Course List

If you are an attorney, you’ve probably been asked to serve on a Board. However, if you do agree there are numerous legal & ethical pitfalls that you must avoid as an attorney.

In this CLE, Nikki Semanchik will teach you what you need to know about serving on a Board, from your initial homework & due diligence to your ethical duties & avoiding conflicts of interest. The course is broken into three main parts, with Nikki first providing background on the key points of Nonprofit Law, she will then take a deep dive into your fiduciary duties and conclude by detailing the risks of serving as Director & legal counsel. Additional topics: entity type, public transparency, Board Committees vs. Advisory Boards, the duties & role of Directors, the Articles of Incorporation, reviewing bylaws & internal policies, Duty of Care, Duty of Inquiry, Duty of Loyalty, Duty to Follow Investment Standards, conflicts of interest, director protections, the Business Judgment Rule, volunteer immunity, Indemnification, Directors & Officers (D&O) Insurance, Nonprofit Compliance, the loss of the attorney-client privilege and your liability exposure.

Nikki Semanchik is the Founding Attorney of Semanchik Law Group, a business and nonprofit firm located in San Diego, California. In addition to assisting nonprofits with formation, compliance and governance, she also represents for profit businesses on a wide variety of matters.

Choice of Law, Prevailing Party, Forum Selection, Force Majeure. “Boilerplate” refers to the standard clauses that typically appear at the end of a contract.

These provisions are often pulled from templates and frequently overlooked by the parties and the attorneys tasked with drafting the agreements. However, these clauses establish essential rights for the parties and warrant careful consideration – especially in the front-end drafting stage of the agreement so you can avoid trying to enforce or fight these common clauses on the back end in litigation. In this CLE, Shannon Bell will delve into these common boilerplate clauses: choice of law, arbitration, forum & venue selection, amendment & modification, force majeure, jury waiver, prevailing party, merger and survival. Shannon will dissect key case law from around the country and provide practical tips & suggestions for drafting better boilerplate clauses in your contracts.

Shannon M. Bell has years of trial experience in state and federal courts and litigates a wide variety of complex business disputes, construction disputes, fiduciary claims, employment issues, and landlord/tenant issues, with a specialization in construction.

A few years ago, the hot copyright case was the "Monkey Selfie" - a battle over a photo of a macaque monkey taking a selfie with a photographer's camera. Copyright protection was denied because of the human authorship requirement.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now the hottest topic of the day. Attorney Scott Sholder will dive into these novel & cutting edge copyright issues of authorship, ownership & protectability of AI generated content when generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used to generate content and works of art. Scott will mainly cover: Copyright Basics, Copyright Registration, Generative AI Basics and Generative AI: Authorship & Copyrightability. Additional topics: ownership of copyright, works made for hire, joint authorship, the blurred Lines Between AI & Human Creation, Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), AI Models & training data, potential input issues, the human authorship requirement, works generated solely in response to user prompts, Copyright Office AI Disclosure Requirements and how to best protect your clients. Cases discussed: Naruto v. Slater (2018), Thaler v. Perlmutter (2022), Zarya of the Dawn (2023) and Jason Allen v. Shira Perlmutter (2024).

Scott J. Sholder, is the Co-Chair of the firm’s Litigation group and focuses his practice on litigation, counseling, and dispute resolution in connection with entertainment, media, art, and intellectual property matters.

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free, Jews for Palestine.” “Let’s take the f*king streets later.” “All Zionists must die tonight at midnight.”

Following the start of the Israel-Hamas War tensions burst wide open on college campuses all over the country following the aftermath of the October 7th attack. By the spring, a wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments led to massive demonstrations, student takeovers and more than 3,200 people arrested. As tensions escalated, it became very difficult to delineate the line between protected free speech and unprotected harassment & true threats of violence. In this CLE, FIRE attorney Zach Greenberg will give his reasoning why it’s so important to protect the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression on college campuses and the line between protected speech and unprotected threats & harassment. Zach will specifically address: the Looking Glass theory, public vs. private universities, true threats, harassment, the More Speech approach, calls for genocide, encampments, content neutral + time + manner restrictions, disruption & the Heckler’s Veto and creating a culture of free speech.

A native New Yorker, Zach graduated from Binghamton University in 2013 and Syracuse Law in 2016. Zach developed an appreciation for free speech while leading the College Libertarians and the Federalist Society.

In 2006 the FRCP was amended to include a “new” type of evidence – Electronically Stored Information (ESI). Twenty years later almost every trial hinges on text messages, Facebook posts, IG stories, tweets, emails, blogs & countless more sources of electronic evidence.

In this CLE, Nicholas J. Schneider, Esq. will discuss the basics of laying a foundation for the admission of evidence, provide tangible trial tips and show you example trial examinations for establishing each of the five core foundation elements. Nick will then apply this framework, with practical examples, to common types of modern digital evidence, including business records, text messages, social media and other forms of ESI. These rules and procedures are addressed: Introduction & Exclusion of Evidence, Pre-Foundation, Competence, Foundation, the Original Document Rule, Privilege, Relevance, Authenticity and Hearsay. Nick will specifically discuss preparing & introducing: ESI, photos, video, email, texts, social media and websites & blog posts.

Nicholas Schneider is a trial attorney and Partner with the national law firm Eckert Seamans. He focuses his practice on complex commercial disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, business torts, employment disputes, copyright infringement, unfair competition and class actions.

Attorneys are no longer confined to print ads in the Sunday paper & late night T.V. commercials. The Internet & social media have opened an entirely new online landscape for attorneys to advertise their services & law firms – but this new electronic terrain presents new ethical challenges.

“In a wreck, need a check?,” attorneys with sledgehammers, a “healthy dose of Dic,” monster trucks & guns. As attorneys that help lawyers with websites & online marketing, Desire'e Martinelli & Jeff Lantz have seen these numerous attorneys violate the rules of professional conduct with their online advertising. They are here to keep your conduct ethical in your YouTube vidoes, Facebook posts & PPC advertising. Primary subject covered: tips to avoid common ethical pitfalls, the consequences & penalties of unethical online advertising, and the best practices & plan when advertising online. Additional topics: using disclaimers, testimonial, making promises, required notifications, misleading ads, confidentiality issues, unjustified expectations, comparative statements, truthfulness & accuracy, case law, creating an ethical compliance plan and tools & resources. Ethical Rules addressed: Rule 1.6: Confidentiality, Rule 7.1: Communications Concerning a Lawyer’s Services, Rule 5.5: Unauthorized Practice of Law and Rule 8.4: Third-Party Violations.

Desire'e Martinelli is an attorney and the Director of Marketing & Analytics of Esquire Interactive LLC. Jeff Lantz is an attorney, entrepreneur and the CEO of Esquire Interactive LLC, an interactive digital marketing agency for attorneys and law firms.

The ethical rules regarding conflicts of interest may appear deceptively simple. However, there are numerous situations that may arise where they can be very complicated or deceptive. Or there could be an exception to the conflicts rule or a way to work around it with a well-crafted consent.

In this CLE, ethics expert & Professor of Legal Ethics Cari Sheehan will provide practical guidance on specific ethical situations that arise in your daily practice. Cari will mainly discuss the ethical framework, practical steps to avoid conflicts of interest and specific scenarios where conflicts occur. The steps to conflicts of interest resolution discussed: (1) identifying if it’s a current, former or prospective client, (2) analyzing whether a conflict exists, (3) determining if the conflict is consentable, (4) obtaining informed consent, and (5) remedies if the conflict is not resolved. Specific issues presented: joint representation, the informed disclosure that is required, simultaneous representation in unrelated matters, the material limitation standard, prior work conflicts, informed consent, injunctive relief, disqualification, fee forfeiture, former clients, imputed conflicts, utilizing a firm-wide database and creating ethical walls/screens. Model Rules implicated: 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 1.10 1.11 & 1.13.

With over 15 years of legal experience in civil litigation, conflicts of interest, and professional responsibility, Cari Sheehan serves as the Taft Law’s Assistant General Counsel. She is also an Assistant Clinical Professor of Business Law and Ethics with the IU Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis where she teaches courses in Business Law and Ethics.

Nearly a century before the first Tesla hit the streets, the driverless car du jour was a Pontiac known as the Phantom developed in the 1920’s. The Phantom was remote controlled by the tap of a telegraph key by a second car trailing miles behind.

Fast forward to today & driverless cars are set to take the world by storm with the global market for self-driving vehicles reaching around $2.5 trillion by 2030. But we are still at the infancy of this new technology that heavily employs autopilot and CAT (Collision Avoidance Technology). In this CLE, Brett Scheiber will detail this new technology and discuss litigation that has ensued from accidents involving Tesla vehicles. Brett will mainly: demystify autopilot, describe how the tech works & how it fails, review Tesla’s claims regarding its autopilot and CAT (Collision Avoidance Technology) technology, show you how to collect the evidence for litigation and how to vett these & other CAT cases. He will also discuss: the 5 levels of tech, myths & facts regarding autopilot & CAT, EDR (Event Data Recorder) data, on-board Tesla videos, car log/D16, the NHTSA & NTSB and the future of Tesla cases & litigation.

Brett Schreiber’s practice includes mass torts, personal injury, medical malpractice and condemnation law. Whether lecturing student groups or handling pro bono claims for wrongfully convicted, he is guided by the Hebrew principle of tikkun olam meaning “to heal the world.”

Online gambling is BIG business. By 2029, the projected market volume is expected to reach $133 BILLION. It’s no wonder that gambling disorder was recently recognized by the DSM-V as an addictive disorder.

It’s also no surprise that lawyers are especially at risk because addiction is already problematic for lawyers, who suffer disproportionate rates of mental & addictive disorders. A former alcoholic with a cocaine & sports gambling addition, Brian Quinn knows the depths of despair all too well. From being suspended from the practice of law for 5 years to serving as Education & Outreach Coordinator at LCL, Brian learned to persevere & overcome. He will share his personal story and take a deep dive into gambling addiction – including its warning signs, risks, co-morbidities, related ethical issues and the toll it takes on the legal profession. Additional topics: how LAPs (Lawyer Assistance Programs) help attorneys, the Hazelden-Betty Ford Study on Lawyer Impairment, the DSM-5: Gambling Disorder definition, the Gambling Establishment, Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association, Roger Goodell & The NFL, accessibility & anonymity, perfectionism, excessive self-reliance and the stigma of addiction for attorneys.

Brian S. Quinn, Esquire is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania who currently serves as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers 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.

"I know it when I see it." Potter Stewart’s words are one of the more famous legal quotes and referred to hardcore pornography.

Well, I think we can all agree without further details that (repeatedly) pooping in a pringles can and throwing it in the opposing party’s parking lot violates some type of ethical rule or professionalism guideline. And yes, that actually happened and the lawyer was suspended for 1 year. In this CLE, Ron Daniels turns things around and provides professionalism lessons from lawyers behaving badly. The case examples analyzed: the attorney who pooped in the pringles can, lawyers & unprofessional emails, a defense attorneys unprofessional use of AI, unprofessional conduct at deposition and unprofessional conduct on social media. Additional topics: Ethics vs. Professionalism, the Lawyer’s Creed, Georgia’s Aspirational Statements on Professionalism, the Golden Rule and civility. Ron E. Daniels is a trial attorney that represents clients in consumer protection cases.

Ron E. Daniels is a trial attorney that represents clients in consumer protection cases. He fiercely and proudly represent Georgians in cases involving credit card, student loan and medical debt.