2016 Annual Conference Presenters

This year's lineup of speakers will not only help you earn your CLE credit for the year but will provide you with knowledge to use in your practice every day.  Earn up to 9 hours of CLE credit depending on your state's bar requirements.

*CLE credit pending in CA and other states based on 60 Minutes for 7.5 Hours

STEVEN E. PEGALIS  Perinatal Brain Injury Cases and Patient Safety

 The American College of Obstetricians and the American Academy of Pediatrics published in May 2014, a document entitled “Neonatal Encephalopathy and Neurologic Outcome, Second Edition”  The document includes a “new” chapter entitled “ “Patient Safety Efforts and Neonatal Encephalopathy “ The document includes a “new and broader perspective” with regard to scientific proof concerning perinatal brain injury medical-legal cases.

Mr. Pegalis is a plaintiffs’ medical malpractice trial attorney. He has authored a three-volume text, now in its third edition, entitled The American Law of Medical Malpractice. He teaches medical malpractice at the New York Law School, is a member of that school’s Board of Trustees, and co-directs with Irwin Merkatz, M.D. the school’s Health Law Project. The project has a mission to make health care safer.

JOHN ROMANO - Proving & Arguing Liability in Professional Malpractice Cases to Conservative Jurors: The Art, They Myths & The Insanity!

John F. Romano is a senior partner in the West Palm Beach, Florida, law firm of Romano Law Group.  He is a former President of both the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers and the Southern Trial Lawyers Associa­tion.  Mr. Romano is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.  He was chosen to Florida Trend Magazine’s 2006 and 2007 “Legal Elite” naming Florida’s top one percent of lawyers in various specialty areas.  He has served as former Chairman of the National College of Advocacy and former Chairman of the AAJ Criminal Law Section.  He is board certified by both the Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy as a civil trial advocate.  He has lectured and authored exten­sively on trial advocacy, litigation techniques, demon­stra­tive evidence, and more.  He has authored several books, including the textbook Strategic Use of Circumstantial Evidence; The Deposition Field Manual, and Opening Statement: Winning the Jury.

DOMINIQUE A. POLLARA - Licensing Boards for Medical Professionals:  Questionable liability, consenting to settlements and what goes into the process.

Dominique was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and she was raised in Upstate New York.  She has practiced law since 1984, and she is a member of ABOTA; she has tried more than 30 cases to verdict in California, Nevada and New York.  Dominique’s practice focuses on medical malpractice defense and medical professional advocacy.  When she is not working on improving her surfing, you can find her practicing yoga, skiing at Squaw Valley, cycling in the foothills around Sacramento, fly fishing, playing with her dogs or donating her time to Homeward Bound (a golden retriever rescue organization)

 

LEE SCHLENDER- The Judge is not a Scientist and I am losing this case; can I save it?

 E. Lee Schlender J.D. has practiced medical law since 1980. He is the author of Negligence Law and Practice for the Patient's Lawyer He is a member of the Idaho and Washington Bar Associations, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. Publications include "Medical Negligence for the Patient's Lawyer: 2001;  "Tort Reform is Necessary"; Washington State Trial Lawyers Association 2003; "The Imperial Judge:, Idaho State Bar Journal, 2003. "Specialization, the new reality", Idaho Trial Lawyers Journal, 2005. "The Strict Locality Rule: Stuck in the 19th Century"; University of Idaho College of Law Review Health Symposium, 2008.

 

RICHARD B. COLLINS -  Medical Malpractice Caps

Richard B. Collins graduated from Furman University and received his law degree from Stetson University in 1973.  Mr. Collins is the founder of the Collins & Truett, LLC in Tallahassee, Florida.  He concentrates his practice in statewide litigation of medical malpractice claims, products liability suits and complex litigation. Mr. Collins is also a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Court Civil Mediator, specializing in complex medical malpractice and products liability cases.

Mr. Collins is frequently sought as a speaker at national bar meetings where his lectures center on trial advocacy techniques.  Mr. Collins is active in several national bar associations, including: the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel and the International Association of Defense Counsel, where he chaired the Medical Defense Committee from 1995-98, served on the faculty of the prestigious Trial Academy in 1995 and is the current Membership Chair for Florida. He is also a member of the Lawyers for Civil Justice; the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys. He serves on the Board of Governors of Defense Research Institute, the nation’s largest association of civil defense attorneys with approximately 22,000 members, where he served on the Board of Directors from 1998 to 2001.  On the State level, Collins is a past president of the Florida Defense Lawyers Association, the State’s largest defense bar organization.

JOINT PRESENTATION- Superman to the Rescue! The Art of Empowering the Jury to Award Damages Against the Villain Who Wronged/Injured Plaintiff; "The Dawn of Justice"

DAVID DREXLER - 

David Drexler is an unusually gifted Attorney with a unique background that has contributed to him being recognized as one of the most preeminent Personal Injury Attorneys in Los Angeles and the entire State of California. David has been practicing Personal Injury Law for over 40 years and has recovered over $150 million dollars on behalf of his clients. LA Direct Magazine has proclaimed David Drexler “A Big City Attorney with Small Town Values.” He has been recognized as SuperLawyer every year since the inception of that “distinction” in California in 2004. David graduated from UCLA with Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude Honors.  He then went on to graduate from Johns Hopkins University in 1974 with a degree in International Law & Diplomacy and graduated from Loyola Law School in 1976.  David possesses one of the qualities of a great trial attorney,  a tremendous orator, thus  turning the hum-drum drudgery of CLE into an experience leaving attendees wanting more.  

MALCOM P. MCCONNELL III

 Malcolm "Mic" McConnell is the lead medical malpractice attorney at Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen.  He has settled or tried cases in virtually every medical specialty since he began practicing law in 1987.  He has been rated by other attorneys as Martindale-Hubbell AV, the highest rating available for competency and ethics.  He has been listed in Virginia’s Super Lawyers every year since 2006, and in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2007.  Best Lawyers in America named Mic Richmond’s Medical Malpractice Lawyer of the Year in 2013 and 2016.

DAVID E. BOYD -  Common Ethical Pitfalls for the Trial Lawyer

David's practice emphasizes defense of attorneys, accountants, insurance and real estate professionals, business litigation, and litigation involving engineering, architects and construction disputes. He is admitted to practice in California and has appeared before state and federal courts throughout the United States. David is certified as a specialist in legal malpractice law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He frequently serves as a judicial arbitrator, a settlement conference attorney, and a mediator. He has taught Advanced Torts at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and has written numerous articles for various legal journals, particularly in the areas of trial practice and ethics. David has been active in state and local bar activities including the Sacramento Bar Council, the Professional Responsibility Committee of the Sacramento County Bar Association, the Committee on Professional Responsibility and Conduct of the State Bar of California (COPRAC), Sacramento County Liaison to the State Bar Commission for the Revision of the Rules of Professional Conduct, the Conference of Delegates of California Bar Associations, the American Bar Association and numerous trial lawyer organizations. David is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

HARRY J. PLOTKIN- Understanding your juror's expectations about professionals... and what to do about them.

Harry Plotkin is a nationally-renowned jury consultant and leading voice in the field of juror decision-making, psychology, and persuasion. He specializes in the understanding of complex juror decision-making, assisting trial attorneys in jury selection and persuasive trial presentation, and has helped shape the outcome of hundreds of civil trials across the country. He consults on every kind of civil trial on the spectrum, from personal injury to commercial and employment trials on behalf of both employees and employers, plaintiffs and defendants, and individuals and businesses, but devotes most of his attention to representing plaintiffs

J BENTON STEWART III- Legal Malpractice