Fri -- 9:10a
Robert
Kerrigan

Deutsch, Kerrigan
& Stiles
New Orleans, LA
Bio Firm

From forum and jury selection to issue and fact management, every decision has a consequence and a reaction from the adversary.  Overall planning and issue spotting improves outcomes, as does "nodal" management -- driving cases to decision points through their lifetimes.  Ways to assess your inventory of cases, spot the bleeders, cap runaway potential and minimize total costs of litigation.

DEFENDING PLAINTIFF'S FIRST STRIKE -- 30(b)(6) CORPORATE REPRESENTATIVE DEPOSITION
Who is the person most knowledgeable and about what?

Right out of the box, that plaintiff could hit your corporate client with a notice of 30(b)(6) deposition.  It could be the most important deposition your company faces.  What you need to do to defend that deposition, how to prepare so that you don't lose the case before the first written discovery responses are made.

* * *
(6) A party may in the party's notice and in a subpoena name as the deponent a public or private corporation or a partnership or association . . . and describe with reasonable particularity the matters on which examination is requested.  In that event, the organization so named shall designate one or more officers, directors, or managing agents, or other persons who consent to testify on its behalf, and may set forth, for each person designated, the matters on which the person will testify.  The persons so designated shall testify as to matters known or reasonably available to the organization. . . .

WINNING CATASTROPHIC CASES
Zero-based Analyses When All is On the Line

Some cases just demand more attention and resources.  You probably can spot them easily.  Setting them up for victory is another story.  The hard questions and when to ask them; the warning signs when you have too much case and too little lawyer; red flags and how to spot them; changing counsel -- when and why; experts and their impact on results.

Saving money on experts, graphics (low-tech alternatives to the high-tech stuff) and other trial costs.  Structuring alternative legal fee arrangements, budgeting, incentive fee engagements, the PG&E model for law firm/in-house partnering, including criteria for task-sharing).  Using in-house paralegals, technical experts, and design professionals to prepare cases on a budget.

Together with Mike O'Donnell, Special Guest Speaker and long-time trial lawyer Davis Carr, Sr. Vice President of CNA, explains the new frontier and a dynamic, multi-jurisdictional approach to identifying and dealing with cases posing the biggest risk for disaster.

 

Davis Carr Sr. Vice President CNA Chicago, IL

Whether he's representing Seattle rockers Heart, the surviving Nirvana rockers seeking a mental examination of Courtney Love, Washington's foster care system, or Alaska Airlines in its cabin air litigation, Corr's tactical displays in high profile cases are text book stuff.  Bill Gates experienced Corr's cross-examination first hand in its operating system litigation.  See recent accounts by People and E!Online magazines.  Corr discusses high profile cases and playing field leveling techniques.

THE JUDICIAL CYBER-REVOLUTION
Michigan's Cyber Court as a Model for the Future

Recently Dykema Gossett launched www.michigancybercourt.net to prepare for the first high-speed, high-tech court in the U.S.  This first Cyber Court, created by act of the Michigan legislature will:

- Provide a more efficient, less costly legal system with better service;
- Significantly reduce travel time and cost of legal hearings;
- Allow for quick dispute resolutions;
- Employ mediators and judges with skills and knowledge to render prompt and competent decisions.

The new court of law in “cyberspace” will use the Internet, video-conferencing, electronic document transfer and web-based conferencing to conduct business.

Fri -- 12:00p

Working Lunch Breakout Sessions

Commercial Litigation Management Discussion Group Alex Marconi Snell & Wilmer Phoenix, AZ Bio Firm Peter Wechsler Ruden McClosky Smith Schuster & Russell Miami, FL Bio Firm Dennis Duggan Nixon Peabody Boston, MA Bio Firm   TAZEWELL ROOM	A
Outside Counsel Management Discussion Group George Kalapos Assistant General Counsel Unimin Corporation New Canaan, CT Elaine Lev Senior Counsel SBC Ameritech Corp. Chicago, IL   Hugh Gottschalk Wheeler, Trigg & Kennedy  Denver, CO Bio Firm Susan Artinian Dykema Gossett  Detroit, MI Bio Firm Patrick Moran Ruden McClosky Smith Schuster & Russell Ft. Lauderdale, FL Bio Firm WHITTAKER ROOM	B
Corporate Responsibility Discussion Group Scott O'Connell Nixon Peabody Manchester, NH Bio Firm   ARCHER ROOM	C
Employment Litigation Management Discussion Group Mel Ortner Sara Lee Corporation Stamford, CT John Gronda Harris Corporation Melbourne, FL David Nagle LeClair Ryan Richmond, VA Bio Firm Linda Woolf Goodell DeVries Leech & Dann Baltimore, MD Bio Firm Lonnie Williams Snell & Wilmer Phoenix, AZ Bio Firm Tracy Van Steenburgh Halleland, Lewis, Nilan, Sipkins & Johnson Minneapolis, MN Bio Firm   COLSTON ROOM	D
The Wonderful World of Corporate Counsel Discussion Group A Potpourri of topics and issues of concern to in-house counsel: a.  PRE-ACQUISITION LIABILITY David Greenblatt Centex Construction Products, Inc. Dallas, TX Derrick Crawford National Football League New York, NY   b.  EARLY CASE MEDIATION Peter Marshall Associate General Counsel Xerox Corporation Stamford, CT Alex Arezina Senior Counsel Kemper Insurance Long Grove, IL Tom Rice Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice Kansas City, MO Bio Firm   WAREHAM ROOM	E

Fri -- 1:00p

Fri -- 7:00p
Busses board from 6:45p to 7:15p

Fri -- 10:30p

Whether it's an insurer's captive law firm, a corporation's law department, or the consulting arm of a law firm, this rule has much to argue over.  Our discussion will also focus on the issue of in-house counsel licensed in one state handling out-of-state litigation or giving advice to an out-of-state subsidiary, and their exposure to liability for unauthorized practice of law.  State sovereignty issues as impediments to broad adoption of the rule.

New laws taking responsibility higher in the corporation; what prosecutors are looking for; new document management and retention rules; prevention issues and what could happen if you drop the ball.

"This new law sends very clear messages that all concerned must heed. This law says to every dishonest corporate leader: you will be exposed and punished; the era of low standards and false profits is over; no boardroom in America is above or beyond the law," said President Bush in his remarks on July 30, 2002.

Minimizing damages in high exposure litigation.  Trial illustrations in high exposure cases illustrating effective examination methods and techniques.

Recognizing and resolving problems and problem cases before they get out-of-control.  Corporate structures and attitudes that impair accurate risk assessment and encourage runaway "train wreck" cases.  Managerial tendencies to minimize the potential of specific cases while missing the bigger picture suggested by scope of distribution, jury potential, ease of information sharing within the plaintiff community, and other factors.  Litigation avoidance and prevention.  The impact of the human element when interpreting information, assessing problem scope and potential.  Identifying emerging issues with product lines.

Sat -- 11:20a
Glenn
Coe

Rome, McGuigan, Sabanosh
Hartford, CT
Bio Firm

GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATIONS
Responding to Everything from Subpoenas to Search Warrants -- A How To Guide

What would you do when your client company calls with the exciting news that the U.S. Marshall and the press are at your subsidiary's door with a warrant to enter and search?  What can they see and what can they do?  Can they interrogate your employees?  Can you send them home?  Can you limit their activities?  Does the warrant give you any guidance and contain any limitations?

Plaintiff attorneys are making progress opening sealed settlements in other cases involving similar facts and products, and thereby advancing their punitive damage claims. Strategies for defending efforts to disclose past settlements. Federal judicial initiatives and new rules aimed at maximizing the sunshine cast on federal civil litigation, including a possible ban on secret lawsuit settlements.

Before you involve your company in the criminal prosecution of a dishonest employee, supplier, or other business wrongdoer, make sure you know how to do it right, and the potential consequences of missteps in your actions.  Lessons learned from cases where failed prosecutions resulted in civil actions against the corporate victim for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, defamation, and civil rights violations.  A checklist of dangers to avoid and steps to take to protect your company.

The Liberty Bell, an icon of the New Republic, was cracked but not sufficiently defective to impair the Revolution it symbolized. Ironically, rules promulgated by the new government it heralded would have caused the bell to be scrapped at the foundry and the defect reported to protect the citizenry lest the bell and others like it break and injure a ringer or passerby. Although the bell withstood two centuries without such a calamity, government rules now require consumer product manufacturers to evaluate their products and report defects. Penalties for failing to report can be quite a corporate lashing. No need to Whig out, though. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's rules and practices concerning recalls and recall–related issues are manageable.

IP LITIGATION MANAGEMENT
When words come back to bite you.

In patent litigation the stakes are high, the litigation intense and the outcome may hinge on a single phrase. The impact of Festo (2002) on patent claims. Did Festo resolve issues of claim narrowing amendments, prosecution history estoppel and the doctrine of equivalents? How to use Festo in your case and how to defend against it in theirs. Also, practical tips for in-house counsel who prosecute patents for their companies.

HOMELAND SECURITY

The Homeland Security Bill, the impact of security measures on business, contracts and litigation, areas of conflict in business relationships arising from efforts to shift risks of new liabilities and responsibilities.

Current Nationwide Threat Level:

Sun
8:00a - 10:00p