October 25-28, 2001
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Why we press forward:

The tragedies visited upon America on September 11, 2001 have left all people of good conscience shaken and deeply saddened.  On September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush asked that we return to work and reestablish a sense of normalcy in a changed world.  After thoughtful reflection, the 26 member firms of the Network of Trial Law Firms resolved to produce our October program as previously scheduled.  To have canceled it would only have furthered the agenda of those responsible for our collective pain.

By going forward we hope to dedicate our program to those whose lives were lost and to their families who press on under unbearable grief.  In this small way we also seek to honor those brave firefighters, police, and emergency workers who think first of others and put their lives at risk daily to rescue life and preserve property.  We honor also our armed forces who protect us and who guard our lives and the freedoms that we so easily take for granted until tragedies like those of September 11 shake us to the bone, reminding us that freedom must be protected.

 

 

       
DAY TIME NAME TOPICS
Thu 7:00p Opening Reception and Buffet Dinner  
Fri 8:00a   Continental Breakfast
Fri 8:30a Steve Johnson, Network Chair
Hecker Brown Sherry and Johnson
Philadelphia, PA

Tracey Van Steenburgh, Seminar Co-chair
Halleland Lewis Nilan Sipkins & Johnson P.A.
Minneapolis, MN

Joe Ortego, Seminar Co-chair
Nixon Peabody LLP
New York, NY

 OPENING REMARKS
 
"As usual, your program for PB2001 is first rate.  Now that I am inside, I fully appreciate the structure you use. I rate other seminars a success if I pick up one useful "tid-bit" of information.  Your structure features relevant topics with information focused into concise presentations, with the result that I pick up dozens of "tid-bits" of direct applicability to my practice.  Stated another way, I would have to attend dozens of other seminars to get the benefits afforded through a single Network seminar.  And to top it off, it comes with the pleasurable company of many friends.  I look forward to seeing you."

Rob Hunter, General Counsel, Altec Industries, Inc.
Fri 8:45a Bill Cronin
Corr Cronin LLP
Seattle, WA		 PREVENTING INFORMAL DISCOVERY OF YOUR EMPLOYEES:  Are there any nets that can keep the sharks out?  Avoiding offensive discovery short-cuts.  Protecting against informal discovery of company employees.
Fri 9:00a John Worden
Morgenstein & Jubelirer LLP
San Francisco, CA		 WORLD TRADE CENTER INSURANCE COVERAGE ISSUES:  Property and liability issues in claims for damages incurred as a result of war (declared or not), hijacking, and acts of foreign enemies.
Fri 9:15a Robert Kerrigan and
Duris Holmes
Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles, L.L.P.
New Orleans, LA		 DISASTER PLANNING AND RECOVERY SCENARIOS:  Coordination with public and governmental agencies.  Protecting and replacing physical plant, electronic records and paper documents.  Casualty issues and electronic fixes.
Fri 9:30a Peter Wechsler
Ruden, McClosky, Smith, Schuster & Russell, P.A.
Miami, FL		 RECENT JURY TRENDS and WHAT'S HOT IN LITIGATION:  Jury trends and where the plaintiff lawyers are going.  In addition to a review of the top 10 verdicts, a discussion of what to do in a crisis.
Fri 9:45a Steve Rowe
Lange, Simpson, Robinson & Somerville LLP
Birmingham, AL		 HIGH STAKES LITIGATION RISK CONTROL -- CAPPING HIGH EXPOSURE CASES:  Using high-low agreements, sealed verdicts, waivers of appeal, and other devices to manage risk in high stakes litigation.
Fri 10:00a   COFFEE & REFRESHMENT BREAK
Fri 10:00a Event Worth Avenue Shopping Tour

For those not participating in the program - includes lunch - bus returns at 2:30pm
Fri 10:30a John Fitzpatrick
LeClair Ryan PC
Richmond, VA		 SETTLEMENT STRATEGIES THAT LEAD TO BANKRUPTCY: The pitfalls of "Appeasement."  When you swim with sharks, you could end up sleeping with the fishes. The rise and fall of Owens Corning and Asbestos.
Fri 10:45a Mike O'Donnell and
James Hooper
Wheeler Trigg & Kennedy, P.C.
Denver, CO		 WINNING BY DISQUALIFYING PLAINTIFF'S EXPERTS:  Knocking out plaintiff's experts as "not qualified to testify as an expert" under Daubert, Kumho Tire, and other cases.  Suggested areas of questioning that can prove devastating.
Fri 11:00a Jill Wheaton
Dykema Gosset, PLLC
Detroit, MI		 LITIGATION AVOIDANCE BY CONTRACT:  Avoiding litigation by contracting to do so.  Drafting developments to ensure enforcement of liquidated damages provisions, avoidance of parole evidence, making your choice of law and selection of forum stick, agreements to arbitrate, warranties, vagueness, dispute resolution, and other issues.
Fri 11:15a Rod Heard
Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon
Chicago, IL		 HISTORY AND LITIGATION:  Take a break and put on your history caps.  A brief reprise of the issues in Bush v. Gore, and an outline of the options and arguments for national versus state regulation in the future.  A look-back to the Rutherford Hayes v. Samuel Tilden case, originally argued in 1876, that involved an extremely close presidential race where the electoral vote in Florida hung in the balance and the nation with it.
Fri 11:30a Hon. R. Fred Lewis
Justice, Florida Supreme Court		 A VIEW FROM THE BENCH:  We are honored to have Hon. R. Fred Lewis, a former trial lawyer and now a justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, address us.
Fri 12:00p   BUFFET LUNCH
Fri 1:00p Jack Urquhart
Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P.
Houston, TX		 DEFENDING PRODUCT CASES AFTER RECALLS:  You're in the middle of a product case and the product is recalled for a health or safety defect.  Handling plaintiff attorney's reactions, jury pre-disposition and adverse news coverage.
Fri 1:15p Linda Woolf
Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP
Baltimore, MD		 FENDING OFF NON-GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS:  Protecting against private investigations, including by the Business Software Alliance and other private enterprises, intruding into your company, its employees and your property.
Fri 1:30p Jack Laffey
Kravit, Gass, Hovel & Leitner, S.C.
Milwaukee, WI		 MEDIATION OF (YES) CATASTROPHIC INJURY CASES!:  Mediating and managing catastrophic injury litigation, getting control early, aggressive and controlled mediated results.
Fri 1:45p Tom Cullen
Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann, LLP
Baltimore, MD		 MANAGING COMPANY EXPERTS OVER CASE LIFE CYCLES:  The mechanics of developing and managing relationships with company experts over decades-long mass tort and product litigation.
Fri 2:00p - 2:45p   BREAK-OUT SESSIONS:
 
Topic
 Hosted By
Litigation Management Joseph Suarez
Sr. Litigation Counsel
Proctor & Gamble
Cincinnati, OH		 Mark Dapier
Exec. V.P. General Counsel & Sec.
MFN Financial Corporation
Lake Forest, IL		    
Class Action To be determined
Expert Witnesses To be determined
Investigations Susan Anderson
Assistant General Counsel
CBS/Viacom
New York, NY
Fri 3:00p Afternoon Recreation
Golf Airboat Tour Sun & Fun at the Resort
Fri 7:00p Reception and Dinner A lovely evening of elegance and fine dining.
 
       
Sat 8:00a   Continental Breakfast
Sat 8:30a Steve Johnson, Network Chair
Hecker Brown Sherry and Johnson
Philadelphia, PA

Tracey Van Steenburgh, Seminar Co-chair
Halleland Lewis Nilan Sipkins & Johnson P.A.
Minneapolis, MN

Joe Ortego, Seminar Co-chair
Nixon Peabody LLP
New York, NY

 OPENING REMARKS
Sat 8:45a Scott Smith
Halleland Lewis Nilan Sipkins & Johnson P.A.
Minneapolis, MN		 FEDERALIZING CLASS ACTION LITIGATION:  Plaintiffs' attorneys seeking certification of nationwide classes in state courts may find their efforts thwarted by new Congressional initiatives which would, if enacted, broaden federal court jurisdiction over purported interstate class actions and render class certification rulings immediately appealable as of right. Implications and prospects for success.
Sat 9:00a Madeline Sherry and Steve Imbriglia
Hecker Brown Sherry and Johnson
Philadelphia, PA		 EMPLOYMENT CLASS ACTION LITIGATION:  Status of and recent developments in employment class action litigation.
Sat 9:15a Lonnie Williams
Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P.
Phoenix, AZ		 THE FALL OF DISPARATE IMPACT AS A BASIS FOR EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS:  Microsoft and other companies dealing with disparate impact lawsuits involving older employees challenging methods of evaluation, trending, upward skills development and increased knowledge as relevant factors.
Sat 9:30a Tracey Van Steenburgh
Halleland Lewis Nilan Sipkins & Johnson P.A.
Minneapolis, MN		 PRIVACY AND BACKGROUND SEARCHES:  Investigating and taking measures against bad apple employees.  A "how to" guide.  Invasion of privacy, licensing requirements.
Sat 9:45a Paul Morrison
McCarthy Tetrault
Toronto, Ontario		 CANADIAN COURTS AND GLOBAL TRENDS:  Notable recent judgments from Canada's highest courts.   Recent high-level decisions demonstrate how Canadian courts are in and out of sync with global (especially U.S.) trends.
Sat 10:00a Tom Tardy
Forman, Perry, Watkins, Krutz & Tardy, PLLC
Jackson, MS		 NATIONAL COORDINATION -- NEED FOR INCREASED RELIANCE ON LOCAL COUNSEL:  Impact of the Attack on America on the coordination and deployment of resources in mass tort litigation.  The need for strong local counsel has never been greater.
Sat 10:15a   COFFEE & REFRESHMENT BREAK
Sat 10:45a Joe Ortego
Nixon Peabody LLP
New York, NY		 "COMMON LAW MARRIAGES" IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY:  When the time comes to break with a non-contractual distributor or vendor and sell direct.  Getting around the Statute of Frauds and the special or fiduciary relationship issues.
Sat 11:00a Glenn Coe / Austin McGuigan
Rome McGuigan Sabanosh, P.C.
Hartford, CT		 DEFENDING GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS:  Responding to governmental investigations of your corporation.
Sat 11:15a Alan Sullivan
Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P.
Salt Lake City, UT		 WINNING TRADE SECRET CASES IMMEDIATELY:   The dynamics of preliminary injunction proceedings in scientific trade secret cases.
Sat 11:30a David Harris
Lowenstein Sandler PC
Roseland, NJ		 HAS PRODUCT TRADE DRESS BEEN STRIPPED?  Protecting product configuration and trade dress after Traffix (USSC, Mar. 2001) and progeny.  The need to identify and promote non-functional design aspects as source identifiers. (If this has no meaning to you, you definitely should attend.)
Sat 11:45a Tom Mullikin
Moore & Van Allen
Charlotte, NC		 THE RISE OF CITIZEN LAWSUITS IN ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION:  Citizen participation lawsuits are of growing concern to regulated companies.  Our speaker led the amicus effort before the U.S. Supreme Court in Laidlaw Environmental Services v. Friends of the Earth.
Sat 12:00p Tom Allen
Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn & Dial, LLC
Atlanta, GA		 TOXIC MOLD LITIGATION -- THE NEXT ASBESTOS?  Employers' and property owners' new liability exposure -- recognizing, preparing for, and controlling the risk.  Potential for punitive exposure, the developing standard of care, and how the media is beating the drum.  Bad HVAC system design and maintenance, and toxic, permanent, allergic and infectious microbes.
Sat 12:15p-1:00p   BREAK-OUT SESSIONS:
 
Topic
 Hosted By
Litigation Management Alex Marconi
 Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P.
Phoenix, AZ		      
Electronic Torts Barry Halpern
 Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P.
Phoenix, AZ		      
Intellectual Property Litigation Les Hart
VP Intellectual Property
Harris Corporation
Melbourne, FL		 David Harris
Lowenstein Sandler PC
Roseland, NJ		    
Environmental Litigation Tom Mullikin
Moore & Van Allen, PLLC
Raleigh, NC		      
Sat 1:15p Afternoon Recreation
Golf Sun & Fun at the Resort
Sat 7:00p Poolside BBQ Dinner  

 

 


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