The largest convention of California trial attorneys kicks off this week in Las Vegas at the 35th Annual Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles Convention. More than 2,800 legal professionals will attend the event from Thursday, August 31 through Sunday, September 3 which features over 140 exhibit booths and offers 20 education sessions presented by some of nation’s most accomplished litigators.
In addition to Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP’s exhibit booth at the CAALA Vegas convention, PSBR attorneys Brian Panish and Deborah Chang, as well as paralegal Joy Auerbach, will participate as featured speakers during the convention’s afternoon education sessions on varying topics. CAALA Vegas convention co-chair and firm partner Rahul Ravipudi will serve as moderator on various panels and topics throughout the four day convention.
THURSDAY, August 31
Deborah Chang will serve as a featured speaker in Meeting Room D during the afternoon session entitled Premises Case Trials from 3:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Ms. Chang, named one of the Top Women Lawyers in California and one of the Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California by Daily Journal for 2017, will discuss Demonstrative Evidence. Moderated by Daniel Pierson, additional panelists for topics related to Premises Case Trials include Honorable Roy Paul, David Hoffman, Greg Bentley, Tal Rubin, Gene Sullivan, and Jeffrey Rudman.
Rahul Ravipudi will serve as moderator for a panel entitled, DAMAGES from 3:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. The afternoon session will be held in Meeting Room A and includes the following speakers and topics: Honorable Abraham Khan on Judicial Perspective, Dave Ring on Derivative Claims: Loss of Consortium, Minh Nguyen on Overcoming Bias for Immigrants, Kim Valentine on Enhanced Remedies in Elder & Dependent Adult Abuse Cases, Chris Aumais on Presenting Special Damages – Howell, etc., Geoffrey Wells on Arguing General Damages, and Douglas Silverstein on Punitive Damages: Evidence & Argument.
FRIDAY, September 1
Brian Panish will serve as a featured speaker during the afternoon session entitled Jury Selection from 1:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m in Meeting Room D. Moderated by Laura Sedrish, Mr. Panish will be joined by Christopher Faenza and jury consultant Sonia Chopra to discuss Picking the Jury: Mock Voir Dire. Additional Jury Selection panelists include the Honorable Debre Weintraub, Antony Stuart, Garo Mardirossian, Twila White, and Tom Girardi.
Joy Auerbach will serve as a featured speaker during the Legal Staff afternoon session entitled, Demand Letters: Drafting Demand Letters, including Proper Attachments. Located in the Margaux Room, the Demand Letters session runs from 1:45 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. and includes additional speakers Daniel Johnson and Jason Sanchez.
SATURDAY, September 2
Rahul Ravipudi will serve as moderator for a panel entitled DISCOVERY from 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. The Saturday morning session will be held in Meeting Room A and includes the following speakers and topics: Aimee Kirby on Spoliation of Evidence, Craig Peters on Establishing Course and Scope of Employment, David Lira on Liability of Social Hosts and Bars, Ronnivashti Whitehead on Discovery in the Social Media Age, Matthew McNicholas on Taking Effective Depositions, and the Honorable Richard Burdge on Resolving Discovery Disputes.
SUNDAY, September 3
Rahul Ravipudi will serve as moderator for Hot Topics in Insurance Bad Faith during the Morning Red-Eye Session from 9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in the Latour Ballroom. Relative topics and panelists include Judicial Perspective by Honorable Timothy Casserly, Handling UM/UIM Claims and Spotting Bad Faith Issues by Eric Traut, Discovery Needed to Prove Bad Faith by Kathryn Trepinski, Taking the Lid Off the Policy by Danica Crittenden, Health & Disability Insurance Bad Faith Cases by Michael Harrow, and Navigating Professional Liability Insurance Claims by Michael Cohen. This 3-hour session is the final speaking event of the convention.
Each of the above sessions accounts for 3 hours MCLE Credit. CAALA is an approved provider of MCLE credit for the State Bar of California.