Past DRI Seminars

This seminar marks the 38^th of its kind, providing you with invaluable information and tools to represent your governmental clients. This year’s faculty includes preeminent insurance professionals, a renowned Supreme Court advocate, a well-respected Plaintiff’s attorney, a qualified immunity scholar, and prison experts from across the United States. Attendees will experience an assortment of topics, including handling prison medical claims, cannabis use and employment issues for public entities, Title IX updates, dealing with pro se litigants, how to handle 30(b)(6) depositions in the context of wrongful conviction cases, and considerably more to support a client’s success! Throughout the program you will have an abundance of opportunities to network, exchange ideas, and gain winning strategies from experienced litigators and insurance professionals. We look forward to you joining DRI in San Antonio, Texas for our annual, premier Civil Rights and Governmental Tort Liability Seminar.

As women in the legal field, we have spent an inordinate amount of time and energy trying to fit into a profession that was not historically built for us. What if, instead, we focused our time and energy on the things we value and that make us valuable to our profession? DRI’s Women in the Law Seminar hopes to achieve just that with programming and networking events focused on issues and topics meant to explore women’s unique strengths and challenges, celebrating all of our victories and defeats, and leaning into our true selves to ultimately find the joy and strength in our authenticity instead of trying to fit the outdated mold originally created by and for men.

Product liability is an ever-changing world. How can we continue to be good litigators, and at the same time keep our own heads and wits about us? Immerse yourself in the dynamic world of product liability in sunny Miami, where you’ll engage with judges, industry leaders, and top lawyers from across the nation. Uncover strategies to stay composed under pressure, master the use of digital evidence and litigation technology, and effectively incorporate visuals in trials. Plus, find opportunities to explore the psychology behind successful mediations, understand and address social inflation, and keep up with the latest regulatory changes. Don’t miss DRI’s great opportunity to expand your network and enhance your expertise.

Join us at DRI’s Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, the premier event for insurance executives, claims professionals, and outside counsel specializing in insurance coverage. This year’s symposium promises unparalleled engagement with top insurance industry leaders and coverage lawyers, focusing on emerging and cutting-edge issues. Don’t miss out on exceptional networking events and the chance to build valuable relationships with like-minded professionals.

Professional practice standards are changing daily. From Artificial Intelligence to Zoom meetings, trials and everything in between, keeping up competencies can seem overwhelming. Join us for practical tips, refreshers on skills, thought provoking views from experts, and opportunities to network with professional colleagues.

This year’s seminar will bring together a superb lineup of medical and scientific experts, top-tier litigators, and timely topics. Plus, enjoy unforgettable events designed to promote insightful discussions and meaningful networking opportunities. This is a must-attend event that will also feature the debut of the new Asbestos Medicine Committee. With the introduction of our new committee, DRI is proud to show its commitment to this important area of practice. Don’t miss your chance to dive deep with other committee members into defense strategies and methods that will best serve your clients.

Join us in fabulous Las Vegas for a program that will benefit all attorneys involved in appeals. Sessions will include discussions on building an appellate practice, practical advice for presenting a persuasive appellate brief, and insights into judicial decision-making. Experienced appellate advocates from across the country, along with federal and state court judges, serve as speakers. Additionally, the committee collaborates with the Asbestos Medicine Committee for joint sessions on product liability and failure to warn, as well as the diversity initiative. Receptions and networking opportunities with other appellate attorneys and conference attendees are also part of the event.

Meet us in the Emerald City: where relationships build business. Join hundreds of civil defense attorneys and in-house counsel from across the country to build your book of business, enjoy networking events, reach your professional goals with cutting-edge education, and more! Hear from keynote speakers including two-time NBA champion and former U.S. Senator, Bill Bradley and popular public television host, best-selling author, and activist, Rick Steves.

Join us virtually for the Cannabis Law Seminar, September 19 for an up-to-date overview of the proposed rescheduling of cannabis from schedule I to schedule III, including a discussion of the rescheduling process, how it will change the cannabis market, and how it will impact the FDA’s regulation of cannabis companies and their products that use delta-9-THC, delta-8-THC, THCA, CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids.

The premier senior living and long-term care litigation seminar in the country returns to Chicago on September 18-20! Join us at the Hyatt Regency, just steps from the Chicago River Walk, for an event tailored specifically for defense counsel, in-house counsel, claims professionals, and industry insiders. Gain access to unparalleled insights, CLE, and networking opportunities. The exceptional faculty includes a neurosurgeon, jury consultant, wound care nurse, an expert in electronic medical records (EMR), and "Pepper," a robot that assists with therapy and care in the skilled nursing facility/assisted living facility setting. Reconnect with clients and colleagues alike during counsel meetings, an afternoon of networking, or other exciting program events. We look forward to seeing you in the Windy City in September!

Join us for a timely seminar focused on current issues affecting those who practice in the automotive space. Gain perspective from in-house counsel regarding their business and legal concerns. Increase your understanding of automotive safety regulations. Attain deeper knowledge from experienced trial counsel and experts about key litigation trends, plus best practices for defending various types of automotive claims.

The DRI Life, Health, and Disability Committee is once again sponsoring a program aimed at providing a basic understanding of the concepts applicable to life, health, and disability litigation. The program, which receives rave reviews each year it is held, will be taught by highly experienced attorneys who collectively have decades of experience litigating life, health, disability, and ERISA disputes throughout the United States. Even though the content is geared to lawyers who are new to the practice, lawyers of any age who wish to brush up on their skills are also encouraged to attend! Young lawyers in particular who want to meet colleagues practicing throughout the country will find this to be an excellent marketing opportunity.

DRI’s Insurance Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability Seminar is the preeminent program for insurance executives, claims professionals, and outside counsel who specialize in bad faith insurance litigation. When bad faith litigation ensues, these claims are some of the most complex and highest exposure claims faced by insurers. Our featured speakers consist of some of the nation’s leading in-house and outside bad faith lawyers, who will share their valuable insights and strategies on evaluating and winning bad faith cases as well as how to avoid them in the first place.

Join us in Nashville for DRI’s Young Lawyers Seminar! If you are an attorney within your tenth year of practice, this seminar is designed for you. Gain expert insight into how the practice of law is, first and foremost, a business. You will discover that to grow your law practice, you need to hone your legal skills, and learn what it takes to run a successful business - from building and nurturing client relationships, to staying on top of current trends and developments and using technology to your advantage. In addition to exciting programming, there will be ample networking opportunities with attorneys and in-house counsel from across the country!

The DRI Diversity and Inclusion Committee invites you to the 19th annual Diversity for Success Seminar and Corporate Expo in Nashville, Tennessee. With the theme, "Fighting the Current of the Anti-Diversity Tide," this seminar is designed to address the recent legal decisions and lawsuits meant to stunt recent efforts to increase diversity in our educational and occupational settings. In addition to gaining insights from and networking with in-house counsel and potential referral sources, attendees will also find resources and tools to incorporate in their career and organization that will improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Join us for the next annual DRI International Seminar to reconnect with peers and make new connections in Madrid! The theme of this year's seminar is "Disruption." There have been several significant legal and regulatory developments which are impacting our global clients and disrupting business agendas. We expect more pressures in 2024, including the increasing risk of class actions and the rise of collective redress regimes across Europe; the maturing litigation funding market; the evolving regulation and liability frameworks around technology and artificial intelligence (AI); a growth in cybersecurity and data breach disputes; and the emergence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disputes and the dominance of AI. We will be joined by lawyers, in-house counsel, and other members of the legal industry to discuss how the disruption is intensifying and how global businesses need to keep pace or risk falling behind. There will also be a number of excellent opportunities to reconnect and network with friends and colleagues from around the world in the beautiful city of Madrid.

Join us in our nation’s capital as we reconnect at DRI’s 47th annual Employment and Labor Law Seminar. The nation’s best employment law seminar brings together leading management-side employment and labor attorneys, in-house counsel, human resources professionals, and employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) representatives from throughout the US and Canada. Always intensely practical, and accompanied by helpful written materials, this seminar is indispensable for experienced practitioners and those just getting started in labor and employment law. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from some of the best practitioners and professionals in the labor and employment arena.

Join us in Washington D.C. for the Drug and Medical Device industry’s premier event for learning, networking, and advancing the defense of life sciences clients! You’ll hear from heads of litigation from the world’s foremost drug and medical device companies and get the latest insight on jurors’ changing perceptions. Take advantage of new CLE opportunities and small group, off-site networking events, which provide more opportunities than ever to network with renowned industry experts while enjoying the best of the nation’s Capital.

In a litigation environment hallmarked by increasingly high jury verdicts, the time is now for the trucking industry to act and to re-evaluate what defense strategies and methods will best protect our clients and ensure the vitality of the industry moving forward. Learn practical strategies for trucking litigators, claims professionals, and industry representatives to get aggressive in the defense of cases in the face of new and changing plaintiff tactics. Plus, discover how to address the shift in jury pool demographics, ideals, and mentalities. Presentations include a forum discussion by jury consultants, speaking to what they are seeing nationally in the jury pool, what defense strategies are working, and what is no longer effective. There will also be a practical workshop for using consultants to best prepare your key defense witnesses. Attendees will learn to employ practical approaches aimed to counter emerging tactics leveraged by plaintiff attorneys meant to fuel excessive verdicts and settlements. This includes how to maximize the benefit of mock trials/focus groups and how to employ aggressive defense tactics early to get the edge and turn the tide in trucking litigation.

Business and intellectual property litigation are being pursued in an ever-evolving world impacted by social media, artificial intelligence, and other rapidly developing technologies. In this fast-paced litigation environment, attorneys face new challenges and pressures both in the courtroom and in their personal lives. This conference will provide strategies for successfully navigating these issues.