Adam Airhart
Associate General Counsel--Intellectual Property
Brunswick Corporation

Adam D. Airhart is Associate General Counsel—Intellectual Property at Brunswick Corporation, a manufacturer of pleasure boats, marine engines, fitness equipment, and bowling and billiards equipment. At Brunswick, Adam's responsibilities include intellectual property portfolio management, licensing, and litigation oversight. Before Brunswick, he was an associate at Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to law school, Adam worked as an engineer at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Adam earned his law degree from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. He received his B.S. and M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

Vicki Baue
Vice President & General Counsel
COSÌ, Inc

Vicki Baue is Vice President and General Counsel of Cosi, Inc. and serves as the Company’s Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, a position she assumed in September 2004. In addition to being responsible for all legal matters and counseling the CEO and executive management team at a strategic level, she also counsels management on operational legal matters as well as on issues relating to risk management, ethics, corporate governance, securities, franchise and intellectual property. Vicki is responsible for the coordination of legal resources and outside counsel and acts as secretary to the Board of Directors. From 1998 to 2004, she was an associate in the Chicago office of the law firm of Piper Rudnick, LLP (now DLA Piper US LLP), where her practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, general corporate and securities, and franchise.

 

Kevin Bennett
Partner
StoneTurn Group

Kevin Bennett is a partner in the Chicago Office and has more than 17 years of experience providing financial advisory services to clients including forensic accounting, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and complex business litigation services.

Prior to joining StoneTurn, Mr. Bennett was the practice leader in the Forensic Accounting and Litigation Consulting Services practice for Kroll’s Chicago office and spent over 10 years in the Financial Advisory Services practices of two of the Big Four firms. He specializes in conducting FCPA investigations and compliance services, and complex accounting investigations including revenue recognition, inventory manipulation, manipulation of reserves and other earnings management issues. Mr. Bennett has worked on behalf of Special Committees of the Board of Directors advising them on complex accounting issues and the application of GAAP, corporate governance and regulatory compliance matters. In addition, he has participated in a variety of litigation matters including purchase price disputes, the preparation and analysis of damage claims, financial due diligence related to mergers and acquisitions, analysis of substantive consolidation in bankruptcies and royalty audits.

Mr. Bennett spent several years working in a Big Four firm’s national office advising the firm’s leadership on forensic accounting methodologies. While there, he oversaw a global program to incorporate forensic accounting procedures into the firm’s audit approach in order to comply with enhanced accounting rules and regulatory oversight. Mr. Bennett assisted in developing and delivering a global training program on investigative accounting procedures and interviewing skills for the annual firm training programs.

 

Leah Cooper
Managing Attorney
Rio Tinto

Leah G. Cooper is the Managing Attorney for Rio Tinto based in London.

Ms. Cooper is responsible for the overall management of Rio Tinto’s multinational legal department comprised of over 100 lawyers. She also serves as General Counsel for EMEA. Prior to this role, Ms. Cooper served as Vice President and General Counsel for Rio Tinto Minerals, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto in Denver. Previously, she worked in both the energy and telecommunications sectors at AGL Resources and BellSouth respectively, where she specialized in technology licensing, intellectual property and privacy and data protection.

Prior to her move to Rio Tinto, Ms. Cooper was instrumental in founding the Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta; a non-profit designed to provide free legal services to other charitable non-profit organizations.

Ms. Cooper received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Georgia, a Master of Arts in Communications Law from the University of Florida, and her law degree from the Fredric G. Levin College of Law at the University of Florida. She is a member of the Florida Bar.

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

 

Brandon Daniels
Vice President, Legal Solutions
CPA Global

As Vice President of Legal Solutions at CPA Global, Brandon manages US legal services delivery for Fortune 1000 corporations. With over 200 attorneys across the US and teams in Europe and Asia he works with clients to coordinate regulatory matters and disputes globally. He has extensive experience managing large matters, including multi-million and billion dollar investigatory matters responding to the SEC, FTC and DOJ.

At CPA Global, Brandon organizes legal onshore and offshore operations for clients and advises them on legal operations strategy. He has extensive knowledge of class action and multi-district litigation, e-discovery, and responding to government investigations.

Prior to working with CPA Global Brandon managed matters within in-house and outside counsel and has developed expertise in a wide range of case types including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Off-Label Promotion, Qui Tam, Securities, Patent Infringement, Licensing Dispute, and Antitrust matters.

Brandon’s representative matters include:
• Advised on the management, collection, and presentation of evidence in a major pharmaceutical patent infringement suit.
• Advised in the defense of a large SEC investigation into stock option grant practices
• While working with in-house counsel, managed a large HSR second request process for the sale of a subsidiary business with over 2 terabytes of data collected, searched, and reviewed.
• Managed a team responding to the FTC’s investigation of a merger in the mining industry

 

Jon W. Dudas
Partner, Foley & Lardner
and
Former Director, USPTO

Jon Dudas is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP, where he works with the IP Litigation and Public Affairs Practices.

Mr. Dudas joined Foley as former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In this role, Mr. Dudas advised the president of the United States, the secretary of commerce, and the administration about intellectual property matters and administered the laws of granting patents and trademarks and led the $2 billion agency and its more than 9,000 employees. As head of the world's leading intellectual property (IP) office, Mr. Dudas also developed and articulated administration positions on patent, copyright, and trademark issues, both domestic and foreign.

As the nation's top IP official, Mr. Dudas personally spearheaded an unprecedented number of patent cooperation and development missions with Brazil, China, Europe, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico and several other countries to improve IP systems globally and help innovators establish and enforce IP rights throughout the world.

Mr. Dudas was nominated by President George W. Bush in March 2004 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July 2004. He previously served as acting under secretary and director, and deputy under secretary and deputy director from 2002 to 2004.

Mr. Dudas also served six years as counsel to the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, and staff director and deputy general counsel for the House Judiciary Committee. He guided enactment of major patent, trademark, and copyright policy, including the 1999 American Inventors Protection Act and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In addition, he was instrumental in the passage of the 1996 Trademark Anti-Counterfeiting Consumer Protection Act, a law making it more difficult for seized counterfeit merchandise to re-enter the consumer marketplace.

Before his employment with the House of Representatives, Mr. Dudas practiced law in Chicago, focusing his practice on litigation with an emphasis on copyright and trademark issues.

Mr. Dudas obtained his Bachelor of Science in finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois and his law degree from the University of Chicago, with honors. He is a member of the Illinois State Bar and the Bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Mr. Dudas is admitted in Illinois only. His practice is limited to matters before federal courts and agencies.

 

Mark Filip
Partner
Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Mark Filip is a partner in Kirkland's Chicago and Washington, D.C. offices. Prior to joining Kirkland, he was at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served as Deputy Attorney General of the United States after being unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Filip was second-in-command of the Justice Department and oversaw all of its criminal, civil, and regulatory enforcement efforts, as well as the Department's rulemaking and administrative law efforts. As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Filip also represented the Department in interactions with Congress, the White House, and other cabinet-level Departments, as well as with numerous foreign governments throughout Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Mr. Filip also served as Acting Attorney General for the new administration after January 20, 2009, until Attorney General of the United States Eric Holder was confirmed.

Prior to serving as Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Filip spent four years as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois after being confirmed 96-0 by the U.S. Senate. During his tenure as a judge in Chicago, Mr. Filip presided over a full docket of federal civil and criminal cases, including lawsuits concerning securities law, antitrust and other competition issues, healthcare law, intellectual property and trademark disputes, commercial disputes, and bankruptcy matters. Mr. Filip also presided over numerous class-action cases and served as a judge in multi-district litigation proceedings.

Before his time on the bench, Mr. Filip was a partner at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in Chicago, where he practiced from 1999 to 2004. He represented clients in varied industries in complex civil litigation, as well as in criminal cases, internal investigations, and corporate integrity matters. He also advised clients on litigation issues related to corporate transactions. His representations involved, among other industries, the healthcare, financial, telecommunications, manufacturing, and insurance industries.

Mr. Filip joined Skadden after serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. From 1995 to 1999, he prosecuted a wide variety of criminal cases, including public corruption, financial and healthcare fraud, and tax offenses. He tried numerous cases to verdict before juries and also argued numerous cases in the court of appeals. In this position, he was the recipient of the U.S. Department of Justice's Director's Award for Superior Performance.

Mr. Filip has taught law at the University of Chicago Law School and the Northwestern University School of Law. In this regard, he has taught first-year courses on federal civil procedure, as well as numerous seminars on advanced federal criminal law. Mr. Filip also speaks actively, including in the areas of white collar criminal law, internal investigations, and securities law.

 

Stephane Fitch
Chicago Bureau Chief
Forbes

Stephane Fitch been at Forbes magazine for 11 years. He has written a wide variety of stories, on subjects ranging from why or why not to invest in real estate to the ruined lives of bankrupt millionaires. He has served as chief of Forbes' London bureau and now runs the magazine's bureau in Chicago.

 

Chris Gilbert
Partner
Patton Boggs

Chris Gilbert is an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer concentrating his practice in the areas of complex business litigation, international litigation, antitrust and intellectual property, with an emphasis on patent and trade secret litigation in a wide range of technologies — from medical devices and pharmaceuticals to software.

Mr. Gilbert has extensive bench and jury trial experience litigating in trial and appellate courts from New York to California, as well as multidistrict litigation panels (MDL), the International Trade Commission (ITC), mediations and arbitrations.

His clients are individuals, professional entertainers and athletes, closely-held, private equity and Fortune 500 companies. Using state-of-the-art courtroom and litigation technology, he works closely with his clients, prominent experts and jury consultants to efficiently prepare high-stakes, bet-the-company technology and business litigation for trial and appeal.

Mr. Gilbert also serves as outside general counsel for clients, regularly advising management and board members on corporate governance and transaction issues, strategic protection of intellectual property assets and managing business risk outside litigation.

Before joining Patton Boggs, Mr. Gilbert was a partner in the Dallas office of an international law firm, and a partner in a prominent law firm in Nashville, Tennessee, where he practiced complex business and music and entertainment litigation. He also served for several years as litigation co-chair of an international legal network.

Mr. Gilbert’s notable experience as a trial and appellate lawyer coupled with his business acumen makes him a well-suited choice for complex, fast-paced, high-stakes litigation matters. He is committed to achieving success for his clients through rigorous preparation, analysis and problem solving.

Mr. Gilbert received his law degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Midwestern State University.

 

Jeanne M. Gills
Partner, Vice Chair, IP Litigation Practice
Foley & Lardner LLP

Jeanne M. Gills is a Partner in Foley & Lardner LLP’s Chicago office. She is Vice Chair of Foley’s national Intellectual Property Litigation Practice, which is consistently ranked among the top ten for IP litigation and top five for patent litigation. She regularly counsels clients in diverse industries (from electronics to biotechnology) in complex patent, trade secret, trademark, copyright, and unfair competition litigation and appeals. Her trial experience includes such “bet the company” cases as DeKalb v. Pioneer, a patent case concerning genetically engineered corn where over $500 million was at stake.

She has also focused her practice on counseling clients in all aspects of the procurement, registration, enforcement, advertising, marketing/branding, and protection of intellectual property in the U.S. and abroad. In addition, she is experienced with counseling clients on IP holding companies, including how to maximize value from an IP portfolio when certain assets are likely to be the subject of IP litigation.

Her broad-based intellectual property experience resulted in her being recognized as a leading patent and trade secrets litigator by Legal 500 US (2007), “Top Minority IP Partner” by AIPLA and MCCA (2003), “Illinois SuperLawyer®” (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009), and an “AV” rated attorney through Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review process.

She currently serves on Foley's Diversity Committee, formerly chaired its African-American Affinity Group, and formerly served seven years on its Recruiting Committee. She is also a Board Member of the Evening Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Mentor through Links Unlimited.

She holds a B.S. Electrical Engineering degree (with honors) from Michigan State University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. She is also a registered USPTO patent attorney.

Ms. Gills co-authored a chapter on Experts for the Patent Litigation Strategies Handbook (BNA Books), and regularly presents seminars and publishes on a variety of intellectual property topics.

 

Gary Hirsch
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
IntraLinks

Gary Hirsch is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of New York-based IntraLinks, Inc., a global provider of online workspace solutions whose service is used by thousands of companies for the secure exchange of critical business information. Gary began his career in the corporate restructuring practice at the New York law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher,. He joined the legal department of Marsh & McLennan Companies during the late nineties, where he assisted the company as it grew through numerous acquisitions. In 2000, he started the legal function at Currenex, Inc., a groundbreaking online currency trading company that was ultimately sold to State Street Bank. Since becoming general counsel at IntraLinks in 2004, Gary has seen the legal department's daily workload quadruple, while he has also managed the company's pre-IPO process in 2005 and an M&A process in 2007 resulting in the sale of a majority of the company to the private equity firm TA Associates

 

Rex Homme
Partner
StoneTurn Group

Rex Homme is a partner in the Chicago office specializing in forensic accounting investigations, complex business litigation matters, issues surrounding Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), and general business related disputes. Since 1990, Mr. Homme has managed and conducted a broad range of forensic accounting, financial investigations, auditing, and litigation consulting engagements for private and public companies.

Mr. Homme has assisted Audit Committees, senior management, and outside counsel with cases involving financial restatements, accounting irregularities, FCPA violations, fraud and embezzlement, and financial due diligence. These engagements included the interpretation and application of GAAP in areas such as revenue recognition, reserves and allowances, intercompany, and inventory. He has also been involved in complex business litigation matters involving lost profits quantification, accounting guidance interpretations, purchase price disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, and alter ego. Mr. Homme has testified in state and federal cases.

Prior to joining StoneTurn, Mr. Homme spent three years leading the Forensic Accounting and Litigation Consulting Practice of the Chicago office of an international risk consulting firm. He also spent nine years at a Big Four accounting firm and three years at a national litigation consulting firm providing financial advisory services to clients in a variety of industries.

 

Stephen Ihm
Assistant Vice President & Assistant General Counsel
Allstate Insurance Company

Steve Ihm is Assistant Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of the Allstate Insurance Company overseeing Allstate’s Corporate Law Division. He joined Allstate in 1988. Prior to his current position, Mr. Ihm provided legal counsel and government relations services to various areas within Allstate and on various topics and states. He provided these services to Allstate's international operations in the 1990s, including supporting the U.S. in World Trade Organization trade negotiations, and in New York where he led Allstate’s participation in the New York State Insurance Disaster Response Plan and served as Allstate’s representative in the New York State Insurance Emergency Operations Center immediately after the tragic events of September 11, 2001. More recently he has been responsible for providing legal services to Allstate’s personal lines product operations and distribution areas, and led Allstate’s. Public Policy Analysis & Development Group. Mr. Ihm received his J.D. magna cum laude from Northern Illinois University and his B.A. in business administration, economics, and accounting from Carthage College. Mr. Ihm is admitted to the courts of the states of New York and Illinois. He resides in Kildeer, Illinois with his wife Terry and their three children.

 

Chad T. Jerdee
Associate General Counsel; Director of Legal Services, Outsourcing
Accenture

Chad is Associate General Counsel with Accenture. He manages a team of lawyers focused on shaping and negotiating Accenture’s largest transactions. He is responsible for ensuring that Accenture’s contracting and negotiations approach reflect both the best interests of its clients and Accenture. One of Chad’s key interests is the art of negotiating, and he spends a significant portion of his time helping to build and refine Accenture’s negotiating acumen with a view toward improving and enhancing Accenture’s performance and its service to its clients. Chad has personally represented Accenture on many of its largest and most significant IT and BPO outsourcing arrangements.

Prior to joining Accenture, Chad practiced law in Minneapolis, MN, specializing in corporate, financing, and technology matters.

Chad obtained his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Minnesota in 1994 and his B.A., magna cum laude, from the St. Olaf College in 1990.

 

Laura Kibbe
Senior Vice President, eDiscovery Solutions
Epiq Systems

As Senior Vice President, Ms. Kibbe oversees Epiq Document Review Solutions which provides contract document review services for large data collections by qualified attorneys.

Ms. Kibbe has over 17 years of legal experience. Prior to joining Epiq, she was Senior Corporate Counsel and Managing Director of the Discovery Response Team at Pfizer, Inc., where she managed all discovery activity, from mass tort to commercial, employment and third party subpoena requests. Prior to Pfizer, Ms. Kibbe was an Associate at Kaye Scholer LLP in New York and an Attorney for Texaco Inc. in White Plains, NY.

Ms. Kibbe received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Syracuse University College of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, in Legal Studies from Manhattanville College. She is an attorney licensed to practice in New York and Connecticut.

She is a member of Sedona Working Group 1 and EDRM Working Groups, a board member of EDRM Advisory Board, a member and advisor of Corporate E-Discovery Forum and a co-chair of Thomson/ West Legal Works E-Discovery Conference. Ms. Kibbe has authored articles on various discovery issues for Law Technology News, Inside Litigation and Corporate Counsel magazine and is a frequent national speaker on discovery issues.

 

John C. Kocoras
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery LLP

John C. Kocoras is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is based in the Firm’s Chicago office. As a member of the Trial Department, John focuses his practice on internal investigations, white-collar criminal defense issues including Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters and complex litigation.

John has led multi-disciplined domestic and international corporate investigations for global corporations, private equity firms and law firms. His previous projects have included Foreign Corrupt Practices Act internal investigations, fraud investigations, investigative due diligence before sensitive transactions and intellectual property protection investigations.

John also served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Northern District of Illinois, where he represented the United States in federal criminal matters throughout investigations, trials and appeals, including cases involving white collar crimes, public corruption, terrorism and violent crimes.

John is the recipient of several awards including the 2005 Award for Excellence, President’s Council for Integrity & Efficiency; the 2005 Investigation of the Year award, National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association; and the 2005 Inspector General’s Integrity Award, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. He is the author of the Corporate Governance Advisor article, “Making a Federal Case Out of It: Packaging the Corporate Investigation for Prosecution” and “Thinking Externally on Internal Investigations,” American Bar Association Section of Litigation.

John is admitted to practice in Illinois.

 

Curt Kramer
Assistant General Counsel & Secretary
Navistar

Curt A. Kramer is the Associate General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Navistar International Corporation (NYSE: NAV), a holding company whose subsidiaries and affiliates produce International(R) brand commercial and military trucks, MaxxForce(R) brand diesel engines, IC Bus(TM) brand school and commercial buses, Monaco RVbrands of recreational vehicles, and Workhorse(R) brand chassis for motor homes and step vans. It also is a private-label designer and manufacturer of diesel engines for the pickup truck, van and SUV markets. The company also provides truck and diesel engine service parts. Another affiliate offers financing services. Additional information is available at www.Navistar.com.

Prior to joining Navistar, Mr. Kramer spent 7 years in private practice, primarily in Boston, Massachusetts and Stamford and Hartford, Connecticut. Mr. Kramer’s practice concentrates in the areas of securities, finance and mergers and acquisitions. In the mergers and acquisitions context, Mr. Kramer has represented both sellers and buyers in negotiating and documenting various mergers and acquisitions transactions, joint ventures and other strategic alliances. Since joining Navistar, Mr. Kramer’s mergers and acquisitions activity has focused on the manufacturing industry but he also has experience in the insurance, telecommunications, medical devices and brick and clay industries. Mr. Kramer also oversees all securities and finance work at Navistar.

Mr. Kramer received his B.B.A from the University of Miami, his J.D. from Quinnipiac University and his L.L.M. in Securities and Taxation for Georgetown University.

 

Harold Krent
Dean & Professor of Law
Chicago-Kent College of Law

Harold J. Krent, dean of Chicago-Kent College of Law since 2003 and a member of the faculty since 1994, has written extensively about the interaction of individuals and the government, and is the author of Presidential Powers (2005). Earlier, he clerked for the Honorable William H. Timbers of the Second Circuit; worked in the Department of Justice for the Appellate Staff of the Civil Division; and served as consultant to the World Bank, Soros Foundation, State Department, and Administrative Conference of the United States. He has taught full time since 1987 with scholarship focused on legal aspects of individuals' interaction with the government. Graduate of Princeton University and New York University School of Law.

 

Eileen Lerum
Vice President - Legal, U.S. and Chief Counsel Litigation Management
Rio Tinto

Eileen Burns Lerum is Vice President – Legal, U.S., and Chief Counsel, Litigation Management at Alcan in Chicago, Illinois. Alcan’s parent company, Rio Tinto plc, headquarters in London, with worldwide operations. Ms. Lerum is responsible for management of litigation and provides counsel in areas of environmental, employment, trade regulation, corporate governance and tort liability. Her accomplishments include significant recoveries in insurance coverage cases and substantial patent infringement cases as well as coordinating the defense of complex environmental, patent infringement, employment and commercial cases. She has participated in legal conferences in the areas of discovery, records issues, management of litigation, international dispute resolution, and outside counsel relationships. Ms. Lerum is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School.

 

Susan R. Lichtenstein
Former Corporate Vice President & General Counsel
Baxter International

Susan R. Lichtenstein is Corporate Vice President and General Counsel of Baxter International Inc. The chief legal officer for the $12 billion company, which operates in 100 countries with 48,000 employees, Ms. Lichtenstein is also in charge of global communications, government affairs and public policy. A member of Baxter’s senior executive team, she serves as a member of the CEO’s Operations Committee.

Ms. Lichtenstein’s career has spanned corporate, government, and private law practice. Prior to joining Baxter in March 2005, Ms. Lichtenstein served as general counsel to the governor of Illinois. Previously, Ms. Lichtenstein worked in the telecommunications industry where she served as general counsel and corporate secretary for both Ameritech Corporation and Tellabs, Inc. She also served as deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago after having spent a decade with Schiff Hardin & Waite, where she was a partner working on complex litigation, corporate counseling and internal investigations, with particular emphasis on regulated industries.

Ms. Lichtenstein serves on the boards of numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Ravinia Festival, and Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute. She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Executives Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, and is a steering committee member of the Senior Businesswomen's Forum. A frequent speaker on corporate governance issues, crisis management, law department management, and women in business, Ms. Lichtenstein was co-founder and co-chair of the Women in Business, Politics and Powers symposium series.

Ms. Lichtenstein received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Minnesota and a law degree from Northwestern University Law School.

 

Marc E. Manly
Group Executive, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary
Duke Energy Corporation

Marc Manly is a group executive, chief legal officer and corporate secretary for Duke Energy. He leads the office of general counsel, which includes legal, internal audit, ethics and compliance, information technology and enterprise operations services.

Manly has served as group executive and chief legal officer for Duke Energy since April 2006. He assumed the additional responsibility of corporate secretary in December 2008. Previously, Manly served as executive vice president and chief legal officer of Cinergy Corp., a position he held since November 2002. He was responsible for the company’s strategy and position on all legal matters.

From 2000 to 2002, Manly was managing director for law and governmental affairs, general counsel and corporate secretary at NewPower Holdings Inc., a national retailer of electricity and natural gas to the residential market. Before his position with NewPower, from 1995 to 2000, he was with AT&T Corp. first as vice president and solicitor general, and then as vice president and chief counsel for the consumer services group. Prior to joining AT&T’s legal department, Manly was a member of the law firm of Sidley & Austin, as an associate from 1978 to 1985 and as a partner from 1986 to 1994.

Manly earned a juris doctor degree, magna cum laude, and a master of economics degree from the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Law Review and Order of the Coif. He also earned a bachelor of arts degree, summa cum laude, in economics from Amherst College, where he was Phi Beta Kappa.

Manly and his wife, Colby Chapman, have two children.

Duke Energy, one of the largest power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million customers in the Carolinas and the Midwest. The company also distributes natural gas in Ohio and Kentucky. Its commercial power and international businesses operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing renewable energy portfolio. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK.

 

David Martin
Vice President & Senior Counsel, Litigation
Medtronic, Inc.

David Martin is Vice President, Senior Counsel, Litigation for Medtronic, Inc., a global leader in medical technology, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, servicing patients and physicians in 120 countries through more than 38,000 employees. His responsibilities include the development of electronic discovery platforms and implementation of internal process based solutions across all litigation and investigative electronic data demands. Mr. Martin was previously responsible for the internal supervision and outside coordination of all non-IP litigation management, development of strategic initiatives for complex litigation challenges, and the retention and supervision of in-house attorneys defending litigation and the coordination of external defensive complex litigation.

Prior to joining Medtronic in 2000, Mr. Martin practiced at Rider, Bennett, Egan & Arundel, LLP at Minneapolis, MN and at Doherty, Rumble & Butler, P.A. in St. Paul, MN. For seven years he chaired the Doherty, Rumble & Butler litigation department, and had first-chair trial counsel experience in multiple matters including LP gas explosion cases, oil refinery and gas production disputes, multiple aviation small aircraft litigation, aviation disaster litigation and multiple products liability actions, TDI exposure actions, Federal 1983 claims and tobacco litigation. Mr. Martin is Chairman of the Product Liability Advisory Counsel (“PLAC”) Amicus Committee, and a member of its Board of Directors. He is a member of the Sedona Working Conference on Electronic Document Retention and Production, a former Master of the Warren E. Burger Inns of Court, past President of the Minnesota GAMMA ETA GAMMA Law Alumni Association, Past Member Ramsey County Rules Committee and a former Qualified Neutral under Rule 114 of Minnesota General Rules of Practice. He has frequently presented on issues related to the Federal preemption defense, defense strategies in drug and device litigation, mediation and negotiation, and electronic discovery.

 

Ganesh Natarajan
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mindcrest

Ganesh, co-founder of the world’s first legal outsourcing company, has ensured Mindcrest’s position as industry leader since its inception in 2001. Under his leadership, Mindcrest has become synonymous with quality and value to lawyers in the US, Europe and Australia.

Through his career, Ganesh has acted as an advisor to several Fortune 500 companies in areas, such as market-entry strategies, capital raising activities, joint venture arrangements, strategic alliances and various commercial arrangements, including mergers and acquisitions. His vast cross-border experience and deep insight into international investment issues enabled him to guide US and UK clients on investment propositions in India. His keen global legal acumen was instrumental in guiding several multi-nationals in making their India entry.

Prior to Mindcrest, Ganesh was a partner and spearheaded the India practice of McGuire Woods LLP, an international law firm of 900 attorneys. It was there that Ganesh met George Hefferan, and together with Rohan Dalal and Teju Deshpande they founded Mindcrest.

With his vast and varied experience, Ganesh has become a leading authority in the international legal industry, and has addressed many industry forums, bar associations and law schools internationally.

Ganesh has an MBA from Brigham Young University in Utah and a JD from Washington University, St. Louis. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Bombay and a graduate degree in management from the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune.

Ganesh brings close to 20 years of legal experience to Mindcrest.

 

David Oppenheim
Director & Senior Counsel Litigation Company
Discover Financial Services

David Oppenheim is the Director of Litigation for Discover Financial Services - a leading credit card issuer and electronic payment services company, which owns and operates Discover Bank, Discover Network, PULSE Debit/ATM Network, and Diners Club International. As the Director of Litigation, David heads a team of attorneys and legal assistants responsible for the management of every aspect of class, representative and individual actions filed on behalf of or against Discover and its subsidiaries - both in the U.S. and abroad.

Prior to Discover's 2007 spin-off from Morgan Stanley, David was an Executive Director in the Global Wealth Management Litigation Group of the Morgan Stanley Law Division where he represented the Firm's broker-dealer in retail securities arbitrations filed with the New York Stock Exchange and the National Association of Securities Dealers (n/k/a FINRA).

Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, David served as a Trial Attorney in the Division of Enforcement of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission.

David is also an officer and attorney in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Navy Reserve where he holds the rank of Commander and is currently assigned as Assistant Force Judge Advocate in support of the Commander Naval Forces Europe and Commander Sixth Fleet Maritime Partnership Program (CNE-C6F MPP Det 413).

David earned his LL.M. in Financial Services Law from the Center for Law and Financial Markets at Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2004 and is a 1994 graduate of both the Naval Justice School and the University of Oklahoma College of Law.

 

Luke Paglia
Associate General Counsel
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc.

Luke is Associate General Counsel of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., a leading retailer of high-quality, on-trend clothing, accessories and personal care products. Through its subsidiaries, AEO targets 15 to 25 year old girls and guys, with 1000 stores in the U.S. and Canada and online at www.ae.com. aerie® by american eagle offers dormwear and intimates collections for the AE® girl, with 130 standalone stores in the U.S. and Canada and online at www.aerie.com. MARTIN + OSA® provides Refined Casual™ fashions for 28 to 40 year old men and women at its 30 stores and online at www.martinandosa.com. The latest brand, 77kids™ by american eagle™, is available online only at www.77kids.com, offering “kid cool,” durable clothing and accessories for kids ages two to 10. AE.COM®, the online home of the AEO brands. ships to more than 60 countries worldwide.

Since joining AEO in 2006, Luke has advised business partners in all departments of the company on a wide variety of legal and strategic matters. Until 2008 Luke managed AEO’s trademark portfolio and intellectual property enforcement efforts. He also advises the company’s marketing management in connection with a broad range of integrated marketing initiatives, including music- and entertainment-based promotions, co-branded partnerships, behavioral advertising and loyalty programs.

Luke’s other primary areas of responsibility are supply chain, information technology, information security, international development, complex contract negotiation, and complex commercial litigation management. He recently completed negotiations on the company’s first international franchise, and he works closely with the company’s production team to monitor legal, technical and social compliance by all foreign factories.

Prior to joining American Eagle Outfitters, Luke was in the Pittsburgh office of K&L Gates (formerly Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham), where he practiced complex commercial litigation and counseling, with a focus on intellectual property matters, including sports- and entertainment-related trademark and copyright enforcement and anti-counterfeiting, trade secrets litigation, restrictive covenants/ employee mobility/non-compete and non-disclosure litigation, and IP/technology licensing issues. In these areas, he frequently appeared in state and federal courts across the country and had extensive experience prosecuting and defending claims for injunctive relief. He also handled appellate projects and alternative dispute resolution (including mediation and arbitration) in these areas.

Luke is active in the legal community as a frequent speaker and writer, bar association member and pro bono activist. In his spare time, he is a wine enthusiast, a world traveler and a frustrated soccer player. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 1993 and cum laude from Vanderbilt Law School in 1996. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife Shari and his son Trevor.

 

Philip T. Petti
Chief Intellectual Property Counsel
USG Corporation

Phil Petti is the Chief Intellectual Property Counsel for the USG Corporation, one of the world leaders in building systems for residential and commercial construction. Phil is responsible for all of USG’s intellectual property portfolio and intellectual property litigation, worldwide, including the protection of USG’s well known SHEETROCK® brand building products. Before joining USG, Phil was a senior partner of the intellectual property law firm Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery in Chicago. Phil was one of Fitch, Even’s lead trial lawyers and, also devoted substantial time to client counseling, patent prosecution and strategy, and other intellectual property matters during his over 23 years in private practice. Phil is a frequent speaker on intellectual property matters and is an adjunct professor at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

 

David H. Pflieger, Jr.
General Counsel-Senior Vice President-Legal, Government Affairs & Sustainability
Virgin America Inc.

Dave is responsible for oversight of all of the Company's legal, government affairs, and sustainability related issues. Dave created the Company's sustainability plan before the airline began operations, and he continues to oversee all efforts on this front. Dave successfully led the Company's two-year effort to obtain federal approval to become a domestic airline--despite heavy opposition from other U.S. airlines, and he is also a Virgin America A319/320 Captain.

Before he became General Counsel, Dave was the Vice President of the company's Operations Control Center where he built and ran the project plan to stand up and launch the entire airline. Prior to joining Virgin America, Dave was the Vice President of Operations for Song (Delta Air Lines' low-cost airline that operated thirty-six 757 aircraft and flew seven million passengers per year). In that role, Dave also flew 757s and 767s as a Delta pilot and was a member of the senior staffs of Delta's Flight Operations and Technical Operations.

Prior to joining Song, Dave held positions as Delta's Director of Flight Safety and as Delta’s Chief Operations Attorney. He also flew the line as a Delta 737 pilot. In his legal role, Dave was responsible for all of the company's operations-related and aviation law matters. Dave was invited to join Delta from King & Spalding, Atlanta's top law firm, where he worked on matters in a variety of practice groups including: General Litigation, Intellectual Property, Product Liability, and White Collar Crime. Dave has also worked for a Georgia Supreme Court Justice and a Federal District Court Judge.

Before becoming an attorney, Dave was a B-52 instructor/evaluator pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated with a bachelor's of science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, and earned his law degree (with distinction) (Order of the Coif) from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dave was also awarded a master's degree in business administration from Emory University's Roberto C. Goizueta School of Business. He is also a graduate of the University of Southern California's Aviation Safety Program.

 

Simon D. Platt
Partner
StoneTurn Group

Simon co-founded StoneTurn Group in March, 2004 after more than twenty three years with Deloitte. Simon joined Deloitte’s UK audit practice in 1980, transferring to the Boston office in 1985. He became a US audit partner in 1995, serving principally retail, consumer product and professional service clients. He formed and led the Boston office Financial Advisory Services practice, then principally litigation support, in 1998 while still in the audit practice, fully transitioning his audit responsibilities in 2000. Simon led that practice, which ultimately included more than sixty forensic accounting, litigation support, reorganization and economic consulting professionals, through 2003, when he transferred to lead the combined 250 person New York and Boston practices. Additionally, Simon served as the National Partner for the Forensic and Investigative Services Group, leading more than 300 professionals (including 25 computer forensic specialists) across the US, and started and led the firm’s Forensic Audit Assistance program from 2002 through 2004.

His extensive audit background includes working with a wide range of companies, from large multi-national public companies to smaller, privately held enterprises on a variety of business issues. This background has allowed Simon the ability to work with a variety of different industries in a variety of matters, including business analysis, damage quantification, market analysis, revenue recognition concerns, accounting record reconstruction, purchase price disputes, SEC investigations, royalty and license commitments and entitlements and fraud investigations. Simon has experience in all aspects of dispute consulting, including strategy discussions, pre-trial analysis and testimony in traditional judicial, arbitration and mediation proceedings.

 

Kevin T. Reilley
SVP & General Manager
CPA Global

Kevin Reilley is Senior Vice President and General Manager, Legal Solutions for CPA Global. Prior to CPA Global, Mr. Reilley was President of Integrity Interactive Corporation where he worked with senior executives and attorneys from some of the world’s top public companies to implement programs that reduce the risk of corporate integrity failures in the areas of compliance, ethics, and corporate social responsibility.

Prior to Integrity, Mr. Reilley was Managing Director at Merrill Corporation where he led the integration of LegaLink sales, marketing, and operations teams in the U.S. following Merrill’s acquisition of the company. Prior to Merrill, Mr. Reilley was President of Legalink, a $100 million division of Wordwave, Inc., a $150 million global litigation support, captioning, and transcription company.

Prior to LegaLink, Mr. Reilley was Vice President of Sales at LexisNexis, where he was responsible for managing all of the top legal and accounting firms in the United States.

 

Michael D. Scott
Senior Counsel
Alcoa Inc.

Education: Reed College, Loyola University of Los Angeles (B.A., 1970); U.C.L.A., (J.D., 1973).

Member of the California and Pennsylvania Bar

Joined Alcoa in 1988 with the acquisition of TRE Corporation. Relocated to Pittsburgh in 1992 where he is leader for the Commercial Antitrust Practice Area. He is Resource Unit Counsel for Alcoa’s CIO, Trade Compliance and Quality Systems groups. Additional practice responsibilities include government contracts, eDiscovery and the globalization of privacy issues. He has spoken regularly in the areas of export control and eDiscovery.

 

James D. Smith
Associate General Counsel & Chief Intellectual Property Counsel
Baxter Healthcare Corporation

James D. Smith is Associate General Counsel and Chief IP Counsel of Baxter International Inc.

Prior to joining Baxter in 2007, Smith served as Global Director of Intellectual Property Rights in the Licensing area for Nokia, Inc., where he oversaw and directed the patent licensing function, including managing strategic licensing relationships with companies around the world and advising on all major IP litigation. In the mid-1990’s, Smith was Chief Counsel, Intellectual Property Law at Lexmark International, Inc., where he was responsible for all global patent matters involving the areas of licensing, litigation, and patent filing and prosecution. He was also responsible for the trademark, copyright and trade secret areas.

In addition, Smith has spent many years in private practice, primarily as a patent litigator representing companies on matters in various technology areas, including electronics and computers, semiconductors, telecommunications and medical devices. Immediately prior to joining Nokia, Smith was a partner at Dewey Ballantine, and its Office Managing Partner in Austin, Texas. Smith also served as a Judicial Clerk for (now Chief) Judge Paul R. Michel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, an Assistant Dean at Emory University School of Law, where he also taught IP and appellate advocacy courses, and as a Patent Examiner in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Smith received his Juris Doctor from the Duke University School of Law and his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.

 

David A. Styler
Assistant General Counsel
Aon Service Corporation

David joined Aon in June 2009. His responsibilities include providing guidance on FCPA and OFAC related matters as well as overseeing Aon’s internal investigations process. Prior to joining Aon, David worked in the Ethics and Compliance Office for a major health care company where he held various positions including International Compliance Officer and Director of Internal Investigations. In his investigations role, David was responsible for all internal investigations conducted within the company. This included overseeing the investigation and resolution of all allegations concerning potential violations of the company’s Code of Business Conduct, and managing the employee helpline. In addition, he was responsible for maintaining an internal database of all investigations and for reviewing investigation findings with senior management.

Before joining the private sector, David was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Illinois where he prosecuted a variety of cases ranging from bank and wire fraud schemes to complex narcotics organizations.

 

James H. Wooten, Jr.
Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary
Illinois Tool Works Inc.

James H. Wooten, Jr. is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Illinois Tool Works Inc., a Fortune 200 company with 16.2 billion dollars in revenues. James began his career with ITW in 1988 as a Senior Attorney providing legal counsel to the Company’s decentralized business units around the world. He was elected to his current position in 2005 and is responsible for legal, environmental and safety, risk management and governmental affairs.

Prior to joining ITW, James was in private practice with the law firm of Gardner, Carton & Douglas. James is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the American Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals. James is also an active member of Junior Achievement, serving as a mentor and role model. In addition, Mr. Wooten is a board member of Children Memorial Hospital, Goodwill Industries of Metropolitan Chicago, Congo Square Theatre Company, Window to the World Communications, Inc. (WWCI), and is also a member of The Legacy Advisory Council of the 2016 Committee.

Education:
J.D., University of Chicago, 1982
B.A. University of Illinois (Chicago Circle), 1978

Bar Admissions:
Illinois

 

Andrea L. Zopp
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Exelon

Andrea L. Zopp is executive vice president and general counsel at Exelon Corporation. As General Counsel, she has responsibility for all of Exelon’s legal affairs and corporate governance functions. She is a member of the company’s executive committee. Zopp was formerly Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at Exelon Corporation. Prior to joining Exelon, she was senior vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary of Sears Holding Corporation. She began work with the company as senior vice president and general counsel of Sears Roebuck and Company. Before joining Sears, Zopp was vice president, deputy general counsel in the law department at Sara Lee Corporation. Prior to Sara Lee, Zopp was a partner in the Litigation Department of the law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.

Zopp is a former member of the board of Andrew Corporation. She is chairman of the board of the Chicago Area Project and president of the board of directors of the Leadership Greater Chicago. Zopp serves on the board of Trustees of the National Urban League and the Black Ensemble Theater. Zopp is a member and former president of the Chicago Inn of Court and is active in the American Bar Association where she served as a member of the Section of Litigation Council. She also is a former member of the board of the Chicago Bar Association. Zopp is a member of the Black Women Lawyer’s Association, The Chicago Network, and The Economic Club. In addition, Zopp is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Zopp received a bachelor’s degree in history and science and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard University. She began her legal career as a law clerk to United States District Judge George N. Leighton in the Northern District of Illinois. She has taught as an adjunct professor at Harvard Law School, Northwestern University and the University of Chicago School of Law.