2012 Tort/Workers' Comp Conference for Alabama Attorneys: Materials Only

Held Friday, September 21, 2012
Birmingham Marriott – FREE PARKING
3590 Grandview Parkway
Birmingham, AL 35243

Brought to you by Alabama Law Weekly

Earn 7 hours of CLE, 6 hours of  general and 1 hour of ethics.

Registration: $297 for program ($247 for additional attendees from the same firm), $147 for materials only

BONUS: Summaries of recent tort and workers’ compensation cases from the Alabama appellate courts.

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Here’s what your faculty covered in just one day:

• Workers’ comp update – the latest from the Alabama appellate courts on the “going and coming rule,” an employee’s failure to accurately respond to questions regarding his medical history on a job application, and whether an insurance company in a tort of outrage case is required to disclose information regarding suits in other states
• Tort law update – punitive damages award in a defamation case, liability of shopkeeper in a slip and fall case, a wrongful death action for a previable child, a wantonness claim in a products liability case, a $1.65 million verdict in a medical malpractice case, and Alabama’s Guest Statute
• Business torts – monkey business and the courtroom
• Immigration issues and workers’ compensation – What does Alabama’s workers’ comp act say about immigration?
• Subrogation liens – government right of reimbursement, workers’ compensation liens, ERISA plans, insurance subrogation interests, and more
• Selecting and qualifying expert witnesses in tort and workers’ comp cases
• Ethical conduct and professionalism in the courtroom from a trial judge’s perspective

What made this seminar unique?

• Outstanding faculty. The faculty includes both plaintiff and defense attorneys who are seasoned speakers and recognized as the best in their areas.
• Judge’s perspective. Attendees will hear from Judge Scott Vowell, presiding judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit and preeminent speaker in Alabama.
• Valuable updates. Top authorities will update attendees on recent case law developments in both the tort and workers’ compensation arenas.
• Practical topics. The agenda covers business torts as well as selecting and qualifying expert witnesses in tort and workers’ comp cases.
• Useful resources. Attendees will receive a binder of the materials covered during the seminar, plus summaries of recent tort and workers’ compensation cases from the Alabama appellate courts.
• CLE. Attendees can satisfy over half of their annual CLE requirement, earning 6 hours of GENERAL credit and 1 hour of ETHICS credit.

Your Faculty

Robert A. (Drew) Feeley joined Wilson & Berryhill, PC as an Associate attorney in December 2007. Mr. Feeley has gained considerable experience in handling cases within the firm’s practice areas, especially in construction defect, workers’ compensation, insurance coverage and appellate advocacy. He has successfully defended several cases as the primary handling attorney, obtaining dismissals through summary judgment.

 

Tony Graffeo, of Huntsville, is a founding partner at Watson Graffeo, P.C. He concentrates on cases involving defective products, medical negligence, and premises liability. He also serves as outside counsel to the Huntsville-Madison County Airport Authority, focusing on construction matters and contract negotiations. He assists north Alabama businesses with litigation support and other legal business matters.

Stephen D. Heninger, of Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC, is a frequent lecturer and teacher for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He has been listed in Woodward & White’s “Best Lawyers in America” for the past 10 years, and he has tried 18 cases resulting in verdicts over seven figures. He recently was inducted into the Alabama Law Foundation, which limits its invitations to the top one percent of the Bar in Alabama.

Donald B. (Bo) Kirkpatrick II is a senior shareholder and a founding member of Carr Allison. Mr. Kirkpatrick currently sits as the Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section at Carr Allison. His practice focuses primarily on workers’ compensation and related litigation, including retaliatory discharge and other employment matters. He is one of two attorneys from the State of Alabama who regularly speaks at the Judicial College, put on twice a year for the Judges in the State of Alabama. He also lectures regularly on recent developments in Workers’ Compensation Law.

Michael L. Roberts, with Cusimano, Keener, Roberts, Knowles & Raley LLC, has maintained a general litigation practice since 1978, including tort, personal injury practice, commercial litigation, consumer litigation, business disputes, fraud/misrepresentation, negligence and contract litigation. He has written extensively on legal topics in treatises, articles and journals, and has authored the reference book Alabama Tort Law, published by Lexis Law Publishing, now in its fourth edition, a two-volume, 50-chapter treatise analyzing the historical background and current status of tort law in Alabama.

Jackie H. Trimm, of Birmingham, joined Starnes Davis Florie in 2004. Prior to her tenure at Starnes Davis Florie, her practice consisted of insurance defense litigation, which included litigation in several areas of law. Her practice at Starnes Davis Florie is devoted to medical malpractice and general litigation defense, wherein she represents individual physicians, medical groups, and corporations.

Judge J. Scott Vowell has been a circuit judge since January 1995 and is currently the presiding judge in Jefferson County. Prior to his service on the Court, he practiced law with Beddow, Embry, & Beddow (1961-1987) and Vowell & Meelheim (1987-1994). He is active in the American Bar Association, the American Bar Institute, the Alabama Law Institute, the American Judicature Society, and the Birmingham Inn of Court.
 

2012 Tort/Workers' Comp Conference for Alabama Attorneys: Materials Only

Workers’ Compensation Law Update: 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Donald B. (Bo) Kirkpatrick II, Carr Allison

Mr. Kirkpatrick will review workers’ compensation cases from Alabama’s appellate courts, dealing with such issues as:

• The “going and coming” rule
• An employee’s failure to respond accurately to questions regarding his or her medical history on a job application
• Whether an insurance company in a tort of outrage case is required to disclose information regarding suits in other states
• Injury to minor who had been assigned job prohibited by child labor laws
• Whether employee was estopped from making claim for permanent and total disability benefits even though he applied for and received unemployment compensation benefits during same time period

Monkey Business and the Courtroom: 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Stephen D. Heninger, Heninger Garrison Davis, LLC

Mr. Heninger will speak about bad conduct in business:

• Intentional interference with business relations and contracts
• Theft of trade secrets
• Conspiracy

Mr. Heninger will also address discovery of such “monkey business” and how it is played out in the courtroom.

10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.:  Morning Break

Expert Witnesses: Daubert, Frye, and Other Challenges: 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., Tony Graffeo, Watson Graffeo, P.C.

• State requirements for selecting and qualifying expert witnesses
• Independent medical examiners
• Biomechanics experts
• Vocational specialists
• Accident reconstructionists

11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.: Lunch (on your own)

Tort Law Update: 12:45 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Michael L. Roberts, Cusimano, Keener, Roberts, Knowles & Raley, LLC

Mr. Roberts will review tort cases from Alabama’s appellate courts, dealing with such issues as:

• A punitive damage award in a defamation case
• Liability of a shopkeeper in a slip and fall case
• A wrongful death action for a previable child
• A wantonness claim in a products liability case
• A million dollar verdict in a medical malpractice case
• Alabama’s Guest Statute

Ethical Conduct & Professionalism in the Courtroom – A View from the Bench: 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.. Judge J. Scott Vowell, 10th Judicial Circuit

Judge Vowell, presiding judge in Jefferson County, will share insights from his years on the bench. Learn what a trial judge expects from an attorney from an ethical standpoint with regard to:

• Courtroom decorum – displaying a courteous, dignified, and respectful attitude
• Trial conduct – acting civilly toward other lawyers, not alluding to irrelevant or inadmissible evidence, and reporting client’s fraud
• Public statements about pending litigation

2:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Afternoon Break
 

Subrogation Liens in Detail: 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Jackie H. Trimm, Starnes Davis Florie LLP

• Government Right of Reimbursement – Medicare Secondary Payer Act,
• Medicare, Medicaid & SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA), Medicare set-asides (MSAs), Medicaid, and Veterans’ benefits
• Workers’ compensation liens
• ERISA plans
• Insurance subrogation interests

Immigration Issues & Workers’ Comp: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Robert A. (Drew) Feeley, Wilson & Berryhill, P.C.

What does Alabama’s workers’ comp act say about immigration? Mr. Feeley will discuss the still-evolving immigration act in Alabama. He will cover workers’ comp as well as other issues that employers and their attorneys need to be familiar with and how immigration issues affect an employer’s business.

Materials

Materials include information about:

• Recent tort and workers’ compensation cases from the Alabama appellate courts
• Business torts: Monkey business and the courtroom
• Immigration issues and workers’ compensation – What does Alabama’s workers’ comp act say about immigration?
• Subrogation liens: government right of reimbursement, workers’ compensation liens, ERISA plans, insurance subrogation interests, and more
• Selecting and qualifying expert witnesses in tort and workers’ comp cases
• Ethical conduct and professionalism in the courtroom from a trial judge’s perspective