Speakers & Thought Leaders
Meet the legal leaders and industry experts sharing insights on litigation, compliance, regulatory trends, and the future of retail law.
Retail’s Premier Conference for Legal Leaders
Where chief legal officers, general counsel, and law firm partners come together to address the legal, regulatory, and business challenges shaping the future of retail.
Designed for retail counsel, the Retail Law Conference delivers practical insights on litigation trends, compliance, privacy, employment, and emerging risks—equipping legal leaders to advise the business and drive strategy with confidence.
From senior leaders to the next generation of legal leaders, the Retail Law Conference brings the retail legal community together to collaborate, learn, and lead.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
CHIEF LEGAL OFFICERS
Connect and build relationships with retail’s legal elite.
IN-HOUSE COUNSEL
Meet your colleagues wrestling with similar challenges. Discuss mutual threats and opportunities in retail. Come home prepared to help elevate the business.
EXPERT OUTSIDE COUNSEL
Hear from thought leaders influencing public policy and the industry’s future. Gain insight into the forces shaping the industry, and help your team navigate for what lies ahead.
JOIN THE RETAIL LEGAL LEADERS DRIVING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD
Meet Retail Attorneys and Legal Executives From Leading Brands
Our Speakers
Past Featured Speakers
Hear from chief legal officers, general counsel, and senior legal leaders from the nation’s top retailers sharing insights on litigation, compliance, and the evolving legal landscape.
Martin Ebel
Vice President, Division Counsel
Martin focuses on employment discrimination issues as Senior Counsel for Albertsons. Prior to this role, he served in the EEOC for more than 10 years, including roles as the COO and field management directorships. He also served in a variety of roles for organizations that advocate for disability rights, such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, National Amputee Golf Association, and the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board. He holds a JD from Boston College.
Thursday October 9, 2025
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
| Scanning for Risk: Decoding the New EEOC's Enforcement Agenda for Retail
BreAnna Davis
Corporate Counsel
BreAnna Davis supports JD Finish Line's domestic and international supply chian department, brand management, IT department, and ESG work, in addition to reviewing contracts and managing litigation. Prior to this role, BreAnna worked at Frost Brown Todd and as an Indiana Registered Mediator with the Judicial Branch of Indiana. BreAnna also served as an associate at Lee, Cossell & Crowley LLP and has externed for the NCAA, in addition to holding a judicial clerkship at the Indiana Court of Appeals. BreAnna holds a JD from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, along with certificates in Civil and Human Rights and Public Policy Mediation.
Thursday October 9, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
| Trash Talk: Defending Junk Fee Litigation
Merriann Metz
Senior Vice President, General Counsel
Merriann Metz has been at Publix since 2006, starting as an attorney in the corporate legal department before being promoted to Senior Attorney in 2010, and to Assistant General Counsel in 2011. Metz brings a wealth of experience to the role, having graduated from Stetson University College of Law in 2002, and working as an attorney with the Lowndes Drosdick law firm in Orlando, FL.
Wednesday October 8, 2025
3:00 PM - 3:10 PM
| Welcome to the 2025 Retail Law Conference
Anne-Marie Waggoner
Associate General Counsel, Employment
Anne-Marie Waggoner is Associate General Counsel – Employment at Ashley Furniture Industries, where she leads the employment legal and compliance teams. With over 30 years of litigation experience, she previously served as employment litigation and wage and hour counsel at Walmart and Cabela’s and was a Shareholder at Littler Mendelson. Anne-Marie has successfully defended major retailers and other clients in PAGA cases, wage and hour class actions, and other high-stakes litigation matters.
Thursday October 9, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
| How to Get Ahead in Navigating a New Frontier of PAGA Actions
Igor Bakhilov
Senior Corporate Counsel, Amazon Advertising
Igor manages advertisement sales, custom campaigns and global sales operations for Amazon.com. Prior roles at Amazon included serving as corporate counsel for Amazon Web Services and for the company's Kindle division. Before Amazon, he was a Senior Associate at King & Wood Mallesons.
Thursday October 9, 2025
10:20 AM - 11:20 AM
| Retail Media Networks: Flipping the Liability Script
Suzanne Whisler
Vice President, Legal
Suzanne has been with Designer Brands for over 7 years in a variety of legal roles. Pror to this, she served as a partner at Carpenter Lipps & Leland. She holds a JD from Ohio State and a BA in economics from the University of Chicago.
Thursday October 9, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
| Partnering for Success: A Practical Guide for Retail Counsel on Finance Transactions and Related Legal Issues
Amy Croft
General Counsel
Amy Croft is the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of VENUS Fashion. At her prior role at Smith Gambrell Russell, Ms. Croft focused her practice on commercial litigation and insurance litigation, including bad faith litigation and agent/broker litigation. Ms. Croft received her J.D. from The Florida State University College of Law in 1998, Cum Laude where she was a member of Phi Delta Phi, the legal honor society. While in law school, she also participated in a study abroad program at Oxford University, served as a teaching assistant and earned a Book Award in Local Government Law. Ms. Croft earned her B.S. from The Florida State University in 1995. Ms. Croft was an adjunct and associate professor of lawyering process for over seven years. In such role, Ms. Croft was responsible for teaching best practices regarding legal research and writing. She also served as the faculty chief justice of the honor court. She is a past president of the Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association.
Thursday October 9, 2025
11:40 AM - 12:40 PM
| Turning the Tide: Navigating Financial Distress and Transformation
Lacey Bundy
Chief Legal Officer
Lacey Bundy joined PetSmart in August 2018. Prior to joining PetSmart, Lacey served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Express, Inc., a specialty retail apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio from 2010 to 2018. Before joining Express, Lacey spent five years with Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Chicago where she advised public companies and private equity funds and their portfolio companies on a wide variety of matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, corporate governance, joint ventures, private equity fund formation, and financing transactions. Prior to law school, Lacey practiced as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Young LLP in New York City for two years, first in the firm’s National Office where she advised public companies on their financial reporting obligations and then later in the firm’s tax consulting practice where she implemented tax savings strategies for retailers.
Lacey earned her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law.
Wednesday October 8, 2025
3:10 PM - 3:55 PM
| Legal Disruption Decoded: Rethinking Practice in a Tech-Driven Era
Elizabeth Baran
Senior Vice President & General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Elizabeth (Beth) Baran serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary at DICK’S Sporting Goods. In this role, she is responsible for leading the legal, compliance, risk, internal audit and sustainability functions, and recently led the company’s acquisition of Foot Locker. Beth has an extraordinary team of lawyers, legal analysts, auditors, compliance and sustainability professionals who drive this work and create a special culture built around DICK’S values of dedication, optimism, integrity and authenticity. Beth joined DICK’S Sporting Goods in 2010 and has served in a variety of leadership roles within legal and compliance throughout her tenure. She has also served as secretary for the DICK’S Foundation since 2011 and was part of the team that launched the Foundation’s Sports Matter initiative to change the landscape of philanthropy within youth sports. Prior to joining DICK’S, Beth was in private practice as a corporate, securities and M&A attorney where her clients included professional sports teams, international manufacturing companies, private equity groups and non-profits. Beth lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and three school-aged children who all play sports, typically on the same day, at the same time, in different locations. Beth earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law where she served as the Editor in Chief of The Journal of Law and Commerce.
Thursday October 9, 2025
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
| Going Global: What Every Counsel Must Know Before Entering New Territories
Ann Munson Steines
Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Ann Munson Steines is the Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Nordstrom. Ann is accountable for Nordstrom’s risk management strategies and policies and provides strategic counsel on legal, risk, business and operational matters. Ann joined Nordstrom from Macy’s, where she most recently served as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary since 2009. She originally joined Macy’s, Inc. in 1998 as Assistant Counsel, Employment Law, and rose through positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to Macy’s, Ann was a Senior Attorney with the Overnite Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Union Pacific Corporation. She began her legal career with Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1990 and then practiced law with the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Wednesday October 8, 2025
4:40 PM - 5:30 PM
| Agile by Design: Leading Legal Teams with Purpose and Precision
David Steele
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
David Steele serves as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at The Home Depot, where he leads employment litigation, executive compensation, employee benefits, preventative law, legal operations, and operating unit oversight. Previously, he has led commercial litigation, real estate, store operations, supply chain, risk management, international, and international corporate.
Since joining The Home Depot in 2022 as Corporate Counsel, he has served as Assistant General Counsel, Senior Counsel, and most recently Associate General Counsel. Before joining The Home Depot, David practiced at Alston & Bird in Atlanta, focusing on commercial litigation, construction, and real estate matters. .
David holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and Economics from Southern Methodist University and earned a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt University
Thursday October 9, 2025
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
| Health Plan Apocalypse? What Retirement Plan Litigation Can Tell Us About the Coming Wave of Health Plan Class Actions
Kacy Goebel
Assistant General Counsel
Kacy Goebel is an Assistant General Counsel at The Home Depot, where she manages the company’s commercial class actions, real estate and construction litigation, antitrust recoveries, and oversees the customer litigation group. Prior to joining Home Depot in 2015, she was a member of Jones Day’s Business and Tort Litigation group. She is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School and the University of South Carolina Honors College. She lives in Atlanta with her husband, stepchildren, and yellow lab.
Thursday October 9, 2025
11:40 AM - 12:40 PM
| From Cost Center to Revenue Generator: Legal Finance and the Rise of Affirmative Recovery
Event Recap
A look back at the Retail Law Conference, featuring key moments, expert-led discussions, and connections among retail legal leaders and law firm partners.
Keynotes & General Sessions
Main stage sessions featuring industry leaders and legal experts addressing the most important issues shaping retail law.
Who Attends
Retail’s leading legal executives and outside counsel come together to share insights, navigate challenges, and build meaningful connections.
CLE Credits
Find CLE credit information for the Retail Law Conference, including attendance tracking, eligible sessions, and certificate details.
Hotel & Accommodations
Stay at the Retail Law Conference host hotel and be steps away from sessions, meetings, and networking throughout the event.
Thank You to Our Co-Host
Retail Litigation Center
Directed by the chief legal officers of the country's leading retail companies, the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) is the only organization dedicated to advocating for the industry's top priorities in the federal and state judiciary. The RLC also works with leading law firms and retail corporate counsel to develop forward-thinking strategies to combat meritless mass action litigation.
