As you may know I have been involved in planning this year's Brain Injury Association Conference at the MGM on April 30 and May 1, 2009. Local defense lawyer Carrie Hanlon will be presenting Strategies for dealing with the plaintiff who has a pre-morbid history of depression, prior concussions or other medical conditions. She will be accompanied by other national defense lawyers for the defense breakout portions of the conference.
There will also be presentations by nationally reknowned lawyers for the plaintiff including Pat Malone and Howard Nations and others.
Patrick Malone, co-author of Rules of the Road, is one of the leading attorneys in the eastern United States who represents victims of serious personal injuries against drug manufacturers, hospitals, and others in the medical industry. He frequently teaches lawyer groups about cutting edge techniques in trial advocacy. His verdict in Benedi v. McNeil PPC remains one of the largest collected judgments against a pharmaceutical company. Malone was an award-winning investigative journalist before attending Yale Law School. Like Rick Friedman, Malone is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
HOWARD NATIONS, J.D. is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization as both a personal injury trial lawyer and a civil trial lawyer. He is board certified on the national level as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocates, and is certified as a Diplomate of Trial Advocacy by the National College of Advocacy. Mr. Nations received his law degree from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor of arts degree from Florida State University. His career has been acknowledged with listings in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in Finance and Industry. During his forty-plus years of trial practice he has tried cases in the areas of product liability, wrongful death, medical malpractice, real estate fraud, insurance bad faith, will contests, breach of contract, child custody, divorce, criminal defense and a variety of personal injury and workers' compensation cases, both from the plaintiffs' and defendants' side of the docket.
If you would like more information about the conference you can log into www.biausa.org. Here is the current schedule for the event.
The Signature at MGM Grand
Las Vegas, NV
WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 2009
3:30pm – 7:00pm Registration open
6:00pm Exhibitor set-up
THURSDAY APRIL 30, 2009
7:00 – 5:00pm Registration open
7:00 – 8:00am Registration and continental breakfast with exhibitors
8:00 – 8:15am Welcome Susan H. Connors
8:15am – 9:15am Brain anatomy David Hovda, PhD
9:15am – 10:45am Keynote Presentation Gregory O’Shanick, MD
10:45am – 11:00am Break
11:00am – 12:00am Plaintiff breakout: Strategies for dealing with the plaintiff who has a pre-morbid history of depression, prior concussions or other medical conditions
Bruce Stern, Esq.
11:00am – 12:00am Defense Breakout: Strategies for dealing with the plaintiff who has a pre-morbid history of depression, prior concussions or other medical conditions Carrie Hanlon, Esq.
12:00noon– 1:00pm Luncheon with exhibitors
1:00pm – 2:00pm Using technology at mediation and trial Frank Branson, Esq.
2:00pm – 3:00pm Legal Ethics: Plaintiff breakout: How to ethically handle liens, set-asides and your client’s funds after the case is resolved
Sylvius von Saucken, Esq.
William Dussault, Esq.
2:00pm – 3:00pm Legal Ethics: Defense breakout: How to ethically handle obtaining plaintiff information, or conflicts between the carrier and defendant in the defense of a brain injury case
Nick McConnell, Esq.
3:00pm – 3:15pm Break
3:15pm – 4:15pm Strategies for motivating the decision maker at mediation or trial of a brain injury case Howard Nations, Esq.
Dwight Murray, Esq.
4:15pm – 6:00pm Reception with exhibitors
FRIDAY MAY 1, 2009
7:30am – 8:30am Continental breakfast with exhibitors
8:30am – 9:30am Strategies for selecting and using your expert witnesses Tommy Malone, Esq.
Nick McConnell, Esq.
9:30am – 10:30am Plaintiffs breakout session: Effective witnesses, evidence and strategies your opponent does not see coming
Chuck Zauzig, Esq.
9:30am – 10:30am Defense breakout session: A guide to effective independent medical examinations Nathan Zasler, MD
10:30am – 10:45am Break
10:45am – 12:00noon Current Trends in Neuroimaging Michael J. Foley, MD
12:00 noon – 1:00pm Lunch with exhibitors
1:00pm – 2:00pm Plaintiff breakout: Theming the brain injury case – Rules of the road Pat Malone, Esq.
1:00pm – 2:00pm Defense Breakout: Theming the brain injury case – Rules of the road Jim Brydges, Esq. and Kevin Sharp, Esq.
2:00pm – 3:00pm Legal Ethics – end of life decisions for severe brain injury Nathan Zasler, MD
William S. Mills, Esq.
3:00pm – 4:00pm Mistakes to avoid in brain injury case mediation and trials Randy Scarlett, Don Nolan, Dwight Murray, Chip Kalbaugh
Presented by:
Brain Injury Association of America, Inc.
For detailed information and to register, click here: www.biausa.org
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The next BIAA State Affiliate educational teleconference is scheduled for Thursday September 18, 2008 at 2:00pm EDT. Laura Schiebelhut, Director of Governmental Affairs, will present "Legislative Advocacy: Tips, Tools and Talking Points." 
