2022 DRI Diversity for Success Seminar

May 11–13, 2022 | Denver, Colorado

Expand Your Book of Business in Denver!

The DRI Diversity and Inclusion Committee invites you to the 17th annual Diversity for Success Seminar and Corporate Expo in Denver, Colorado. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear from and network with in-house counsel and potential referral sources. You will learn the importance of wellness and self-care and the nuts and bolts of business development both externally and internally. You will also participate in discussions on how law firm leaders and corporate law departments are handling the new, remote environment in the post-pandemic world and how it is affecting the recruitment and retention of diverse talent. Come join us in Denver!

View registration information here.

NEW THIS YEAR: The Corporate Expo will return to in-person! This will take place on Friday, May 13 at the Hilton Denver City Center. You must be registered for the seminar and a DRI member. More information about the expo can be found here.

What You Will Learn:

The importance of mental health and wellness for lawyers in a post-pandemic world
The dos and don’ts on how to become a better rainmaker
Practical instruction on building a foundation within your firm for successful business development
What law firms and corporate law departments are doing to promote and increase diversity, equity, and inclusion
How the new normal of remote work is affecting the ability of law firms and corporate legal departments to recruit and retain diverse talent

Expand Your Network By:

Connect with an unparalleled number of in-house counsel, potential clients and your peers
Take advantage of the unique opportunity to pitch yourself and your law firm to in-house counsel at the 2022 Corporate Expo

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Thank You to DRI's Committee Leadership
Registration Information
Corporate Expo
Agenda with Speakers
On Demand
Hotel and Travel Information
CLE Information
Sponsors
Event Terms
DRI COVID Safety Measures
In-House Counsel and Claims Executives Initiatives
Contact Us

Thank You to DRI's Diversity and Inclusion Leadership

Join the Diversity and Inclusion Committee

Registration Information

EARLY REGISTRATION*
DRI Member Pricing: $695
Non-Member Pricing: $995

REGULAR REGISTRATION*
DRI Member Pricing: $995
Non-Member Pricing: $1,295

GOVERNMENT MEMBER
Early Bird Pricing: $695
Regular Pricing: $995

*If your membership recently lapsed, please renew your membership prior to registering to ensure you receive your discounted member rate. If you would like to join DRI to receive the member pricing and see the benefits of becoming a member, click here to go to the Application page.

GROUP REGISTRATION (Non-Sponsor)**
Pricing: $645 per person

**Group registration is for registering 5 or more attendees, members and non-members. There is one free registration with every 10 registrations. You must lock in the rate three weeks prior to the seminar. If you want to register for the group pricing, please send an email to rstiner@dri.org (online registration is not available for this offering).

Agenda with Speakers

*Schedule and Speakers subject to change

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Time (Mountain)	Session Description
1:00 p.m.	DRI Cares Community Service Projects Attendees will be collaborating with the Diversity & Inclusion Seminar Attendees for our DRI Cares public service project to build “first visit bags” for CASA in Denver - an organization that supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so that every child who has experienced abuse or neglect can be safe, have a permanent home, and the opportunity to thrive.
2:00 p.m.	Registration
4:00 p.m.	First Time Attendee Welcome Reception Stacy Lynne Douglas, Everett Dorey LLP, Los Angeles, CA Gary L. Howard, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Birmingham, AL Ricardo A. Woods, Burr & Forman, LLP, Mobile, AL
6:00 p.m.	Networking Reception
7:30 p.m.	Dine-Arounds Grow your network and your business with attendees from the Employment and Labor Law Seminar and the Diversity for Success Seminar at joint Dine-Arounds! Join your colleagues to enjoy local cuisine, reconnect, and build your book of business. Click here to register for local Dine-Arounds

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Time (Mountain)	Session Description
7:00 a.m.	Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m.	Welcome and Introductions Jaime W. Luse, Tydings & Rosenberg LLP, Baltimore, MD Imoh E. Akpan, Goldberg Segalla LLP, Baltimore, MD
8:30 a.m.	Mental Health & Diversity The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the mental health of lawyers and created unique challenges for lawyers from underrepresented communities. Hear from attorney and certified health and wellness coach, Darleene Peters, on how to face these challenges and the increased need for self-care in the legal profession. Darleene D. Peters, Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC, New Orleans, LA
9:45 a.m.	Refreshment Break
10:15 a.m.	The Business of Law I – External Business Development Business development (“rainmaking”) is the life blood for law firms and a significant factor in individual lawyer compensation. How do rainmakers actually develop business? What are the unique challenges faced by diverse lawyers? This panel will discuss the dos and don’ts of building a book of business as a diverse lawyer. Moderator Atoyia S. Harris, Proskauer Rose, LLP, New Orleans, LA Matt Cairns, Textron, Inc., Providence County, RI Katherine Graf, Target Corporation, Minneapolis, MN Sharon Bridges, Baystate Health, Springfield, MA
11:45 a.m.	Diversity Luncheon and Presentation of Sheryl J. Willert Award
1:30 p.m.	The Business of Law II – Internal Business Development Business development as a diverse lawyer is not just about networking outside of the office. Understanding succession plans, origination, rate negotiations and what it means to be a relationship partner are vital to building and sustaining a book of business. This panel will discuss how to successfully navigate internal aspects of business development. Moderator Valerie Fontenot, Frilot, LLC, New Orleans, LA Steven Dyki, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies, New York, NY Melissa Ho, Microchip Technology, Chandler, AZ
2:30 p.m.	Building a Strategic Roadmap to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Listen to diversity leaders of law firms and corporate law departments discuss their journey and the efforts they are making to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in their organizations. Moderator John Myung, Foley & Mansfield, PLLP, New York, NY Stanley C. Ball, Eaton Corporation, Beachwood, OH Wil Comer II, U-Haul International, Inc., Phoenix, AZ Joanne Moon, Uber Technologies, Inc., Chicago, IL
3:30 p.m.	Refreshment Break
4:00 p.m.	Remote Work & Diversity The pandemic has created a new normal of remote work. Learn how has this environment affected diverse lawyers and what challenges are law firms and corporate law departments facing with retaining and recruiting diverse talent. Moderator Imoh E. Akpan, Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Baltimore, MD Jack Chen, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA Marilyn McClure-Demers, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Columbus, OH Joseph M. Hanna, Goldberg Segalla, LLP, Buffalo, NY
5:00 p.m.	Adjourn
5:00 p.m.	Diversity and Inclusion Committee Business Meeting (open to all)
6:00 p.m.	Networking Reception
7:00 p.m.	Dine-Arounds Join fellow colleagues to grow your network and your business at local Dine-Arounds and enjoy everything Denver has to offer! Sign-up for local Dine-Arounds

Friday, May 13, 2022

Time (Mountain)	Session Description
7:30 a.m.	Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m.	Corporate Expo Interviews
9:50 a.m.	Refreshment Break
10:45 a.m.	Corporate Expo Interviews
11:05 a.m.	Break
12:30 p.m.	Expo Concludes

On-Demand

NEW in 2022 – 4 Additional On-Demand Programs Included With Every Seminar!

CLE Credit will be sought from every state requiring CLE hours in elimination of bias/diversity and inclusion, ethics, substance abuse/mental health and law practice management. The CLE grid will provide updated information concerning which courses have been approved by which states and for which credits. For states not requiring these special credits, general education credits will be sought.

Diversity/Elimination of Bias in the Profession

Batson v. Kentucky and its progeny were meant to eliminate bias in jury selection. But has that happened? This program will address that question and discuss issues of bias in the courtroom more broadly and will challenge viewers to recognize their own biases and to learn how those biases could affect their assessment of potential jurors, witnesses, judges, and adversaries. The program also will provide viewers with skills on how to identify the biases of potential jurors and how those biases could come into play during deliberations.

Stacy Douglas, Everett Dorey LLP, Irvine, CA
Gary Howard, Bradley, Birmingham, AL

Ethics

Investigating claims and lawsuits often requires interviews with employees. Corporate in-house attorneys and their outside counsel need to be able to identify potential conflicts of interest and confidentiality issues with employees who may leave their employment and become opposing counsel’s best witness.

Kristie S. Crawford, Brown & James, Springfield, MO
Lauren Buford, Walgreen Co., Deerfield, Illinois 60015.

Mental Health & Attorney Wellness

Study after study suggests that lawyers aren’t happy. Continued unhappiness impacts performance, relationships, and physical health. That’s the bad news. The good news is that research proven interventions exist that increase happiness without requiring a radical change in circumstances. Even a slight increase in happiness has a lasting impact on both your current performance and resilience, not to mention, happier just feels better. This program will quickly, efficiently, and practically explain why happiness matters and offer tools you can use today to work, lead, and live happier.

Rebecca Morrison, Aldie VA

Law Practice Management

Law firms must operate more efficiently to ensure they can deliver high-quality services, handle more volume and maintain a profit margin in today’s climate of rate pressure and rising costs. Understanding Key Performance Indicators and law firm analytics concerning financial, operational and client service data are key to mastering law firm performance management. This presentation will address methods to collect information necessary for evaluating key areas of performance, identify tools and techniques to analyze data and generate action items and more.

Brian Kennel, PerformLaw, New Orleans, LA
Jan Sander, PerformLaw, New Orleans, LA
Sean Kennel, PerformLaw, New Orleans, LA

Hotel and Travel Information

A limited number of discounted hotel rooms have been made available at the Hilton Denver City Center, 1701 California Street, Denver, CO 80202. Take advantage of the group rate of $239.00 Single/Double in one of two ways:

Reserve your Room Online
Contact the hotel directly at 303.297.1300 and mention DRI Seminars.

The hotel block is limited and rooms and rates are available on a first-come, first-served basis. You must make reservations by April 11, 2022 to be eligible for the hotel’s group rate. Requests for reservations made after that date are subject to room and rate availability. A small portion of your room rate offsets the costs of the seminar.

Travel Discounts: DRI is pleased to announce that discounted air fares are available on various major air carriers for DRI seminar attendees. To receive these discounts, please contact Direct Travel Ltd., DRI’s official travel provider, at 800.840.0908. If you would like to have access to the DRI online travel booking tool, you must complete a Business Travel Profile form at www.dt.com. Within 24 business hours, you will receive information on accessing the system.