DBA SPECIAL EVENTS
26th annual
DBA Bench Bar Conference Friday, November 9, 2018
LAWYERS:
The Gatekeepers of Justice, Fairness and Democracy? 2018
marked another successful Bench Bar Conference for the Dayton Bar Association. This year’s Conference boasted well over 150 attendees and some of the most innovative speakers we have enjoyed hosting. The theme of this year’s program was “Lawyers: The Gatekeepers of Justice, Fairness, and Democracy?” Consistent with that theme, our program recruited speakers on wide range of topics, including how a private practitioner can effectuate positive change as well as the state of our immigration system and the lawyer’s role in improving this system. One highlight from this year’s program included Jeff Cohen’s presentation on deal making in Hollywood, the lawyer’s role in this process, and how we as private practitioners can effectuate positive change. For those not familiar with Jeff ’s work, he is a published author and, in a former life, was the child actor who played “Chunk” in the cult Richard Donner/Steven Spielberg film The Goonies. Jeff was certainly entertaining and was a welcome addition to this year’s program. Another highlight was Ellen Freeman’s presentation regarding her immigration practice and, generally, the impact of recent immigration policy and law changes. Ellen, a partner in Porter Wright’s Pittsburg office, is very familiar with the immigration process, having immigrated to the United States herself in the 1990s. Her familiarity, understanding, and mastery of the this topic was nothing short of amazing and our lucky participants were riveted. As in prior years, our conference was greatly assisted by presentations from our local state court and federal judges, with judges filling panels in two different breakout sessions. On behalf of myself, Judge McCollum and the Bench Bar Planning Committee, we would like to extend our thanks to you, the members, for making this year’s program a success.
By Glen R. McMurry Co Chair 2018 Bench Bar Conference Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
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Dayton Bar Briefs December 2018
937.222.7902