Past DRI Seminars

Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) litigation and regulation continue to present complex and rapidly evolving challenges for defense counsel, corporate legal departments, insurers, manufacturers, retailers, and regulated businesses. This one-day seminar provides a practical, defense-focused overview of the current PFAS landscape, covering legal, scientific, regulatory, and insurance issues driving claims and compliance obligations. Five substantive sessions will address key developments in federal and state litigation, including Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) multidistrict litigation, personal injury, property damage, water contamination, natural resource damages, medical monitoring, and emerging liability theories. The program will also examine changing state and federal regulatory requirements, product reporting obligations, supply chain diligence, disclosure risks, and enforcement trends. Attendees will gain insight into PFAS science, testing, remediation, causation, expert evidence, damages, insurance coverage, class certification, settlement strategies, and risk management. The seminar will equip participants to assess exposure, advise clients, preserve defenses, and navigate future PFAS-related claims and compliance challenges.

Join us in San Antonio for the 2026 Senior Living and Long-Term Care Litigation Seminar, September 16-18 at the Marriott River Center. This high-energy program blends meaningful connections with cutting-edge insights from top industry leaders covering the legal and operational issues shaping the future of senior living and long-term care. Expect dynamic counsel meetings, interactive networking (with a little Texas flair), and up to 10 hours of CLE, including an hour of ethics credit. This year’s seminar is designed to help you connect faster and more effectively—with a first-time attendee meet-up, curated small-group networking, and expanded opportunities to engage with peers and clients. You’ll also have time to enjoy San Antonio, give back through a DRI Cares community project, and connect over a complimentary lunch and coveted networking reception.

Connect with peers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) along the San Antonio Riverwalk at this year’s Strictly Automotive Seminar. Expand your knowledge with the latest tools for your practice, including technical skills from a crash demonstration, an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) vehicle simulation, and even more interactive sessions. This year’s seminar topics will build on interactive experiences and focus on implications from the latest rulings on the following topics: emerging automotive technologies, navigating tariffs, ethical AI use, and collaboration required to manage high-stakes crises. Plus, enjoy opportunities to build contacts and cultivate relationships.

Defense firms are under more pressure than ever - from insurers demanding greater efficiency and transparency to rapid advances in AI that are reshaping how legal work gets done. At the same time, law firm leaders are tackling succession planning, employment compliance, and the challenge of leading teams across generational and technological divides. At this year’s Managing Partners and Law Firm Leaders Seminar, you’ll gain practical, real-world strategies tailored to defense firms—how to thoughtfully integrate AI into your practice, communicate more effectively as a leader, and address the business and operational issues that keep you up at night—all while positioning your firm to meet the evolving expectations of clients and carriers.

From The Center for Law and Public Policy

The civil litigation landscape is rapidly evolving, shaped by changing juror attitudes, coordinated plaintiff strategies, expanding third party litigation funding, and emerging legal and regulatory trends. This seminar brings together leaders from across the defense community to examine the forces driving increased risk and exposure, while identifying practical strategies to respond. Through a forward-looking and collaborative approach, attendees will gain insights on strengthening credibility with modern juries, disrupting plaintiff momentum, navigating third party funded litigation, and advancing meaningful civil justice reform—while building connections and relationships to support a more coordinated path across the defense bar moving forward.

DRI invites you to the 20th annual Diversity for Success Seminar and Corporate Expo in Louisville, Kentucky. Attendees will gain insights from and network with in-house counsel and potential referral sources. This seminar is designed to address the recent legal decisions and lawsuits designed to stunt recent efforts to increase diversity in our educational and occupational settings. Attendees will leave with resources and tools to incorporate into their career and organization to improve Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).

DRI's Insurance Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability Seminar is the preeminent program for insurance executives, claims professionals, legal professionals, and outside counsel who defend bad faith claims and litigation in their practice. The seminar will showcase top-flight faculty, including policyholder counsel, members of the judiciary, and industry leaders, including DRI's Insurance Law Committee.

The 2026 Young Lawyers Seminar equips early career litigators with practical skills and strategic insights for navigating modern litigation practices. Through interactive sessions led by experienced practitioners, in-house counsel, mediators, and experts, attendees will learn how to build cohesive litigation strategies that apply to all stages of litigation. Attendees will hear from experts on how to maximize their professional potential. Join our session with a local Louisville panel to discuss how to negotiate and mediate cases with professionalism and credibility. In addition to substantive training, the seminar emphasizes professional development and relationship-building through structured networking opportunities designed to foster meaningful connections within DRI. Participants will leave with actionable strategies, expanded professional networks, and increased confidence in delivering value to clients and advancing their careers.

Welcome to Boston—home to heavy hitters—for the 2026 Drug and Medical Device Seminar. Join in-house counsel, colleagues from across the country, and industry leaders to explore the latest developments in drug and medical device litigation. Discover strategies to leverage Federal Rule of Evidence 702 to effectively challenge expert opinions. Gain insights into how drug and medical device litigation is evolving—globally and substantively. Engage directly with in-house counsel on issues that shape their work and relationships with outside counsel. Strengthen your trial advocacy skills with best practices from leading trial lawyers. Examine the ethical use of AI to ensure compliance with Rule 11, client obligations, and fast-evolving court guidelines. Finally, hear Former Senator Richard Burr discuss the current regulatory landscape and policies shaping litigation, including the “Make America Healthy Again” movement. Come to Boston for a timely, practice-focused program that will equip you with actionable insights—register today.

This comprehensive seminar provides practitioners and HR professionals with a sharp, practical update on the legal and compliance issues shaping today’s workplace. Designed to be both timely and actionable, the program begins with a Year in Review that highlights key employment law cases from jurisdictions around the country, offering insight into emerging litigation trends and how courts are addressing common workplace disputes. Attendees will gain in-depth perspective on current Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) developments, including enforcement priorities, evolving exemption standards, and new litigation patterns that can significantly impact employer compliance strategies. The seminar also features focused sessions on ethics and professionalism, reinforcing best practices for maintaining credibility, managing conflicts, and navigating the increasingly complex lawyer–client relationship in employment matters, while emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness for attorneys and their colleagues.

Join us in London for the annual Cross-Border Disputes and Compliance (formerly DRI International) Seminar, where leading lawyers, in-house counsel, and industry experts will explore the most significant trends shaping international disputes and share strategies for navigating today's increasingly complex global litigation and compliance landscape. This year's program will provide essential insights into the forces redefining risk and strategy for multinational businesses. Sessions will examine product liability in the technology sector amid rapid innovation, approaches to mitigating supply chain risks in a volatile global market, and the growing impact of environmental litigation. The seminar will also address the rise of collective actions worldwide and evaluate the resilience of arbitration in Europe following recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings. A young lawyers panel will discuss cross-border communications and the challenges of representing corporations in cross-border matters. Alongside these forward-looking discussions, the event offers outstanding opportunities to connect with peers from around the globe—all in the dynamic setting of London. Don't miss this chance to gain practical insights, exchange experiences, and prepare for the future of international litigation.

Meet and learn from the leaders in the Life, Health, Disability, and ERISA defense community in Atlanta, Georgia, at this preeminent conference from April 29 through May 1, 2026. You will have multiple opportunities each day to engage and network with this welcoming group of practitioners, while hearing about recent developments in this specialized area of law. Plus, obtain strategies for handling your life, health, disability, and ERISA matters. Whether this will be your first or twentieth time attending this annual conference, you will enjoy a fantastic couple of days earning CLE, sharpening your skills, reconnecting with, and expanding your network.

The trucking industry is a vital partner in the American economy, providing the framework for sustaining commerce and infrastructure required for national and global trade. The realities of today’s litigation climate require the trucking industry and those defending it to improve effective strategies and techniques to fight back against a rise of inflated demands and excessive verdicts with innovative solutions. Harness the tools necessary for a strong defense in the face of a cottage industry of predatory litigation lenders and plaintiff-oriented experts and doctors, geared towards manufacturing skyrocketing damage models.

Today's business and intellectual property (IP) litigators must understand emerging technologies and their implications for clients while maintaining strong professional relationships and core litigation skills. Join us in Miami to explore innovations shaping the future of law and gain practical strategies to enhance your practice. DRI’s 2026 Business and IP Litigation Super Conference features cutting-edge sessions on AI governance, privacy, advertising technology (AdTech) compliance, and key IP and business litigation issues. You'll tackle real-world ethics challenges, explore trends in art law and greenwashing, and develop strategies for Schedule A litigation and anticounterfeiting cases. Through interactive panels and dynamic networking with leading practitioners, you'll gain actionable insights, professional development, and valuable connections.

The practice areas of toxic torts and environmental law are continuously evolving with new defense strategies, changing case law, and soaring jury verdicts. This year’s conference will be held in sunny Miami. Join us at the nation’s premier conference for toxic tort and environmental law practitioners to reconnect with colleagues and discover the latest strategies in the field. Register today for three days of education, business development opportunities, and more!

In a groundbreaking experiment, the DRI Litigation Skills and Retail & Hospitality committees are thrilled to present the “Man vs. Machine Mock Trial,” a look into the future of defense litigation and jury evaluations. First, we will be presenting a mock trial before a live jury, where their deliberations can be analyzed by seasoned litigators throughout the country. What makes jurors in 2026 tick? What information can be learned from the feedback of actual human jurors? Next, we will then present the same mock trial in a cutting-edge AI Jury Simulation program, which will create artificial “juror personas” to provide us with their own verdict. What information can be learned from the feedback of AI jurors? How do the results of the live and AI juries compare and contrast? How can these tools better prepare defense litigators, our clients, and adjusters to evaluate the value of our cases? We will explore these questions—and more—at our 2026 seminar in Nashville.

As any experienced construction lawyer will attest, there is no such thing as a flawless construction project. Every phase—whether it’s drafting and negotiating the contract, mobilizing crews, and breaking ground, addressing unforeseen site conditions, identifying, and remediating defects, or navigating costly project delays—presents its own set of risks, complexities, and opportunities for dispute. These challenges are further compounded by the increasing threat of natural disasters and extreme weather events, which have become more frequent and disruptive in recent years. Such events can halt work, damage partially completed structures, and trigger cascading claims involving multiple parties. In this environment, construction professionals face not only traditional contractual and operational issues but also new and unprecedented hurdles that test the limits of risk allocation and project planning. When conflicts do occur, effective litigation and dispute resolution become essential tools. How do attorneys, clients, and insurers work together proactively to identify vulnerabilities before ground is broken, manage claims as they arise, and effectively manage relationships throughout litigation? In today’s construction landscape, risk management is no longer a single step in the process—it is a continuous, strategic effort from start to finish. Join the DRI Construction Law Committee as we share practical strategies for practicing in this challenging and ever-evolving landscape.

The premier DRI Medical Liability and Health Care Law Seminar is returning to Nashville, TN! Join us at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, just a short walk from the heart of the city, for an event tailored by defense counsel, in-house counsel, and claims professionals. At this year’s event, you’ll gain access to unparalleled insights, unique networking opportunities, CLE credit, and so much more! The 2026 seminar is complete with exceptional faculty, including a urologist, ophthalmologist, jury consultant, and the attorney who defended the high-profile Kowalski v. Johns Hopkins case ("Take Care of Maya"). Plus, hear from experts on HIPAA, life care planning, damages, "wearable" tracking devices, and finally, an obstetrician/attorney birth trauma specialist. Join us to reconnect with clients and colleagues at on- and off-site networking events and explore all that Nashville has to offer. We look forward to seeing you in March!

Join us in Chicago this March for a program that will bring you up to date on cutting-edge topics facing the insurance industry at DRI’s 2026 Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute. Hear from experts on subjects such as business interruption coverage, the impact of towers of coverage, navigating the bad faith minefield, and more. Expand your network while enjoying the Windy City with your DRI community.

Roundtables bring thought leaders together for frank discussion on key issues. Every voice matters. Every perspective adds value. Roundtables are for visionaries, problem-solvers, and people like you. DRI's Insurance Roundtable (IRT) is an event like no other. It brings together leaders in the insurance industry and defense bar in an exclusive setting to not only discuss the significant challenges facing the industry today, but to explore strategies for tackling them head-on. Register now to secure your spot and share your voice.