“The key consideration is workflow.” – Craig Ball, Trial Lawyer & Electronic Evidence Expert. And at the end of the day, judges want an eDiscovery workflow and plan that is defensible with a process that is repeatable & explainable.

By focusing on the importance of creating a defensible eDiscovery workflow process, Alex Marjanovic & Robert Bird will show you how the EDRM framework enables attorneys to create and execute on this plan. The three main topics in this CLE: the EDRM Framework & the Cooperation Proclamation, From Preservation to Production: Validating the Process and Three Common eDiscovery Cases & Workflows. Additional subjects: issues that arise between the parties, dealing with volumes of data, budget vs. projected spend, what judges want, the EDRM (Electronic Discovery Reference Model) Framework, culling the data, advanced analytics, collaborative review, the details of production, legal holds & preservation, proportionality, SaaS platforms & applications like Salesforce, WeChat, AWS, Microsoft Teams & Slack, structured vs. unstructured data and defensible collection.

Alex Marjanovic is a Senior Managing Director at Ankura, a leading business advisory firm. Robert Bird joins Ankura as Managing Director with more than 10 years of experience in eDiscovery and data analytics.

$150,000 – that’s the average ransomware payment paid by law firms to get their data back. Further, small & midsize law firms are most at risk from ransomware attacks because of their lack of cybersecurity preparedness – and because they think they’re too small to be targeted.

Tom Kirkham will dispel common cybersecurity myths and show you the five steps your law firm can take to protect against crippling and expensive ransomware and cyberattacks. To protect your firm you should: (1) Employ EDR (2) Use MFA (3) Use Storage Encryption (4) Continue Defensive Improvements and (5) Use a Skilled Security Team. Tom will also discuss ethics & technological competence, cybersecurity & confidential client data, InfoTech vs. InfoSec, cybersecurity insurance, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the White House response to ransomware. These 5 crucial steps will dramatically increase your overall law firm network security stance and will help your firm avoid being hit by a malicious cyberattack.

Tom Kirkham, founder and CEO of Irontech Security, provides cybersecurity defense systems and focuses on educating and encouraging organizations to establish a security-first environment with cybersecurity training programs for all workers to prevent successful attacks.

A few years back a family friend signed a personal guarantee on her son’s new restaurant venture. Things were going great until COVID hit – now the business is on the verge of collapse and she at risk of losing everything. Is there anything that can be done?

Asset protection is a field of law dealing with shielding assets from the claims of creditors. While you cannot “hide” assets or make them completely unreachable, Jacob Stein will show you how to make it more difficult and expensive for creditors to get to. Jacob will mainly discuss asset protection in our new age of global transparency, utilizing irrevocable trusts & LLCs and protecting specific assets like homes, apartment buildings, cash & crypto. Additional topics: the effects of COVID on businesses, personal guarantees, real estate, the Homestead exemptions, voidable conveyances laws (fraudulent transfers), the powers given to the trust protector, drafting the trust, self-settled trusts, setting up a trust in a foreign jurisdiction, dealing with community property, charging orders, retirement plans and utilizing offshore structures.

Jacob Stein is a partner with the law firm Aliant, LLP, in Los Angeles, California. A prolific writer and speaker, Mr. Stein has represented over a thousand clients, from Forbes 400 families to Internet entrepreneurs. He focuses on asset & income protection, in addition to International Tax issues.

What are synthetic cannabinoids and how do they compare with marijuana? How do the sources of marijuana (edibles, oils, “joints”) differ in potency and effects on the body? What is the science behind the marijuana breath testing device?

As more states legalize recreational use, attorneys around the country are encountering more cases involving marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids. Dr. Allison A. Muller, Pharm.D, frequently consults with attorneys and provides expert witness testimony in cases involving marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids and attorneys that complete this course will: learn the scientific name of the parent marijuana compound & two metabolites, cite two differences between marijuana & synthetic cannabinoids, identify one similarity between marijuana & synthetic cannabinoids and provide one reason why determining impairment is challenging. Dr. Muller will also address: Cannabidiol (CBD), nomenclature, marijuana & metabolite detection, THC testing in blood & urine, THC effects on the body, THC driving-impairment, toxicology testing & synthetic cannabinoids, withdrawal syndromes and Spice-Ophrenia.

Dr. Muller is a board-certified toxicologist, fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, and registered pharmacist with over 20 years’ experience in the field of clinical toxicology.

“I’m a creep, I’m a weirdo. What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here.” Poignant words penned by Thom Yorke of Radiohead while at university in the late 1980s – and possibly the most eloquent expression of impostor syndrome.

Brian S. Quinn was a young lawyer. Fresh out of law school. What started as an exciting day with his mentor at trial – ended with Brian watching his mentor leave the courthouse in a body bag. Worse yet, fellow attorneys then taunted Brian to the point he lost his confidence he eventually felt like he didn’t belong – to the point he developed impostor syndrome and began to self-medicate. When the feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence overwhelmed him, it led to theft from clients, stints in jail and the eventual loss of his law license. Brian shares his story and will talk about three main subjects: normalizing help, Impostor Syndrome & attorneys and trauma centered Impostor Syndrome. Additional topics: Lawyer Assistance Programs, confidentiality, services, ethical exceptions, studies on mental health & impairment, causes, frequency, the 5 personality types, what law firms & attorneys can do, stress vs. distress, a chance for success and being resilient.

Brian S. Quinn maintains a private practice and currently serves as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for LCL of Pennsylvania, Inc., a Lawyers Assistance Program established in 1988 for the purpose of helping lawyers, judges and law students recover from alcoholism, drug addiction and mental health disorders.

There are close to two million service members in the U.S. armed forces around the globe and our country – and nearly one million serve in the national guard and reserves. Even though you don’t live near a military base, you might be missing substantial economic claims from service members in your files.

Both attorneys and former members of the armed services, Dennis and Mike McCarthy will help you to spot these types of hidden claims and show you how you can establish these often-overlooked economic damages in your cases – from premises liability to auto injuries. Dennis and Michael will discuss the official Military Personnel File (OMPF), career patterns & regulations, ending a military career, elements of military compensation and proving economic damages at trial. Also covered: types of cases & claims, the legal framework, the SF-180, service obligations, performance evaluations, service culture & customs, the Feres Doctrine, VA disability payments, base pay, retired pay and common questions. This CLE course is intended for lawyers who are involved in a case with a member of the armed forces whose earnings are claimed to have been affected.

Michael & Dennis McCarthy are both Principals in Military Experts, LLC, a consulting firm that advises businesses and attorneys nationwide. Dennis began his Marine Corps service as a platoon leader in Vietnam and served as Assistant Secretary of Defense. Mike is a small business owner who has been mobilized multiple times in support of operations abroad.

Have you ever delivered such good news to a client – that they literally fell out of their chair?? That’s what happened when Sam Brotman told his client that her business would qualify for a $300,000 Employee Retention Credit under the CARES Act.

Another small business owner broke into tears when Sam got her a $90,000 credit for her small automotive repair shop. Many business owners don’t know about the ERC or they’ve received bad professional advice and been told they don’t qualify because they have no significant drop in revenues. Sam will provide a comprehensive look at eligibility rules for the ERC, a full (or partial) suspension of operations, the 2020 & 2021 gross receipts calculations & elections and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021’s expansion of the ERC to recovery start-up businesses. Sam will also cover the interaction of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) & the ERC, partial credits, the operation of a trade/business, amended return matters, documenting via Opinion Letters, the gross receipts test, the safe harbor and establishing a reasonable defensible position.

Samuel D. Brotman is the founder of Brotman Law. His practice primarily centers on all aspects of tax litigation and criminal & civil tax controversies. Although a strong proponent of early stage tax resolution, Sam's practice is uniquely tailored to assist clients in all phases of their tax controversy from administrative resolution of the lawsuit.

More people buying dogs during the pandemic, more delivery drivers, more people working & staying around the house… and there’s always plenty of tasty mail carriers. More dogs mean one thing – more dog bites.

And when man’s best friend isn’t so friendly, the consequences can unfortunately be deadly. A former prosecutor turned personal injury trial attorney, Claudine Wilkins will discuss practical tips for winning dog bite cases for your clients – from plaintiff’s strategies & theories of law to restitution and damages. Additional topics of discussion: state law, reactionary & predatory dog bites, dog attacks, adoption centers & shelters, intentional mislabeling, toolkits, the prosecutor’s checklist, legislation, restitution, liability, negligence, Dog at Large ordinances, injuries, initial intake, investigations, case law & examples, causes of dog bites, contributing factors, bad enclosures and bad laws. Claudine will also cover case intake, negligence & investigations and share numerous practical tips & strategies you can deploy at trial to get the best result for your client.

Claudine Wilkins is an Animal Law Expert & Attorney. A former prosecutor, she has trained thousands of professionals in animal-related fields.