Laurel R. Kretzing

The Commercial and Federal Litigation Section is looking to the future, a theme that is carried forward in this year's Annual Meeting CLE programs, which focus on developing litigation technologies and new and emerging issues that litigators must be prepared to address.

This year the section created a Young Lawyers Committee of the section, established for young commercial litigators, admitted 10 years or less, to provide a forum to provide support and programming of interest to lawyers starting out in the demanding world of commercial litigation and to provide a springboard for section leadership of the future.

In keeping with this forward-looking focus, the first program of the Annual Meeting is entitled "Emerging Technologies in Litigation." A panel moderated by Kan M. Nowaday of Venable will discuss both new technologies for litigators to use, including developments in AI technology to predict court decisions, blockchain and e-discovery and predictive coding, as well as new litigations issues created by emerging technologies. The panel will consist of Hon. Melissa A. Crane, New York Supreme Court; Maura R. Grossman, J.D., Ph.D., School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo; Gail L. Gottehrer, Law Offices of Gail Gottehrer; and the Hon. Katherine B. Forrest (ret.), Cravath Swain & Moore.

The second program is focused on the commercial litigation aspects of the move among the states toward legalization of cannabis and cannabis-based products and the issues that lawyers with clients engaged in the cannabis and CBD business will face. The program is called "Budding Cannabis and CBD Litigation: Are You Ready for the Green Wave Heading Towards New York." The panel, moderated by Paul D. Sarkozi of Tannenbaum Halpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt, will explain the differences between cannabis and CBD from a legal, compliance and practical perspective and discuss emerging trends in litigation around the United States and the ethical and business challenges of handling matters involving state-sanctioned but federally illegal products. Panelists include James K. Landau, McCarthy Fingar; Elinor C. Sutton, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan; and Sara E. Payne, Jushi Holdings.

At the Gala Lunch the section will honor the Hon. John G. Koeltl, District Judge of the Southern District of New York with its Stanley H. Fuld Award, presented by Mary Jo White of Debevoise Plimpton. The Fuld Award was created by the section in honor of the late Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals. The section presents the award annually to recognize outstanding contributions to the development of commercial law and jurisprudence. Judge Koeltl, as a former member of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee that focused on active judicial case management and the long-ignored principal of proportionality in discovery, preparing the bench and bar to deal with ever emerging technology issues impacting discovery, is a very well deserving recipient of the Fuld Award.

Laurel R. Kretzing is the Chief of the Litigation and Appeals Bureau in the Office of the Nassau County Attorney, where she oversees civil litigation for the County of Nassau.