Schedule
Silent Auction
2008 Sponsors
LexisNexis
GOLD SPONSORS
Bradley, Arant, Rose & White, LLP
North Alabama Chapter, FBA
Watson, Jimmerson, Martin, McKinney, Helms & Artrip, P.C.
Whatley Drake & Kallas
SILVER SPONSORS
Alabama Education Association
Boeing
Raytheon
Shearer and Associates
BRONZE SPONSORS
Alabama Association for Justice
Digital Fusion
L3 Communications
Maynard, Cooper & Gale
Teledyne Brown Engineering
White, Arnold & Dowd
Wilmer & Lee, P.A.
FRIENDS OF THE FBA
Norman Bradley
William Burgess
Juanita Sales Lee
James S. Richardson Sr.
Wednesday, September 17
3–5 p.m. Registration Desk Open
Thursday, September 18
7 a.m.–5 p.m. Registration Desk Open
8 a.m.–5 p.m. Exhibits Open
8:30–9:45 a.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Opening Plenary—The Long Journey of a Country Lawyer: 1949-2008
Presented by Bobby Lee Cook, this speech will cover the continuing struggle of a free people to obtain their Constitutional rights and the hard-fought battles in the past, all of which was necessary to enshrine these rights.
8:45 a.m.–noon Government Acquisition Track
Procurement Forecast for Missile Defense Agency
Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, Missile Defense Agency
An overview of the Missile Defense Agency, the mission of the agency, and a procurement forecast for the near, mid, and long-term future.
Legal Issues Concerning Space Travel to the Moon and Mars
Michael Wholley, General Counsel, NASA; Sumara Thompson-King, Office of General Counsel, NASA
An overview and specific analysis of legal issues involved in NASA’s mission to return to the Moon and travel on to Mars.
Buy America Trade Agreement and The Berry Amendment
David T. Ralston, Foley & Lardner LLP
A general overview and specific legal analysis of the latest updates in the Buy America Trade Agreement and the Berry Amendment practice area.
9:45–10:45 a.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Professionalism and Bench/Bar Relations
Hon. Sharon Lovelace Blackburn, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama; Hon. Gustavo A. Gelpi, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico; Hon. Callie V.S. Granade, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama
Three federal district judges will discuss important issues regarding professionalism of counsel and bench/bar relations. The panel will relate their experiences, highlighting instances of attorney conduct that merit praise and raise concern from a judicial perspective. The panelists will discuss how professionalism of counsel can improve bench/bar relations. Significant time will be allotted for audience questions and discussion.
10:45–11 a.m. Break
11 a.m.–noon Civil/Criminal Track
Class Action Litigation and Recent Developments in Federal Contracting Litigation
Joe Whatley, Whatley, Drake & Kallas; Edith Kallas, Whatley, Drake & Kallas; Michael Pennington, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP; Rebekah McKinney, Watson, Jimmerson, et al.; J. Mark White, White, Arnold & Dowd P.C. (Moderator)
This panel will explore the latest in federal class action issues and trends. The panel will draw from the experiences of the federal judiciary and from litigators representing class action plaintiffs and defendants. Issues to be discussed include the role of electronic discovery in class action litigation, whether litigating multiple states’ laws should impact class certification, and the unique removal considerations and evolving law surrounding the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.
12:15–1:45 p.m. Foundation of the FBA Fellows Luncheon
The Foundation of the Federal Bar Association will induct its 2008 fellows.
2 p.m.–4 p.m. Foundation of the FBA Board Meeting
2–5:30 p.m. Government Acquisition Track
Overview of the NASA Acquisition Integrity Program
Saundra Nugent, Acquisition Integrity Program, NASA
An overview of the NASA Acquisition Integrity Program, why the program was created, and the legal issues surrounding the creation, growth, and management of the program.
What’s New in Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements
Stacia Le Blanc, Feldsman, Tucker, Leifer & Fidell LLP
An overview and specific analysis of new developments within the area of Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements administration.
Understanding Contingent Worker Issues
Donald A. King, Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, NASA
Addresses the contingent worker legal theory and techniques for how to best handle contingent workers from a government managers perspective.
2–3 p.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Everything Old is New Again: A Brief Analysis of Trends in Wage-Hour Law and Restrictive
Covenants
John A. Wilmer, Wilmer & Lee P.A.; Richard J.R. Raleigh Jr., Wilmer & Lee P.A.
This session will cover the basics of the law concerning covenants not-to-compete. As a basic proposition, these covenants are disfavored as a matter of law. However, in most states such agreements will be enforced if they are reasonable under the circumstances. The panel will discuss the standards applicable to non-competition agreements, primarily in the employment setting. While state rules concerning enforceability differ, we will review general issues concerning non-compete agreements.
3–3:15 p.m. Break
3:15–4:15 p.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Appellate Practice in the Electronic Age
Kevin C. Newsom,
Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP; Hon. Janice Rogers Brown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Hon. William Pryor, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Amy Levin Weil, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia (Moderator)
All federal courts, including the circuit courts of appeals, are moving into a totally electronic age. This panel will discuss what the courts of appeals perceive the role of appellate litigants as being in the new world of automation. For example, there is a pilot program in the Southern and Middle Districts of Alabama where the litigants—not the district court—are compiling the paper record for the Eleventh Circuit. Will those volumes become the court of appeals’ “official record,” or will the court rely on what is filed online, since litigants are now electronically filing? Since the official record will contain only what the parties put into it, how much of the record do the circuit judges really want in paper form?
4:30–5:30 p.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Civil False Claims Act (FCA)
Joe Whatley, Whatley, Drake & Kallas
A definitive update from an informed source. A lively discussion of the Civil False Claims Act, its background, procedure, recent Supreme Court decisions and proposed amendments.
6:30–10:30 p.m. Reception at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens featuring Casino Night
Friday, September 19
7 a.m.–5 p.m. Registration Desk Open
8 a.m.–5 p.m. Exhibits Open
8–11:45 a.m. Government Acquisition Track
An Overview of Congressional Earmarks
William N. LaForge, Winstead, Sechrest & Minick P.C.
An overview of the congressional earmarks process and address the latest developments occurring in the practice area of congressional earmarks.
New FAR Requirement to Establish Ethics and Compliance Program for Contractor Companies
Dorn C. McGrath III, Greenberg Taurig LLP; Sean M. Connolly, Greenberg Taurig LLP
A discussion of Federal Acquisition Regulation Part 3.10 (Improper Business Practices and Conflicts of Interest) and of legal issues that have developed as a result of the enactment and implementation of the new requirement.
Patents and Copyrights Panel
Frank M. Caprio, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP; Jack W. Selden, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP; Douglass L. Patin, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP; Joel E. Brown, Bradley, Arant, Rose & White LLP
The panel presentation will address the latest developments in government related intellectual property issues with a focus and emphasis on the areas of organizational conflicts of interests, federal bid protests, and copyright infringement.
8:30–10 a.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Civil Rights and the Supreme Court
Hon. Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee; Hon. Bernice Donald, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee; Hon. Myron Thompson, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama; Professor Bryan Fair, University of Alabama School of Law (Moderator)
This panel will discuss recent ruling of the Supreme Court involving employment, voting, education, disability, criminal, and privacy issues. Significant time will be allotted for audience questions and discussion.
10–10:15 a.m. Break
10:15–11:45 a.m. Civil/Criminal Track
Current Trends in Prison Conditions, Indigent Defense, and Criminal Justice Policy
Sarah Geraghty, Southern Center for Human Rights
Bankruptcy—Recent Developments in Commercial Cases
Kevin Gray, Maynard Cooper & Gale P.C.
Both criminal and civil law will be addressed in this joint session.
Noon–2 p.m. Younger Federal Lawyers Awards Luncheon
Presentation of the Younger Federal Lawyer Awards, which are bestowed upon outstanding
federal attorneys nominated by U.S. agency heads, general counsels, judge advocates general,
administrative judges, and attorneys.
2–5 p.m. Government Acquisition Track
Procurement Fraud Prosecution Update
Alice Martin, U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Alabama
A legal analysis of noteworthy procurement prosecutions of the last year and an update of the latest procurement fraud preventive measures, techniques, and developments.
Legal Issues that Arise in Foreign Military Sales
Craig E. Hodge, Army Materiel Command Office of Command Counsel
An overview of the foreign military sales process and a detailed analysis of the latest legal related developments within the practice area.
The Impact of Small Business Size Protests on the Federal Procurement Process (Speakers to be
announced.)
Ralph C. Thomas, Barton, Baker, McMahon & Tolle LLP (Moderator); Jeffrey P. Hildebrant, Hildebrant & Associates, PLLC
2–4 p.m. Vice Presidents of the Circuits Training
2–4:30 p.m. Younger Lawyers Division Board Meeting
6–9 p.m. Reception at the US Space & Rocket Center
Saturday, September 20
7 a.m.–5 p.m. Registration Desk Open
8:30–9:15 a.m. Vice Presidents of the Circuits Meeting
8:30–11 a.m. Sections and Divisions Meeting
9:30–11 a.m. Chapter Leaders Training Presented by the Vice Presidents of the Circuits
11:45 am–1:45 pm FBA Awards Luncheon
This annual event recognizes the outstanding service and achievements of members, sections, divisions, and chapters. The following awards will be presented: Special Recognition Awards, Section and Division Awards, Vice Presidents for the Circuit Awards, Chapter Activity Awards, and Newsletter Awards.
2–5 p.m. National Council Meeting
6:30–10:30 p.m. Reception and Presidential
Installation Banquet
The banquet marks the formal installation of Juanita Sales Lee as the FBA national president for FY 2009. The banquet will feature the presentation of the Ilene and Michael Shaw Public Service Grants, the President’s Award, the Sarah T. Hughes Civil Rights Award, and the Earl W. Kintner Award. There will be entertainment after the presentation of the awards and presidential installation.