Upcoming DRI Webinars

Using the national headline story of the hate group that sought a permit to set up shop in an old Lutheran church in Murdock, Minnesota as a backdrop, we will cover the legal issues municipality must consider if they find themselves in this situation.  In a back-and-forth Q & A style format, we will discuss First Amendment implications, additional RLUIPA concerns if the hate group says it is a religious organization, preparing for potential litigation, and best land use practices generally to mitigate the issue without litigation.

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

Corporate defendants face a growing threat of mass arbitration attacks, where a firm will advertise aggressively on social media, alleging some form of consumer fraud or product performance issue. Once the firm has amassed thousands of clients it sends a letter advising that its clients all intend to file their arbitrations simultaneously, potentially triggering a defendant’s obligation to pay millions in up-front AAA filing fees before ever getting to look at the merits of an individual claim.

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

Ransomware threats are a serious threat to all types of organizations.  That threat has grown rapidly as ransomware attacks have increased in number, cost, and sophistication.  Remediation of serious ransomware attacks requires the involvement of teams of professionals, lead by lawyers, and assisted by data forensics experts, public relations professionals, and sometimes even ransomware negotiators.  Such professionals work together to contain and remediate the damage caused, and to protect victims’ interests. In this webinar, the audience will learn about the evolving nature of ransomware attacks, and how to better protect themselves against and to weather ransomware attacks from a breach response lawyer, a forensics expert, and a ransomware negotiator.

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

Mock trying a case is a powerful tool that can show you how a jury may respond to your themes, arguments, and witnesses at trial. With courts anticipating a backlog of trials due to COVID-19, there will be an added push to resolve cases and virtual mock trials can be used to assist in settlement efforts.  Hear from a panel of seasoned attorneys/industry professionals about deciding which cases to mock try, effective ways to prepare for and present evidence and witnesses to a mock jury (both in person and virtually), and how you can use the information gleaned from your mock trial to either settle or prepare your case for trial.

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

This Webinar will explore legal theories and standards that courts may employ when considering torts occurring during gig-economy transactions. The use of gig economy platforms, markets in which individuals obtain services or rent assets from each other using technology platforms, has grown at an explosive rate. Torts arising during gig economy transactions are becoming a regular occurrence. It will be essential that litigators and risk managers understand the legal theories that may be used to allocate tort liability in the event of an accident or injury.

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

What’s the difference between a copyright and a trademark? What types of patents exist, and what rights do they convey? What is a trade secret, and how can I make sure my clients take the right steps to protect information they want to keep secret? This webinar will answer these questions, and provide additional practical information about the basics of intellectual property law.

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

The final judgment rule is a well-accepted tenant of appellate procedural law. Federal courts of appeal have appellate jurisdiction over only “final decisions of the district courts. A final decision is one which ends the litigation on the merits and leaves nothing for the court to do but execute the judgment. In multi-party cases, it is not uncommon for orders on dispositive motions to adjudicate fewer than all pending causes of action. Such orders can tempt litigants and attorneys into the procedural trap of “manufactured finality”: the decision to dismiss by voluntary stipulation outstanding claims as a way to make an “end-run” around the final judgment rule. The problem arises where parties attempt to have their appeal heard while simultaneously saving for another day, post-appeal, the adjudication of other issues and claims in the case. Engaging in this "procedural sleight-of-hand" creates a dangerous situation where a litigant can lose both the right to appeal and the right to pursue further proceedings in the district court, thereby being deprived of any remedy at all.

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

The Aviation Law Committee, Aviation Products SLG, and the Women in the Law Committee are pleased to propose a webinar of all women litigators that explores how to try a products case in the new COVID/virtual world. This webinar will explore how to handle both a virtual trial or an in-person trial that requires social distancing and masks. Our esteemed panelists have experience in this new world of trials and will provide experience and insights to help defense counsel as well as in house attorneys structure their arguments and presentations to get the most benefit and biggest impact to the jury. Our panelists have experience with aviation, automotive, and premises liability so this webinar should appeal to many members. Further, we have secured a jury consultant that will be able to provide her real-world experience and recommendations.

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

Do you ever wonder how in the world other lawyers seem to draw in one new client after another? If so, you’re not alone. It’s never too early (or too late) to start thinking about business development. For some, business development comes easy, but others have no idea where to start. Hear from two resourceful, ambitious, and self-made lawyers about the steps they took to establish their unique brand, develop a marketing strategy aimed at attracting a specific type of client, attract and pitch to prospective clients, and keep new clients happy.

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

This program will discuss the increasing problem of data breaches in the healthcare industry and the most common and costly type of litigation brought in response – a class action initiated by affected individuals or entities.

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

Alternative fee arrangements provide opportunities to achieve budget certainty, promote efficiency, and better align the incentives of in-house legal departments with their outside counsel. They have been used successfully in complex litigations of all kinds, from high stakes trials to major deals to years-long multi-district litigation. But, challenges may still arise. This presentation will give in-house legal counsel an overview of alternative fee arrangements, and an introduction to how and when to successfully use alternative fee arrangements.

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

Plaintiffs are slowly turning away from Reptile Theory and adopting a new approach focusing on company safety policies and CDL manuals to establish a “duty” the motor carrier or driver violated. Join two seasoned trucking attorneys as they delve into just how these policies/manuals are being used to establish liability in trucking cases and what defense attorneys can do from the pre-suit stages through trial to prevent a violation of a policy or manual from increasing the value of your case or the verdict award.

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

Medicare and Medicaid now cover about 140 million Americans and the cost of those services in 2021 will be about $1.5 trillion, and both systems are getting aggressive about protecting their interests! The topics to be addressed include rule changes made and being proposed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the SMART Act of 2019, the PAID Act of 2020, and the litigation being filed to recover funds due Medicare and Medicaid. Discussion will include what Responsible Reporting Entities (RRE’s), the attorneys representing them, and the attorneys representing injured workers and plaintiffs in liability cases, must do to appropriately address Medicare’s and Medicaid’s interests when handling a claim.

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

This webinar will provide general guidelines and strategies for effectively deposing an opposing parties’ expert(s). Specifically, it will provide an overview of expert depositions, why they are important, the reasons for taking an expert deposition, how to prepare for them, an overview of Duces Tecum’s and obtaining discoverable documents, strategies for eliciting favorable testimony, important case law for precluding/limiting expert testimony, as well as other practical tips.

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

Distracted driving is the largest contributing factor to motor vehicle accidents and can significantly impact the value of a case. If you’re a motor carrier, driver, or represent motor carriers and drivers, this webinar is for you. Come listen as a trucking industry professional, a human factors expert, and a seasoned trucking attorney discuss how distracted driving can cause avoidable accidents, what motor carriers and drivers can do to prevent distracted driving accidents, and how distracted driving can alter your litigation strategy and impact the valuation of your case.

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