Stephen Barth | HospitalityLawyer.com®

Stephen Barth, author of Hospitality Law and coauthor of Restaurant Law Basics, is an attorney, the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com, the annual Hospitality Law Conference series, and the Global Travel Risk Summit Series. As a professor at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, he teaches courses in hospitality law and leadership. He is #3 on Global Guru’s Top 30 Hospitality Thought Leaders & Influencers for 2023. In addition to legal and travel risk mitigation insight, Stephen specializes in communicating the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership roles; and has provided valuable insight to many companies including The Methodist Hospital System, Wyndham Worldwide, Dine Equity, Business Travel News and Aramark. His fun, fast paced presentations provide practical information and solutions to enhance your personal and professional life.

Shane Heskin | Heskin & Proper PLLC

Shane R. Heskin has more than two decades of experience defending insurance companies in bet-the-company litigation and is nationally recognized for his work on predatory lending and usury cases, with over 500 merchant cash advance (MCA) cases nationwide. He has testified before Congress on abusive lending practices and was lead counsel in a landmark Second Circuit decision awarding his client summary judgment on RICO claims.

Before founding Heskin & Proper PLLC, Shane was a Partner at White & Williams LLP, where he spent over a decade representing clients in complex, high-stakes insurance coverage disputes and business litigation. He has more than 25 years of experience litigating cases across California, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Shane has played a leading role in shaping insurance law nationwide. His advocacy has resulted in favorable state appellate precedent on critical issues such as allocation, owned property, expected or intended loss, and judicial estoppel. He has extensive experience in forum battles and choice-of-law disputes, where he has frequently secured dispositive rulings that eliminate years of costly litigation. He is also recognized for his work on environmental coverage disputes, including coal ash and Superfund site claims, and advises businesses on potential environmental liabilities in corporate real estate transactions.

A trial lawyer at heart, Shane has tried cases involving insurance coverage, environmental claims, and general commercial disputes. He is also a leading advocate for small business victims of predatory lending practices, has been widely cited as an authority on predatory collection practices, and has testified before the United States Congress on these issues.

Shane’s appellate experience is extensive. He has argued before New York’s highest court on certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as well as in numerous other appellate courts in New York and beyond.

In addition to his courtroom practice, Shane is a thought leader in insurance law. He authored the chapter on The Allocation of Long-Term Progressive Injuries in General Liability Insurance Coverage – Key Issues in Every State (5th edition), and the chapter on Commercial General Liability Policies in the Massachusetts Liability Insurance Manual (Second Edition, MCLE New England 2011).

Shane began his career in New York, practicing at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP. He is a graduate of Albany Law School, where he served as an associate editor of the Albany Law Review. In college, he was named an Academic All-American in football, reflecting the same drive and competitive spirit he brings to the courtroom.

Justin Proper | Heskin & Proper PLLC

Justin Proper is a nationally recognized franchise lawyer and commercial litigator.

Justin serves as lead counsel in complex, high-stakes business disputes for individuals, small businesses, and corporations across the country. Over the course of his career, he has arbitrated hundreds of cases and successfully tried more than 30 cases before judges and juries nationwide. His multi-jurisdictional practice includes franchise disputes, partnership disputes, fraud, breach of contract and warranty, intellectual property, unfair competition, false advertising, RICO, professional negligence, and director and officer liability.

As a franchise lawyer, Justin is dedicated to protecting the rights of franchisees. He advises clients on every stage of the franchise relationship, from reviewing disclosure documents and negotiating agreements to resolving disputes over liquidated damages and terminations.

When necessary, Justin litigates aggressively in court or arbitration. Recently, Justin secured two significant arbitration victories against a major hotel franchisor, reinforcing his reputation as a leading advocate for franchisees. He has also testified as a subject-matter expert in support of fair franchising legislation.

Justin approaches every case with passion and energy, guided by his belief that success in litigation is won long before trial. Known for his accessibility and practical advice, he works tirelessly to achieve his clients’ objectives.

When disputes cannot be resolved amicably, clients can trust that they have a seasoned trial lawyer ready to fight for them.

Amie Berlin | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Amie Riggle Berlin is Senior Trial Counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where she serves as the lead trial attorney in a broad range of securities enforcement actions. Ms. Berlin led the S.E.C.’s first trial against a municipality, resulting in a verdict against the City of Miami and its budget director for securities fraud in connection with the City’s bond offerings.

She also successfully argued the first case concerning whether qualified immunity applies to shield government employees from liability in civil enforcement actions. Among other litigation highlights from Ms. Berlin’s ten-year tenure with the S.E.C. are trial verdicts finding defendants liable for: a more than $200 million offering fraud in connection with the Scott Rothstein Ponzi scheme; a more than $300 million international offering fraud in connection with investments in Regions Bank trust accounts; insider trading in Blue Rhino Corp. stock; and insider trading in Neff Corp. stock.

Ms. Berlin has also obtained favorable judgments in various emergency injunctive actions to halt ongoing offering frauds, and in the Administrative Proceeding against investment advisor firm ZPR Investment Management, Inc. and its principal, resulting in findings that false claims of compliance with Global Investment Performance Standards violate the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Prior to joining the S.E.C., Ms. Berlin worked as a litigator with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in New York and with Greenberg Traurig and Akerman Senterfitt in Miami.

She served as a federal judicial law clerk to the Honorable Donald L. Graham and the Honorable Barry L. Garber in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Ms. Berlin obtained her law degree from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and her bachelors degree from the University of Florida, where she was inducted into the University Hall of Fame.

I. Human trafficking liability in the hospitality industry | 12:00pm – 12:20pm

II. Current litigation trends and exposure risks | 12:20pm – 12:40pm

III. Indemnification provisions and risk allocation | 12:40pm – 1:00pm

Break | 1:00pm- 1:10pm

IV. Insurance coverage and defense issues | 1:10pm – 1:25pm

V. Policies and procedures to reduce liability | 1:25pm – 1:40pm