Kimberly L. Beck practices in the Cincinnati, Ohio office of Ulmer & Berne LLP, where she is a member of the firm's Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Defense and Mass Tort practice groups. Her practice focuses on the defense of pharmaceutical products. As an AV rated attorney, Kim is licensed to practice in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and West Virginia. She is a member of the DRI Drug and Medical Device Steering Committee, on which she serves as the Counsel Meetings Chair, Editor of the quarterly newsletter, RX for the Defense, and member at large of the seminar planning subcommittee. She is Chair of this seminar.

Sheila S. Boston is a partner in the New York City office of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. Sheila has a complex commercial litigation practice with considerable experience in products liability and class action issues with a focus on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, food litigation, and mass torts. She has practiced before both state and federal courts, and has significant MDL experience. Sheila is a trial lawyer and litigation strategist who defends clients from initiation of the case through trial. She has managed regional and national teams and implemented creative mass resolution programs. She is a member of DRI's Drug & Medical Device Steering Committee and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of its annual seminar.

The Honorable Jeff Brown was appointed to Texas Supreme Court by Governor Rick Perry in September 2013. Justice Brown took his oath October 3. Since 2007 he had been a justice on Houston's 14th Court of Appeals. From 2001 into 2007 he served as judge of the 55th District Court. In 2009 Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson appointed Brown to the state's Multi-District Litigation Panel. In 2011 he was named Appellate Judge of the Year by the Texas Association of Civil Trial & Appellate Specialists. Justice Brown holds board certification in civil trial law. Before becoming a judge, he practiced at Baker Botts LLP in Houston trying jury cases throughout Southeast Texas. Before joining Baker Botts, he was a briefing attorney to Justices Jack Hightower and Greg Abbott on the Texas Supreme Court. He is the fourth former law clerk to become a justice on the Court.

Bree Buchanan practiced law in the public and private sector with a focus on representing both adult and child victims of family violence. In 2010, Bree joined the Texas Lawyers Assistance Program of the State Bar, and now serves as its Director. In 2015, she was appointed to the ABA's Advisory Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs, and currently serves as Co-Chair of its Education Committee. Bree is a graduate student at the Seminary of the Southwest where she is pursuing a Masters in Spiritual Direction.

Theodore R. (T.R.) Bynum III is assigned to West Fargo Advisors' (WFA) Retail Brokerage Litigation Section which supports Wealth Management, including the broker-dealers within the group. He first-chairs arbitrations before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and manages litigation in state and federal courts. T.R. also represents WFA and its Advisors in Alternative Dispute Resolution, out-of-court negotiations, and settlements.

Donna L. Crossley-Van Lieu, RN, JD, LLM, is with the University of Cincinnati Health Department, where she has managed teams of more than 40 people. She has experience in complex health care processes including: health law and litigation, regulation and accreditation, corporate compliance, contracts, risk management, patient centered and managed care models, and improvement science methodologies. She has demonstrated her ability to promote efficient, effective, and safe delivery of care, based on current standards of practice, regulatory rules and regulations.

Sara Deskins Tucker concentrates her practice on complex products liability litigation, with a focus on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation. Sara has experience representing and defending clients in federal and state courts, including multidistrict litigation, consolidated state court litigation, mass torts, consumer class actions, and medical malpractice.

John H. Dollarhide, an associate and member of Butler Snow's Commercial Litigation practice group, who focuses on business torts, unfair competition, financial services litigation, and professional liability. He is President of the Jackson Young Lawyers Association, and serves as an Advisory Board Member to the Mississippi Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Baxter D. Drennon is the Second Vice-Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee and a member of the Membership Committee. Baxter is a partner at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP in Little Rock, Arkansas, who focuses his practice on both product liability and transportation litigation.

Thomas M. Dydek, PhD, DABT, PE, has more than 30 years of continuous experience in the environmental field. He has served as an expert witness in more than 250 toxic tort cases, given 50 depositions, and testified at trial 10 times over the past 20 years. He is an independent expert, having provided expert witness testimony both for plaintiffs and defendants.

Christiane R. Fife is Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee. She serves as corporate counsel at the Portland, Oregon, headquarters of Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), the largest heavy duty vehicle manufacturer in North America. She is a member of the DTNA litigation department, which manages the company's global product liability, warranty, lemon law, motor vehicle and property damage litigation. Prior to joining DTNA, Christiane was a partner with a large Pacific Northwest law firm where she focused her practice on product liability litigation.

Katie A. Fillmore is a member of Butler Snow's Austin office who focuses her practice on product liability and commercial litigation. She also has extensive experience with e-discovery and data. Katie currently is President of the Austin Young Lawyers Association, and serves on the steering committees for DRI Young Lawyers, Trial Tactics, and Drug and Medical Device.

Patrick C. Gorman is an associate at Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC who concentrates his practice on bad faith, insurance coverage, and professional liability. He is actively involved in DRI, Arizona Association of Defense Counsel, and the Papago Men's Golf Association.

Robert J. Haddad currently serves as Vice-President, Deputy General Counsel Litigation at Delphi where he is responsible for all company litigation, including commercial, product, and employment, as well as safety and regulatory compliance. Prior to this position, he spent 25 years at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone, PLC, focusing on automotive industry litigation, discovery management, and regulatory issues. While at Miller Canfield, he held a number of positions including Deputy Leader and then Leader of the Product Safety Group. At the time of his departure, he also served as one of five Managing Directors of the firm

Michael Haugen, CPA/CFF, CFE, is a manager at Epps Forensic Consulting. He is a forensic accounting expert that has assisted legal counsel, insurance carriers, and business owners in the resolution of hundreds of financial damages claims involving hundreds of millions of dollars. Mr. Haugen is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified in Financial Forensics, and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

Jeffrey A. Holmstrand is a member at Grove, Holmstrand & Delk, PLLC, in Wheeling, West Virginia. His practice focuses on defending products liability claims, including those brought against pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers; mass torts/class actions of all sorts; and complex insurance disputes. AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell, he has been named a Lawyer of the Year by Best Lawyers in the areas of Appellate Practice, Product Liability Litigation - Defendants, and Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants.

Merton A. Howard leads the Litigation practice at Hanson Bridgett in San Francisco. He handles product liability cases, class actions, and commercial disputes. He represents clients in matters concerning California's Proposition 65, unfair competition, warranty, and indemnity. Additionally, Mert assists with regulatory compliance, product labeling, and crisis management. He utilizes legal project management techniques to find opportunities for creative and cost effective conflict resolution. He is a frequent author and speaker regarding litigation and legal practice.

Heather L. Hughes is certified in Healthcare Privacy Compliance and she has over 20 years' experience in healthcare compliance for both healthcare entities and a national consulting firm. She has been the HIPAA Privacy Officer for U.S. Legal Support for 11 years. Heather has been presenting CLEs on HIPAA and Data Security for over 12 years.

Jobina Jones-McDonnell is Litigation Counsel at Endo Pharmaceuticals where she handles all facets of litigation and government investigations for the company. Prior to joining Endo, Jobina was an Associate at Reed Smith LLP, where she was a member of the Commercial Litigation group.

Sarah E. Madsen is Corporate Counsel for TrueNorth Companies, an insurance and financial strategies company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In that role, Sarah leads a team of professionals who are responsible for the legal and compliance issues involving TrueNorth. Prior to joining TrueNorth, Sarah served as counsel for ACT, Inc. and was a partner at a major firm, whose practice focused on financial services and commercial litigation. Sarah is the immediate past Chair of the Young Lawyers Committee.

Lindsey S. Mignano is a partner and founder of Smith Shapourian Mignano, LLP, where she represents emerging and small businesses in San Francisco. She provides businesses with a wide range of counseling and transactional services, such as business formation, contract drafting and negotiation, funding and financing, and employment matters. She also represents businesses in litigation matters including, but not limited to, commercial disputes, contractual disputes, partner/co-founder/shareholder disputes, employment disputes, insurance disputes, and products liability. Lindsey also has litigation experience in construction defect and financial services litigation.

Emily R. Motto is the Second Vice-Chair of this Seminar. Emily is a trial attorney at the Baylor, Evnen law firm in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her practice is devoted primarily to insurance defense, professional liability and retail, which has allowed her to gain significant jury trial experience. Emily is one of several authors who created DRI's first e-book: Women Rainmakers - Roadmap to Success.

Geoff E. Moysa is the First Vice-Chair of this Seminar. He is a partner in McMillan's Advocacy & Litigation group in Toronto with expertise in complex litigation including franchise and distribution disputes, international arbitrations, class actions and product liability defense. Geoff also has experience in commercial real estate rent reset arbitrations and appeals. Geoff regularly represents clients in mediation and arbitrations, and has appeared before all levels of court in Ontario. Geoff is a member of the Young Lawyers Steering Committee and he is the DRI International Committee Young Lawyers Chair.

Scott A. Nesvold, MS, M.Eng., PE is an accomplished structural and fire protection engineer with more than 10 years of experience. Scott is responsible for the overall direction and planning for the Building Science division of Crane Engineering, consulting on division cases, and managing those cases that fall within his expertise. He provides expert consultation regarding building design and structural analysis and failure. Drawing on both his engineering expertise and years as a firefighter, Scott also evaluates fire protection systems and analyzes the impact of fires on structural integrity and life safety.

Chris Pearson is a principal GERMER at in Austin, Texas. Chris has over 25 years of experience as a trial attorney with special emphasis in products liability defense, the defense of manufacturers in suits filed under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the representation of manufacturers of motor vehicles and recreational vehicles in disputes brought before the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Chris graduated from Lamar University in 1980 and he received his J.D. in 1984 from Texas Tech University School of Law. Chris was initially admitted to practice law in Oklahoma in 1984, then Texas in 1988 and routinely handles litigation matters in both states. He is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Texas and Oklahoma. Chris is actively engaged in numerous law-related organizations and over the past 25 years has published articles in various law reviews and bar journals. He also frequently speaks at seminars and other legal meetings on various topics related to his litigation practice. Chris resides with his wife Annette in Round Rock, Texas.

Darryl M. Phillips currently serves as Assistant General Counsel for Entergy Services, Inc., where he acts as lead trial counsel on various commercial and civil law matters. He is admitted to practice law in Louisiana and Texas. Darryl came to Entergy from The Cochran Firm - Louisiana. He has served on the Cochran Firm's National Management Committee that was responsible for managing the operations of 18 offices around the country. He has extensive litigation experience in casualty and commercial litigation. He has represented the City of New Orleans, and has served as one of its Chiefs of Litigation. Darryl has considerable trial experience as a first chair trial lawyer representing both plaintiffs and defendants in casualty and commercial matters in federal and state courts in Louisiana and Texas. He has handled cases in various jurisdictions, including Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi. He has an AV rating with Martindale-Hubbell, and was a legal reporter for the Judge Advocate General's Office, United States Marine Corps, prior to attending to law school.

Troy A. Price is a Fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. He has handled more than 50 appeals in the state and federal courts, and has presented oral arguments more than 15 times before the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. He is the co-author of a chapter of the handbook, Handling Appeals in Arkansas.

R. Torrey Roberts, P.E., a licensed professional engineer with S-E-A. He is licensed in over fifteen states across the Midwest and western United States. Torrey performs vehicle accident reconstruction (VAR) and investigations of mechanical failures. He has performed accident and failure analysis related to mechanical systems and components, including heavy equipment, forklifts, truck cranes, pressurized plumbing systems, machinery, and appliances. He has provided testimony in trials and depositions.

Gail Rodgers is a partner in the New York City office of DLA Piper. She concentrates her practice in pharmaceutical and medical device litigation, mass torts, and government and internal investigations. Gail represents clients on a wide variety of compliance matters including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as well as advising and enhancing compliance programs in response to investigations. Gail has extensive experience in a wide variety of state and federal litigation, including providing strategic advice at each stage of litigation, managing national discovery teams, and implementation of national resolution programs.

Chad Ruback works on appeals of trial court judgments in every type of case imaginable. For the past 20 years Chad's practice has been limited to handling appeals and trial court issues likely to be at issue on appeal. Chad worked at an appellate court, in the appellate section of a medium-sized law firm, and in the appellate section of a large regional law firm before opening his solo appellate practice in 2005. Chad regularly serves as a legal commentator for various television stations and newspapers.

Kaylen M. Silverberg, M.D., is the Medical Director of the Texas Fertility Center. He is board certified in both Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and is actively involved in infertility research and has published extensively in the area of infertility.

Joshua C. Webb is the First Vice-Chair of the DRI Young Lawyers Committee. He is a commercial litigator and trial lawyer with practice experience in a wide variety of business litigation matters. His practice also includes a concentration in the defense of professional liability matters for law firms and lawyers, as well as other professionals and the directors and officers of companies large and small.

Sheryl J. Willert is a member and the former Managing Director of Williams Kastner. Sheryl's practice focuses on trying cases, counseling, investigations, and dispute resolution in the area of employment law. She is a past president of the DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar, the nation's largest association of civil litigation defense attorneys. She also is the organization's first female and first African-American officer.