Program

  • acam2022

Wednesday, May 4
10:00 am – Noon Board of Directors Meeting
12:30 pm – 7:00 pm Registration
1:30 pm – 5:00 pm Training Program: Special Master 101 (separate registration)
A group of experts will provide basic training on what a special master needs to know. Don’t miss this special additional program offer!
 
Instructors: The Hon. Jeremy Fogel, Executive Director, Berkeley Judicial Institute, and United States District Judge, Director of the Federal Judicial Center (Ret.); United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Ret.)

David M. Tenner, ACAM President

Amy Gernon and Roger Haydock, ACAM Training and Mentorship Committee Chairs

Randi Ilyse Roth, ACAM President-Elect

Deborah Greenspan, ACAM Treasurer

J. Gregory Whitehair, ACAM Annual Meeting Co-Chair

Merril Hirsh, ACAM Executive Director
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Welcome Reception
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Dinner for Board, Speakers, and Sponsors (Invite Only)

Thursday, May 5
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration
8:00 am – 9:00 am Continental Breakfast
9:00 am – 9:15 am President’s Welcome
      David M. Tenner, ACAM President
      Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur P.C.
      Denver, CO
9:15 am – 10:30 am Status of the ABA Committee on Special Masters Outreach
 
Moderators:

Cary Ichter
Ichter Davis, LLC
Atlanta, GA

Merril Hirsh, Executive Director
Academy of Court-Appointed Masters
Washington, D.C.

This program will review the status of the ABA Committee on Special Masters outreach regarding the ABA Guidelines; the law school program involving law schools working with and to assist courts; various state outreach programs (Georgia, Indiana, Florida, and others in the works); work with ABA sections, divisions, and forums.
10:30 am – 10:45 am Sponsor Spotlight: Huntington Bank
10:45 am – 11:00 am Break
11:00 am – 11:45 am The Selection, Care, and Feeding of a Master in an IP Case
 
Moderator: J. Gregory Whitehair
IP Resolution Co | Whitehair ADR
Lakewood, CO
 
Panelist: Gale “Pete” Peterson
Law Offices of Gale R. Peterson, PLLC
San Antonio, TX

This panel will demystify IP and trade secret appointments and share ideas about managing gigabytes of data. We will track the evolution of federal patent claim construction by masters and the specialized appointment orders often required (Rules 53 and 706), followed by thoughts on serving future courts faced with breakthrough technological revolutions, such as AI. We will explore several complex medical device and pharmaceutical cases, then address case management in the highly confidential worlds of software copyright infringement and of trade secret espionage. We then shift to some practical IP for the non-IP master: filing for copyright and trademark protection for your firm’s publications and branding.
11:45 am – 12:15 pm What’s In a Name?
ACAM leadership and the ABA Committee on Special Masters are discussing the implications of the use of the term “master” in our work. It’s time for our members to have a chance to discuss this. Greg Whitehair will present a history of the development and use of the term in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 53 and corresponding state rules.

Then, Greg Whitehair and Randi Ilyse Roth will moderate a member discussion about the use of the term, touching on the racial/slavery connotations of the term, on the fit between the word “master” and what our work actually entails, and on what the mechanism would be to pursue a name change if the weight of opinion were to point in that direction.
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm – 2:30 pm Meeting Ethical Mandates
 
Moderator: Randi Ilyse Roth, ACAM President-Elect
Complex Settlements, P.C. St. Paul, MN
 
Panelists:

Kristen Blankley, Professor of Law
University of Nebraska College of Law
Lincoln, NE

Carolyn Dubay, Executive Director
North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission
Raleigh, NC

Merril Hirsh, Executive Director
Academy of Court-Appointed Masters
Washington, D.C.

Special mastering is a tricky business. We often feel that we’re building the plane while we’re flying it. Our work engages us in lawyering, decision-writing, mediating, and more. We sometimes get asked to do things that just don’t feel right, but we can’t point to exactly why. While we all live by ethical principles, and we’re all trained in lawyers’ professional responsibility, our preparation sometimes fails to give us the answers to the dilemmas we face. What codes or authorities can we consult to find answers? In this session, we will closely examine hypothetical situations that raise potential ethical conflicts for special masters. Our panelists will examine those issues from three perspectives: (1) the lawyers’ perspective (the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility); (2) the ADR perspective (the Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Commercial Disputes and the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators); and, (3) the judges’ perspective (the Model Code of Judicial Conduct). We will also have an update on the progress of the Ethics Subcommittee of the ABA Special Masters’ Committee.
2:30 pm – 2:45 pm Sponsor Spotlight: Epiq
2:45 pm – 3:00 pm Break
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm What Do Judges Want in a Special Master?

Judges from the American Judges Association, the National Judicial College, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges will speak to ACAM’s members about what they expect from special masters. Confirmed participants to date are:

Hon. Shawn Ellen LaGrua, Justice, Georgia Supreme Court

Hon. Hiram E. Puig-Logo, Judge, District of Columbia Superior Court, President, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

Other participants to be announced
4:00 pm – 4:15 pm Sponsor Spotlight: Ankura
4:15 pm – 5:15 pm Panel Discussion of the Multiple Different Roles and Tasks of Special Masters
 
Moderator: Deborah E. Greenspan
Blank Rome LLP
Washington, D.C.
 
Panelists:

Peter Woodin
JAMS Mediator, Arbitrator, Special Master
New York, NY

Michael O’Connor
Vice President, Client Services, Epiq
Washington, D.C.

This panel will discuss the multiple different roles and tasks of Special Masters — including discovery, case management, settlement management, mediation, report and recommendation on substantive legal issues, specialized issues, damages, taking testimony, and making factual findings. This will be organized as a round table—sharing experiences, lessons learned, observations that could be useful to courts and others considering how best to employ the skills and expertise of special masters.
6:00 pm – 9:30 pm Reception and Annual Dinner, New Fellow Induction, and Recognition of New Members

Friday, May 6
8:00 am – 5:00 pm Registration
8:00 am – 9:00 am Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – 9:00 am Examining ACAM’s Future
 
Moderator: Roger S. Haydock
FORUM International
Minneapolis, MN

For the past many months, ACAM has been engaged in a strategic review of the Academy’s operations and mission. In this session, Roger Haydock will report to the membership on the findings and recommendations of the Strategic Review Committee. The recommendations that will be discussed will chart the course for ACAM over the next decade and beyond.
9:00 am – 10:15 am Mass Case Mediation Strategies and Tactics
 
Moderator: Edgar C. Gentle
Gentle, Turner, Sexton & Harbison LLC
Hoover, AL
 
Panelists:

The Hon. U. W. Clemon, United States District Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama (Ret.)

Megan Jones
Hausfeld Firm
San Francisco, CA

Chris Hellums
Pittman Dutton
Birmingham, AL

Dan Laytin
Kirkland and Ellis
Chicago, IL

David Zott
Kirkland and Ellis
Chicago, IL

A special master mediator will review mass case settlement theories and practices with a panel of lawyers on both sides of the V and a judge, with input from the audience, on what works and what doesn’t.
10:15 am – 10:30 am Sponsor Spotlight: X Social Media
10:30 am – 11:00 am Break
11:00 am – 11:30 am ACAM Annual Business Meeting
11:30 am Adjourn
Evening Dine Arounds