Doing Business in Canada: Key Considerations
Canada is a favored destination for companies and investors seeking abundant natural resources, sound political and financial systems, and excellent infrastructure. While Canada is an open economy and receptive to foreign investment, there are issues that corporations and investors should keep in mind when doing business in Canada, such as its legal systems (civil and common law) and the division of legislative authority between the federal and provincial  governments. This session will focus on the keys to success in conducting business in Canada, examining in practical terms such issues as corporate forms, securities and financing issues, agency and distribution arrangements, taxes, labor and employment issues, intellectual property, environmental liabilities, trade and investment dispute resolution, and cultural and economic issues. 
Moderator: David Bain, Bull, Housser & Tupper (British Columbia) 
Presenters: Jennifer Forster, Wickwire Holm (Nova Scotia) 
Ian Mitchell, WeirFoulds (Ontario) 
Laurance Yakimowski, Kanuka Thuringer (Saskatchewan) 
Doing Business in Canada

What’s Weighing Most on the Minds of Today’s GCs? 
The scope of every GC’s responsibilities is expanding exponentially, encompassing everything from globalization to data privacy and from cybersecurity to the proliferation of regulations across agencies and jurisdictions in the U.S. and abroad. This session will feature a discussion among several leading in-house attorneys about the surge in the number of issues with which they have to deal – and what law firms can do to help their in-house clients keep up. 
Moderator: Simon Margolis, Bull, Housser & Tupper (British Columbia) 
Presenters: Fernando Garcia, General Counsel, Nissan Canada & Infiniti Canada (Ontario) 
Sean Ricks, Assistant General Counsel, Vivint (Utah) 
Andras Vagvolgyi, Vice President, Legal Services, TELUS Communications (British Columbia)

Healthcare’s Key Challenge: Keeping Patient Information Private and Secure
Breaches of patient privacy are undeniably one of the biggest liability risks in the healthcare industry today. Control over patient information is becoming more and more difficult given the ever-increasing use of electronic health records and social media, along with the launch of Health Information Exchanges. Outsourcing healthcare operations also poses additional risks, especially the enforceability of patient privacy laws when health information is sent outside the jurisdiction in which the patient resides. This session will feature an overview of the principal laws and regulations in the U.S. and elsewhere concerning privacy (HIPAA/HITECH/Red Flags), their interaction with select state laws, international laws (EU Data Protection Directive and the United Kingdom’s new statutory Duty of Candor), and practical ways to minimize risk and keep patient information private and secure. 
Moderator: Graeme Menzies, Mills & Reeve (England) 
Presenters: Stephan Menzemer, Graf von Westphalen (Germany) 
Darren Skyles, McGinnis Lochridge (Texas) 
Penny Washington, Bull, Housser & Tupper (British Columbia) 
Healthcare’s Key Challenge: Keeping Patient Information Private and Secure
HIPAA Overview

Recent Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: A New Scope of Discovery? 
The Judicial Conference Rules Advisory Committee in 2013 proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Advisory Committee first explored these changes in 2010 at a Duke University Law School conference, and they include arguably the most significant modifications to discovery since the 1993 amendments requiring initial disclosures. According to the Advisory Committee, the thrust of the amendments is to secure “the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.” Over 2,300 comments were received by the Advisory Committee on the proposed amendments, and, once adopted, will take effect on December 1, 2015. This session will include a brief primer on the substance of the amendments and an examination of whether they achieve the Advisory Committee’s goals of expediting the initial stages of litigation, ensuring that discovery is proportional to the claims and defenses at issue, and avoiding unnecessary costs. 
Moderator: Steve Joiner, Rose Law Firm (Arkansas) 
Presenters: Rob Clarke, Ausley McMullen (Florida) 
Kelley Duke, Ireland Stapleton (Colorado) 
Thaddeus (Thad) Morgan, Fraser Trebilcock (Michigan) 
Recent Amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: A New Scope of Discovery?

Using Commercial Litigation Funding to Generate Business and Increase Law Firm Profitability 
Sponsored by Bentham IMF In today’s competitive legal market, law firms are increasingly called upon to offer a broader array of Alternative Fee Arrangements to generate business and increase profitability. Clients are asking law firms to provide more value at a reduced cost. Corporate counsel are looking to take litigation costs off of the corporate balance sheet. This session will introduce participants to the many benefits of using third-party litigation funding (TPLF), including increased profits on the cases you already have, the reduction and sharing of risk on contingent matters, increased business opportunities, and better client and lawyer satisfaction alike. 
Moderator: Alan Rifkin, Rifkin Weiner Livingston (Maryland), SCG Legal Chairman 
Presenters: James Batson, Senior Investment Manager and Legal Counsel, Bentham IMF 
Allison Chock, Senior Investment Manager and Legal Counsel, Bentham IMF 
Using Commercial Litigation Funding to Generate Business and Increase Law Firm Profitability

Opportunities in India: Doing Business with the Elephant 
With its now having become the world’s fastest-growing economy, India is being viewed by businesses in every industry as a lucrative market for their goods and services. But what does it take to succeed at doing business with the Elephant? This session will provide an overview of the India “story” – where the opportunities lie, how the legal system operates, and the factors that have contributed to its emergence as one of the best places today to do business. An explanation of the country’s tax, employment, intellectual property and corporate laws will also be provided. 
Moderator: Jay LeMoine, Bull, Housser & Tupper (British Columbia) 
Presenters: Shivpriya Nanda, J. Sagar Associates (India) 
Sajai Singh, J. Sagar Associates (India) 
Doing Business in India 
Foreign Holding Companies and Domestic Taxes: US, Canada and India

Legal Issues and Political Developments in the Franchise Industry
Franchises have become so much a part of the fabric of the American economy that hardly a day goes by when we don’t patronize a franchised outlet. However, franchising has been in the “cross hairs” recently, as a number of legal and political conflicts have erupted, pitting franchisors against franchisees and labor unions against both. This session will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of franchise law, as well as insights into the impact recent legal and political challenges could have on the industry’s future and the laws that undergird it. 
Moderator: Grant Weaver, Bull, Housser & Tupper (British Columbia) 
Presenters: Steve Caldeira, President & CEO, International Franchise Association 
Joseph Fittante, Larkin Hoffman (Minnesota) 
Rebekah Prince, Barnes & Thornburg (Indiana) 
Legal Issues and Political Developments in the Franchise Industry

Is a “Captive” the Insurance Solution Your Clients Need? 
Captive insurance companies have been in existence for over 100 years. However, over the past 30 years, there has been significant growth in this market, with over 5,000 captives globally compared to roughly 1,000 in 1980. The session will explain what a captive insurance company is and the many forms captives can take. The many ways a captive can be used to meet the risk-management needs of its owners or members, as well as the economic issues that need to be considered both at the time its merits are considered and later throughout its operational life will also be discussed. Finally, the regulatory environment within which captives operate will be examined. 
Moderator: Beth Allard, Bull, Housser & Tupper (British Columbia) 
Presenters: Melanie Achtemichuk, Executive Director, Policy and Approvals, British Columbia Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM)
Jesse Crary, Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cramer (Vermont) 
Lawrence Prudhomme, GPW and Associates, Inc. 
Is A Captive Insurance Company A Solution For Your Client’s Insurance Needs?
Elements Of A Captive Insurance Company
Captive Insurance – Regulatory Perspective

Winning in the New Legal Economy: What Profitable Firms Are Doing to Keep Their Competitive Edge 
Legal markets the world over are undergoing significant change, putting the traditional law firm business model under increasing pressure. Clients want to change the way they do business with lawyers, and new market entrants such as legal start-ups, new technologies, LPOs, and alternative business structures are adding to the competitive mix, giving rise to uncertainty about how to remain profitable and ensure long-term success. How are firms responding? This session will examine successful responses to these challenges deployed by three SCG Legal firms, all of which last year increased both their gross revenue and profits per equity partner by 5% or more. 
Moderator: Daniel Ronesi, Director of Business of Law Services, Aderant 
Presenters: Dwight Drake, Nelson Mullins (South Carolina) 
Kevin Hayes, Adams and Reese (Louisiana) 
William (Bill) Moreau, Jr., Barnes & Thornburg (Indiana) 
Winning In The New Legal Economy: What Profitable Firms Are Doing to Keep Their Competitive Edge
Technology: Changing The Attorney-Client Relationship For The Better

Closing Banquet
Anne Giardini, Chancellor, Simon Fraser University 
Time