Program & Schedule
Expert panels on media law, disinformation, First Amendment, and more.
Thursday, April 30 — Speaker’s Social Event
Speaker’s Social Event
AXIS Insurance offices – 4622 Pennsylvania Ave., Ste. 1200, Kansas City, Missouri Please join us at the AXIS Insurance offices overlooking the Country Club Plaza for drinks and hors d’oeuvres. All seminar panelists and attendees are invited to join.
Friday, May 1 — Full Day
Welcome & Overview of Topics
Media and the Law Committee Co-Chairs Pat Groshong, AVP, Cyber Claims Director, Berkley Cyber Risk Solutions Eric Weslander, Partner, Stevens & Brand LLP, Lawrence, KS
Panel 1 - Just For Kicks: Navigating the Rules and Risks of Marquee Event Intellectual Property Use and Emerging Trends in Digital Advertising and Marketing
As brands increasingly seek cultural relevance by referencing major sporting events like soccer’s hugely popular FIFA World Cup, award shows, music festivals, and other high-profile entertainment spectacles, they confront a complex landscape of trademark and copyright issues including implied endorsement/sponsorship, licensing restrictions for music, broadcast footage and event marks and the limits of fair use. Emerging trends in event advertising/marketing raise other legal questions about the ownership of AI-assisted works, synthetic endorsements and deepfakes, FTC endorsement compliance, platform terms of service constraints and internal governance models designed to harness new technology and mitigate risk. Moderator: Natalie Harris, Partner, Baron Harris Healey, Chicago, IL Panelists: Lynn Carrillo, Director of Commercial Legal, FIFA, Coral Gables, FL Michael Lambert, Associate, Haynes Boone, Austin, TX
Panel 1 Q&A
Panel 2 - A Class Act: Nuts and bolts of prosecuting and defending privacy-related class actions— including practice tips on the key procedural phases, common pitfalls, and statutory parameters
Moderator: Kellie Bubeck, Partner, Bubeck Law LLC, Overland Park, KS Panelists: Krysta Kauble Pachman, Partner, Susman Godfrey LLP, Los Angeles, CA Rachel Beck, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Washington, D.C Evan North, Partner, North Law PLLC, Philadelphia, PA
Panel 2 Q&A
Panel 3 – Full-court Press: How are news organizations weathering the storms of a second Trump administration that has declared them the “enemy of the people?”
Moderator: David Korzenik, Partner, Miller Korzenik Rayman LLP, New York, NY Panelists: Rachel E. Fugate, Shullman Fugate, Tampa, FL Eriq Gardner, Puck, New York, NY Matthew L. Schafer, Jassy Vick Carolan, New York Eriq Gardner, Founding Partner and National Correspondent, Puck
Panel 3 Q&A
Luncheon Address
Luncheon speaker Rick Goldsmith has been producing and directing documentary films since 1981. His mission as a filmmaker is to tell stories that encourage social engagement and active participation in community life and the democratic process, and to stimulate young minds to question the world around them. Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink (2023) is the third in a trilogy of films with journalism themes, following Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press (1996) and The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009) (co-produced/co-directed with Judith Ehrlich) — both nominated for Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature. Most Dangerous Man also won a Peabody Award. In 2023, Goldsmith received a Maysles Bros. Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis International Film Festival, The Rose F. and Charles L. Klotzer First Amendment Award for Free Speech in the Service of Democracy from the Gateway Journalism Review and the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) award for Documentary Film.
Panel 4 – Local Journalism at the Front Lines: perils, protections, and strategies for journalists facing attempts to restrict or criminalize their activities in times of social unrest.
Moderator: Eric Weslander, Partner, Steven & Brand LLP, Lawrence, KS Panelists: Jane Kirtley, Director, Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN Leita Walker, Partner, Ballard Spahr LLP, Minneapolis, MN Leslie Briggs, Staff attorney, Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press “Local Legal Initiative,” Tulsa, OK
Panel 4 Q&A
Panel 5 - Insurance is the Best Policy: From obtaining a policy to handling of claims, what everyone should know about media insurance coverage.
Moderator: Steve Mandell, Mandell Menkes LLC, Chicago, IL Panelists: Suzie Gulley, AVP, Underwriting, QBE North America Emily Caron, Esq., Media Liability Claims, Axis Insurance, Kansas City, MO Phil Cheney, JD, AVP, Account Executive, Founders Series Cyber & Technology Practice Lockton Companies, LLC, Kansas City, MO
Panel 5 Q&A
Panel 6 - The Ethics of Culture-War Litigation ETHICS 1.0 hour
Hot-button ‘culture war’ issues are often battled out in the court system, and the outcomes can dramatically shape Americans’ constitutional rights and civil liberties. This panel will explore the wide range of ethical issues faced by attorneys litigating these high-stakes cases. Moderator: Prof. Alan Chen, University of Denver Sturm College of Law Panelists: J. T. Morris, Supervising Senior Attorney, Foundation for Individual Rights & Expression (FIRE)