ACC MN Manufacturing Summit

Join ACC Minnesota and Maslon LLP on Thursday, November 14, 2024, for our inaugural Manufacturing Summit. 

Held at The Club at Golden Valley, this half-day seminar will provide in-house counsel from Minnesota’s manufacturing community with practical tips for minimizing product liability risk and maximizing insurance recovery. Panelists will include seasoned litigators from Maslon and experienced in-house counsel from leading Minnesota-based manufacturers. ACC Minnesota will seek approval with the Minnesota State Board of Continuing Legal Education for 2.0 hours of standard CLE credit.

Session 1 | Questions Every Manufacturer Should Ask to Minimize Future Product Liability Risk
From a new product prototype to responding to customer feedback, a manufacturer’s decisions—and how those decisions are documented—over the course of the product’s life cycle will come under intense scrutiny in defending a product liability claim. The ability to demonstrate that safety, quality, and the customer were the manufacturer’s top priorities is critical to that defense, whether the claims are premised on allegations of a design, manufacturing, or warning defect. All phases of the product life cycle provide opportunities to demonstrate these priorities—and all phases of the product life cycle simultaneously open the door to potential liabilities. 

Moderator: Katie Maechler, Partner, Maslon

Panelists:

- Erin McCann, Senior Director, Legal - Litigation, Polaris

- Tom Evenson, Senior Attorney, Daikin Applied

- Pete Goss, Associate General Counsel, Litigation, Pentair

Session 2 | Insurance Coverage 101
This presentation will draw on real-life scenarios in which strategic decision-making had bottom-line ramifications on the insured's recovery.

Topics will include
1) the various claims that manufacturers are likely to face, how best to tender them to insurance, and what steps to take if coverage is denied;
2) insurance coverage as a means of affirmative recovery, from recouping legal costs to transforming your legal function into a profit center; and
3) best practices for managing insurance coverage litigation, including pre-claim preparation, damages analysis, pursuing discovery from insurers, expert work, motion practice, trial preparation, settlement, and understanding the insurance company adversary and the insurer's counsel. 

Moderator: Bryan Freeman, Partner, Maslon

Panelists:

- Bryan Welp, Assistant General Counsel, Apogee

- Mariah Jacobsen, General Counsel, Northern Tool & Equipment

- Margo Brownell, Partner, Maslon

- Ray Engler, Sr. Risk Manager, Best Buy

AGENDA

1:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Registration

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Panel 1: Questions Every Manufacturer Should Ask to Minimize Future Product Liability Risk

2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Break

2:45 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Panel 2: Insurance Coverage 101

3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Happy Hour+

Admission is free and open to ACC members and to in-house counsel first-time guests. 2.0 Standard CLE credits are pending in Minnesota.

Thanks to Diamond sponsor, Maslon LLP!