WELCOME RECEPTION  | 4:30 - 6:00 PM ET

Whether you're a GCI first-timer or a seasoned veteran, the Welcome Reception is the perfect opportunity to meet with NAWL's Board of Directors and the GCI Host Committee, and mingle with your fellow attendees. Don't miss out on this chance to make new connections and have a blast!

OPTIONAL MORNING WALK OR RUN | 7:00 AM ET

Get moving to start your day with a walk or run nearby the Conrad. The 0.7 mile route takes you by the One World Trade Center and back to the Conrad. Wear your NAWL shirt or purple, and we'll meet you in the Conrad lobby at 7 AM sharp to get going.

BREAKFAST RECEPTION | 8:00 - 9:00 AM ET

Get your day started off right with a delicious breakfast before diving into a full day of GCI programs. Don't forget to fuel up before you take on the day!

OPENING PLENARY  | 9:00 - 10:00 AM ET

Is It Better In-House?

Over the past 15 years, NAWL has surveyed AmLaw 200 law firms to collect data on the promotion and retention of women lawyers. This year, we switched gears and asked in-house attorneys to share their experiences and help us understand in-house efforts to advance DEI and promote systemic change in the legal profession. Join this interactive session to unpack the new NAWL research and help us answer the question “Is it better in-house?”

• Karen Richardson, Executive Director, NAWL
• Destiny Peery, Researcher, NAWL

BREAK |  10:00 - 10:15 AM ET

PLENARY   |  10:15 AM - 11:15 AM ET

General Counsel Fireside Chat

Join us for an engaging conversation with Johnson & Johnson’s GC, Liz Forminard. We’ll discuss a range of topics from her path to becoming General Counsel and emerging issues she’s seeing in her role to Liz’s passion for wellness and mental health for lawyers. And get your questions ready for the audience Q&A.

• Liz Forminard, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Johnson & Johnson
• Moderator: Nikki Adame-Winningham, Climate & Sustainability Lead Counsel, Pfizer

NETWORKING BREAK  |  11:15 AM - 11:45 AM ET

CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS  |  11:45 - 12:45 PM ET

Privacy Laws & AdTech:  Understanding Compliance Obligations and Litigation Risk 

New privacy laws have greatly impacted various website advertising technologies such as third party advertising cookies, and created compliance gaps for many organizations. At the same time,  plaintiffs’ counsel have found creative ways to use old laws, such as the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), unfair competition laws, and common law claims for invasion of privacy, to assert wiretapping and privacy claims in relation to pixels, AdTech, session replay software, videos, and chatbots. 2023 brought another new wave of AdTech class action lawsuits, this time relating to the Meta Pixel tracking tool.  With all the new privacy laws and the various class action theories being asserted in relation to AdTech, it is now essential that marketing, legal and the website development team coordinate an organization’s digital marketing strategy to prevent against future lawsuits. In this session, we will; 

• Provide an overview of an organization’s compliance obligations under U.S. consumer privacy laws, in comparison to obligations under the EU General Data Protection Regulation and ePrivacy Directive

• Discuss the basis of the adtech class actions being brought in 2023, and suits to anticipate in 2024

• Review real-life scenarios concerning the deployment of adtech, and the specific compliance issues that should be addressed, and how to discuss them with your marketing teams

• Provide guidance on what organizations can do to prevent against being named as a defendant in future Adtech class actions 

• Rebekah S. Guyon,  Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
• Gretchen A. Ramos, Global Co-Chair of the Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Practice, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

       Sponsored by Greenberg Traurig, LLP

2024 and Beyond:  Getting Your Privacy and Information Security House(s) in Order – An interactive discussion about law and governance

States are passing omnibus and issue-specific privacy laws/information security requirements at a rapid pace, posing compliance challenges for organizations across industry sectors. Coupled with the myriad laws, purported class action due to privacy related issues (whether collection use of biometrics, marketing, use/collection of data) are steadily increasing. The FTC and the states also are actively enforcing privacy matters. We seek to have an interactive discussion to address how companies are approaching the challenges of complying with data protection laws and managing information security governance. To lend to a more-tailored and interactive discussion, we encourage participants to answer the survey questions before/at the beginning of the session, which will assist in guiding the direction of our discussion. During the session, we will:  

• Provide a brief overview of recent U.S. federal and state privacy/information security laws, including the so-called Delete Act and new SEC cyber disclosure requirements.

• Engage in a discussion about approaches to privacy governance, including perspectives from in-house counsel. We encourage your participation! We will set aside time for short table discussions for participants to exchange ideas about what has worked/not worked for their company with regard to privacy governance, in particular. We will invite a table representative to share best practices and/or best disasters with the group so that we all can learn from one another

• Lastly, as a lead-in to the afternoon session, we briefly will discuss the role of AI in the privacy space. 

• Jennifer Kashatus, Partner, DLA Piper US LLP
• Kate Lucente, Partner, DLA Piper US LLP
• Elizabeth Treanor Oesterle, Senior Vice President Government Affairs, Experian

LUNCH PLENARY  |  12:45 - 3:00 PM ET

Dr. Arin N. Reeves, discusses her new book, In Charge, which offers women a path to a successful and meaningful life, by helping women eliminate energy drains, manage what needs to be done, and bring more of what makes them happy into their lives.

Arin will demonstrates tools and techniques you can use to better manage your energy all day, every day, to accomplish all you need to do and regain a sense of control.

• Dr. Arin N. Reeves, Author, In Charge

CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS  |  3:00 - 4:00 PM ET

Civil Rights and Racial Equity Assessments and the New Landscape for DEI

This workshop will cover:

*What is a racial equity or civil rights audit or assessment

*Evolution of racial equity audits and considerations for in-house counsel in responding to shareholder proposals, conducting equity audits, and implementing change

*Current developments and how to assess impacts on the corporate DEI landscape following the Supreme Court's recent Harvard/UNC decision

• Lindsay Burke, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
• Regan Herald, Associate General Counsel, Labor and Employment, Verizon
• Nancy Kestenbaum, Partner, Covington & Burling LLP
• Carolyn Rashby, Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP

       Sponsored by Covington & Burling LLP

Generative AI: Overview of Legal and Practical IP Considerations

Cooley partners DeAnna Allen, Bethany Lobo, and Tracy Rubin will lead a session on generative artificial intelligence legal considerations. The session will start with a panel presentation discussing the different directions from which companies are approaching generative AI and the key concerns and strategies associated with each. Next, DeAnna, Bethany, and Tracy will facilitate an interactive discussion with attendees focused on case studies of some of the more challenging and complex issues companies face, when using and developing generative AI tools.

• DeAnna Allen, Partner, Cooley LLP
• Bethany Lobo, Partner, Cooley LLP
• Tracy Rubin, Partner, Cooley LLP

       Sponsored by Cooley LLP

BREAK |  4:00 - 4:15 PM ET

PLENARY  | 4:15 - 5:15 PM ET

Barbie - Her Journey from Doll to Feminist Icon

Join us as we explore Barbie’s evolution from toy to movie star with attorneys from Mattel who have the inside scoop on all-things-Barbie.  We’ll discuss Barbie’s history and some of the licensing deals that grew out of the blockbuster movie. We’ll also explore the spotlight that the Barbie movie has shone on the impossible standards to which women have been held.  We’ll focus our discussion on the tightrope that women have had to walk in the legal profession, the progress we’ve made, and what more needs to be done.  

• Ann Schofield Baker, Co-Chair of NAWL's Fashion Law Affinity Group, Professor, New York Law School
• Debbie Epstein Henry, Founder, DEH Consulting, Speaking, Writing
• Daria Licausi, Senior Counsel, Legal and Business Affairs, Mattel, Inc.
• Maggie Snow, Senior Director, Associate General Counsel, Mattel, Inc.

NETWORKING  | 5:15 - 7:30 PM ET

Every Night is Girls Night Reception

Get ready to party like Barbie® The Movie! We're throwing a reception that's all about the blockbuster film, so dress up in your best Barbiecore fashion and join us for a cocktail/mocktail class and some delicious pink-hued bites.

BREAKFAST RECEPTION |  9:00 - 10:00 AM ET

Mingle over breakfast on the final day of GCI.

OPENING PLENARY  | 10:00 - 11:15 AM ET

From Clippy to Copilot: Microsoft’s AI Journey 

In the nearly 30 years since Microsoft unleashed Clippy on unsuspecting Word users, Microsoft has developed a number of more advanced (and infinitely more useful) AI products for its customers. In doing so, Microsoft took an industry leading role in developing a sophisticated Responsible AI framework, worked with regulators to promote national and global standards, and provided resources and guidance for its products, its own customers, and the public at large as AI tools become more and more ubiquitous. Join Microsoft’s experts to discuss Microsoft's own AI journey and the ethical, regulatory, and practical concerns that corporate law departments are facing as companies across all industries look to adopt AI tools to transform their businesses.

• Jill Ballo, Associate General Counsel, Cloud and AI, Microsoft 
• Sarah Bird, Responsible AI Engineering Lead, Microsoft
• Moderator: Shanelle Henry, Senior Corporate Counsel, Customer and Partner Solutions, Microsoft
• Cass Matthews, Assistant General Counsel, Office for Responsible AI, Microsoft 

     Sponsored by Microsoft

BREAK |  11:15 - 11:30 AM ET

CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS  |  11:30 - 12:30 PM ET

Bringing the Workforce Together: Best Practices for Fostering a Collaborative Workplace

From mediating conflict and addressing dissent to investigating complaints, join this expert panel to discuss timely employment law topics.

• Jessica Boar, Associate General Counsel, KPMG
• Lisa C. Hamasaki, Office Managing Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins

       Sponsored by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Uniting Changemakers for Collective Change

Positions of power and privilege, both in and outside of the workplace, offer opportunities to channel our influence for collective change.

In this panel, “Uniting Changemakers for Collective Change,” we will discuss the ways in which we can leverage our positions to effectuate change, hearing from Partner, In-House Counsel, and Chief Diversity Officer perspectives.

Together, we will delve into the importance of intentionality, explore strategies for optimizing our personal agency, and uncover ways to cultivate a future rooted in equity, inclusivity, and justice. 

• Mehtap Cevher Conti, Partner, Hogan Lovells LLP
• Rosevelie Márquez Morales, Chief Diversity Officer-Americas, Hogan Lovells LLP
• Teri Peeples, Senior Director of Litigation, Stryker

       Sponsored by Hogan Lovells LLP

LUNCH CLOSING PLENARY  |  12:30 - 2:15 PM ET

When Worlds Collide: The Challenges of Providing Legal Advice in Uncertain and Controversial Times

The fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case provides the most recent example of GCs being faced with having to provide advice in the face of legal uncertainty combined with flash point political and social discord. Dealing with these issues requires not only an evaluation of legal risk, but also a keen appreciation of how the action plan following that advice may impact their company’s culture and brand.  Join us for a discussion about navigating these challenges in “real time”.  

• Alyssa Allen, Senior Director, Labor & Employment Uber
• Lynne Anne Anderson, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
• Scott Chinn, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
• Romy Horn, General Counsel, Real Chemistry
• Gelvina Stevenson, Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Government Relations, The Wistar Institute

       Sponsored by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

CLOSING RECEPTION  | 2:15 - 4:00 PM ET

Let's come together celebrate the 2023 General Counsel Institute! You won't want to miss the chance to mingle with our incredible speakers and fellow attendees who have made this conference so special. See you there!