2022 Product Liability Committee Fly-In Meeting

Join us in our nation’s capital for the 2023 DRI Talc Litigation Seminar, taking place on August 16-18 at the Washington Hilton in the beautiful Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. This seminar will include panel counsel meetings, a Premier Networking Reception, and timely education sessions from industry experts from across the nation. If you are interested in the strategies of plaintiffs’ firms in trying talc cases, the scientific issues of cosmetic talc litigation, and new and evolving challenges to plaintiffs’ experts and their theories, this is a seminar you will not want to miss!

The Fidelity and Surety Roundtable focuses exclusively on important legal issues involving fidelity and surety claims and litigation. A portion of our program is dedicated to addressing ethical dilemmas faced by claims handlers when dealing with settlement and related issues. The size of the seminar encourages lively group participation from the many surety company representatives and attorneys who attend.

Sponsored by KCIC

KCIC is proud to present a webinar on the 2022 asbestos filing trends. Michelle Potter, Sheila Klauck and Shreyas Malhotra from KCIC breakdown the filings to show who is filing these claims and where they are filing them. They also dig into the data around the underlying claimants and show some practical tools which can help defendants proactively manage the liability.

Sheila Klauck | KCIC
Shreyas Malhotra | KCIC
Michelle Potter | KCIC

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Sponsored by S-E-A

Industrial equipment plays a huge role in the ability of manufacturers and service providers to function as a successful business. They often require a substantial investment, but can lead to very quick returns and profits. That is – until they fail. When large-scale industrial equipment fails, multiple systems and/or components are often the culprit. This presentation will focus on the multiple mechanical systems involved, as well as examples of large-scale industrial equipment, and how all of these systems are necessary to prevent catastrophic failure.

Kyle Osier, P.E., CFEI | Mechanical Engineer | S-E-A

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Don’t miss the flagship event of the year for the civil defense community. Join us in San Antonio and explore new ways to learn, connect, and engage with your DRI community! Make meaningful connections through first-class networking opportunities, expand your expertise in your practice area with cutting-edge education, develop your book of business, and so much more. Save your spot and start planning your trip. We look forward to seeing you in San Antonio this October!

If your membership recently lapsed, please renew your membership prior to registering to ensure you receive your discounted member rate. Click here to learn more about pricing.

This event will be held at San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter. Learn more and book your room.

Sponsored by Exponent

Often referred to as the “Silent Killer,” carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause incapacitation and death in only a few minutes. It is produced by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, such as natural gas, propane, or gasoline, and can be generated by many common sources, including motor vehicles, engine-driven tools, and home heating systems.

This webinar will cover typical issues that arise in litigation involving CO poisoning and the different analytical, experimental, and numerical tools available to address these issues. Through case studies, the presenters will examine the following: the most common causes of CO fatalities; necessary conditions to cause the formation of CO as well as dispersion and accumulation of CO; and the codes, standards, and regulations that govern CO detection and products and equipment that can generate CO.

Presenters
Michael Barry, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI | Managing Engineer | Exponent
Francesco Colella, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI | Senior Managing Engineer | Exponent
Lindsey Gilman, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI | Managing Engineer | Exponent
Timothy Morse, Ph.D., P.E., CFEI | Principal engineer | Exponent

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Sponsored by Exponent

When a workplace injury or fatality involves a product, the actions of both the employer and the product manufacturer are often scrutinized. Workers’ compensation laws forbid most injured workers from suing their employers, but claims against manufacturers of products used in the workplace are common. Such claims often raise complex questions about interactions between the product, the workplace, and the workers. These questions can involve product design, usability, marketing, warnings, instructions, and maintenance requirements, as well as workplace safety management systems.

This presentation will discuss how human factors professionals with expertise in occupational safety and health can evaluate the conduct of employers, workers, contractors, and product manufacturers in these contexts, including illustrative case studies involving industrial equipment, control software, and chemical products.

Presenters:
Chason J. Coelho, Ph.D., CSP, CFI | Senior Managing Scientist | Exponent
Julia K. Diebol, Ph.D., CSP, C.P.S.M. | Senior Scientist | Exponent

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

Join us in Austin, Texas, for the DRI Asbestos Medicine Seminar, where you will learn about the biggest challenges and opportunities facing practitioners in asbestos litigation. This year’s educational focus will involve taking lawyers on a journey through all aspects of a case with a fact pattern involving a young, living, female, mesothelioma plaintiff with a genetic mutation, direct talc exposure and bystander friction exposure. Plus, you'll have an unparalleled opportunity to engage with distinguished faculty on timely topics and national trends, as well as network at various breakout sessions.

Join us for the 2023 Retail and Hospitality Litigation Seminar in Austin, Texas—a vibrant and eclectic city with a thriving music scene, a diverse population, and a beautiful downtown with a wide variety of dining and entertainment options! The seminar will feature insight by leading experts on the latest legal issues facing the retail and hospitality industries. This is a great opportunity for lawyers, retail and hospitality operators, vendors, claims professionals, and insurers to stay up to date on the latest trends and developments in the law, as well as learn how to effectively manage risk in their practice.

Join the Law Practice Management Committee in Austin for a look at the new “Wild West” of issues facing law firm leaders in defense firms around the country. Law Firm Practice Management has entered a new frontier with fast-changing technology, evolving client claims management philosophies, an uber-competitive job market, novel post-pandemic employment law issues, and ongoing generational differences in the practice of law. This seminar is packed with cutting-edge presentations to arm law firm leaders on how to respond to and handle new and novel issues we face on a daily basis.

Join us for an engaging conversation with the preeminent constitutional scholar, Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of U.C. Berkeley Law School. Dean Chemerinsky will discuss the most interesting and impactful cases to come before the United States Supreme Court in 2022. A year like no other, this presentation will get you everything you need to know to catch up on the current happenings within the Court and prepare for what 2023 may bring. This presentation will be moderated by former DRI Employment and Labor Law Committee Chair, Stanley E. Graham, Partner, Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, LLP.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

Sponsored by Trellis

Join DRI and Trellis for an engaging webinar as we cover how strategic legal research & analytics enables you to analyze the behavior and history of your judge, competitive counsel, prospects and clients to gain crucial insights into litigation history and ruling tendencies. We’ll show you how to leverage state trial court data to be more efficient, more proactive, and achieve better results for your clients. You’ll learn how to maximize legal analytics to add value to your firm while gaining a competitive advantage, win cases and bring in more money when litigating in state trial courts.

Topics will include:

* Judge Analytics and Ruling History
* Draft Stronger Motions, Faster
* Case Valuation and Verdict Data
* Strategic State Trial Court Research
* Alerts - Stay Informed

Discover how you can capitalize on legal research + analytics using state trial court data to make more informed decisions. We encourage you to join this informative session to add value to your firm and to your practice.

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

DRI's Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium is the flagship educational and networking program for insurance executives, claims professionals, and outside counsel who specialize in insurance coverage. This year's symposium will once again offer the unparalleled opportunity to engage with a distinguished faculty of insurance industry leaders and coverage lawyers on emerging and cutting-edge issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence, the future for coverage issues involved in "forever chemical" environmental claims, and the continuing impact of nuclear verdicts on coverage and excess insurance issues. As always, the symposium will provide exceptional networking events and will offer the opportunity to build relationships with other professionals who share your interests.

The last three years have launched unprecedented changes in the world as we knew it. These changes carry over into issues faced by professionals in multiple disciplines. With advancements in technology like ChatGPT and other AI products come a myriad of unique ethical issues. And when professional negligence results in potential licensure exposure, the stakes can be particularly high. Soaring costs of litigation, particularly e-discovery, present real and logistical challenges with eroding limits policies. The stresses of practice, while always significant, are magnified as insurers, lawyers, and clients return to the new real world as if blinking into the sunlight after recent years of remote work, quarantine, and remote meetings. Effective communication both within and outside the office, self-care, employment, and retention issues, including aging professionals have become pressing concerns. Join us as we explore this new landscape with dynamic speakers and thought-provoking topics, all in the heart of New York City.

Sponsored by J.S. Held

This presentation gives an overview of iPhone LiDAR data collection procedures. It gives an in-depth look at current and past research that was conducted by the presenter on this new technology. In addition to LiDAR data collection, it also provides an overview of cell phone data retrieval and it’s capabilities using the Cellebrite system.

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.

This program will provide practitioners with an overview of the general law of product liability from theories of liability to defenses, as well as practical considerations when handling a product case.

The registration is $75 for DRI members and $150 for non-members.

Sponsored by Rimkus

In an effort to address the shifting ways in which consumers access product safety information, the ANSI Z535 series of standards is evolving. The upcoming ANSI Z535.7 will address how to present safety information in electronic media, such as video, online, and other digital platforms. This webinar includes:

1. Insights into why ANSI Z535.7 standard is being developed and why it matters,
2. What standards users can expect,
3. Beyond the standard, additional considerations when providing safety information in digital format,
4. A brief update on the soon-to-be-published revisions of ANSI Z535.1 through .6.

Speakers:
Farheen Khan, Vice President
Judi Isaacson, Consultant
Jared Frantz, Consultant

This webinar is free for DRI members and non-members.