Upcoming DRI Events

DRI’s Women in the Law Committee proudly presents this seminar to help women lawyers maximize their full potential inside and outside of the courtroom. This seminar addresses the unique challenges women face in the practice of law and offers an alternative model for success, based on a woman’s distinctive communication style and personality. The program is both educational and enriching, geared to help you hone your trial and business development skills. It is also an opportunity to participate in a variety of networking and social activities.

This seminar boasts distinguished faculty from around the country, including in-house lawyers from some of the most recognized companies in America, experienced and successful trial lawyers, and nationally prominent marketing and trial consultants.

DRI’s Medical Liability and Health Care Law Seminar offers two days of advanced and informative presentations and discussions targeted to the claims professional, in-house counsel, defense attorney and risk management personnel. This year’s faculty includes an impressive list of physicians, lawyers, health care and insurance industry professionals, all leaders in their respective fields. The program includes topics of interest on emerging issues and continuing challenges in representing and advising health care providers, and provides excellent networking opportunities as well. Register now to ensure your place at this leading seminar at the Hilton Riverside in historic New Orleans.

Don’t miss the advanced litigation strategies presented at DRI’s 2012 Trial Tactics Seminar. Elevate your trial preparation by participating in this pragmatic seminar, which touches on the many stages of trial work, including early resolution evaluation, development of aggressive medical damages defenses and the tailoring of an appealing and effective jury presentation. Nationally recognized attorneys and experts from across the country will provide you with their top notch insight, knowledge and tools to maximize your efforts and obtain the best results. This annual program continues to offer sophisticated strategies that can be utilized by trial attorneys at every experience level in virtually all areas of litigation practice. Attendees also have the opportunity to participate in our ever popular networking event on the first evening, preceded by an amazing marketing presentation by a nationally known expert to help you strengthen your business efforts.

Rainmaking, business development, marketing or client satisfaction: regardless of what it is called or the size of your law firm or your practice area, additional work from existing clients and new clients is essential to your future and your law firm. Expert consultants, successful business developers and corporate counsel will present an interactive program and workshop to help you and your law firm become trusted advisors so that clients will want to send you their business. The program opens with an illuminating discussion on business-generating strategies, contains multiple programs presenting information essential to honing your business development skills and ends with an assisted workshop for creating your personal business development plan. The seminar will provide practical advice to managing partners, practice group leaders and individual lawyers.

DRI’s Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute offers an exclusive opportunity to hear from a distinguished faculty of lawyers, insurance industry leaders and policyholder counsel regarding recent court rulings and national claims trends, as well as practical advice for both the first- and third-party practitioner and claims professional. This program will help you sharpen the skills you need to litigate and navigate a wide range of insurance coverage claims and issues successfully, while networking with senior claims executives and experienced coverage lawyers from across the country. Moreover, the program will provide the perspectives of senior management in the insurance industry.

DRI’s Product Liability Conference is indispensible for anyone who defends product liability litigation. Attendees will learn about the latest trends and decisions affecting product liability cases and get valuable practice tips, strategies and trial techniques to gain an advantage in defending the modern product liability case. Main stage speakers include experienced and well known product liability defense trial lawyers, in-house counsel and government lawyers.

The specialized litigation group (SLG) sessions will offer detailed analysis in 18 different product practice areas. A concurrent session on Wednesday presented by the Young Lawyers Committee offers an alternative track for lawyers of any age looking for high quality nuts-and-bolts presentations. The Corporate Counsel Committee invites in-house lawyers to a program and roundtable discussion on Thursday afternoon on issues unique to corporate counsel.

Defending a corporate representative or client deposition requires a whole new skill set. From preparing a newcomer to reigning in someone who has been through the rodeo before, there are countless areas that an attorney needs to address and rehearse before a deposition goes forward. This program will prepare you for the pitfalls that can otherwise derail your case.

Litigation financing provides a relatively new means for parties, usually plaintiffs, to fund litigation. In its most simple variation, outside investors fund large corporate, high-exposure personal injury or class action lawsuits in exchange for a cut of the eventual return, if any. This raises a fascinating ethical debate. Initially known as “champerty,” the practice of an otherwise disinterested source funding a lawsuit has become accepted in some jurisdictions. As the costs of litigation and the potential recovery of multi-million dollar verdicts continue to rise, so too do the apparent efforts of parties to fund their lawsuits efficiently to have their days in court.

DRI’s Life, Health, Disability and ERISA Claims Seminar offers unparalleled education and networking opportunities for claims and legal personnel. Our faculty includes distinguished and experienced in-house and outside counsel, who will offer in-depth analysis, practical pointers, and discussions on recent developments and their significance to your practice. The seminar will be packed with continuing legal education presentations, starting Wednesday afternoon and running until early Friday afternoon. The first day will offer six different presentations addressing issues in life, health, disability and ERISA. Attendees may concentrate on one track that day, or “change classes” by moving from one to another between the hour-long segments. Networking opportunities that start in “the halls between classes” that first day only increase with receptions later that evening and the next night, followed by the ever-popular dine-arounds hosted by in-house counsel and committee leadership.

DRI’s 35th annual Employment and Labor Law Seminar is the definitive event for management-side labor and employment attorneys, in-house counsel, human resources professionals and employment practices liability insurance carrier representatives. Always intensely practical, and accompanied by superior written materials, the Employment and Labor Law Seminar has become a “must-attend” for experienced practitioners, as well as those who are 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.

While you may be an expert in several areas of the law, few of us have mastered every area in which we will at some point depose an expert witness. As many lawyers have learned through tough depositions, these folks do this for a living and will not give up easily. In this installment of the Young Lawyers Survival Skills series, you will learn how to understand the goal of your deposition, how to handle a difficult witness effectively, how to obtain the information necessary for potential challenges, and how to set the stage in the best possible fashion for your expert and witnesses.

DRI’s Drug and Medical Device Seminar is the preeminent program for lawyers who represent pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. We are pleased to feature a number of nationally recognized judges, attorneys (both in-house and outside counsel), and other professionals who will address cutting-edge topics that are relevant to all who practice in this area, whether they are associates, lead trial counsel, or in-house attorneys. This year’s program will offer a variety of presentations, including trial skills demonstrations, panel discussions of judges overseeing coordinated pharmaceutical proceedings, and litigation insights from leading defenders of drug and device cases. In addition to the outstanding program, there will be numerous networking opportunities, including our annual Young Lawyers Blockbuster. Be sure to register now to reserve your place in New Orleans at DRI’s 28th annual Drug and Medical Device Seminar.

With the guidance of leaders in the retail, hospitality and restaurant industries, as well as experienced outside counsel, DRI has created a dynamic seminar that will address cutting-edge concerns facing all three industries. An excellent faculty has been assembled with representatives from across the litigation spectrum, including outside and in-house counsel, risk and loss prevention managers, insurers, third-party representatives and outside consultants. This interactive program, which includes industry-specific breakout sessions, will focus on litigation trends from workers’ compensation, premises liability and employment matters impacting the retail, hospitality and restaurant industries.

DRI’s Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Seminar is structured around a hypothetical case involving patent, trade secrets and noncompete issues. The program includes substantive and advocacy sessions that will benefit all business litigators, whether specializing in intellectual property or general commercial litigation. Moreover, on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, specialized and in-depth presentations will be provided in substantive legal areas to further enhance attendees’ skills.

DRI’s seventh annual Diversity for Success Seminar is an innovative program that will examine whether diversity in the legal profession has achieved meaningful results or merely scratched the surface. Learn about the need to develop a more concerted and sustained approach to achieve lasting progress. Discover how diversity can be used to expand your firm’s base and increase your firm’s value to its clients. Friday’s Diversity Expo is an excellent opportunity for DRI member lawyers and their respective firms to interview with corporations and insurance companies that value diversity and have made a serious commitment to diversify their outside counsel list. If you wish to join DRI to participate in the Expo, you may join online and submit the membership application. Interviews are limited and preselected. They are not guaranteed. See page 6 of the brochure for information on the interview application, which is due May 1, 2012.

DRI’s annual Young Lawyers Seminar is a unique opportunity to identify and build the critical skills that outside and in-house counsel need to defend clients. The program’s faculty includes in-house counsel from some of America’s most distinguished corporations, experienced trial lawyers, a former judge and several young lawyers. Attendees may also participate in a truly rewarding community service project. Please join us to hone litigation skills, expand your professional network, and have a great time with other young lawyers from across the United States. We look forward to seeing you in Miami Beach.

At DRI’s 10th Appellate Advocacy Seminar, experienced appellate practitioners, in-house counsel and occasional appellate advocates alike will benefit from a distinguished faculty of judges, in-house counsel and leading practitioners providing valuable instruction and insight on effective advocacy, strategies and business tactics. The live oral argument and writing sessions will provide concrete examples of what went well and what went poorly in a high-level appeal that featured some of the best appellate practitioners in the country. Other speakers will address broad, important topics, such as appeals from the in-house perspective and building an appellate practice, as well as specific issues, such as interacting effectively with the government and strategies for addressing emerging appellate issues in e-discovery and social media.

Detailed information regarding this seminar is not yet available.

Detailed information regarding this seminar is not yet available.

Join us in a city world renowned for its charm and hospitality for DRI's 2012 Annual Meeting-October 24-28, 2012 at the New Orleans Marriott in in the beautiful Crescent City. French and Spanish influences make New Orleans uniquely unforgettable. Enjoy spicy Creole and Cajun cuisine, its famous jazz and blues, incredible architecture, and fascinating tales of French Quarter heroes and heroines. Don't miss this opportunity to experience a city full of life, attend stellar education programs and visit with friends and colleagues, new and old.

Detailed information regarding this seminar is not yet available.

Detailed information regarding this semianr is not yet available.

Detailed information regarding this semianr is not yet available.