RILA, RTC Team for First-ever Retail-specific Law Conference

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) have launched the inaugural retail-specific law conference, in Tampa, Fla.

Focusing on the legal and organizational issues affecting retailers, the 2010 Retail Law Conference unites high-level legal counsel from across the United States. Conference sessions qualified for continuing legal education (CLE) credits in most states and were designed for retail and consumer product general counsel, senior legal executives, and other in-house attorneys. The event program will address ethics, legal implications of social networking, employment law and privacy, litigation management such “e-discovery issues," intellectual property issues, and product safety.

The first day of the conference, Nov. 8, began with a retail law primer aimed at attorneys new to the industry or in need of a refresher course on a range of topics. Attendees took part in three sessions dealing with, respectively, marketing and advertising, merchandising, and customer relations employee relations; operations, e-commerce and telemarketing, and international trade and sourcing; and the fundamentals of retail financial.

“Through the conferences’ forward-looking program, great educational content and knowledgeable speakers, attendees are earning CLE credits, building their industry peer network and keeping up to date on the latest legal issues affecting the retail industry today,” noted Sandy Kennedy, president of Arlington, Va.-based RILA, of the conference, which runs through Nov. 10 at the Hyatt Regency Clearwater Resort & Spa.

The RLC, which launched in March, participates in both state and federal cases, mainly at the appellate level, giving the retail industry a chance to weigh in on important legal issues and emphasize for courts the importance and potential industrywide consequences of the legal issues before them. Membership is open to all retailers and other retail-connected entities, including law firms.

The center has its own board of directors, chaired by Janet Dhillon, EVP, general counsel and secretary for J.C. Penney Co. Inc. Additional board members are Timothy Baer, EVP and general counsel, Target Corp.; David Goldston, SVP, general counsel and secretary, Jo-Ann Stores Inc.; Susan Lanigan, EVP and general counsel, Dollar General Corp.; Samuel Reeves, EVP and general counsel, Walmart US, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.; and Michael Veitenheimer, SVP, secretary and general counsel, Michaels Stores Inc.