Nicole B. Boehler, a US litigator based in Germany, is the managing partner of our Böblingen office and regularly bridges the divide between the expectations of her global clients and the realities of the US legal system. Her product liability and class action defense practice – which spans a wide range of globally marketed products, including motor vehicles, aircraft, power tools and machinery – has imbued her with a keen appreciation of the significant differences between the two systems, along with an ability to communicate those differences in language all parties understand.

Valence Borgia is a Counsel at K&L Gates Paris office, where she focuses her practice on French/international commercial litigation and internal and international arbitration. She acts both as counsel and arbitrator in ICC, CMAP and ad hoc arbitrations. Admitted to the New York and Paris Bar, Valence Borgia is a member of the Paris Bar Council. Valence Borgia is also the co-founder of the Fondation des Femmes.

Hakim Boularbah is Partner at Loyens & Loeff Brussels. He focuses on corporate litigation (class actions, shareholders' disputes, post-acquisition claims, ...), international arbitration (including proceedings related to arbitration: enforcement, setting aside, interim measures, ...) and asset recovery. Hakim is one of the most renowned specialists of collective redress in Belgium. He is currently defending the first class actions brought in Belgium (Groupon, Facebook, …). He is also professor at the Université de Liège where he teaches Civil Procedure Law. He is the author of numerous books and publications on civil procedure, private international law and arbitration law.

Charles-Henri Caron is a Counsel in the Litigation Department of the Hogan Lovells Paris office. He assists French and international pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies and medical device manufacturers in commercial disputes, health products false advertising cases and product liability cases, notably in mass litigation. His experience allows him to manage these very complex cases and in particular their international coordination.

Robert L. (Bob) Christieis a trial lawyer practicing in Seattle, Washington, heading up his boutique litigation firm, Christie Law Group. In his 38th year of practicing law, Bob has been at the forefront of using technology in how he develops and presents his cases to focus groups, mediators, clients, judges, and juries in trials. He is a senior director in the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and heads up that organization's tech program called FDCC Evolve. Bob writes and lectures frequently on the power of visual storytelling and the use of presentation technologies.

Charles W. Cohen is a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP. He has a national and international litigation practice concentrating in mass torts and complex litigation, having litigated cases on every continent except Antarctica. Charlie is a past Chair of the Products Liability Committee of the New Jersey Defense Association and is recognized by publications such as Chambers USA and The International Who's Who of Product Liability Defence Lawyers.

Manon H.R.N.Y Cordewener is a partner in the Amsterdam, Netherlands office of Hogan Lovells International LLP where she is head of the Litigation practice. Manon brings a wealth of knowledge and extensive experience in contract disputes, shareholders disputes, antitrust litigation, product litigation and professional liability disputes. Industry sectors in which she is active are as diverse as automotive, energy and natural resources, financial institutions and consumer.

Christelle Coslin is a partner in Hogan Lovells Paris litigation team. She advises global companies on a wide range of cross-border and mass tort litigation in the technology, automotive and energy industry sectors. For over 12 years, she has been helping businesses by offering them pre-contentious advice and representing them in commercial disputes in both contractual and tort matters, including unfair competition cases. Christelle focuses her practice on building litigation strategies and providing concrete solutions to global businesses when they are involved in complex disputes. Based on the mass tort litigation she has worked on previously, she is perfectly matched to help you navigate the changing legal landscape in France, notably in the context of the increased civil and criminal liability and regulatory risks for companies. She has also long-standing experience in assisting major companies with any international law issues they may face in Europe. Ms. Coslin is teh Program Chair for the 2019 Hot topics in International Dispute Resolution Seminar.

Nadia Darwazeh has twenty years of experience in international arbitration. She previously practiced in Shanghai, Frankfurt and London and also headed up the EMEA team at the ICC. Clients have described Nadia as an "excellent lawyer with a pragmatic and commercial approach, a strategic thinker and a very strong cross-examiner" (Chambers Global). Nadia is both a Solicitor Advocate and a Rechtsanwaltin. She conducts arbitrations in French, German and English and also speaks Dutch and Mandarin Chinese.

Delphine Dendievel was admitted to the Paris bar in 2013 and has joined Allen & Overy the same year. She specialises in commercial litigation, particularly in the areas of banking and finance matters and in conflicts of laws and jurisdictional issues as well as white collar crime litigation, with a focus on in the financial sector. She is highly qualified in Economics, given her studies at école Normale Supérieure (ENS), as well as her aggregation in the Economics field and holds a Master's degree in Market and Regulation Law of the Sciences Po Paris. Delphine's experience includes advising major financial institutions on large fraud litigations as well as assisting French and foreign companies in complex multi-jurisdictional disputes. Given the expertise she has acquired on class actions, Delphine has published numerous articles on this topic. Delphine is also regularly involved in Allen & Overy's Pro Bono activities and is vice-president of Club des Jeunes Dirigeants Financiers (Young Leaders in Finance).

Myra Sage Dyer is a client services professional with Exponent; a global regulatory, engineering and scientific consulting firm providing innovative solutions to complex technical problems. As a licensed professional engineer and certified welding inspector, she joined Exponent as a technical expert within the Materials & Corrosion practice where she specialized in failure analysis, welding, corrosion, and industrial processing and manufacturing. In her current position, she utilizes her manufacturing background across various industries, as well as her deposition experience to help clients find the appropriate consultant, or team of consultants, that can support each unique case. After graduating with her M.S. from Colorado School of Mines in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Ms. Dyer worked in the steel industry for both Nucor and Gerdau. In both facilities, she was a Melt Shop Metallurgist and Process Engineer, where she developed expertise in product manufacturing and environmental and mechanical effects on material processing. Ms. Dyer also worked with Sandia National Lab in a role that focused on safety and reliability related to nuclear weapon-gas transfer systems and components, as well as with the failure analysis team within Chevron's Energy and Technology Company. She is the US-Southeast team lead for Exponent's Diversity & Inclusion program, an active member of DRI Women In The Law, where she supports the Women in the Law networking subcommittee, and has partnered Exponent with various organizations including Atlanta Bar Association Women in the Profession, Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, and Florida Defense Lawyers Association – Women in the Law committee.

Donata v. Enzberg is Salary Partner in the Disputes & Investigations Practice Area of Taylor Wessing's Hamburg office. She advices and represents companies in complex national and international arbitration proceedings as well as in disputes before German courts. Donata v. Enzberg has successfully represented clients in arbitration proceedings inter alia under the rules of the ICC, UNCITRAL, DIS and CEAC as well as in ad hoc proceedings at multiple seats and under different governing laws. She also sits as an arbitrator.The focus of her practice is in the area of national and international law relating to sales, trade, and distribution. Moreover, she advices on questions relating to product liability and product safety. She regularly speaks on topical issues related to arbitration as well as product liability and product safety topics.

Laura Clark Fey, PLS (IAPP), CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP, is one of 27 U.S. lawyers selected into the inaugural class of Privacy Law Specialists (International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP)). Fey has an extensive global privacy law practice based in the Midwest (U.S.) that is dedicated to helping U.S. and multinational organizations develop and implement solutions to their unique data privacy and information governance challenges. Fey also was selected into the IAPP's inaugural class of Fellows of Information Privacy and holds multiple privacy certifications from the IAPP. The U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission have selected her as an arbitrator to resolve complaints brought under the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework. Fey is a member of the Globalization Working Group of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, and is the current chair of the DRI Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Committee's Privacy Specialized Litigation Group.

Anton Fischer, LLM has broad international experience as a lawyer providing leading legal advice in corporate and commercial transactions with a particular interest in the industrial sector. Anton has worked in several jurisdictions and advises on a range of M&A, restructuring and commercial transactions, with a particular focus on transactions with a cross-border background and has proven ability as a facilitator in conflict situations.

Christine Gateau is a litigation Partner in the Paris office of Hogan Lovells. Praised for her "exemplary leadership", Ms. Gateau regularly appears before French courts in the context of commercial and civil proceedings involving extensive expert investigations. "A fantastic lawyer", Christine Gateau is one of the few litigation practitioners listed for her work in the Information Technology field as well as in the Product Liability field. Ms. Gateau is the immediate past Chair of DRI International Committee.

Susan E. Gunter is a partner at Dutton Brock LLP in Toronto, Ontario where she's practiced law since being called to the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1996. She holds a Masters of Law in Civil Litigation from Osgoode Hall Law School. She defends corporations and insurers in liability claims focusing on professional negligence, product liability, occupiers and motor vehicle cases. Susan is a past Board member of DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar as Director of Canada Region, was the DRI State Representative for Canada (2011-2014), is a Past President of Canadian Defence Lawyers (2009-2010) and has served on its board since 2004. She served on the Board of The Advocates' Society from 2012-2014, co-chaired its Personal Injury Practice Group (2014-2016), served on its Civil Trials Taskforce and continues to serve as a skills instructor.

Philipp Habegger, LLM principal with Habegger Arbitration has acted in around 200 arbitrations in over fifteen different jurisdictions and under a variety of rules, including ICC, SCAI (Swiss Rules), LCIA, SIAC, VIAC, AAA/ICDR, SCC, DIS, and UNCITRAL, governed by both civil and common law. He is a former member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, a former president of the Arbitration Court of the Swiss Chambers' Arbitration Institution and a former vice chair of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association.

C. Meade Hartfield has represented clients nationwide in a variety of industries, including financial services, drug and medical device, automotive, aviation, industrial equipment, insurance, and environmental. Her financial services practice includes representing financial institutions, auto-finance lenders and mortgage companies in defensive litigation matters throughout the country. She also spearheads regulatory compliance services in response to pending or new legislation. Meade is an active member of the DRI, where she serves as Seminar Marketing Chair of the Women in the Law Committee, as well as the Women in the Law Liaison to the International Law Committee and the Automotive Section of the Product Liability Committee. Meade also is serving as the inaugural chair of Women in the Law Committee for the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association.

Paul Holmes specializes in strategic and crisis communications. He works with external legal counsel to provide companies, their general counsels and boards with communications counsel and support for high profile, complex civil and criminal litigation, enforcement actions and regulatory and internal investigations. He joined Finsbury in 2007 and has represented several of the world's largest companies in the financial services, media, retail, transportation and health care sectors, among others. Before joining Finsbury, Paul had a long and successful career in international journalism, most recently as the Political and General News Editor at Reuters for five years.

Toyja E. Kelley is a partner in the law firm of Saul Ewing & Lehr LLP in Baltimore. Toyja represents large public and medium-sized businesses in complex commercial disputes. His successful track record is grounded in the belief that every case must be litigated with an eye toward the client's overall business situation. His representation is thus informed by deep familiarity with the companies he represents. Toyja concentrates his practice in general commercial litigation, construction litigation, professional and product liability, business torts, and insurance coverage. He has achieved positive results for businesses in the manufacturing, retail, real estate, and automotive industries, among others. He has extensive trial experience in the state and federal courts in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Toyja currently serves as the President of DRI.

Oliver Kunz, LLM is a partner with the law firm Walder Wyss, Switzerland. His practice focuses on litigation in civil and criminal matters. Oliver's litigation practice covers a broad range of sectors, with a particular emphasis on the financial industry and technology-intensive sectors. In addition, he represents accused and injured parties in white-collar crime and fraud cases, in particular in relation to asset recovery.

John F. Kuppens is a litigation partner in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP's Columbia, South Carolina office. He has experience in consumer product risk prevention and regulatory counseling, product liability litigation, commercial litigation, and state procurement matters.. Mr. Kuppens is the DRI Immediate Past President. He is a past Chair of DRI's Product Liability Committee. He is also a former chair of the DRI Young Lawyers Committee. Mr. Kuppens is a member of the IADC (Trial Academy faculty, 2007), the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association (past Executive Committee Member), and the ABA.

Nicolai Laude is the Director for Global Litigation Communications at Volkswagen Group. He leads global communications for all litigation related to the diesel emissions matter for all the company's brands. In this capacity, Mr. Laude ensures that the company's communications related to civil, criminal, unfair competition, regulatory, labor and investor litigations in more than 55 jurisdictions worldwide align with Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche's legal strategy. Mr. Laude regularly engages with reporters to manage significant local, national and international print and broadcast media attention.

John W. Lebold is the associate general counsel-complex litigation for the Sherwin-Williams Company in Cleveland, Ohio. He is responsible for handling all long-tail toxic torts facing the company, including the lead, asbestos, and benzene litigations. Mr. Lebold also handles insurance coverage issues for the company. He is a member of DRI, the FDCC, and the American Bar Association.

Dorothy Livingston specialises in EU law and regulation. She was a partner at HSF from 1980-2008, in the Finance Division and then in the Competition Regulation and Trade Department, where she is now a consultant. Dorothy is one of the leaders of HSF's "Brexit" working group and has built up considerable expertise on the process of the UK leaving the EU and what might follow, and on the possible consequences for business. Dorothy is the Chairman of the Financial Law Committee of the City of London Law Society (CLLS) and represents the CLLS on the Treasury Banking Liaison Panel appointed to consider important subsidiary legislation and the Code of Practice under the Banking Act 2009. She has been involved in the CLLS Competition Law Committee's work on Brexit and in the Financial Markets Law Committee's Brexit Scoping Forum and several of its working parties. Dorothy has published articles on Brexit and on issues of financial law and written both textbooks and articles on competition law.

John Magee, BCL, LLM, is technology partner with leading Irish law firm William Fry, where he has a particularly strong reputation in the privacy and cybersecurity fields. He is member of the Globalization Working Group of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy and the International Association of Privacy Professionals. He also sits on the Data Protection & Technology Working Group of the Association of Compliance Officers in Ireland.

Winston Maxwell Currently a member of the firm of Hogan Lovell in Paris, France, Winston Maxwell will soon move to become Director of Law and Technology Studies at Telecom ParisTech (a graduate school of applied computer science in Paris). In 2014, he was appointed to the French National Assembly's Commission on Digital Rights, and was asked to contribute to the French Conseil d'Etat's 2014 report on fundamental rights in the digital age. He has completed projects for the European Commission and the French data protection authority (CNIL) on forward-looking regulatory issues. He is member of the Globalization Working Group of DRI's Center for Law and Public Policy.

Julie Metois was admitted to the Paris Bar in 2014. Her practice focuses primarily on civil, commercial and criminal litigation. She holds a Masters degree in Law and Economics and is a Research Fellow in Economics of the école Normale Supérieure (ENS). Prior to joining Allen & Overy, she notably worked within a boutique firm specialised in commercial litigation and international attachment proceedings. Her experience includes advising and assisting major companies and financial institutions before French Civil and Commercial Courts and regulatory investigations. She also regularly advise clients with respect to recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements, international attachments and seizure proceedings. Julie is involved in Allen & Overy Paris Pro bono activities and mindful of the enhancement of gender equality and diversity policies.

Colin A. Munro Chairman, UK Citizens in Austria (UKCA), Ambassador (Retd) Associate The Ambassador Partnership LLP. Born Edinburgh 1946. Educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh University (Modern Languages) and King's College London (International Studies). HM Diplomatic Service 1969-2007. After postings in London, Bonn, Kuala Lumpur, and Bucharest, appointed Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy to the GDR in East Berlin (1987-90). Consul General Frankfurt 1990-93. Head of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) OSCE/Council of Europe Department 1993-97. Ambassador to Croatia 1997-2000. Deputy High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina based in Mostar (2001). Royal College of Defence Studies 2002. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) 2003-07. Consultancies for the OSCE and other organisations, and lecturing assignments since 2007. Leader OSCE Election Observation Mission to Bulgaria in 2009. Chairman UKCA since 2017. Main areas of professional interest - promotion of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Brexit. Lecturer and contributor to academic conferences and seminars. Articles published by the Prince Albert Society, Vienna University, and the German Historical Institute in London.

Ron Peleg is a litigation partner at Meitar Liquornik Geva Leshem Tal. Ron regularly defends multinational companies in complex litigation, particularly class actions. Ron also specializes in the field of pharmaceutical law, and led the defence of the largest pharma cases in Israel, including: Vioxx, Avandia, Crestor, Zyprexa. Ron is the DRI International Country Chair for Israel and consistently selected as a leading practitioner by Who's who legal product liability defence & life science.

Erwan Poisson with nearly 20 years of experience as a general litigator, Erwan is a Partner in the Litigation department at Allen & Overy Paris. He has built a particularly strong reputation in commercial and civil disputes, from prelitigation to Court trial, notably in the areas of banking and finance and class actions. He regularly assist clients in relation to internal investigations as well as regulatory issues. He has also developed an unrivalled expertise before the courts of French-speaking African countries in commercial and criminal litigation matters, as well as before international courts (in particular, the ILO Administrative Tribunal). Erwan is recognised as an expert on conflicts of laws and jurisdictional issues, a subject he teaches at Sorbonne University. He is the author of various publication, most recently on class-actions and an active member of DRI.

Elsa Rodrigues is Of Counsel at Andersen Tax & Legal in the International Arbitration and Litigation Department. Her expertise includes handling complex corporate and commercial disputes as well as product liability issues. She has a significant experience in arbitration (institutional and ad hoc), in particular in the aviation industry. Elsa Rodrigues is a member of the Paris and New York Bars and a member of the Board of the French American Bar Association (FABA).

Steven F. Rosenhek is one of Canada's leading litigation lawyers. A senior partner in the Litigation and Class Action Groups he has extensive experience in complex commercial cases, major national and international class actions, commercial arbitrations, product liability, life sciences, and antitrust matters. Steven is widely recognized for his skills as a senior trial and appellate lawyer before all levels of Court in Canada, and a wide range of administrative and regulatory bodies. He is Chair of the firm's Automotive Group. Steven acts in high-stakes commercial litigation cases and defends significant class actions, claims and regulatory proceedings. He serves as national litigation counsel to major national and international manufacturers, distributors, and a wide array of other businesses. He regularly acts as national defence counsel in Canadian proceedings involving class actions and regulatory proceedings in multiple international jurisdictions. Steven's expertise as a leading Canadian litigator has been recognized by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, Benchmark Canada, and Who's Who Legal, and The Legal 500 (Canada).

Heather A. Sanderson the principal with Sanderson Law in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and has 38 years of experience providing legal advice and direction on all manner of commercial and personal lines claims. In addition to being a skilled advocate, she has extensive experience with policy drafting, providing coverage opinions on property and liability policies of every description, defending property and casualty claims of all descriptions, defending actions within the self-insured retention and bad faith actions. Fellow of the American College of Coverage Consel, member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel and is a director of the Canadian Defence Lawyers and DRI (Defense Research Institute). Heather has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada and all levels of Courts in ALberta, and was co-counsel on the longest civil trails in the history of the Northwest Territories. Heather has testified as an expert witness on insurance and civil litigation issues before the Albert Court of Queen's Bench, the Ontario Superioor Court of Justice and the Quebec Superior Court. The two major works Heather has authored are standard industry refernce materials and are on the required readng lists of several Canadian Universities and community colleges. Both works have been cited in numerous insurance publlications and by courts across Canada.

Juliette Schweblinwas admitted to the bar in 2002. Her practice is focussed on litigation and especially on disputes between lawyers and regarding bar standards (mediation ad arbitration). Juliette regulary deals with matters related to preventing and resolving risks of discrimination and harassment within law firms. Juliette is a member of the following associations: Femmes et droit, Licra and Droit et Procédure.

Isabella Wijnberg is a senior associate at Houthoff in Amsterdam. She specialises in dispute resolution with a focus on collective redress, corporate litigation, and complex disputes relating to commercial contract law. Isabella acts as defence counsel for corporate, semi-public and financial institutions with a particular focus on collective redress. She is the author of various publications, in particular in the area of procedural law and collective redress.

Glenn M. Zakaib is a partner with BLG's Toronto office as National Co-chair of the Class Actions Group, providing strategic direction and coordination of the group across Canada. He has an extensive background in precedent-setting class actions matters, bringing astute insights forward to defend public and private sector clients against all manner of claims. Mr. Zakaib's expertise extends across industry sectors. He has a strong track record of successfully defending class action proceedings and product liability claims related to medical, consumer, industrial, pharmaceutical, automotive, aviation, and electrical products, as well as life insurance, misrepresentation, and Competition Act claims.