Thursday, October 30 | 1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT
The Depot Minneapolis
225 South Third Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Join Robins Kaplan for our annual Trial Advocacy Seminar, “Protecting the Pillars – Foundation to Future,” where we will explore the essential institutions and values that uphold our justice system. This year’s program brings together legal professionals, public officials, and community leaders to examine the evolving challenges facing our courts, our democracy, and our profession. Together, these sessions reinforce the foundational principles of advocacy while looking ahead to the responsibilities that shape our collective future.
AGENDA
REGISTRATION
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. CT
OPENING REMARKS
1:30 p.m. – 1:40 p.m. CT
Speaker:
Peter A. Schmit
National Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, and Civil Rights Group Chair and Partner
Robins Kaplan LLP
SESSION I // Minnesota Elections, Voting and Election Law Updates: A Conversation With Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon
1:40 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. CT (60 minutes)
Steve Simon, Minnesota's 22nd Secretary of State, discusses the current landscape for Minnesota’s voting and election laws. Secretary Simon oversees elections for nearly four million eligible voters in partnership with local officials, with a strong focus on security, accessibility, and legal integrity. As a former Assistant Attorney General of Minnesota and private practice attorney, Secretary Simon brings a valuable legal perspective to his role. His keynote address will cover election reforms that Minnesota has embraced over the last several years, including no-excuse absentee voting and online voter registration, offering essential insights for attorneys.
Speaker:
Steve Simon
Secretary of State
State of Minnesota
SESSION II // From Isolation to Connection: Mental Health and Substance Use in the Legal Profession
2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. CT
This course addresses the interplay between isolation and loneliness in legal practice and the increased incidence of mental health difficulties that disproportionately affect attorneys. Poor or insufficient social connection is associated with increased risk of anxiety, depression, substance use disorder, and suicide. Numerous traits of lawyers fuel isolation including perfectionism, pessimism, low resilience, secondary trauma, and low sociability. The benefits of connection both professionally and personally are presented with strategies to enhance both workplace and personal connection.
Speaker:
Jon Tynjala
Executive Director
Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers
BREAK
3:45 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. CT
SESSION III // Guardians of Truth: The Role of Media and Law in Defending a Free Press
3:55 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. CT
As attorneys we are sworn to uphold the Constitution, but what happens when constitutional rights are threatened? This panel examines the intersection of media law, civil liberties and state accountability, focusing on legal protections for journalists under the First and Fourth Amendments and the challenges of enforcing those rights in real-time.
Moderator:
Tara Sutton
Partner
Robins Kaplan LLP
Speakers:
Katherine M. Bolger
Partner
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Leita Walker
Partner
Ballard Spahr
Carolyn Cole
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photojournalist
CLOSING REMARKS
4:55 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT
Speaker:
Peter A. Schmit
National Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, and Civil Rights Group Chair and Partner
Robins Kaplan LLP
RECEPTION
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT
CLE ACCREDITATION
Robins Kaplan LLP will seek approval with Mandatory Continuing Legal Education boards for a maximum of 2.0 hours of Standard and 1.0 Mental Health CLE credit in Iowa, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
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