2020 Commercial Litigation Committee Fly-In Meeting

Sponsored by J.S. Held

Currently, there are two hundred fifty (250) known disease-causing microorganisms or pathogens that are responsible for twenty (20) percent of the reported foodborne cases. The cause of the remaining eighty (80) percent of foodborne illness cases are unknown. This presentation will focus on foodborne illness and food contamination in the restaurant, retail, and hospitality sectors. Trained experts, such as epidemiologists and toxicologists, determine how these incidents may have occurred, including the root cause, and provide recommendations on how to eliminate or resolve the problem. As an example, an epidemiologist can create an epidemiological curve, a type of chart, to determine how long the illness occurred from ingestion of the suspect food item in multiple people. This curve can be used to rule out other illnesses such as non-foodborne viruses that could have caused similar symptoms as a foodborne illness.

Presenter:
Allison Stock, PhD, MPH, MS | Vice President | Environmental, Health & Safety | J.S. Held

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

The labor law under the National Labor Relations Act continues to be an important field of practice. It not only governs the right to form, join, and assist labor unions and labor-management relations such as collective bargaining, strikes, and boycotts but it also creates rights for even non-union employees. Because the National Labor Relations Board regulates through quasi-judicial decision making, the rules tend to shift with each new administration, and President Biden has promised to be very pro-union, which is expected to lead to more union activity and even greater protection for non-union employees.

Our presenters are highly-skilled traditional labor lawyers who cumulatively have decades of experience representing and advising employers on union elections, collective bargaining, strikes, boycotts, and picketing, and defending employers on arbitrated grievances and unfair labor practice charges before the NLRB. 

The registration is $300 for DRI members and $500 for non-members.

Sponsored by ESi

In this course, participants will learn how chemical compositions in building materials affect their functions and how modern chemical analysis can determine the root cause when they fail. The course will introduce participants to the nomenclature and basics of the chemicals used in modern building materials. Case studies will show how chemistry is used to identify types of failure issues, as well as the analytical tools used to determine causation of the failure. At the end of the course, participants will have obtained an understanding of how highly engineered, modern building materials are dependent upon chemistry to make them operate properly, and how deviations in those chemical components can adversely affect the performance of these materials in their intended function.

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Sponsored by DeeGee Rehab Technologies Ltd.

Join this webinar for an insightful presentation on medical damages, including the assessment of damages, examples of accommodations, economic considerations, and an understanding of the roles of Life Care Planners as well as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation professionals.

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Drug and medical device manufacturers remain a target in high stakes litigation. Understanding the basics of drug and medical device litigation is key to defending the makers of these life-saving and life-saving drugs and devices. Join DRI for an informative webinar for a better understanding of FDA's regulation of drug and medical devices; product liability claims and defenses; and the applicability of the learned intermediary defense.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

The national energy landscape is rapidly evolving, demonstrated by the increasing emergence of both onshore and offshore wind energy projects. At the 2023 Wind Energy Litigation Seminar, attendees will gain an in-depth understanding about the onshore and offshore wind sector from experienced attorneys and directly from the industry itself. Join us in Chicago to gain valuable insight into existing litigation surrounding the industry as well as potential future litigation.

DRI’s Center for Law and Public Policy has authored the whitepaper: "Nonlawyer Investment in the Legal Economy." This webinar will outline the major regulatory changes in several US states that now permit nonlawyers to own law firms. We will explain the evolution from the "practice of law" by attorneys to the provision of "legal services" by nonlawyers, how this relaxation permits increased connection between corporations and alternative legal services providers, and how even litigators should prepare for these internet-based changes.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

Produced by the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy’s Medicare Secondary Payer Task Force

MSP 101 will address Medicare Secondary Payer fundamentals that every claim professional and defense attorney should know. In this course, attendees will learn the history of the MSP Act, how to recognize when MSP is implicated, and basic compliance obligations of insurance companies and self-insureds as "Responsible Reporting Entities" under the MSP Act 1395y and corresponding CFR sections for reporting to CMS and protecting the Medicare Fund. If you need to refresh your knowledge of all things MSP, this is the right place to start. Additional courses will be coming soon.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

This program will cover the use of biomechanical experts in transportation litigation including the scientific issues these experts can speak to, the limitations of biomechanical science, and how to defend legal challenges against a biomechanical expert.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

In early 2022, DRI released its first member risk management survey, created in partnership with LawyerGuard (the first DRI Premier Corporate Partner) and Barron & Newburger PC’s Attorneys Risk Management. Join us for this second presentation in a series that addresses concerns revealed by your survey responses. Our panel will discuss best practices in the identification and handling of conflicts, management of calendaring systems to avoid claims and complaints, and procedures for adapting your firm to a new and evolving work environment.

Presenters
Noah Fiedler | Barron & Newburger
Kevin Sullivan | LawyerGuard

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Sponsored by Laurel Road

With the federal student loan payment pause expected to expire by June 30, and interest rates on the rise, it’s an uncertain time for many attorneys who may have a great deal of student debt. Now is the time to get your questions answered and start planning for the changes ahead. DRI's Solution Marketplace partner Laurel Road will share best practices to evaluate, identify, and prepare your repayment strategy.

The webinar will cover:
1. Current federal student loan relief updates
2. New income-driven repayment options
3. How to position your law school and other student loans with interest rate uncertainty
4. Should I refinance or explore federal repayment options?
5. Could I save by refinancing?

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Make the most of all your available tools in your toolbox by embracing new technologies, using new programs more efficiently and effectively. Leave the paper behind without feeling like you are risking it all!

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Sponsored by Geosyntec

This presentation will provide an update on two areas of continued interest for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): human health risk assessment, and remedy design and implementation at hydrogeologically-challenging sites. Tools and references to guide the establishment of science-based site-specific screening levels for PFAS will be discussed. Then speakers will present the design and implementation of an innovative, fully passive water treatment remedy for upwelling groundwater channels, which has consistently removed over 99% of target PFAS from influent water.

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

We are fortunate enough to have a DRI member that not only focuses on the financial services industry, but is the former head regulator of the Illinois Department of Financial Regulations, the regulatory body for the financial industry for Illinois. Bryan Schneider will join us to share his top tips for firms in the current banking climate.

The registration is free for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

This webinar will provide an introduction to PFAS including an overview of their manufacture, uses and health effects. It will also discuss state and federal regulations setting limits for their presence in air, water and soil, as well as standards for remediation of contaminated sites. It will further discuss proposed legislation that may be enacted on both the state and federal level.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

This webinar will discuss how medical liability defendants can use the federal privilege to better defend their clients when sued. You'll learn:

1 - Understand the Privilege, Confidentiality and Immunity protections for Patient Safety Work Product (PSWP) and Healthcare providers under the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA).
2 - Develop a working knowledge of Patient Safety Organization/PSES concepts as well as permitted disclosures for PSWP, including the learning system.
3- Review of PSQIA Case Law.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

This Program will explain what attorneys need to know about ensuring digital information is properly considered at the outset of a new case. This program will feature a brief lecture on the best practices for counseling clients on the issues of preserving and producing digital records and will give real-world examples of the consequences that can arise – for parties and counsel - when issues related to electronically stored information (“ESI”) are ignored. After the introductory lecture, attendees will be split into small groups for discussions led by experienced litigators on the way ESI impacts their work and how the information presented in the program can be implemented in their practice.

The registration is $150 for DRI members and $250 for non-members.

This program will cover the skills needed to effectively communicate with opposing parties on issues concerning e-discovery and how best to apprise the Court of anticipated e-discovery issues via a 26(f) report. This program will include covering the issues to be aware of when discussing an ESI protocol, such as ensuring that an ESI protocol is not creating an unreasonable burden for your client while making sure that any protocol leaves the door open for obtaining useful information from the opposing party. After a brief lecture, attendees will be split into small groups led by an experienced attorney in order to review and discuss a mock 26(f) report and sample ESI protocol.

The registration is $150 for DRI members and $250 for non-members.

Increasingly, Courts are turning to informal discovery conferences to resolve discovery disputes as a way to avoid the costly and time-consuming motion practice that can arise from motions to compel and corresponding motions for protective orders. In this program, attendees will learn how to prepare to present arguments in this type of conference and tips for effectively presenting their position. After an introductory lecture, attendees will split into small groups, led by experienced attorneys, to analyze sample discovery requests, discuss how to respond and defend against unreasonably broad discovery requests, along with exploring how to approach compelling production of digital information from an uncooperative plaintiff.

The registration is $150 for DRI members and $250 for non-members.

Impactful leaders in the legal industry have mental health, and physical well-being and overall wellness on their minds.  With the alarming rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse in the legal industry, our organizations cannot afford to overlook these key issues if they want to maintain healthy and productive teams.  In a post-pandemic work place proactively addressing these issues is an essential component to maximizing productivity, retention and organizational sustainability.  This program will focus on providing lawyers, law firm leaders and the people invested in the well-being of their organizations with a framework to help recognize, manage and prioritize the wellness of the people who make up the organization.