Program Schedule

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE:  August 7  |  August 8  |  August 9

Descriptions for all programs are available on this page. For more information on speakers, please download the Section of Litigation program schedule [PDF].

Thursday, August 7

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

• Leadership: The Last Frontier
  

  Despite the important role lawyers play in shaping and leading society, there are few leadership opportunities for women lawyers and limited leadership training in law schools. This panel of distinguished leaders will share qualities they look for in discerning leadership and offer practical suggestions for developing the hallmarks of leadership in yourself and those you mentor.

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

• The All New 2008 Litigation Quiz Show
  

  With new video vignettes regarding litigation ethics, privilege, work product, and evidence, the All New 2008 Litigation Quiz Show pits contestants and audience members against experts in this interactive challenge over vexing litigation problems. Be prepared to have your knowledge tested in this litigation game show, where the audience is the final court of appeal.

• Avoiding the First Date Jitters: Tips for Your First Meeting with Your Expert
  Through realistic vignettes, seasoned litigators and an experienced expert witness will demonstrate issues that arise at the initial expert meeting that can have an indelible impact on litigation. Discussion of the vignettes will illuminate important guidelines for expert interactions and will explore proposed revisions to expert discoverability rules.

3:45 – 5:15 p.m.

• International Discovery: Around the World in Ninety Minutes
  

  This presentation provides practical tips for obtaining discovery from, and enforcing US discovery orders in, jurisdictions across the globe. Among the jurisdictions to be discussed are Canada, the UK, Latin America, and Europe. Join us for a trip around the world of international discovery!

• Keep Elevating Your Game: Lawyers of Color Harnessing Power
  

  Lawyers of color who have ascended to positions of influence and prestige will explore their pathways to power—examining the challenges and obstacles they faced, and candidly discussing choices that were critical to achieving powerful, influential positions in the profession. Attendees will gain tools to develop effective strategies and tactics to elevate their careers.

Friday, August 8

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

• Data Security Breaches: A New Frontier in Private Litigation
  

  Lawsuits arising from data breaches are proliferating, yet relief for many plaintiffs remains elusive. A panel of privacy experts with real-world experience will explore the issues, strategies and tactics in data breach cases as they have evolved, as well as legal exposure confronting those who experience a breach.

• In-House Chief Litigation Counsel – What Keeps Them Up at Night?
  

  In-house litigators are experiencing sleepless nights because of General Counsels breathing down their necks, class actions and securities litigation that threaten their companies, e-discovery challenges, escalating costs, etc. In an interactive session where the audience electronically votes, come hear about the in-house nightmares and learn what outside counsel can do to provide rest.

• The ICC: Should the United States Finally Join or Just Say No?
  

  Notwithstanding the lack of official United States support, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun to consider significant cases involving human rights abuses in the Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic, and most recently, Darfur. Come hear a panel of experts debate the ICC's record at the close of its first decade of existence and explore such issues as whether the ICC's results and an unmet need for justice for victims warrant revisiting the issue of US ratification, full participation, and support.

10:30 a.m. – Noon

• Presidential Showcase Program: Individual Rights, Terrorism and the Rule of Law: The World After 9/11
  

  This roundtable forum will explore key legal issues in the aftermath of 9/11 and how those issues have been treated and should be treated in the future by US and international law. This discussion will feature diverse viewpoints from a panel of renowned US law and international law experts some of whom have served on a Task Force appointed by the International Section to study the issues.

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

• Judicial Criticism: What's Fair?
  

  Judges are fair game for criticism. But what’s “fair” and, when it’s not, how should a response be made? Journalist Dale Van Atta, best-selling book author who also annually assembles America’s Worst Judges for Reader’s Digest, will join a panel of judges and bar leaders moderated by a representative from the Wall Street Journal in exploring these hot issues.

2:00 – 4:15 p.m.

• Don Giovanni, The Class Action: Donna Anna and Zerlina, on their own behalf and as class representatives of 2,063 Jane Does, Masetto and Don Ottavio, Plaintiffs, v. Estate of Don Giovanni and Leporello, Defendants, ABA District, Docket No. 1787-K.527 (1600s)
  

  Join us for a mock trial based on Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. Trained opera singers will perform portions of their testimony, as they illustrate the facts and legal issues the Court will consider to determine whether the 2,065 women seduced by Don Giovanni, should be certified as a class in a suit against Giovanni’s Estate and his assistant Leporello. An open issue under Rule 23 which has divided the circuit courts will be discussed.

3:45 – 5:15 p.m.

• SOX at Six: Is it Working?
  

  A panel of leading attorneys and former industry regulators looks back over the first six years of regulation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.  The panel examines the effectiveness of the Act as balanced against the burdens of compliance, impacts on industry, markets, and professions, and proposals for reform of the Act.

• Darth Vader v. Clarence Darrow: Choosing High Tech or Low Tech to Reach Your Jury
  

  Through a recorded mock trial, tried twice to different "juries" that deliberate on the case differently - one through high tech media, the other in lower tech format—this lively program explores how jurors might view evidence and case merits depending on the lens they use. You will "be there" for the trials and the juror deliberations—as further explored by a trial psychologist in the jury room.

Saturday, August 9

8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

• A Partner is a Partner is a Partner
  

  What does it mean to “make partner” these days? Are you an equity partner? A voting member? The myriad of law firm arrangements can make a lawyer’s head spin. Join this program for insight into today's trends of partnership structures as we explore the benefits, disadvantages and legal consequences of tiered partnerships.

• The Roberts Court – The Terrible Twos or Childhood Bliss?
  

  Professors Days, Karlan, and Starr will be back to reprise their extraordinary performance at the 2007 Annual Meeting in analyzing year two of the Roberts Court. Don't miss this timely opportunity to hear the panelists' scholarly perspectives on whether or how the Roberts Court is maturing, and to solicit their views on what interests you about the Roberts Court.

10:30am – Noon

• Presidential Showcase Program: The American Press in Times of War: From the Pentagon Papers to Iraq
  

  In light of recent disclosures of the NSA Eavesdropping Program and secret detainee prisons, can the Press be punished for publishing National Security information? Join this discussion on whether the American press in times of war should be—under the relevant statutes, the Constitution, historical traditions, and good public policy—susceptible to criminal charges for reporting classified information.

2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

• The Fourteenth Amendment on Trial
  

  Using a mock trial format, this program will explore the history of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the meaning of the phrase “equal protection of the laws.” Issues, such as the intent of the Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment and what should be the guiding principle in cases involving the use of race, will be examined.

• Harnessing the Winds of Change to Bring Balance and Meaning to the Workplace
  Whether caused by the emergence of the Millennial generation, the 24/7 demands of law as a business or the electronic age, the traditional law firm model is outdated and in need of restructuring. This program will explore creative solutions—focusing on the innovative Great Law Firm Project—designed to return meaning and balance to our profession.
• What Do You Mean I Can’t Spy on the Board? Strategies for Conducting Effective (and Legal) Internal Investigations
  This panel discussion will provide strategies for conducting in-house investigations with an explanation of the criminal and civil laws governing such investigations.  Our panel of experts will discuss: when to conduct, the logistics of conducting and recent decisions regarding an internal investigation; Attorney-client privilege pitfalls; the use of outside consultants and private investigators; the limits of internal investigations.

2:00 – 4:30 p.m.

• Attorney Training: The Challenges of Working with Children as Interviewees and Witnesses
  

  This program will focus on the skills involved in interviewing a child client and working with a child witness. Specific areas of focus during the program will include the importance of developmental and age-specific considerations, explaining court procedures and client confidentiality, and gathering information. Attendees will also be trained on how to use the Section of Litigation video Interviewing the Child Client to train others to interview children. A complimentary copy of the video and the accompanying teaching guide will be provided to all session participants. [This program will be held at the offices of Pfizer Inc., 235 East 42nd Street, New York]

3:45 – 5:15 p.m.

• The Restructuring of America
  

  Based on recent developments in the automotive, tire, and other manufacturing industries, this program will describe the means used to restructure pension and healthcare liabilities in order to avoid or emerge from bankruptcy; the litigation issues that arise in connection with the restructuring of benefits; and related financing issues.

• Texts, Bytes & Video Clips: Discovery & Trial in the Electronic Information Age
  We know what e-discovery is, but how does one actually obtain text messages, blogger information, or password protected data from non-party websites? This program discusses the nuts and bolts of e-discovery in a courtroom setting through discovery and in limine motions and demonstrates techniques for getting it admitted at trial.