FBA 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

[11:00 – 11:45 a.m.] Our “Founding Sisters”: Celebrating the Centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment
Featuring Eleanor Clift, Nationally-Renowned Political Columnist, “The Daily Beast”; TV Pundit; & Author, “Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment”
Moderated by Hon. Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and Pioneering Woman of Many “Firsts”

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women (with certain key exceptions) the right to vote. Join us as the FBA commemorates this historic occasion with what promises to be one of the high points of the FBA’s own Centennial year – an informative and highly-engaging presentation by trailblazing journalist/political analyst Eleanor Clift, the author of Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment, which has been lauded as a “riveting account” of “events and personalities,” chronicling “the many thrilling twists and turns of the suffrage struggle” (including the issue of race) that “still reverberate today.” Beginning with the Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention of 1848, meet the suffrage movement’s courageous leaders, re-live the marches and demonstrations, and scope out the opposition – anti-suffragists determined to keep women from getting the vote. Mining these turbulent decades of the nation’s history, Clift will be interviewed by trailblazing jurist the Honorable Bernice B. Donald of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, a pioneering woman of many “firsts,” who is based in Memphis, Tennessee – the decisive 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment.

[11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.] LGBT Law Section Meeting

[12:00 – 1:00 p.m.] Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee Leadership Forum and Affinity Bar Roundtable

[12:00 – 1:00 p.m.] Senior Lawyers Division Meeting

[1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.] General Session
Featuring John Dean Author and Former White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon

Before becoming Counsel to the President of the United States in July 1970 at age 31, John Dean was Chief Minority Counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Associate Director of a law reform commission, and Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States. He served as Richard Nixon’s White House lawyer for 1,000 days. Join us during the keynote address where you’ll gain valuable insights related to Mr. Dean’s extensive knowledge on the subjects of law, government, and politics.

[2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.] Pretrial Detention and Justice in the Age of Coronavirus

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, criminal defendants who had been detained prior to trial or sentencing inundated federal courts with motions seeking to be released from detention. This onslaught of motions forced prosecutors, defenders, and the courts to examine carefully the intent, purpose, and requirements of the Bail Reform Act, and to consider how the pandemic might factor into an assessment of whether a defendant should be detained under the Act. This program is designed to address the application of the Act generally and to contemplate specifically how something like a global pandemic impacts a court’s analysis of whether detention is appropriate. The presentation will provide an overview of the application of the Act, including when the government may seek detention or ask for a hearing, when the presumption of detention applies, what factors courts consider when assessing whether the presumption has been rebutted, what factors should be considered in determining whether detention is warranted, what circumstances may justify review of detention decisions generally, and the procedures for seeking such review. While these issues have always been central to questions of detention, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced advocates and the courts to consider them under unprecedented circumstances. This panel will address the important question presented by this flood of motions for release – how are novel public-health concerns balanced against the traditional factors governing detention decisions?

• Hon. Karoline Mehalchick, Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (moderator)
• Christian T. Haugsby, Assistant United States Attorney, Middle District of Pennsylvania
• Edward J. Rymsza, Partner, Miele & Rymsza, P.C.

[4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.] Circuit Vice President Meeting
Participation is limited to Circuit Vice Presidents. FBA members may request to attend as observers, subject to maximum capacity of the video/audio conference platform.

 

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

[11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.] Section & Division Leaders Meeting
Participation is limited to Section & Division leaders. FBA members may request to attend as observers, subject to maximum capacity of the video/audio conference platform. 

[1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.] Rolling Up Our Sleeves: Using Special Masters to Help Deal with the New Normal in Federal Court

The Judicial Division of the American Bar Association in conjunction with major law organizations across the country has created a program to work with courts to develop new and creative ideas to use special masters to address the burdens imposed by the pandemic. In this program (co-sponsored by the ABA), the incoming Chair of the Judicial Division, United States District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs (D. S.C.), United States Magistrate Judge Kaymani West (D. S.C.) and representatives of the Judicial Division Lawyers Conference Special Masters Committee will roll up their sleeves to discuss not just the problems courts are facing but the ways in which special masters could be used to help address those problems and how these changes could affect federal litigation going forward.

• Merril Hirsh, Principal, HirshADR PLLC (moderator)
• Hon. J. Michelle Childs, District Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
• Cary Ichter, Attorney, Ichter Davis LLC
• Randi Ilyse Roth, Principal, Complex Settlements PC
• Hon. Kaymani West, Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

[2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.] The Post-Covid Workplace: Understanding Changes to Existing Federal Employment Law

This panel will focus on the use of existing federal employment laws (the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, and Title VII) and new federal laws enacted in response to Covid to address changed considerations for employment litigators in federal court. It will also touch on tangential considerations, such as whether such actions can or should encompass state law claims or administrative proceedings instead of, or in conjunction with, federal litigation.

• Emma Chase Bellamy, Associate, Buckley Beal LLP (moderator)
• Anita Balasubramanian (Bala), Partner, Buckley Beal LLP
• Rudi Julius, Associate, Buckley Beal LLP
• Thomas J. Mew IV, Partner, Buckley Beal LLP

[4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.] Chapter Leaders Meeting
Participation is limited to Chapter leaders. FBA members may request to attend as observers, subject to maximum capacity of the video/audio conference platform. 

[6:00 – 7:00 p.m.] Virtual Trivia

Put your knowledge to the test and compete against fellow attendees in Wednesday’s online trivia game. *Hint* get familiar with www.fedbar.org to improve your winning potential!

 

Thursday, September 10, 2020

[11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.] Federal Bar Building Corporation Board of Directors Meeting
Participation is limited to members of the FBBC Board of Directors. FBA members may request to attend as observers, subject to maximum capacity of the video/audio conference platform.

[11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.] Veterans and Military Law Section Meeting

[12:00 – 11:00 p.m.] Immigration Law Section Meeting

[1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.] The Ford Cases: Another Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Personal Jurisdiction is Coming

Personal jurisdiction is about access to judicial power. In the nearly 150 years that have passed since it first began discussing the constitutional dimensions of personal jurisdiction, the U.S. Supreme Court has given the issue its intense focus, then left it alone for decades, and then returned to it once more. Now is one of those periods of intense interest. The Supreme Court will, during its October Term 2020, decide appeals that could have enormous impact on access to justice in every federal and state court throughout the country. Those two cases—Ford Motor Co. v. Bandemer and Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court—could adjust our national understanding of this pivotal threshold question of civil litigation for nearly every civil case in the nation. An impressive panel of federal civil practice scholars will recount the background and context of this most recent foray by the Supreme Court into jurisdictional theory, discuss the competing theories offered for resolving this important question, and then offer observations on the Court’s potential resolutions and how those would impact practitioners nationally.

• Richard D. Freer, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University School of Law
• William M. Janssen, Professor of Law, Charleston School of Law
• Linda S. Mullenix, Morris & Rita Atlas Chair in Advocacy, Professor of Law, University of Texas School of Law

[2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.] An Ounce of Prevention: Perspectives on a Civil Plaintiff Filing Bankruptcy from Both Sides of the ‘V’

A bankruptcy filing can have a significant impact on a civil litigation. Federal litigators often fail to comprehend the extent to which a bankruptcy proceeding can change the posture and strategy in a matter. These impacts can range from required disclosures and discovery devices within the bankruptcy court, to a party’s ability to present evidence in later litigation, to even whether a party has standing to assert claims or defenses in federal court. This presentation will explain the basic academic underpinning of a bankruptcy case with emphasis on the judicial estoppel doctrine and its evolution within the federal courts. We will also discuss standing issues raised and the practical implications of either party filing bankruptcy.

• Christina Tellado, Partner, Holland & Knight
• Todd C. Werts, Attorney, Lear Werts LLP

[3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.] FBA Board of Directors Meeting
Participation is limited to members of the FBA Board of Directors. FBA members may request to attend as observers, subject to maximum capacity of the video/audio conference platform.

[4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.] Career Planning During the COVID Crisis Roundtable

The Law Student Division invites current and graduating law students to hear from established practitioners who entered the legal job market during the last recession. As students face an uncertain landscape, those who have previously been where they are standing now will provide insight, advice, and guidance on how to make your way through securing a job in the current crisis.

• Glen R. McMurry, Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP (moderator)
• Angela Eastman, Attorney Partner, Pacific Apex Law Group, LLP
• Constantine P. Economides, Counsel, Roche Cyrulnik Freedman LLP
• Maureen Frangopoulos, Senior Counsel, Uber
• Eric Foley, Attorney Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center

[6:00 – 7:00 p.m.] Virtual Bingo

Get ready to yell Bingo! Tune in for this fun online game of chance. Keep your eyes and ears open because prizes will be awarded to the winner of each round.