Past DRI Seminars

DRI’s Fire Science and Litigation Seminar is returning to Washington, D.C.! The seminar will provide cutting-edge education, including a live burn demonstration, which provides a rare opportunity for participants to go off-site to a facility where experts—with the assistance of the great folks at D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS)—will have multiple live burn stations. After observing actual fire suppressions and inspections, attendees will be walked through what they observed and how to best use this evidence in the courtroom. With a number of other excellent speaker sessions and premier networking events, this is a seminar you won’t want to miss!

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!

Join us for the first DRI International Seminar in four years to reconnect with members and new contacts in Zürich. The international disputes landscape is becoming more complex, and there are significant changes ahead, particularly for tech companies operating in Europe, as well as the rapid growth of class action regimes globally. We will be joined by lawyers and in-house counsel to discuss the hot topics and current legal developments in cross-border litigation with a focus on class actions, product liability, developments in e-discovery, and the use of legal tech in litigation. We will end with a lively and interactive panel session discussing the future of work in law firms and the seminal topic of preserving well-being in the new world of hybrid working.

The DRI Diversity and Inclusion Committee invites you to the 18th annual Diversity for Success Seminar and Corporate Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to gain insights from and network with in-house counsel and potential referral sources. This seminar is designed to address diversity-related issues in the legal profession and provide resources and tools to incorporate in your career and organization to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.

DRI’s Insurance Bad Faith and Extra-Contractual Liability Seminar is the preeminent program for insurance executives, claims professionals, and outside counsel who specialize in bad faith insurance litigation. Bad faith issues and concerns permeate many aspects of insurance claims handling. When bad faith litigation ensues, these claims are some of the most complex and highest exposure claims faced by insurers. Our faculty, consisting of some of the nation’s leading in-house and outside bad faith lawyers, will share their valuable insights and strategies on evaluating and winning bad faith cases, as well as how to avoid them in the first place.

Come visit the Queen City for DRI’s Young Lawyers Seminar! If you are an attorney within your tenth year of practice, this seminar is for you. Join us as we explore how the practice of law is, first and foremost, a business. To grow your law practice, you not only need to hone and perfect your legal skills, but you also need to learn what it takes to run a successful business - from building and maintaining client relationships, to staying on top of current trends and developments and using technology to your advantage. In addition to exciting programming, there will be ample networking opportunities with attorneys and in-house counsel from across the country.

In today's high-stakes trucking litigation, a complete set of comprehensive strategies is essential to laying the groundwork for the defense of your case. Attendees will be shown how to handle an emergency call and how to thoroughly investigate an accident at the earliest stage. Experienced attorneys, claims professionals, and industry experts will discuss evidence preservation, pre-suit discovery, and effective strategies for early resolution.

The national energy landscape is rapidly evolving, demonstrated by the increasing emergence of both onshore and offshore wind energy projects. At the 2023 Wind Energy Litigation Seminar, attendees will gain an in-depth understanding about the onshore and offshore wind sector from experienced attorneys and directly from the industry itself. Join us in Chicago to gain valuable insight into existing litigation surrounding the industry as well as potential future litigation.

Join us in historic New Orleans for the Drug and Medical Device industry’s premier event for learning, networking, and advancing the defense of life sciences clients! You’ll hear from heads of litigation from the world’s foremost drug and medical device companies, get the latest insight on jurors’ changing perceptions, and celebrate Daubert’s 30th anniversary. This year, take advantage of new CLE opportunities on Wednesday afternoon and small group, off-site networking events on Thursday afternoon, which provide more opportunities than ever to network with renowned industry experts while enjoying the best of New Orleans.

Join us in the Big Easy as we reconnect at DRI’s 46th annual Employment and Labor Law Seminar. The nation’s best employment law seminar brings together leading management-side employment and labor attorneys, in-house counsel, human resources professionals, and EPLI representatives from throughout the U.S. and Canada. Always intensely practical and accompanied by helpful written materials, this seminar is indispensable for experienced practitioners as well as those who are just getting started in 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.

Wondering why cannabis is considered a Schedule I drug by the DEA and what efforts are being made to reschedule it? Or how the increased legalization and use of cannabis for medicinal purposes has paved the path for other drugs with potentially therapeutic qualities? What about how wholesalers, retailers, and consumers complete monetary transactions for a federally illegal substance in this age of digital banking?

If these are top of mind in your practice, then the 2023 DRI Cannabis Seminar is the place to be! Join us in New Orleans to listen to thought leaders from across the industry – from businesses to bankers to scientists to lawyers to insurers – as they present on exciting subjects such as recent efforts to research and reschedule cannabis; privacy concerns for businesses and consumers engaged in cannabis transactions; fintech infrastructure specific to cannabis transactions; insurance concerns facing those involved in the cannabis industry; cannabis toxicology; and evolving rules and regulations of psychedelic and psychedelic-adjacent drugs in light of success with medicinal cannabis. Plus, don’t miss the cross-seminar presentation with the DRI Employment Law Seminar on the state of cannabis in the workplace.

The nation’s best conference for Life, Health, and Disability practitioners is making its long-awaited appearance in the Big Easy, with best-in-class CLE, enhanced networking opportunities, and new ways to connect with your colleagues in a setting unlike anywhere else. Explore New Orleans with networking events that offer something for everyone and earn CLE from top industry leaders and practitioners. Plus, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival kicks off on April 28; come for the seminar and stay for a weekend of world class music and celebration. This is the seminar you will not want to miss!

The practice of law is changing, from where we practice to how we preserve and present evidence. At DRI’s Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Super Conference, you will learn about generational differences impacting the practice of law, issues in front of the Supreme Court and the anticipated effects of future rulings, the sweeping changes affecting restrictive covenants, and much, much more. Our featured experts will cover a wide range of issues affecting the modern litigator in an informative and interactive setting. Come reconnect, recharge, and leave reenergized about your practice.

The nation’s best conference for toxic tort and environmental practitioners is making its long-awaited appearance in the Big Easy, with best-in-class CLE, enhanced networking opportunities, and new ways to connect with your colleagues in a setting unlike anywhere else. Explore New Orleans with networking events that offer something for everyone and earn CLE from top industry leaders and practitioners. Plus, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival kicks off on April 28 – come for the seminar and stay for a weekend of world class music and celebration. This is the seminar you will not want to miss!

Defending businesses, churches, schools, and other institutions against liability for sexual abuse is a daunting challenge for defense lawyers. Attendees will gain valuable education about investigation and discovery, statutes of limitation, evaluation of damages, and insurance coverage issues from experienced lawyers and professionals. They will also gain practical insight into how children who are abused are interviewed, evaluated, and treated while learning about the science of repressed memory. This seminar will equip attendees against opposing counsel’s tactics when handling these sensitive and emotional claims.

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.

Join us this spring in Chicago at DRI’s flagship seminar for insurance executives, claim professionals, and outside counsel. The 2023 Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute promises to provide an array of outstanding speakers to keep you up-to-date on the latest developments in the industry and current trends in insurance coverage. This seminar will also provide skills-based instruction and litigation guidance for coverage attorneys as well as multiple networking opportunities. The Windy City welcomes you!

Join us in Chicago for a seminar that has something for everyone, including analyses of high-profile legal events that “broke the internet.” Topics include medical practice after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the impact of live-streaming trials, and the ethical minefield that is representing a provider in a malpractice claim when the provider is also facing criminal charges for medical decisions. Each day features networking opportunities in a variety of settings, including our Premier Networking Reception at AceBounce, with the Insurance Coverage and Claims Institute attendees, on Thursday evening.

Join us in Austin, Texas, for the 2023 DRI Product Liability Conference. Hear from world-class speakers on topics that impact defense practitioners in product liability cases while expanding your professional network. Learn the latest in product recall news, elevate your expertise on product liability issues arising from the expansion of artificial intelligence, and examine the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on jury selection strategies. A special Fireside Chat on Supply Chain (the New Normal) will also address how issues in the supply chain affect product liability cases.

Cases being set for trial are on the rise as courts emerge from the pandemic, and counsel must be prepared. Set yourself up for success through DRI’s 2023 Litigation Skills Seminar, featuring presentations from skilled trial lawyers across the country on new developments in litigation techniques, jury behavior, and strategies for optimal trial preparation. The seminar will also focus on insights from the client perspective with two panels of nationwide claims executives touching on the most important aspects of litigation practice. Join us in Austin, Texas, to learn about the latest and greatest in trial techniques while networking with colleagues and building new relationships. The new post-pandemic reality is here. Let’s get back in action!