OTLA Sidebar September 2020

10 • SIDEBAR • September 2020 2020 OTLA Zoomvention: Innovation at its Best W hen it first became clear an in-person Convention would be impossible due to COVID-19, the situation required a quick pivot to a fully online event and boy, did we have a great time! OTLA’s first ever ‘Zoomvention’ featured an unprecedented number of speakers and panelists — upwards of 60 total and many of those nationally-recognized attorneys and experts in their fields. The 20+ credit hours of CLE presentations and breakout sessions covered a broad array of topics ranging from preparing experts for deposition and trial, trial technologies during a pandemic, running a products liability cases from the ground up and crossing corporate executives to handling sex abuse and nursing home litigation, combating systemic injustice through the legal system and much more. Many members attended case evaluations this year with our esteemed evaluators, covering personal injury, consumer law and class actions, settlement negotiations and worker’s compensation. Thank you to those who volunteered their time to review cases: Guardians Bill Barton , Steve Berman , Chris Frost , Bill Gaylord , Chris Moore , Elden Rosenthal and David Sugerman and Annual Partners Eric English and Pat O’Malley . The tumultuous times rendered a traditional Exhibit Hall impossible and allowed us to get some great virtual time with our Annual Partners this year. Between offering their expert advice as panelists and speakers and kicking back with OTLA members in the Virtual Happy Hour Zoom rooms , our Annual Partners continue to be an integral part of the OTLA family. The always- heated competition for the grand prize Passport drawing proved fiercer than ever and many wished for even more time to check in with the Partners and service providers they’ve enjoyed meeting and using this year. Fingers crossed for even more fun Zoom rooms in the future! You can view the full list of fantastic Annual Partners in our special Thank-You section for Convention sponsors. Of course, it wouldn’t truly be Convention without the fun stuff, too. The Golf Tournament was held on Tuesday before the start of Zoomvention under sunny skies and with plenty of social distance. Cooking class participants got to watch President Tim Williams burn his gourmet meal not once but twice as Immediate past president Ronn Elzinga poses with his thank-you award. Thanks for your service, Ronn. Reid Moore dons a mask and cape for some fantastic Kids Klub fun via Zoom. Public Justice Award winner Michelle DuBarry poses with her award. ZOOMVENTION continues on page 11