Abnormal Use at the 2011 DRI Annual Meeting in DC

We here at Abnormal Use will be well represented this year at the 2011 DRI Annual Meeting, held this week,  October 26th-30th at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C.  Not only does our own Stephanie Flynn plan to be in attendance, but multiple other members of our firm will attend as well.  This is not surprising given the broad appeal of the DRI Annual Meeting, which will include discussions on substantive practice areas including, of course, products liability.  Not only will there be some high profile speakers on the agenda, but as always, the event is a good place to learn the tricks of the trade and meet the movers and shakers within the DRI organization.

The DRI’s Products Liability Committee will host a business meeting and substantive CLE program, which is scheduled for Friday, October 28th, from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.  The CLE will address strategies for handling the defense of aggregate consumer fraud claims, particularly the requirement that each plaintiff establish individual causation, a traditional rule that some courts have not applied in such suits.  Our own Stephanie Flynn, as the Annual Meeting Liason for the Toxic Torts & Environmental Law Committee (TTEL) will cover the business meeting and introduce the CLE presentations given by the TTEL.  Alas, the TTEL is scheduled at the very same time as the Products Liability Committee’s presentations, so Stephanie won’t be able to make it to both.  Other blockbuster presentations include such topics as the over-criminalization of business conduct by the government (something felt broadly across the business spectrum and in a wide array of industries), technological changes in jury trials in the 21st century; and, most intriguing, the implications of genetic mapping to determine individual susceptibilities of exposure to products or toxic substances.  These events will be followed by multiple networking opportunities, including a networking reception at the Newseum, the world’s most interactive museum!

If any of you, our dear readers, are also attending, please say hello! We would love the opportunity to get to know you. For those of you who can’t join us this year, keep an eye out for updates from us on the exciting presentations and developments coming out of the Annual Meeting.  With the caliber of speakers on hand, we are sure not to be disappointed!  Hope to see some of you there!