Lots Going On Already in 2012

Two months into this year, and things are pretty busy on my end.  I enjoy blogging about products liability issues in South Carolina, but I also have some things coming up that may be of some interest to followers of my blog.

On March 21, 2012, I am doing a presentation to the South Carolina Association of Convenience Stores concerning South Carolina's products liability law.  I anticipate much of this presentation will draw from South Carolina's food/beverage law and my blogs relating to it.

I have already blogged about attending this year's DRI Products Liability Conference (see the post here) on April 10-13, 2012.  I always enjoy it, and Las Vegas is a great venue. 

The week after the DRI Products Liability Conference, I am attending and speaking at the Primerus Defense Institute Convocation.  My colleague, Christian Stegmaier, will also be attending.  As I have blogged about in the past, my firm is a member of the Primerus group of law firms, and each year the organization holds this particular conference for members of the Primerus Defense Institute and some of their clients.  This year's conference is in La Jolla, California, April 19-22, 2012.  If any readers are going to attend, then I hope to meet you.  I am going to be speaking with some other lawyers about the law of non-contractual indemnification in products liability cases.  My piece of this presentation is going to focus on what a manufacturer or distributor should consider in either bringing a claim for indemnification or accepting a tender of defense.  With two conferences in back-to-back  weeks in April, it is going to be a busy month!

I am submitting an article on products liability for publication in the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys Association's ("SCDTAA") publication, The Defense Line.  My deadline for my submission is May 15, 2012.  I still have not settled on a topic, but I have some ideas.  I may summarize some of the law from my holiday food series in article format.  Or, I have recently been dealing with some products liability indemnification issues, and issues relating to proof of defect through circumstantial evidence.  Any of these topics would make a good article, but if anyone has any suggestions please let me know!  I am always looking for good article or blog topics.

In June, I am helping my firm put together a CLE for the South Carolina Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel.  We are doing a three-hour seminar on business, social media, and litigation risk management.  The first hour is going to focus on business risk management and include a presentation on insurance issues, document retention policies, and other risk management issues.  The second hour is going to focus more on employment law and management of the risks associated with use of social media.  The last hour is going to be a panel discussion of risk management in litigation, including various perspectives from in-house counsel.  If you are a member of the South Carolina ACC Chapter and want to be involved, let me know!  I am looking for folks to incorporate into the program if one of these topics is in your area of practice.

Looking further into the year, I am working with the SCDTAA on some programming ideas for the Products Liability Substantive Law Committee, which I Co-Chair.  Be on the look out for more information on that, as it is still in the planning stages.  We are considering a program in August that will provide a CLE devoted to products liability for SCDTAA members.  We will also be doing a breakout session at one of the two SCDTAA meetings (either the summer meeting or the annual meeting). 

On October 11, 2012, I am doing a teleconference from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (ET) entitled "South Carolina Update: Product Liability" as part of the National Business Institute's CLE series.  This particular teleconference/webinar will include an update about any new case law, statutory/regulatory changes, trends and developments in South Carolina products liability law.

Finally, the Primerus Annual Conference is November 1-4, 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona.  I am tentatively planning to go (bearing in mind it is only February, and anything can happen between now and then when you practice law).

If any readers will be at any of the above events, or if you have an interest in any written materials I may generate for them, let me know.

And in between all of the above?  Working with great clients in my law practice and juggling life and family.  Sometimes it can be tough, but it is a great "problem" to have!  I hope your 2012 is shaping up to be a good one.