Past DRI Seminars

Our world has changed—and keeps changing—since “the before time.” Before COVID-19 hit, Bostock v. Clayton County was decided, and a billion dollars became the new million dollars, times were different. With a newly sensitized pool of jurors and remote workers in every profession, people handling professional liability claims have had to adjust. Attend the 2022 Professional Liability Seminar in New York City and explore some of the significant changes—and similarities—in professional liability claims in 2022, 2023, and beyond.

The insurance industry is changing. And we want to help you keep up. At DRI's Insurance Coverage and Practice Symposium, you will learn about the biggest challenges and opportunities facing our industry. Our faculty of insurance industry leaders, experts, and coverage lawyers will cover emerging issues such as ESG, climate change, biometrics, and more, along with key everyday issues like bad faith and time limited demands. You'll have an unparalleled opportunity to engage with this distinguished faculty on timely topics, recent court rulings, national trends, and the future of insurance coverage law.

Connect with leaders in asbestos litigation to further your career and network. Don’t miss DRI’s interactive and informative meeting that brings together industry experts and asbestos litigation practitioners to share their experience and knowledge. Discover emerging trends and groundbreaking developments in the field, including how the role of genetics and cancer causation impact the investigation and outcome of cases. Expert lecturers, panelists, and moderators will provide insight into the most current, best legal practices in asbestos and cosmetic talc litigation. There will also be a basic skills session for practitioners new to litigation.

The 2022 Law Firm Leaders and Managing Partners Conference is exploring what it means to manage a law firm in these post-pandemic times. Scarce human resources, increasing overhead expenses, cyber-security threats, and changing client expectations have come to the forefront of law firm management since the world shut down in March 2020. This conference will arm law firm leaders with knowledge from numerous sources on the best ways to address and attack the challenges law firms continue to face following the COVID-19 Pandemic!

Join us in sunny San Diego for a two-day seminar that will help improve your appellate skillset and grow your network. Ideal for all attorneys who are involved in appeals, this program offers sessions on many key topics including state constitutionalism and stare decisis after the U.S. Supreme Court’s monumental recent term. Plus, attendees will benefit from tips for oral argument from both sides of the bench and principles for improving legal writing. Our diverse speaker lineup is comprised of federal appellate judges and state court justices as well as experienced appellate advocates from across the country. As a bonus, the committee is teaming up with the Asbestos Medicine Committee for a joint session on effective persuasion with Dr. Jeffrey Rachlinski from Cornell University. And, as always, there will be receptions and frequent networking opportunities with other appellate attorneys and attendees at the Asbestos Medicine and Managing Partners Conferences.  This includes an incredible Premier Networking Event at the USS Midway Museum, where you’ll have the chance to network and reconnect with fellow DRI members while enjoying the floating city of the sea!

Don’t miss a beat in Music City! Join us in the heart of downtown Nashville for the 2022 DRI Senior Living and Long-Term Care Litigation Seminar, September 7–9, at the Omni Nashville Hotel. The annual seminar includes two days of learning and networking for healthcare providers, defense attorneys, in-house counsel, claims specialists, insurance brokers and other professionals involved in the defense of senior housing providers across the country. Not only will the seminar cover the latest topics and trends affecting the senior living industry, but also this year’s seminar will hit the right note with numerous networking opportunities such as: First Timers/Young Lawyers networking reception, three networking receptions (one of which is an off-site event at Ole Smoky), dine-arounds, Women in the Law Lunch (open to all), DRI Cares service project, and DRI for Life yoga session.

Join us in Nashville for the 2022 Drug & Medical Device Seminar! The seminar will provide countless opportunities to network with clients, potential referral sources, and colleagues from across the country who are in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. You will hear from a panel of judges about their approaches to key MDL and mass-tort litigation issues, and you do not want to miss presentations about better company witnesses and juror perceptions of drug & medical device companies. Gain insight from in-house lawyers, outside counsel, and judges about diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. This seminar continues to be the "go-to" event year after year for in-house and outside counsel to the pharmaceutical and medical device industry.

The 2022 DRI Cannabis Law Seminar will provide you with the opportunity to enhance your knowledge on cannabis law, while expanding your professional network in this exciting industry. Earn multiple CLE credit hours, while learning about current trends in the developing field of cannabis law. Expect interesting presentations and panel discussions on the state of cannabis law, insurance coverage concerns, industry insights, products liability in cannabis, cannabis M&A, diversity/social justice in the industry, and so much more!

Come down to A-Town with DRI’s Young Lawyers Committee! The seminar will focus on litigation skills from the initial investigation to closing arguments, and everything in between. In addition to the dynamic programming, attendees will have face-to-face learning experiences with in-house counsel during the Fast Pitch Program as well as ample networking opportunities with attorneys from around the country at an Atlanta Braves game and dine-arounds.

The retail, restaurant, and hospitality industries have proven to be the backbone of our country and shown remarkable resilience in the face of unparalleled challenges. Litigation Lawyers will hear from industry experts on how to adapt to the needs as they have shifted over the past two years. This seminar will focus on the crucial perspective of those experiencing the day-to-day in the industry – keeping premises safe and secure, dealing with third parties, managing employees and their needs and more. We look forward to welcoming everyone back!

DRI’s Life, Health, Disability, and ERISA Seminar is in person in 2022! Join us at the foremost conference for life, health, and disability practitioners to learn from top-notch faculty and exchange ideas about the latest developments in the law and industry. The 2022 program includes discussions on COVID-19-related disability claims and testing fee disputes, strategies for long-term care litigation and technological innovation effects on the insurance industry, the ever-popular Schmidtke on ERISA, and practical tips for both in-house and outside counsel to avoid litigation and defend claims when they arise. On top of unparalleled education, the seminar offers a wide array of networking opportunities, where you can build your book of business while enjoying Nashville with long-standing friends and new contacts. Activities include everything from a book club and public service project to small networking activities and a Young Lawyers after-dinner event. Bring your cowboy boots and stay over Friday night for a show at the Grand Ole Opry!

Join us in the Mile High City as we reconnect in person for the first time in two years! The nation’s best employment law seminar, DRI’s 45th annual Employment and Labor Law Seminar, brings together leading management-side employment and labor attorneys, in-house counsel, human resources professionals and EPLI representatives from throughout the US and Canada. Always intensely practical, with invaluable education sessions, this seminar is indispensable for experienced practitioners as well as those new to 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!

The DRI Diversity and Inclusion Committee invites you to the 17th annual Diversity for Success Seminar and Corporate Expo in Denver, Colorado. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to hear from and network with in-house counsel and potential referral sources. You will learn the importance of wellness and self-care and the nuts and bolts of business development both externally and internally. You will also participate in discussions on how law firm leaders and corporate law departments are handling the new, remote environment in the post-pandemic world and how it is affecting the recruitment and retention of diverse talent. Come join us in Denver!

Do you want to know what the future of trucking is bringing? This seminar is focused on how the trucking industry is becoming smarter, faster, and better, and what attorneys, claims professionals, and industry representatives can do to get the edge and stem the tide of nuclear verdicts. Presentations include a discussion of the current and future landscape of trucking technology from insiders at the forefront of these developments. They will explain how technology can impact your case, as well as when your motor vehicle accident suddenly becomes a products liability claim. Attendees will hear about smarter ways to effectively represent the trucking industry, either in settlement of cases or at trial, and reimagining the attorney/adjuster relationship to the benefit of our industry clients. Also hear about new and continuing tort reform efforts from the people spearheading a push for a more equitable legal system for the trucking community.

Join us for DRI’s annual Civil Rights and Governmental Liability Seminar - April 6–8, 2022 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Committee will present a dynamic program providing attendees with the opportunity to learn from and interact with preeminent experts on issues important to attorneys practicing governmental liability and civil rights law today. You will hear the latest issues being addressed in conditions of confinement cases, hear from those involved in the front line of policing protests, and learn about the developing trends in Titles VI, VII and IX cases. Dean Karen Blum’s popular segment on qualified immunity will be back, along with Tom Dupree’s insightful report on the rulings at the Supreme Court. As always, attendees will have networking opportunities to exchange ideas with the faculty and other experienced litigators.

Renowned in-house counsel from NASA, the FBI, and Fortune 500 companies, as well as judges, and trial attorneys from across the country will meet in Houston, Texas, March 21-23, 2022 for the 2022 DRI Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Litigation Super Conference. Along with cutting-edge and timely topical presentations, the conference offers a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, network with industry counsel and preeminent attorneys, and hear two keynotes: “The Rewards of Building Meaningful Relationships” and “Challenges of Being a Transgender High Profile Trial Attorney.” You’ll also be able to attend breakout sessions in the areas of cybersecurity/data breach, class actions, government enforcement/corporate compliance, and more.

What is on the horizon for the insurance industry? Join DRI in Houston, TX for its 2022 Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute, March 21-23, 2022, to find out! Hear from experts about how you can place your practice at the forefront of the future of insurance coverage, and delve into hot topics like cybersecurity, firm management in a post-COVID world, and more. Plus, expand your book of business while enjoying the city of Houston during networking events, dine-arounds, and more. From NASA’s Johnson Space Center to the Museum District, consisting of nineteen museums, galleries, and community spaces, the city of Houston truly has it all! We hope to see you there!

DRI's Toxic Torts and Environmental Law Committee heads to Atlanta, March 14-16, 2022. Join us to obtain the latest information in toxic tort and environmental law to keep your practice on the cutting edge. This premier gathering for the defense bar brings you the latest litigation, science, and regulatory developments.

Last year, for the first time in many years, union representation rose in the private sector as well as the public sector. As a result, labor law under the National Labor Relations Act continues to be an important field of practice. It not only governs the right to form, join, and assist labor unions and labor-management relations such as collective bargaining, strikes, and boycotts but it also creates rights for even non-union employees. Because the National Labor Relations Board regulates through quasi-judicial decision making, the rules tend to shift with each new administration, and President Biden has promised to be very pro-union, which is expected to lead to more union activity and even greater protection for non-union employees.

Enjoy the bright lights of Las Vegas with DRI’s Product Liability Committee! This seminar will focus on product liability challenges in the face of an ever-changing landscape. Attend top-notch programming, stemming from collaboration with DRI’s 18 Specialized Litigation Groups. Educational topics range from how Right-to-Repair legislation is impacting product safety to a jury’s mindset after the past two years.