medical Engineering from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT, and a B.Eng. in Aerospace Engineering from Carleton University. Dr. Moore has expertise in injury biomechanics, occupant kinematics, accident reconstruction, injury tolerance in adults and children, and the characterization of bone mechanical properties. Dr. Moore's research activities include mechanical testing of trabecular bone, occupant injury risk in rollovers, occupant motion and loading during low-speed impacts, operator motion during forklift operation, pediatric neck injury in high-energy motor vehicle crashes, and the effect of medical implants on injury.

Jennifer L. Naeger is in-house counsel at Trek Bicycle Corporation at Trek's headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin. In her capacity as in-house counsel, Jenn manages litigation on a global basis, assists with product safety and compliance issues, and counsels teams on risk assessment and liability prevention. She has a strong background in product liability litigation.

Amy E. Neff is Associate General Counsel for Goodbaby International, a global juvenile products manufacturer with brands such as Evenflo, gb, Cybex and Rollplay. Amy provides litigation and regulatory counsel for these brands throughout North America. Before joining Evenflo, Amy worked as a commercial litigator for Riley, Warnock & Jacobson, PLC, in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and completed her undergraduate degree at The Ohio State University.

Tonya G. Newman is a partner in Neal Gerber Eisenberg's Litigation and Insurance Policyholder practice groups. Tonya represents clients in complex civil litigation, products liability, and insurance coverage matters. She is active in associations and professional networks. On the national level, since 2015 she has co-chaired the Women in Products Liability Subcommittee of the ABA Section of Litigation's Products Liability Committee, and in 2018 was appointed as co-Chair of the Products Liability Committee. She has also served since 2010 as a managing editor of Coverage, the publication of the ABA Section of Litigation Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee. On a local level she serves as co-chair of the firm's Women's Network and is a past chair of the Chicago Bar Association's Insurance Law Committee. From 2013 through 2015 she served on the Board of Directors of Chicago's Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law. She was recognized in the Top 50: 2015 and 2016 Women Illinois Super Lawyers and as a Super Lawyer since 2011. She is a frequent presenter at conferences and seminars.

Marc A. Nichols is the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Saab businesses in North America, serving as the chief legal officer of the company in the United States and Canada. In this role, Mr. Nichols helps lead the legal, trade compliance, ethics and compliance, IP, and contracts functions of the company. Mr. Nichols has over 20 years of experience in the legal, aerospace and defense industries. Prior to his tenure with Saab, Mr. Nichols served as in-house counsel at Rolls-Royce, the British power manufacturing company, helping lead its legal efforts in the defense aerospace, compliance, ethics, and government investigations realms. Mr. Nichols has also previously served as a former U.S. Inspector General, worked for various law firms in the U.S., and for tenures at what is now Chase Bank and for the U.S. Congress. Mr. Nichols has worked or lived in England and Germany. Mr. Nichols is a graduate of the Washington and Lee University Law School in Virginia, and holds a B.A. from Wabash College in Indiana. A native of Upstate New York, Marc resides in the Syracuse, New York, region with his spouse, Jamie Collins. He serves or has served on various boards of directors in the communities in which he has lived.

Andrew K. (Andy) Nieto, CSP, CHST earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety and Health from Columbia Southern University. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Photogrammetry from Wayland Baptist University. He is responsible for the investigation and management of projects involving safety issues in commercial/industrial, and residential construction environments. Mr. Nieto also evaluates projects involving accidents in regard to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of factors that may have caused or contributed to the incident. Prior to joining S-E-A, Mr. Nieto worked as a Project Safety Manager for Gray Construction of Lexington, KY. He has extensive experience in all major facets of commercial construction, including, but not limited to: Fall protection, crane operations, rigging, scaffolding, excavations, Lock-out/Tag-out, and electrical. He is a professional member, and former Chapter Vice President of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). Additionally, Mr. Nieto is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), certified crane operator, a Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), and is an authorized OSHA Outreach Instructor for 10 and 30 Hour Card (Construction) courses.

Juliana K. O'Brien is a litigator at McCoy Leavitt Laskey LLC who specializes in product liability, insurance defense, and catastrophic losses involving fires and explosions. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) with a particular interest in the impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on investigations and liability. Juliana has experience managing loss investigations, coordinating fire scenes and lab examinations, and litigating complex claims across the country.

Jodi Dyan Oley with Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC has a diverse practice in civil litigation, with a particular emphasis on product liability litigation. Jodi's practice includes representation of national automobile, motorcycle and medium/heavy duty truck and tractor manufacturers. She is also experienced in litigation of toxic tort, mass tort, construction and personal injury matters. Jodi is skilled in Federal Employers' Liability Act litigation, as well as other railroad and transportation actions. Jodi has been appointed as national discovery counsel for an international automotive manufacturer and acts as regional trial counsel for a national motorcycle manufacturer. Jodi is the Chair of the Automotive Specialized Litigation Group.

Juan C. Ortega is a shareholder with the law firm of Sirote & Permutt, PC, where he represents individuals and businesses in both civil and criminal matters. Mr. Ortega's civil trial practice includes commercial litigation, mortgage banking litigation, labor and employment law, and products liability law. He earned his B.A. degree from Auburn University and his J.D. degree from the Cumberland School of Law. Mr. Ortega is a member of the Alabama State Bar, the Mississippi Bar, the Mobile Bar Association, and DRI Voice of the Defense Bar.

M. Kathleen (Kathy) Padfield is the General Counsel for Ingersoll Rand's Residential HVAC and Supply division based in Davidson, NC. In that capacity, she serves as the legal business partner to the company's commercial and residential heating, ventilation and air conditioning businesses handling all matters, including contracting, channel management, dispute resolution, mergers and acquisitions and compliance. Prior to joining Ingersoll Rand she was Counsel for GE Real Estate, supporting its commercial real estate lending business, and in private practice with Armstrong Teasdale LLP where her practice included real estate development, mergers and acquisitions, and public finance.

Charles S. (Charlie) Painter is a partner with ERICKSEN ARBUTHNOT. He Co-Chair's the firm's Products Liability Practice Group and is AV® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He has tried numerous civil jury trials to verdict in courts of unlimited jurisdiction. He successfully defended the first "failure to warn" pharmaceutical products liability case to be tried to verdict in the United States on the issue of whether aspirin causes Reye's syndrome. He lectures on Digital Evidence and is the Vice Chair of the Digital Evidence and Emerging Technologies Specialized Litigation Group of the DRI Products Committee. He and Marcia have been married for 45 years and love to backpack. They live in Fair Oaks California with their two soft coated Wheaten Terriers, Hobbes and Pippin.

Nicholas C. (Nick) Pappas is a trial lawyer who concentrates his practice in product liability and commercial litigation. Nick serves as national lead trial counsel for a major construction and agricultural equipment manufacturer. He represents clients in lawsuits in state and federal courts throughout the United States and has tried cases to successful defense verdicts in Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Nick also advises clients regarding Medicare reporting issues. Nick is also the Chair of the Defense Research Institute's (DRI) Product Liability Committee, which is DRI's largest substantive law committee and has over 3,300 members.

Lisa Parliament is a partner in McMillan LLP's Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Competition Groups. Lisa's practice focuses on complex corporate and commercial litigation, with an emphasis on product liability litigation, class action defence, and competition litigation. She has successfully defended numerous product liability lawsuits involving a variety of products including consumer products, medical devices, drugs, food products, motor vehicles, building materials, packaging and display materials, and fire and security products. She has extensive experience in defending domestic and international class actions, and has appeared as counsel in jurisdictions across Canada. She regularly advises leading companies on regulatory issues also risk assessment and management, and litigation management. Lisa has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, one of Canada's leading law schools. She has been admitted as a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and has been involved in a number of domestic and international arbitrations. She has been involved in defending many of the recent major civil class action cases involving allegations of anti-competitive activities, including the hydrogen peroxide, air cargo and air passenger matters.

William K. Pelosi is a partner with Litchfield Cavo and concentrates his practice on Business Litigation, Employment Liability, Products Liability, Professional Liability and Appellate Practice. Mr. Pelosi also advises clients on a broad range of contract issues ranging from commercial leases to pharmaceutical industry service contracts where protecting intellectual property is paramount. Mr. Pelosi's clients include manufacturers, distributors, warehouse and trucking companies, insurance companies, credit unions, advertising companies, commercial and residential builders, commercial real estate developers, municipalities, and professional service providers. Prior to his legal carrier, Mr. Pelosi provided financial and technical marketing services for IBM's national and international accounts.

Angela L. (Angie) Perez, PhD is a Senior Toxicologist with over 11 years of consulting experience in applied toxicology, exposure assessment, and human health risk assessment. Dr. Perez's work has focused on study design for occupational exposure evaluations for molds, bacteria, and oxidants and for testing for TSCA chemical registration compliance. Dr. Perez is experienced in assisting clients with TSCA chemical registrations, including new uses, naturally occurring substances, and exemptions. She has served as a testifying and consulting expert on cases involving chemical exposure and potential risk, including asbestos, metals, phthalates, benzene, carbon monoxide, triclosan, and poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). She has been retained as an expert in cannabis toxicology as it relates to impairment and is active in researching the risk from exposure to contaminants in cannabis products. Dr.Perez's work often involves the analysis and interpretation of complex chemistries in environmental and occupational settings.

The Honorable Robert L. Pitman currently sits on the bench as a U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he earned his law degree from the University of Texas and a master's in law from the University of Oxford. Prior to his appointment, Judge Pitman served as a U.S. Attorney and as a U.S. Magistrate. During his tenure as U.S. Attorney, he served on the Attorney General's Advisory Committee. He has taught as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Texas.

Dawn S. Pittman serves as Managing Counsel of Product Liability matters for Toyota's North American Legal Team. She is part of the group of attorneys responsible for managing all product liability suits, including class actions, filed against Toyota in the US and its territories. Prior to joining Toyota, Ms. Pittman was a litigation partner at a national law firm where she primarily handled environmental, toxic tort, and insurance coverage matters.

Holly M. Polglase is a shareholder at Hermes, Netburn, O'Connor & Spearing, P.C. Holly acts as lead counsel in the defense and trial of complex product liability, pharmaceutical, medical device, toxic tort, asbestos, general liability and commercial matters. With over twenty years of experience, Holly represents product manufacturers, sellers and other businesses for catastrophic losses. Holly works as national and regional counsel for major national and multi-national corporations and manages a large regional docket of toxic tort cases for several companies. In her wide ranging practice, she has represented designers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers, as well as the companies that service products. She handles cases involving cars and trucks, tires, car seats, bicycles, farm and heavy equipment, industrial, manufacturing and food processing equipment, material handling equipment, hand and power tools, lawn and garden products, safety equipment, ladders, step stools, HVAC systems, toys, appliances and other consumer products as well as drugs and medical devices. Holly is a frequent speaker on issues related to her civil trial practice in the state and federal courts and writes for numerous publications on these topics. Holly is active in the bar and is a past Chair of the American Bar Association's Products, General Liability and Consumer Law Committee of TIPS and a past President of the Massachusetts Defense Lawyers' Association and of the Federal Bar Association, Massachusetts Chapter. She is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine and New Hampshire and handles cases throughout the United States.

Holiday D. Powell with Donahue Fitzgerald LLP, focuses her practice on commercial, real estate, product liability, and other civil litigation. She represents Fortune 500 companies, privately held companies and individual clients from a variety of sectors, such as technology, life sciences, and insurance, in class actions, MDLs, and individual cases across the country in state and federal courts. She manages all aspects of state and federal court litigation, including pre-litigation claim investigations and resolutions, discovery and motion practice, mediations, trials and appeals. Holiday is the Vice-Chair of the Class Action and Mass Tort Special Litigation Group of the Defense Research Institute's (DRI's) Product Liability Committee. She is also a member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, the Association of Defense Counsel of Northern California & Nevada, and the Bar Association of San Francisco.

William (Bill) Powers, Jr.,of counsel with Jackson Walker LLP in Austin, TX was the 28th president of The University of Texas at Austin from 2006 to 2015, serving as chief executive officer of an institution that teaches some 50,000 students, employs more than 24,000 faculty and staff members, and manages an annual budget of more than $2.6 billion. As president, Bill oversaw an ambitious project to reform the undergraduate curriculum, the creation of the Dell Medical School and the School of Undergraduate Studies, an expansion of blended and online learning and an historic $3.1 billion capital campaign. In 2013, he was elected chairman of the prestigious Association of American Universities, an organization of the 62 leading public and private universities in the United States and Canada.

Mary Delli Quadri is a partner in Miller Thomson's litigation group. Her practice primarily consists of commercial and insurance litigation, as well as class action defence work. Mary represents manufacturers and financial institutions in various product liability class actions. In addition, she is involved in D&O litigation and shareholder disputes. Mary has amassed considerable experience in commercial litigation and international arbitration. She has also successfully defended players in the aerospace industry in high stakes litigation. Mary is also regularly retained to defend insurance brokers, financial advisors and planners and other professionals before both Ontario and Quebec courts. She has also been retained as coverage and defence counsel by both domestic and foreign insurance carriers in large scale construction matters involving professionals such as architects and engineers. Mary is the current marketing liaison officer for the Mass Torts Specialty Litigation Group of the Defence Research Institute (DRI). She is also currently a course lecturer at the Faculties of Law of McGill University and the Université de Montréal. Mary is fluently bilingual in French and English, and also speaks Italian.

Kathryn A. (Katy) Regier is an attorney with Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. in its Kansas City, Missouri office. Ms. Regier is admitted to practice law in Missouri, Kansas and California. She has a wide range of civil litigation experience including product liability matters involving fires, explosions and carbon monoxide exposure in fatality, serious injury and high-dollar property damages cases across the country. Ms. Regier is a DRI member. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the DRI Fire Science & Litigation Group and is also Chair of the DRI Women in the Law Publications Committee. Ms. Regier authors legal issues articles for the propane industry; provides risk management presentations and consults with companies on warning, training and safety measures. She received a Kansas City Business Journal Best of the Bar award in 2012 and was recognized by DRI in 2014 as an Outstanding Committee Leader for her work as co-editor of the Women in the Law publication: Women Rainmakers: Roadmap to Success. Ms. Regier is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Law. While in law school, she was Articles Editor for the Kansas Law Review and participated in the Judicial Clerkship Clinic at the Kansas Court of Appeals.

John R. (Jay) Reid, Jr.is a partner at McDonald Toole Wiggins in Orlando, FL defends U.S. and foreign based companies in complex business, catastrophic personal injury, and product liability cases in courts throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States. In addition to his trial work, a significant portion of Mr. Reid's practice involves serving as national discovery counsel for an automotive manufacturer. He writes and speaks frequently on a variety of legal issues, including product liability law, discovery, and trial tactics.

William J. (Bill) Ricci, In his years of practice, Mr. Ricci has defended many high profile cases, both trials and appeals, before juries in state and federal courts throughout the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has tried cases to verdict in 27 jurisdictions nationwide. He has been actively involved in all phases of design development of many industrial and construction equipment and consumer products. He has served as an expert witness is numerous professional liability cases. Mr. Ricci has been an adjunct professor in the Temple University School of Law Masters in Trial Advocacy Program and lectures frequently on product liability law, trial tactics, litigation management and in various CLE programs and seminars. He has numerous publications in his areas of practice. is one of the founding Members of Ricci Tyrrell Johnson & Grey. He is national, regional, lead trial and appellate counsel for major automotive, motorcycle, industrial, construction, aircraft, printing press, recreational and consumer product manufacturers in product liability and commercial cases.

D. Christopher (Chris) Robinson is a trial lawyer in Frost Brown Todd LLC's litigation department. Chris focuses his practice in mass torts, products liability, and general tort defense, but he also represents clients in a variety of commercial disputes involving contract interpretation and enforcement. In particular, Chris represents major agricultural equipment manufacturers on a national basis, providing legal advice and guidance in over thirty jurisdictions. He has a wide range of experience at both the trial and appellate levels and has numerous reported opinions.

The Honorable Xavier Rodriguez is a former Texas Supreme Court Justice and currently sits on the bench as a United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas. Born in San Antonio, Texas, he received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University, a master's degree from the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs and a doctor of jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas Law School. Prior to assuming the bench, he was a partner in the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski (now known as Norton Rose Fulbright). Judge Rodriguez is a frequent speaker on continuing legal education seminars and has authored numerous articles regarding employment law, discovery and arbitration issues. He is the editor of Essentials of E-Discovery (TexasBarBooks 2014). He serves as an adjunct professor of law at the St. Mary's University School of Law. He was elected to membership in the American Law Institute, and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Texas Bar Foundation. In 2011 he was awarded the Rosewood Gavel Award for outstanding judicial service from the St. Mary's University School of Law. In 2017, he received the State Bar of Texas Gene Cavin Award for Excellence in CLE, recognizes his long-term contributions to continuing legal education.

Mark A. Rowe serves as General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer for Techtronic Industries Power Equipment and its North American subsidiaries. TTI Power Equipment is a subsidiary of Hong Kong based Techtronic Industries Co., Ltd. and is a leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of power tools, outdoor power equipment and related accessories in the home improvement, repair and construction industries. TTI distributes products under a variety of world renown brands including but not limited to Ryobi®, Homelite®, Ridgid®, Stok® and Hart®.

Eric J. Rucker is Senior Counsel with 3M Litigation and Preventive Law, in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he manages mass tort, product liability, and commercial litigation. Eric also provides product liability prevention training and gives advice on product labelling, warning, and warranty issues. He also Chairs the 3M Legal Affairs Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Anthony M. Ruffolo is Manager, Legal Affairs & Counsel at Honda Canada. He is responsible for management of the legal team supporting both Honda's sales organization and captive finance business in Canada. Anthony's practice includes management of products' litigation, including class actions, regulatory advice relating to recalls and product campaigns, as well as advertising review. Prior to joining Honda, Anthony was an associate lawyer at a national law firm in Toronto.

John L. Schumacher, MChE, PE, CFI has been a consulting and forensic engineer since 1992. He is a licensed chemical engineer and an IAAI Certified Fire Investigator who specializes in determining the origin and cause of fires, flash fires, and explosions; investigating accidents in the chemical process and oil & gas industries; analyzing flammable and combustible liquid, combustible dust, reactive chemical, self-heating, and chemical-related accidents; and investigating carbon monoxide incidents. Additionally, he is a NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist. Mr. Schumacher has provided expert testimony in a number of states and is the Vice President of AEI Corporation.

Thomas J.G. Scott is a Senior Counsel at San Francisco-based self-driving car startup Cruise Automation. Thomas joined Cruise in January 2017, and as its second attorney helped grow the Legal function as the company expanded following its acquisition by General Motors and subsequent investment by Softbank. Prior to Cruise, Thomas was an international investigations and litigation attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, and clerked for Justice Edwin Cameron at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in Charleston, SC, and U.S. Appeals Judge Beverly Martin on the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta, GA. Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Thomas received his J.D. from Stanford Law jointly with a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University.

Kenneth (Ken) Seeger with Seeger Salvas & Devine focuses his practice on litigating personal injury, product liability and commercial disputes. An accomplished trial lawyer, Ken has won major verdicts in each of these areas. Ken has litigated cases on both the plaintiff's and defense side involving orthopedic hip and knee implants, coronary angioplasty and stent devices, defibrillators, pacemakers, and several brand-name and generic pharmaceuticals. Ken has been appointed by federal and state judges to leadership positions in many coordinated proceedings. Ken also has won awards for his pro bono work on behalf of political asylum applicants as well as his career-long support of pro bono projects.

Sean W. Shirley is a Partner in the firm's Birmingham office. As a member of the firm's Litigation section, Mr. Shirley's practice concentrates on casualty litigation, including toxic and environmental torts, product liability, personal injury and wrongful death. Mr. Shirley has represented a wide-range of clients, including Fortune 500 chemical companies, a child restraint system manufacturer, public utility companies, public housing authorities, and a manufacturer of industrial and residential wood products.

Marie-Claude Simard, LLB, MBA is the Manager of Product Safety for Bombardier Recreational Products. She advises on international product safety issues, safety recall management and regulatory compliance for the last 10 years. She also has prior experience as a member of the Litigation team and was involved in product liability, commercial and intellectual property cases. She really appreciates having the opportunity to exchange with her peers.

Catherine B. Slavin is a partner in the Philadelphia office of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP and a member of the Insurance and Commercial Litigation groups. Ms. Slavin focuses her practice on aviation litigation defense, representing aircraft and aircraft component manufacturers, aircraft operators, maintenance facilities, and aviation insurers in product liability, commercial litigation, and coverage matters. Ms. Slavin has handled a wide variety of general aviation and airline cases in state and federal courts nationwide, at both the trial court and appellate levels. She has argued appeals in aviation cases before the Second, Third, Fifth, and Tenth Circuits, the Delaware Supreme Court, and the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

Matthew H. SmithGeneral Counsel at Kids II in Atlanta, Georgia responsible for all legal and compliance initiatives. He joined Kids II in 2018, after working in-house as GC/ SVP- Strategy at public and private technology companies in the Southeast. Matt started his career clerking on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, then worked at King & Spalding in the IP Litigation group. He is married with two children and spends his free time coaching kids, watching the Tarheels, and enjoying the outdoors.

John J. Stamm, PE is experienced in analyzing mechanical systems in real world applications to meet performance and life cycle requirements. This includes analyzing potential design alternatives and their effect on specific components as well as the entire system. When an accident occurs, Mr. Stamm conducts field investigations in order to analyze how and why the failure occurred. This includes documenting all substantive subject evidence through proper note taking, photography, videography, and surveying. Often, testing is required in order to validate his opinions and Mr. Stamm has experience conducting and managing complex testing programs that have lasted anywhere from a few hours to several months. These programs involve taking exemplar artifacts and simulating their use through testing conducted to appropriate standards such as ANSI A92. Industry standards change over time and so it's important to analyze the applicable vintage of the appropriate standard while understanding the subsequent changes to that standard.

Andrew E. Stead is a litigation partner in McMillan's Calgary office. Andrew has extensive experience in both litigation and arbitrations, including defending product liability claims, energy (oil and gas), class actions and construction disputes. Andrew has successfully acted for numerous automobile, recreational vehicle, snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle manufacturers. Andrew has often spoken and published on issues relating to these disputes. Andrew also has broad experience defending all manner of product liability claims, including those arising from alarm system manufacturing and installation, fire suppression, plumbing products and pharmaceuticals.He has appeared before all levels of court in Alberta as well as administrative and regulatory tribunals. He also represents clients before all levels of court in Ontario as well as the Saskatchewan Court of Queens's Bench.

Brad Stollis Legal Counsel for Konecranes, Inc., a global industrial and port crane manufacturing and service company based in Finland. Brad supports the North and South American business operations of the company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, providing litigation oversight and counsel on labor and employment, supply chain and general corporate matters. Brad is a graduate of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and practiced with two business litigation firms in the Columbus, Ohio area before joining Konecranes in 2017.

Michael D. Stovsky is Partner and Chair of one of Benesch's core practice groups, Innovations, Information Technology & Intellectual Property (3iP). Mike helps companies negotiate, close, and handle complex, high-value, IP and technology transactions and matters including: – Systems implementation deals, eCommerce, development, reseller, professional services, service level, telecomm, network services, equipment purchases, support & maintenance, and managed security services; – Inbound and outbound IP, IT and technology procurement, licenses, technology transfers, business process outsourcing acquisitions, divestitures, and outsourcing transactions (including FFIEC audit compliance), and IP portfolio transfers; – Global data security and privacy compliance including the US, Canada and the EU (EU GDPR and ePrivacy, EU/US privacy shield, HIPAA/HITECH, Gramm Leach Blilely, COPPA, FTC Act and Red Flag rule compliance), PCI-DSS, ISO 27001, ITIL, COBIT, and NIST standards, data classification, breach response and mitigation, and policies/procedures; and – Artificial intelligence, digital signatures, electronic contracting, cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Litecoin), blockchain platforms (Ethereum), DApps, and DAOs.

Stephen D. Susman, following a clerkship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, spent 50 years trying lawsuits. Susman has devoted his career to making public dispute resolution accessible by eliminating unnecessary expenses in trying cases. Most recently, Susman has been on a crusade to save jury trials in civil cases. Susman established The Civil Jury Project at NYU Law School, the only academic center in the country that studies why jury trials are disappearing, and serves as the executive director of the Project.

John E. Swanson has a B.S. in Visual Communication Design from Stevenson University, and has been working at S-E-A Ltd. in the field of Forensic Analysis since 2009. As Director of Imaging Sciences for S-E-A's Baltimore office, he creates visuals needed to support expert testimony using a variety of 3D, 2D, and video techniques; creates 3D models and animations for use as analysis tools in the development of opinions; performs 3D laser scanning of scenes, vehicles, and evidence for purposes such as digital preservation and 3D analysis; processes 3D laser scan data as it relates to data analysis, 3D modeling, and animation and performs video and image editing and analysis.

Brett A. Tarver is an associate at Jones Day in the Atlanta office. She is an up-and-coming trial lawyer who has participated on nine trial teams since joining Jones Day in May of 2016. Her practice focuses on complex civil litigation in state and federal courts, including the defense of individual and class action product liability lawsuits. She is a Steering Committee member of DRI's Young Lawyers Committee and is an active member of the DRI Drug and Medical Device and Product Liability Committees.

Sara K. Thompson is Vice Chair of Greenberg Traurig's Pharmaceutical, Medical Device & Health Care Litigation Practice. She concentrates her practice on defense of products liability litigation with an emphasis on representing manufacturers of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in state and federal courts nationwide, including Multidistrict litigation and consolidated/coordinated proceedings. Sara also defends consumer class actions and consumer fraud litigation involving pharmaceutical and personal care products and counsels manufacturers regarding pre-suit claims, quality issues, recalls and CPSC actions. Sara has also defended manufacturers of automobiles and automotive components in state and federal courts nationwide.

Ralph Vasami has a broad background in engineering, business management, operations, finance, strategic planning and law. He is actively involved with leading clients' efforts to modify and enhance National Building Codes, National Safety Standards, and is regularly called upon to facilitate client strategic planning meetings. Ralph is a pioneer in the vinyl window and door industry. As chairman of the Vinyl Window & Door Institute, he was responsible for gaining Model Building Code acceptance for vinyl as a fenestration product. He was also instrumental in setting up testing and standards for the products as well as the current industry certification program. Ralph received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University and a law degree from Pace University. He is a member of the New York State Bar.

Allison A. Waase is an associate with Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan LLP in New York. Ms. Waase focuses within general liability on cases involving products liability, fires and explosion, premises liability, construction and labor law, and dram shop and hospitality. She represents clients, including building owners, management companies, contractors, hotels, business owners, security companies, and trucking companies in all aspects of civil defense. Ms. Waase serves on the steering committee for the DRI Young Lawyers Committee and she is a young lawyer liaison to the DRI Product Liability Committee and DRI Fire Science and Litigation Committee.

Nathan (Nate) Walker has spent the majority of his career as in-house counsel managing product liability claims on behalf of self-insured product manufacturers. Nate is currently part of the in-house litigation team at Hyster-Yale Group, Inc., which is a leading global manufacturer of forklifts. Prior to joining Hyster-Yale in 2017, Nate managed the litigation program for a global manufacturer of construction cranes, The Manitowoc Company, Inc., which he joined in 2011 from private practice. Nate lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, three children, dog and chickens.

Michael A.Walsh is a member in the Dallas office of Clark Hill Strasburger. Mike has led the firm's Food and Drug Law Industry Team since 2001 and is the recent Chair of the Drug Device and Biotechnology section of the FDCC. He is licensed in Texas and New York and devotes his practice to counselling FDA industry on compliance and defending complex enforcement and litigation matters. He has served as national coordinating counsel, regional trial counsel and as Texas counsel in a wide variety of complex litigation matters involving environmental claims and claims against FDA regulated businesses. Mike has lectured and written extensively on issues involving litigation and enforcement and is the author of a law book entitled The Supply and Distribution of FDA-Regulated Products, and a number of book chapters on FDA law.

Lindsay A. Wasser is Co-Chair of McMillan's Privacy & Data Protection Group and its Cybersecurity Group. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Canada, and regularly advises and assists clients on a broad range of privacy and cybersecurity issues, including advising on access requests, legal requirements related to data security, and workplace privacy issues (e.g. background checks, computer/video/phone monitoring, GPS tracking, drug and alcohol testing). Wasser is co-author of Privacy in the Workplace, 4th ed. and the Privacy chapter in the Ultimate Corporate Counsel Guide (CCH).

James E. Weatherholtz is a Partner in the Charleston, South Carolina office of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from The Citadel in 1996, and his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1999. His primary areas of practice are product liability - including building products and class actions - and construction law. Mr. Weatherholtz is a Past Chair of the South Carolina Bar Construction Law Section. He is also an active member of the DRI (The Voice of the Defense Bar) Product Liability Committee, having served as program chair, chair of the building products specialized litigation group, and currently as Vice Chair of the Committee. He is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the field of Construction Law. He is the Chair of the Construction Practice Team at Womble and is a frequent lecturer on construction and product liability topics.

Jessica J. Williams Schnelker is a Senior Associate at Frost Brown Todd LLC. Jessica concentrates her practice on defending product manufacturers in a variety of industry sectors. She has trial experience across several states and jurisdictions and litigates nationally on behalf of a major agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturer.

Marc E. Williams is the Office Managing Partner of the West Virginia office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, where he serves as a Team Leader and as Co-hair 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.

Robert C. Winn, PhD, PE is a Mechanical/Aeronautical Engineer, the Chairman of the Board, a Principal of the Firm, and the Director of Aviation for Engineering Systems Inc. (ESi). He has been a Consulting Engineer since he retired in 1991 from the U.S. Air Force after a 22-year career. He has been with ESi since 1994. Dr. Winn was an instructor pilot in four different Air Force aircraft and served as Chief Scientist of the USAF European Office of Aerospace Research and Development in London, England. He spent over 15 years teaching Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering at the USAF Academy and Colorado Technical University. He is a Registered Professional Engineer, a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS). Dr. Winn has reconstructed and analyzed hundreds of airplane and helicopter accidents.

Ricardo A. Woods is a trial lawyer and shareholder in Burr Forman, LLP's Mobile office. His practice is focus on defending product liability, toxic tort, and government liability claims. Ricardo has first-chair jury trial experience, as well as extensive pre-trial litigation experience. His product liability experience includes industrial grade machinery, warranty claims, automobile components, toxic torts, and chemical agents. Ricardo also serves as the Vice-Chair of DRI's Diversity Committee and a member of Burr Forman's executive committee.

D. Craig York is a trial lawyer who practices in the areas of product liability and complex torts, including professional liability and transportation. He has defended businesses ranging in size from small, family-owned to Fortune 500 in personal injury claims ranging from minor to catastrophic. With more than 25 years of experience, Craig has defended many product manufacturers in claims involving design and manufacturing defects. He has represented manufacturers of a variety of products, including agricultural equipment, all-terrain vehicles, chamfering machines, chemicals, construction equipment, drugs fitness equipment, heavy trucks, HVAC systems, motor vehicles, steering systems, swing sets, patient lifts, table saws, toasters, tire shredders, and wheelchairs. He is selected by Best Lawyers© for Product Liability Litigation- Defense. Craig has also defended a variety of medical entities in negligence claims, including an air medical transport company, pharmacies, and physician offices. In addition, he has defended transportation companies in accidents involving semi-tractor trailers and other trucks.He has tried cases in state and federal courts throughout Kentucky and handled appeals in Kentucky's court of appeals and supreme court, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.