Special Pre-Conference Session
Wednesday, April 14, 5:00 – 6:00 P.M. and Thursday, April 15, 7:00 – 8:00 A.M.

A Guided Tour of Social Media

This orientation will help you get the most out of subsequent sessions. The term “Social Media” covers an explosion of varying web tools and content, bound by the common objective of forging new information pathways between people and organizations…and driving old-school types batty.  What is “social media” – or is it “are” – and what exactly do we do with it/them?  Come to this session to experience the many flavors of SM.  We’ll explore the most popular networks, both personal and professional, while learning how to interact with them and how to use privacy settings. We’ll get a small taste of the culture of each one. When you finish this crash course, your head will be spinning…in a good way.

Catherine Sanders Reach, Director, American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center, Chicago, IL

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Plenary Sessions

Opening Plenary – Thursday, April 15, 8:45 – 9:45 A.M.

How Do Effective Advocates Persuade Courts to Decide Cases in Favor of Their Clients?

The question of how to make a winning legal argument is as old as the law itself, and countless writers have answered it in countless ways.

Now U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner address the perennial question with a detailed answer adapted to the modern era, in their new book, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges. In this can’t-miss opening plenary session, Justice Scalia and Mr. Garner will discuss the principles of persuasion, legal reasoning, brief writing and oral argument covered in this compelling new volume.

Everyone, from the beginner to the veteran, will benefit from this session and from reading and regularly consulting Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, which combines the practical wisdom of an incisive Supreme Court Justice with the learning of a renowned writer on advocacy and the effective use of the English language.

Hon. Antonin Scalia, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C.
Bryan A. Garner, President, LawProse, Inc., Dallas, TX

Plenary – Thursday, April 15, 10:00 – 11:30 A.M.

The Game Changer: How Emergent Legal Technology May Be Reshaping Legal Standards of Care

Technology has hugely changed the practice of law, both in how lawyers complete their legal tasks and in how lawyers and clients interact. Lawyers, their clients and opposing counsel now communicate 7x24x365 – by email, by mobile phone, and sometimes through social networking sites. The law tech revolution has made client file material and data far more accessible – on laptops, smartphones, emails, extranets and online storage – but also vulnerable to computer crashes, hacking, and theft.

Join us to explore what lawyers are required to do in this new age in order to protect their clients and themselves. You will learn about protecting the confidentiality of client information, electronic file retention, advertising on the internet, online client solicitation and the growing risk of inadvertently engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

Barry E. Cohen, Partner, Crowell Moring, Washington, D.C.
Daniel C. Crane, Esq., Cambridge, MA
Reid Trautz, Director, Practice and Professionalism Center, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Washington, D.C.

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Luncheon Speaker – Thursday, April 15, 11:30 – 1:00 P.M.

Hon. Laurence H. Silberman, United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, will be the featured luncheon speaker.

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Plenary – Friday, April 16, 8:45 – 10:15 A.M.

The Challenge of Social Media for the Ethical Practice of Law

For good or ill, social media networks and Web 2.0 are vital tools for a growing cohort of lawyers.Facebook, Twitter, blogs, list servs, LinkedIn - it's hard to keep up. Social media and networking sites now offer lawyers and law firms new ways to interact with current and potential clients, market their services, research opposing parties, and gain insights useful for both business transactions and litigation. But are there risks about getting to know everything about everybody, particularly in a profession where confidentiality is a core value?

We’ll focus on some key questions: 

• Does social media usage within law firms affect client confidentiality, malpractice exposure, or unauthorized practice?  
• How do lawyers benefit from participating in online collaboration? 
• How should firms guide or control such participation?
• How are clients using online collaboration to improve quality and lower costs? 
• Is there any communication that is unethical in an online setting that wouldn't breach the rules if done by email or letter?
• How do lawyer-specific communities differ from broader communities?  

Simon Chester, Partner, Heenan Blaikie LLP, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Jeffrey T. Kraus, Vice President and Loss Prevention Counsel, Attorneys’ Liability Assurance Society, Inc., Chicago, IL
Theodore W. Ullyot, Vice President and General Counsel, Facebook, Inc., Palo Alto, CA

Plenary – Friday, April 16, 10:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.

Winning Strategies From Poker Players and Academics: Learning to Assess and Manage Risk to Your Advantage

This program will take an entertaining, interactive approach to risk assessment and management, exploring how risk managers and counsel can adapt the strategies of top poker players and the latest in economic and psychological research to make risk more manageable. We expect a full house will show up to observe winning risk-management strategies in action, and to come away from the session feeling flush, and better able to negotiate, litigate and resolve cases successfully.

Laura Besvinick, Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLP, Miami, FL
John R. Gerstein, Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, Washington, D.C.
James McManus, Author of Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker, Kenilworth, IL

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Breakouts

Tech Innovations Making Lawyers’ Lives Easier. . . And More Affordable

The internet and other technologies have given attorneys new and less expensive tools for handling, analyzing and resolving their cases. For example, advanced internet focus group products allow for real-time feedback on a case at a fraction of the cost of traditional, in-person focus groups. Online settlement negotiation products are also gaining steam, as are web-based and other technology-based refinements in document repositories and file organization. Our expert panel with experience in using these and other tools will provide essential and practical information enabling attorneys to better serve their clients, and insurers to better service their insureds. At the end of this session, you will have a clear sense of how these dynamic new practice tools can help your clients or insureds while conserving resources.

Richard Fabian, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, RiverStone Resources LLC, Manchester, NH
Ronald Pacini, Vice President of Global Corporate Claims and Operations, Zurich American Insurance Company, Schaumburg, IL
Catherine Sanders Reach, Director, American Bar Association Legal Technology Resource Center, Chicago, IL
Edward L. Weiner, Partner, Weiner, Rohrstaff & Spivey, PLC, Fairfax, VA

Case Law Developments

What you don’t know about emerging case-law trends can un-make your day. This seasoned panel of legal malpractice mavens will enlighten you with the latest law and explain how it may influence case evaluation and strategy in the professional liability field.

Kathleen Ewins, Partner, Long & Levit LLP, San Francisco, CA
Carol C. Payne, Partner, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Dallas, TX
David S. Wilck, Partner, Rivkin Radler LLP, Uniondale, NY

Intentional Tort Claims: Upping the Ante in Malpractice Cases

When plaintiff's counsel chooses to include claims for fraud or other intentional torts in what otherwise seems like a garden-variety legal malpractice case, the dynamics of the defense can drastically change. The relationships among the defendant lawyer, defense counsel and the carrier must be carefully managed in order to protect the interests of each. Often, the defendant is angry, insulted and scared. The carrier questions coverage. And the defense counsel, independent or not, is caught in the middle. Sophisticated plaintiff’s counsel can use fraud and other intentional tort claims to create dissension, increasing the value of the case. This session will explore the ways plaintiff's counsel can leverage intentional tort claims, and provide practical advice from defense counsel and carriers on how to counter the plaintiff while avoiding ethical quagmires.

Christopher J. Carey, Shareholder, Graham Curtin, Morristown, NJ
Laura Frankel, Lawyers Claims Consulting Director, CNA, Chicago, IL
David G. Whitworth, Jr., Partner, Whitworth & Trunnell, P.A., Crofton, MD

Emerging Claims Trends in a Depressed Real Estate Market - Something Old, Something New

As the recession persists, the real estate industry remains a central collection area for a variety of legal malpractice claims, some conventional and some more novel. Notable among them are mortgage-rescue-related claims, exposure under the Interstate Land Sales Act and claims arising under title insurance policies following a default in underlying transactions. This program will highlight recent claims trends, to be regarded with caution by real estate practitioners. Attendees will learn (1) some of the warning signs of novel transactions that place homeowners at risk of losing their equity, and therefore may expose the attorney to claims of negligence and possible complicity in fraud; (2) how certain provisions of the Interstate Land Sales Act may provide remorseful buyers with the means to avoid a purchase agreement, with bad consequences for counsel; (3) the source of common claims under title insurance policies; and (4) recent third party exposures resulting from the downturn in the real estate market.

Philip Touitou, Partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP, New York, NY
Peter J. Birnbaum, President, Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., Chicago, IL
Kevin Flynn, Equity Partner, Mendes & Mount, LLP, New York, NY
Robert Irish, Senior Claims Attorney, Monitor Liability Managers, LLC, Rolling Meadows, IL

When in Rome – Why U.S. Lawyers Should Tread Carefully Abroad

The legal business has gone global, and U.S. lawyers increasingly find themselves practicing law on an international stage. Are these lawyers giving due consideration to the application of host country laws and professional rules to their international practice? This session will explore the professional liability and ethical exposures inherent in the growing phenomenon of U.S.-trained and -licensed lawyers practicing in foreign jurisdictions. Citing real world examples, the panel will discuss situations and transactions that give rise to liability issues in other countries, suggest how best to avoid problems through sound loss prevention techniques, and discuss applicable professional liability insurance requirements and coverage.

Margrett George, Program Manager, Lawyers Insurance Fund, Law Society of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
William J. Campbell, Jr., Partner, DLA Piper, Chicago, IL
Nilam R. Sharma, Head of Financial Lines and Management Liability, Insurance & Reinsurance Group, Crowell & Moring, London, UK
Nancy Settergren, Senior Managing Director, Aon Global Professions Practice, New York, NY

Teaching Tomorrow’s Lawyers to Avoid Legal Malpractice: A Roundtable Discussion

The legal liability world has long lamented the absence of legal malpractice prevention courses. With the recent introduction of the first-ever legal malpractice textbook, a new wave of such courses is emerging in law schools. Now the focus is turning to best materials and methods for teaching this non-traditional subject. Hear from seminal instructors in the field and contribute your own insights on how practitioners and insurers might add depth to the legal malpractice prevention curriculum.

Susan Saab Fortney, Professor, Texas Tech University School of Law, Lubbock, TX
Jett Hanna, Senior Vice President, Texas Lawyers’ Insurance Exchange, Austin, TX
Mitchell H. Simon, Professor, Pierce Law, Concord, NH
Bennett J. Wasserman, Special Professor of Law, Hofstra University School of Law, Hempstead, NY

Firm Counsel Project Roundtable – "Internal Investigations – What Are The Risks That The Investigators Will Be Sued?"

The goal of the ABA Business Law Section’s Firm Counsel Project is to build a community of lawyers within law firms, corporate law departments, and other law offices who perform internal functions related to ethics, risk management, or loss prevention. This session will focus on recognizing and minimizing the liability and ethical risks associated with corporate internal investigations.  For more information on this effort, go to http://www.abanet.org/dch/committee.cfm?com=CL290005.

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