Presentations
Transform the Norm: What Law Firms Need to Do to Drive Innovation
Legal industry analysts the world over are all touting the need for law firms to innovate – and firms are beginning to respond by launching innovation committees, R&D teams and idea labs. But despite this recent spate of activity, most of these efforts thus far seem only to be yielding token results. Why? This session will focus on how firms can “transform the norm” by empowering their attorneys to take risks, actively invite client feedback and reward behavior that puts greater emphasis on experimentation and improving client service.
Speaker: Anjali Kumar, Chief People Officer & General Counsel, Cheddar

Law Firm Innovation: Who’s Doing What, When, Where, How & Why?
We live in an age that demands innovation. Like it or not, the legal market is changing. But what innovation is actually taking place? While a 2017 Altman Weil survey found that half of all law firms say they are actively engaged in testing innovative ideas and methods, a newly released survey reveals that the corporate clients of those law firms just aren’t seeing it. So, what is going on out there? This session will explore some of the new technologies and business models available to enhance legal services and make costs more predictable – and the steps required to take them from ideation to implementation.
Moderator: Thad Morgan, Fraser Trebilcock (Michigan)
Presenters: Kevin Calder, Mills & Reeve (England) 
Xinyi Chen, MHP Law Firm (Shanghai, China)
Mark Dunphy, Hall & Wilcox (Melbourne, Australia)
Innovation in Law Firms
Innovation and Smarter Law
Innovation of Law Firm Operations
Developing a Culture of Innovation

The Millennial Challenge: Finding, Keeping & Motivating Your Firm’s Next Generation of Leaders
Millennials now make up the largest generational group of attorneys working in law firms in the U.S., outnumbering Gen Xers and baby boomers. As more and more of them assume partnership positions, how will their preferences reshape the legal industry and the firms with which they’re associated? This presentation – by one of America’s youngest law-firm managing partners – will examine some of the biggest mistakes law firms make when it comes to managing millennials, why those missteps have the potential to wreak havoc as Gen X and millennial leaders take over and what measures firms need to take to motivate and retain millennial and Gen X lawyers.
Introduction: David Poisson, SCG Legal (District of Columbia)
Speaker: James Goodnow, Fennemore Craig (Arizona)
Motivating Millennials

How Blockchain Is Revolutionizing the Practice of Law
Blockchain is one of today’s most exciting new technologies. It is being used to build tools and infrastructure that help lawyers draft contracts, record commercial transactions, and verify legal documents. It’s also being promoted as a way to help reduce the time lawyers spend on routine tasks, enabling them to devote greater attention to performing more highly sophisticated legal tasks. This session will provide an introduction to blockchain – what it is, what legal issues it raises, and its potential uses in such industries as financial services, healthcare, and cryptocurrencies.
Moderator: Erica Tarpey, Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe (Colorado)
Presenters: Jean-Claude Lanza, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler (New York City)
Lewis Popovski, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler (New York City)
Blockchain: Fundamentals & Opportunities

Global Perspectives on Data Privacy
The data privacy landscape is shifting more quickly than ever before. In just the last several years, China has introduced the PRC Cybersecurity Law; Australia, the mandatory Privacy Amendment (Notifiable Data Breaches) Act 2017; the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation; Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act; the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Gramm-Leach-Bliley; California, the Consumer Privacy Act; and New York, the Personal Privacy Protection Law, to name just a few. This session will examine key elements of these and other privacy and data protection laws and provide suggestions for how to get a handle on this complicated compliance environment.
Moderator: Paul Plunkett, Larkin Hoffman (Minnesota)
Presenters: Michael Bailey, Parsons Behle & Latimer (Utah)
Tomu Johnson, Parsons Behle & Latimer (Utah)
Nicole Merrick, Taylor McCaffrey (Manitoba, Canada)
The General Data Protection Regulation
A Primer on U. S. Privacy and Security Law
Global Perspectives on Data Privacy: Canadian Context

Law, Technology & Autonomous Driving
Spurred by the efforts of technology titans like Google, major manufacturers like General Motors and Tesla, and new automotive industry entrants like Uber and Apple, the autonomous revolution has arrived. Tomorrow’s self-driving cars will rely on a combination of familiar driver-assist features combined with newly developed computer hardware and software, working together to make driving decisions based on input from sensors, cameras, and the surrounding environment. In much the same way, the legal issues related to autonomous vehicles will be addressed using a combination of existing law and new legislation. This session will examine emerging autonomous vehicle technology and the potential impact of the autonomous revolution on product liability and data security law.
Moderator: Alan Rifkin, Rifkin Weiner Livingston (Maryland)
Presenters: Christopher Bonanti, Director of Regulatory & Compliance for Transportation & Safety, Engineering Systems Inc.
Erika Carrasco, Field Law (Alberta, Canada)
John O’Donnell, President & CEO, Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association
Law, Technology & Autonomous Vehicles
Law, Technology & Autonomous Vehicles – Materials
Mobility Talks International

On Becoming a More Diverse & Inclusive Law Firm
Although more attention has been paid in recent years to increasing law firm diversity, the industry as a whole still struggles to make meaningful progress on the hiring, retention and promotion of diverse attorneys. Indeed, a recent National Association for Law Placement survey on diversity found that while women and minorities are better represented among the partnership and associate ranks than they were in 2016, they were only incrementally so – and at the associate level, women and minorities continue to be less well-represented than they were before the Great Recession. This session will examine some of the underlying causes of the legal industry’s intransigence on this issue and measures that will need to be taken if firms are ultimately to become as diverse and inclusive as they claim they aspire to be.
Moderator: Cristina Sánchez Vebber, Sánchez Devanny (Mexico)
Presenters: Luis Alcalde, Kegler, Brown, Hill + Ritter (Ohio)
Lisa Borsook, WeirFoulds (Ontario, Canada)
Glenn Troublefield, Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello (New Jersey)
Constructing a More Diverse and Inclusive Law Firm: A Primer

What’s Weighing Most on the Minds of Today’s In-house Counsel?
The scope of every in-house counsel’s responsibilities is expanding exponentially, encompassing everything from globalization to data privacy and cybersecurity to the proliferation of regulations across agencies and jurisdictions around the globe. 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: Randy Armentrout, Nyemaster Goode (Iowa)
Presenters: Stephen Gannon, General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer, Citizens Financial Group
Jessica Marquez, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, Hy Cite Enterprises
Mark Smolik, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer, DHL Supply Chain Americas