Time

Event

7:30am-8:30am

Registration Opens/Continental Breakfast

8:45am-9:00am

OPENING OF CONFERENCE

Color Guard Presentation

Moment of Silence in Remembrance of the Victims of the 9/11 Attacks 25 Years Ago

Pledge of Allegiance

Welcome Address

   Hon. Wendy B. Vitter, Chief U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

   Hon. Jane Triche Milazzo, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

   Hon. Karen Wells Roby, U.S. Magistrate Judge, USDC-EDLA

9:00am-10:00am

U.S. SUPREME COURT UPDATE

Benjamin Aguiñaga, Solicitor General of Louisiana

Luke McCloud, Williams & Connolly LLP

10:00am-10:15am

RULES CHANGES

Hon. Sarah S. Vance, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

10:15am-10:30am

BREAK

10:30am-11:30am

ETHICS

Hon. Barry W. Ashe, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Eva J. Dossier, U.S. Magistrate Judge, USDC-EDLA

11:30am-12:30pm

DEEP FAKES IN LITIGATION

Hon. Xavier Rodriguez, U.S. District Judge, USDC-WDTX

Philip Favro, Favro Law PLLC

Maura Grossman, Maura Grossman Law

12:30pm-1:45pm

LUNCH

Jim Mustian, Associated Press

Faimon Roberts, Loyola University New Orleans

1:45pm-2:00pm

BREAK

2:00pm-3:00pm

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

CRIMINAL LAW

The panelists will share real-world insights on the practice of criminal law in the Eastern District of Louisiana, offering perspectives on plea bargaining, sentencing, and emerging trends in our district.

Hon. Lance M. Africk, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Brandon S. Long, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. David I. Courcelle, U.S. Attorney, EDLA

Claude J. Kelly, Chief Federal Public Defender, EDLA

EFFECTIVE WRITTEN ADVOCACY (AI)

As philosophers have noted, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Who is the beholder of your legal writing?  Most often, your trial judge. Attorneys Thomas Flanagan and Nicolas Caluda will lead a lively and informal discussion with Judge William Crain and Judge Susie Morgan about their personal philosophies and preferences in legal writing. Thomas and Nico also will offer their own expert advice regarding skills and techniques to persuade your “beholder”—the trial judge.

Hon. Susie Morgan, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. William J. Crain, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Nicholas J. Caluda, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP

Thomas M. Flanagan, Flanagan Partners LLP

BANKRUPTCY

Hon. Meredith S. Grabill, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, USBC-EDLA

PREPARATION AND EXPECTATIONS FOR SETTLEMENT V. PRIVATE MEDIATIONS

This panel, comprised of two USMJs and two private mediators, will discuss the differences in how settlement conferences are conducted with judges versus how private mediations are conducted and how practitioners can best prepare for each type of proceeding.    

Hon. Michael B. North, U.S. Magistrate Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Donna Phillips Currault, U.S. Magistrate Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Franz Zibilich, Ret. Judge, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court

Alysson Mills, Alysson Mills LLC

3:00pm-3:15pm

BREAK (refreshments served)

3:15pm-4:15pm

BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Courts and the Community

From pro bono work and access-to-justice initiatives to community outreach, lawyers and judges are driving meaningful change in our society. These services elevate individuals and organizations, improve our systems and even our country, while also benefitting the attorneys themselves. What uniquely equips legal professionals to make a lasting difference? How does civic engagement build the public’s trust in our courts? Join us to hear thoughtful insights and practical advice from a panel hand-picked for their exceptional contributions to both legal and non-legal service programs. 

Hon. Jay C. Zainey, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Nannette Jolivette Brown, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Janis van Meerveld, U.S. Magistrate Judge, USDC-EDLA

Haley Jupiter, Sternberg, Naccari, and White

EXPERTS

Hon. Jane Triche Milazzo, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Darrel James Papillion, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Kerry Miller, Miller, Thibodeaux, Dysart, Veith & Paschal LLC

Paige Sensenbrenner, Adams & Reese L.L.P.

E-DISCOVERY IN LITIGATION: EXTRACTING CELLULAR PHONE DATA

This session works through three mobile-device fact patterns of the kind federal practitioners actually see: a worksite fatality in which each side wants entry into the other's phone, a group of departing employees whose WhatsApp threads were set to disappear, and a single plaintiff resisting forensic examination of her handheld device. At each turn the panel works through recent authority on access and proportionality, Rule 37(e) sanctions, inspection protocols, who must be qualified to sponsor an extraction at trial, and the collection representations that have drawn sanctions, while an expert forensic examiner will explain what mobile extraction can and cannot recover, including why decisions made in the first hour after a device is collected often decide the case.

Hon. Karen Wells Roby, U.S. Magistrate Judge, USDC-EDLA

Andrew R. Lee, Jones Walker LLP

Chris Gastardi, LCG Discovery Experts 

EFFECTIVE ORAL ADVOCACY

“LET’S GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT --- Oral Argument (the good, the bad, and the ugly)!”

Hon. Wendy B. Vitter, Chief U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Carl J. Barbier, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Kim M. Boyle, Phelps Dunbar LLP

William Most, Most & Associates

4:15pm-5:15pm

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE BENCH/PROFESSIONALISM

Hon. Wendy B. Vitter, Chief U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Darrel James Papillion, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Brandon S. Long, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. William J. Crain, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA

Hon. Anna St. John, U.S. District Judge, USDC-EDLA