Agenda / Content Covered

1. Negotiating Injury Claims: Secrets and Insider Tips
   9:00 - 9:30, Stephen T. LaBriola
   
   1. Claim Evaluation Secrets
   2. The Trick to Finding Policy Limits and Getting the Reserve Set as High as Possible
   3. Going Beyond the Adjuster's Settlement Authority
   4. Maximizing the Impact of Your Demands
   5. Negotiation Techniques That Work
   6. Strategies Adjusters Use to Reduce Claim Value (and How to Counter Them)
   7. Moving Past Impasse
2. Medicare/Medicaid Secondary Payer Update and Minimizing Liens
   9:30 - 10:30, Briant Mildenhall
   
3. Medical Expert Deposition and Cross-Examination Tactics
   10:45 - 11:15, Philip Lorenz
   
   1. Investigation and Planning Strategies
   2. Questioning Tactics: Controlling the Expert and the Conversation
   3. Key Questions You MUST Ask (and Those to Avoid)
   4. Daubert Challenges and Impeachment Tactics
   5. Techniques for Defending Your Medical Expert
4. Pain and Suffering Damages: Calculating, Negotiating and Litigating
   11:15 - 12:00, James A. Robson
   
   1. Quantifying Pain and Suffering Damages
   2. Strategically Using Doctors and Medical Records
   3. Negotiating Tips and Techniques
   4. Convincing a Jury That Pain and Suffering is Valid - and Substantial
   5. Defense Tactics for Minimizing Pain and Suffering Damages
5. Smartphone and Text Evidence: Getting Yours Admitted (and Keeping Theirs Out)
   1:00 - 1:30, Nathan A. Gaffney
   
   1. Preserving and Dealing with Spoliation
   2. Tips for Requesting From Opposing Parties and Phone Carriers
   3. What to Look for, Where to Find it
   4. Getting Information Off of Smartphones
   5. How to Authenticate, Get Yours Admitted and Keep Theirs Out
   6. Handling Hearsay Issues
6. Insurance Defense Case Evaluation, Strategies and Trial Prep
   1:30 - 2:30, Marc H. Bardack
   
   1. Claim Investigation and Evaluation Secrets
   2. Tactics to Minimize Damages
   3. Discovery, Deposition and Evidence Tactics: Finding and Poking Holes in the Plaintiff's Case
   4. IMEs and Doctors: The Defense Expert Playbook
   5. Trial Prep and Techniques
7. Voir Dire and Jury Selection Techniques in Personal Injury Cases
   2:45 - 3:30, Timothy J. Buckley III
   
   1. Strategically Introducing Case Information
   2. Building Rapport and Establishing Credibility
   3. Questioning Techniques
   4. Effective Voir Dire Questions
   5. Identifying and Eliminating Jurors
8. Ethics in Personal Injury Litigation
   3:30 - 4:30, Timothy J. Buckley III
   
   1. Addressing Potential Conflicts of Interest
   2. Client Confidentiality
   3. Communication with Represented Parties
   4. Managing Client Expectations

MARC H. BARDACK is co-chair of Freeman Mathis & Gary, LLP’s CGL and business liability practice group, is the partner in charge of the firm's national transportation practice team, and leads the firm's 24/7 Emergency Response Team. Mr. Bardack has substantial experience in the area of personal injury, medical malpractice, transportation, and insurance law. He has tried more than 35 cases to jury verdict. He also has argued several notable appellate cases involving standards of liability and damages under Georgia law. Mr. Bardack has been elected to membership in the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invitation-only association of experienced trial lawyers and judges. In the transportation arena, he litigates cases arising from accidents involving personal and commercial vehicles, including trucking and motor coach cases. In the premises liability context, Mr. Bardack defends negligent security, liquor liability, and slip and fall cases. Additionally, he handles all aspects of professional liability, including defense of medical negligence cases involving doctors, nurses and other medical providers. Mr. Bardack also has represented manufacturers in the defense of product liability cases nationwide. He is a graduate of the American University, Washington College of Law, where he served on The American University Journal of International Law and Policy. Mr. Bardack earned his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College.

TIMOTHY J. BUCKLEY III is managing partner with the firm Buckley Christopher, P.C., where he has practiced for more than 25 years. He has handled several complex arbitrations in federal and state systems. Mr. Buckley has served as a special assistant attorney general for the state of Georgia and as an adjunct professor at the Emory University School of Law for more than 20 years. He has been named a Super Lawyer and designated as among the Top Georgia Lawyers for 10 years running. Mr. Buckley has served on the Board of the Litigation Section of the Atlanta Bar Association and as a committee chair for the American Bar Association's General Practice Section. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Notre Dame and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law.

NATHAN A. GAFFNEY is an attorney with the law firm of Fried Rogers Goldberg LLC. Mr. Gaffney joined the firm after practicing for several years as a defense attorney specializing in the defense of catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases. He also served as appellate counsel on the national trial team for one of the largest professional liability insurers in the country. Throughout his legal career, Mr. Gaffney has successfully tried a variety of cases from criminal matters to personal injury cases. In 2015, he had the honor of successfully representing the Council of State Court Judges of Georgia before the Supreme Court of Georgia, and was awarded the Guardian of Justice for his efforts. He received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Georgia State University. Mr. Gaffney is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Eleventh Circuit Historical Society and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.

STEPHEN T. LABRIOLA is a partner with the law firm of Fellows LaBriola, LLP in Atlanta. His practice is focused on commercial litigation, where he has represented both local and national clients in contract disputes, tortious interference with business and contractual relations actions, and a variety of other business related torts. Mr. LaBriola has been a frequent speaker/lecturer before business, professional and educational groups on such topics as direct and cross-examination, civil procedure, voir dire, and the rules of evidence. He earned his B.A. degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Colorado and his J.D. degree from NYU School of Law. Mr. LaBriola is the immediate past chair of the Litigation Section of the Atlanta Bar Association. He is a master with and a past president of the Lamar Inn of Court, a group of experienced trial attorneys and judges who present continuing legal education seminars and workshops in conjunction with Emory University School of Law.

PHILIP LORENZ is a trial attorney/litigation partner with the plaintiff firm of Morrison & Hughes in Marietta. Mr. Lorenz's practice areas include catastrophic personal injuries and wrongful death claims, automobile and trucking crashes, premises liability such as slip & falls and negligent security, DRAM Shop liability, animal attacks and aviation law. He is also a registered civil mediator. Mr. Lorenz graduated with a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in Political Science from Old Dominion University and earned his law degree from Emory University School of Law where he was the 2000 Georgia Civil Justice Foundation Scholar and the Spring 2000 Intern to the Hon. J.D. Smith at the Georgia Court of Appeals. He has been AV-Rated since 2013, and included in ALM’s Top Personal Injury Lawyers since 2015. Mr. Lorenz is admitted in all state and appellate court in Georgia as well as the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia.

BRIANT MILDENHALL joined Katz Wright Fleming Dodson & Mildenhall, LLC, in 2009. He focuses his practice in personal injury civil litigation involving trucking, automobile, aviation, and premises liability accidents. Mr. Mildenhall was admitted to practice law in Georgia in 2007. Prior to joining his present firm, he worked for a defense firm in Atlanta. Mr. Mildenhall earned his undergraduate degree in Russian and foreign literature from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He earned his J.D. degree from the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Mr. Mildenhall is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the Atlanta Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society.

JAMES A. ROBSON is a cofounding partner with Glass & Robson, LLC. He is a skilled trial lawyer who handles only serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. Mr. Robson has tried numerous cases to verdict and worked tirelessly to recover millions of dollars for his clients. He handles a wide variety of cases throughout the state of Georgia, including automobile wrecks, trucking/tractor-trailer wrecks, motorcycle wrecks, bicycle wrecks, premises liability, slip/trip and falls, negligent security, apartment shootings/assaults, defective/dangerous products, wrongful death, spinal cord injuries and brain injuries. Mr. Robson was named to the Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Stars list every year since 2012. He is admitted to practice in Georgia; all state and superior courts of Georgia; the Georgia Court of Appeals; the Supreme Court of Georgia; the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia; the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia; the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals; and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Robson is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Association for Justice. He earned his A.B. degrees, magna cum laude, from the University of Georgia - Athens, Georgia. Mr. Robson also earned his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Mercer University - Walter F. George School of Law, Macon, Georgia.