HarrisMartin's National Benzene Litigation Conference

Conference Agenda

Day 1, Thursday, September 19, 2013

7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
Continental Breakfast and Registration

8:15 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.
Welcome, Day 1 - MDS & Schnatter: How Low Can You Go?

Co-Chair Larry J. Chilton, Chilton Yambert & Porter LLP, Chicago
Co-Chair Tim Gray, Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy LLP, New Orleans
Co-Chair Tom Schwartz, Holloran White Schwartz & Gaertner LLP, St. Louis


8:30 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.
Epidemiology of Myelodysplastic Syndrome

David H. Garabrant, M.D., M.P.H., University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI


9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Is this Really Myelodysplastic Syndrome? A Primer on the Diagnosis of MDS

John M. Bennett, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Medicine, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y.


10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Refreshment Break

10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
The Schnatter Pooled Analysis – Something for Everyone?

Good for Defendants
Lawrence P. Riff, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Los Angeles

Good for Plaintiffs
J. Keith Hyde, Provost Umphrey Law Firm LLP, Beaumont, TX


11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Lunch

12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Intentional Tort Claims

Joseph D. Lonardo, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, Washington, DC
Dean Hartley, Hartley & O'Brien PLLC, Wheeling, WV


1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Hot off the Presses

Recent Gasoline Literature and its Impact in the Courtroom
Brett J. Young, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Houston
Raphael Metzger, Metzger Law Group, Long Beach, CA

Tincher v. Omega Flex: The Answer to Which Restatement Governs in Pennsylvania Products Liability Law
Steven M. Lucks, Fishkin Lucks LLP, New York
Andrew J. DuPont, Locks Law Firm, Philadelphia


2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Refreshment Break

3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
The Most Active Jurisdictions - California, Louisiana, Madison County, Philadelphia & Texas

Moderator:
Stan Perry, Reed Smith, Houston

California
Barry J. Thompson, Hogan Lovells, Los Angeles
Chris Madeksho, Madeksho Law Firm, Los Angeles

Illinois (Madison County)
Joseph R. Vallort, Chilton Yambert & Porter LLP, Chicago
Tom Schwartz, Holloran White Schwartz & Gaertner LLP, St. Louis

Louisiana
Lea Ann Smith, Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy, LLP, New Orleans

Pennsylvania
Steven M. Lucks, Fishkin Lucks LLP, New York
Andrew J. DuPont, Locks Law Firm, Philadelphia

Texas
Andrew C. Schirrmeister III, Schirrmeister Diaz-Arrastia Brem, LLP, Houston


4:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Mediation: What Works, and What Doesn’t

Greg Thompson, Greg Thompson Mediation Services, Beaumont, TX


5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Networking Cocktail Reception

Day 2, Friday, September 20, 2013

7:45 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast

8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Welcome, Day 2 - Occupational Exposures to Benzene in the Workplace: Pursuing and Defending Direct Actions Against the Employer and Other Defendants in Employee/Employer Cases

Co-Chair Larry J. Chilton, Chilton Yambert & Porter LLP, Chicago
Co-Chair Tim Gray, Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy LLP, New Orleans
Co-Chair Tom Schwartz, Holloran White Schwartz & Gaertner LLP, St. Louis


9:00 a.m. - 9:40 a.m.
Ethics - A View from the Bench: Does the American Jury Need Defending?

Judge Warren D. Wolfson, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, DePaul College of Law, Chicago


9:40 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
From the Jury Box: A Juror's Perspective On Asking Questions of Witnesses

Elizabeth Foley, Zagnoli McEvoy Foley LLC, Litigation Consulting, Chicago


10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Maritime and FELA

Robert J. Kelly, Littleton Joyce Ughetta Park & Kelly LLP, Red Bank NJ


10:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Refreshment Break

11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
The History of Leukemia

Keith Patton, Shrader & Associates, Houston


11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Workers’ Compensation and Exceptions to Workers' Compensation Exclusivity

Tom Schwartz, Holloran White Schwartz & Gaertner LLP, St. Louis
Denise Klug Pentino, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Wheeling, WV