| Time (Central) | Session |
|---|
| 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. | Registration
|
| 8:30-9:30 a.m. | Coffee Service |
| 8:30 a.m. | Welcome and Introductions |
| 8:45 a.m. | Managing Reputational Risk in High Profile Product Events Automotive product events can quickly become reputational crises driven by regulators, media attention, and real-time public reaction. This session offers practical strategies for in-house counsel to manage exposure before, during, and after product issues make headlines. Drawing on real-world automotive experience, speakers will address cross-functional coordination, transparency and risk mitigation, executive preparation, narrative management, trust preservation, and common crisis-response pitfalls. Rustam Juma, Volkswagen Group Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada
Dave Fleet, Edelman, Toronto, ON, Canada
Everardo Tapia, Forvia, Auburn Hills, MI |
| 9:45 a.m. | Garbage In, Garbage Out: Effective AI Prompting as Ethical Practice Effective AI prompting is both a practical skill and an ethical obligation. Attendees will learn a repeatable framework for using generative AI while managing risks such as fabricated citations, confidentiality breaches, inadequate supervision, and incomplete work product. Rachelle Sanchez, Lightfoot Franklin & White, LLC, Birmingham, AL |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. | Navigating Tariffs: Advising OEMs and Parts Suppliers on Regulatory and Contractual Exposure A cross-border panel will address U.S. and Canadian tariffs and their practical impact on the automotive industry, with guidance on regulatory obligations, contractual exposure, and strategies for advising clients in a shifting trade environment. Maureen Thorson, Wiley Rein LLP, Washington, D.C.
Jonathan O'Hara, McMillan LLP, Ottawa, ON, Canada |
| 11:30 a.m. | Cameras, Radar, LiDAR, and Ultrasonics: How Modern Vehicles See the World Modern vehicles rely on cameras, radar, LiDAR, ultrasonics, and sensor fusion to detect objects, measure distance and speed, and support ADAS and autonomous-driving decisions. Building on the interactive session, this panel will explain how these technologies work together, current limitations and future improvements, and how related claims are evolving for in-house and outside counsel. Amar Awale, ESi, Ann Arbor, MI
Hernán Mercado-Corujo, ESi, Minneapolis, MN
Tommy Beetham, General Motors, Detroit, MI |
| 12:30 p.m. | DRI Networking Lunch |
| 2:00 p.m. | Hot Takes from the Bench: Rulings on Emerging Automotive Technology, Experts, and Recent Holdings Courts are increasingly asked to evaluate claims involving emerging automotive technologies—and the outcomes are shaping litigation strategy. In this interactive session, you’ll act as judge and jury, and rule on recent case scenarios involving verdicts, dispositive decisions, and expert qualification challenges, then compare their analysis to the court’s approach and key takeaways. Amy B. Larson, Bush Seyferth PLLC, Houston, TX
Marc Carlton, Daimler Truck North America LLC, Portland, OR
Brian Thompson, Lucid, Newark, CA |
| 3:00 p.m. | ADAS in the Real World: What Drivers Prioritize, Understand, and Disable—and How Those Choices Are Evaluated in Litigation Driver choices around ADAS—what they select, understand, use, or disable—can significantly affect product liability litigation. Drawing on survey research and human factors analysis, the panel will explore how evidence of feature awareness, purchase priorities, and real-world use can shape design defect, failure-to-warn, failure-to-equip, causation, and consumer-expectation arguments. Anthony J. Monaco, Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP, Chicago, IL
Eldon Leaphart, YA Group, Houston, TX
Farheen Khan, Secretariat, Dallas, TX |
| 4:00 p.m. | Advancements in Large Occupant Testing: ATD Biofidelic Ballasting System New biofidelic ballasting components are designed to make Anthropomorphic Test Devices (ATDs) better reflect the shape, mass distribution, and tissue properties of higher-BMI occupants. Speakers will discuss development, materials, validation, and how improved ATD responses may affect crash and rollover testing. Matt King, IMMI, Westfield, IN
Daniel Kingsley, Exponent, Phoenix, AZ |
| 5:00 p.m. | Seat Structures in Rear Impact: Regulation Review & Useable Test Results Although FMVSS 207's seatback strength requirements have remained largely unchanged since 1968, automotive seats have become significantly safer through decades of engineering and testing advancements. With rear-end collisions still accounting for nearly 30% of crashes, seatback litigation remains common. This quick-hit presentation will focus on two key issues in rear-impact sled testing: occupant "ride-up" and the biofidelity limitations of crash test dummies, and how both can affect test results and their interpretation in litigation. Eric Welp, CAPE Testing, Westfield, IN |
| 5:30 p.m. | Adjourn |
| 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Networking Reception Join fellow seminar attendees at our Networking Reception. More details to come.
Sponsored by: FBT Gibbons, Sheppard |
| 7:30 p.m. | Dine-Arounds Join colleagues and friends at selected restaurants for dinner (on your own). |