Conference Agenda
Day 1, Thursday, December 11, 2014
8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Welcome by Co-Chairs
Larry J. Chilton, Chilton Yambert Porter LLP, Chicago
Barbara Arras, Phelps Dunbar, LLP, New Orleans
Tim Gray, Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy LLP, New Orleans
9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Exposure Assessment: Data, Surrogate Data, Modeling and SWAG
Lawrence P. Riff, Steptoe & Johnson, Los Angeles
Eric Williams, Williams Law Office, LLC, Metairie, LA
9:45 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
The New “Home State” Test for General Personal Jurisdiction: the End of an Era?
Lea Ann Smith, Forman, Perry, Watkins Krutz & Tardy, LLP, New Orleans
T. Peyton Smith, Forman, Perry, Watkins Krutz & Tardy, LLP, New Orleans
10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Refreshment Break
10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Recent Developments in the Causation Literature Related to Blood Cancer
Michael Holland, M.D., FAACT, FACOEM, FACMT, FACEP, Senior Medical Toxicologist, CTEH, Little Rock, AR
11:15 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Taking and Defending Corporate Representative Depositions under FRCP 30(b)(6)
Steven M. Lucks, Fishkin Lucks, LLP, New York
Herschel L. Hobson, Ph.D., Hobson & Bradley, Beaumont, Texas
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Recent Verdicts
• Tessitore v. Chevron Oronite Company
• Butler v. Sunoco
• Willis v. CRC
Robert P. Scott, Blank Rome LLP, Houston
Howard E. Jarvis, Woolf McClane, Bright, Allen & Carpenter, PLLC, Knoxville, TN
Lawrence R. Riff, Steptoe & Johnson, Los Angeles
1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Peak or Doublespeak? Evaluating the Significance of Peak vs. Cumulative Exposures to Benzene
David Galbraith, M.D., Principal, Cardno ChemRisk, San Francisco
2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Refreshment Break
3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Mountains and Molehills: Assessing Exposure to Benzene
Jennifer Sahmel, MPH, CIH, CSP, Senior Managing Health Scientist, Cardno ChemRisk, San Francisco
3:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Ethics
Hon. Jane Triche Milazzo, U.S. District Court Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana, New Orleans
4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Networking Cocktail Reception
Day 2, Friday, December 12, 2014
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
RNA and DNA Testing and Your Case
Howard E. Jarvis, Woolf McClane, Bright, Allen & Carpenter, PLLC, Knoxville, TN
R. Dean Hartley, Hartley & O’Brien, PLLC, Wheeling, WV
Richard C. Biedrzycki, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP, Philadelphia
Kirk T. Hartley, LSP Group, LLC, Chicago
10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Genetic Indicators
• Application of Genomics and Genetic Technologies in Benzene Litigation
Len van Zyl, Ph.D., CEO and CSO, ArrayXpress, Inc., Raleigh, NC
Michael Zapatta III, Executive Chairman, ArrayXpress, Inc., Raleigh, NC
Larrissa M. Benevente, Ph.D., Associate Director, Scientific Operations, ArrayXpress Inc., Raleigh, NC
11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Refreshment Break
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Johnson v. U.S. Steel – An Analysis of Bulk Supplier and FHSA Rulings in California
• Key Legal Defenses Available in Benzene Cases Nationwide
• Sophisticated User
Barry J. Thompson, Hogan Lovells, Los Angeles