Schedule & Agenda

Registration & Information Desk - Vinoy Grand Ballroom

Breakfast

Under the Microscope: Managing Government Investigations with Confidence

Government scrutiny can come from many directions—congressional committees, enforcement agencies, or regulatory bodies. This session offers a practical playbook for navigating any type of investigation, with a focus on preparation, cross-functional collaboration, and minimizing reputational and operational risk. Learn how top retail legal teams can stay ready and resilient.

Registration & Information Desk - Palm Court

Keep Your Friends Close . . . Mass Arbitration

Mass arbitration is one of the thorniest issues facing major companies, including retailers, today. Sit in on this engaging panel discussion with elite representatives from both sides of the table.

retAIl: You Can’t Spell Retail Without AI

Ready or not, AI is here to stay. In this practical look at the use of AI by retailers, this session will review the legal framework for AI, identify use cases, explore the associated regulatory landscape (or lack thereof) and consider transactional risks and compliance issues.

Health Plan Apocalypse? What Retirement Plan Litigation Can Tell Us About the Coming Wave of Health Plan Class Actions

For years, plaintiffs’ lawyers have attacked virtually every aspect of 401(k) plans—their structure, fees, investment returns, and even the generosity of voluntarily offered benefits. The ERISA plaintiffs’ bar is now coming after employer-sponsored health plans. Given their complexity, cost, and nature of ERISA class actions, the incoming litigation wave poses a significant threat to employers, especially leading retailers, who often offer health benefits to thousands (or millions) of employees. We will discuss what retirement-plan litigation can tell us about what to expect, the challenges we have already seen in the health plan space, and how you and your legal departments can prepare.

Supply Chain Challenges and Antitrust Implications: Examining Transactions and Remedy Packages

This session will explore the antitrust implications at the intersection of supply chain challenges and opportunities for the retail industry and how to best position your transaction for success. Key considerations include supply-related arguments and the requirements for remedy packages. Join us to discover how retail companies can navigate these complexities, balance growth with legal compliance, and sustain a competitive advantage in today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape.

Business Break

Retail Media Networks: Flipping the Liability Script

Retailers are now publishers, offering up media space and content on their digital and real-world platforms that rivals traditional publishers and ad agencies. Join us to learn key practices for new and mature retail media platforms. We will share top-level insight on how to navigate the legal and financial risks of media offerings, data deals, and content creation to build a successful, liability-conscious Retail Media Network.

Retail Wage and Hour Class Actions: Emerging Trends, Pitfalls, and Defense Strategies

Explore the latest trends in wage and hour class action litigation affecting retailers, including key case law developments, emerging certification strategies, and evolving state law claims. The session will provide strategies to mitigate litigation risks, enhance compliance programs, and craft effective defense strategies. Learn how to navigate novel liability theories, strengthen compliance to reduce exposure, and oppose class certification with proven tactics.

Learn the Opponent's Playbook To Spot and Weaken Civil Securities Fraud Risks in the Retail Sector

Retailers are frequent targets of securities fraud litigation—but these cases often follow predictable patterns. This session explores key risk indicators from past securities fraud cases, helping in-house counsel identify when their retail company may face litigation. Learn proactive and responsive strategies to strengthen your company’s defense against Section 10(b) lawsuits.

Beyond Borders: Protecting Retail Supply Chains Amid Trade Uncertainty

With new administrations in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada and the re-negotiation of the USMCA deal slated for this year, the future of the nearly $2 trillion North American trading relationship is at stake. Retailers must adapt to tariff threats, shifting supply chains, regulatory changes, and increased enforcement. This session will provide practical guidance on mitigating supply chain disruptions, ensuring compliance with developing policies, and structuring supplier agreements to protect operations.

Business Break

Pricing Algorithms and Antitrust Risk

Antitrust regulators and the plaintiffs’ bar have recently focused investigations and consumer class actions on companies that use algorithms to determine prices for consumer products and services. Leading antitrust experts will address recent developments and emerging trends in this fast-evolving area of law.

Fostering Healthy Workplace Cultures

This multi-disciplinary panel will explore strategies for fostering a healthy, positive and inclusive workplace culture that enhances employee engagement while mitigating legal risks. We will discuss practical approaches to pay transparency, equitable policies, managing a polarized workforce in today’s political climate, and proactive employee relations strategies that can help position your company as an employer of choice in an evolving labor market.

Turning the Tide: Navigating Financial Distress and Transformation

In today’s retail landscape, financial distress—whether in your own company or a partner’s—can bring both risk and opportunity. In this session, attendees will learn how to spot early warning signs, explore legal tools available in bankruptcy and other troubled business scenarios, and take proactive steps to protect contracts, credit, and customer relationships. Gain practical strategies for minimizing risk, securing key assets, and uncovering growth opportunities in uncertain times.

From Cost Center to Revenue Generator: Legal Finance and the Rise of Affirmative Recovery

In an era where legal departments are expected to deliver more with less, many large companies are shifting from a largely defensive posture to a proactive strategy that leverages high-value affirmative recovery programs. This panel will explore how top legal departments are identifying and monetizing litigation assets—treating meritorious claims as revenue opportunities rather than cost burdens. Hear how legal finance can help move costs off the balance sheet, mitigate risk, and accelerate access to capital. Learn how partnering with legal finance providers enables legal teams to pursue claims without upfront costs, generate working capital, and contribute directly to their companies' financial goals, turning legal departments into strategic business partners.

Lunch

Trash Talk: Defending Junk Fee Litigation

Retailers are facing a garbage heap of "junk fee" litigation in federal and state courts—especially California—over a range of fees added to online purchases. Panelists will examine how plaintiffs are leveraging both broad consumer protection statutes and targeted laws like the CLRA’s “drip pricing” provision to sue retailers over fees such as shipping protection or delivery charges that are perceived as mandatory. Learn about the evolving legal theories, enforcement priorities, and emerging compliance risks facing e-commerce, as well as how to assess your own fee disclosures and mitigate litigation risk.

How to Get Ahead in Navigating a New Frontier of PAGA Actions

Plaintiffs’ lawyers continuously devise new tactics to pressure employers to pay large settlements to resolve PAGA actions. Join our panel of PAGA experts for a robust discussion of strategies retailers can deploy to mitigate risk, minimize exposure, and achieve successful outcomes in PAGA litigation. If you do business in California, you won’t want to miss our panel’s practical tips for avoiding common pitfalls (before and after a PAGA notice is filed), drafting enforceable arbitration agreements, defending “headless” PAGA actions, and navigating post-PAGA reform theories and trends that impact retailers.

Partnering for Success: A Practical Guide for Retail Counsel on Finance Transactions and Related Legal Issues

Join us for a practical discussion with our panel of inside and outside counsel experts experienced in working with the treasury and finance functions of retail organizations. This conversation will equip in-house counsel to work effectively with outside counsel in complex finance transactions and to better understand what you need to know – and why it matters (even if you are not a finance lawyer!) We will also explore the nuances of finance transactions that are relevant when negotiating a myriad of other contracts. No finance degree or spreadsheets required!

Going Global: What Every Counsel Must Know Before Entering New Territories

Entering new territories brings both opportunity and complexity. This session unpacks the legal strategies behind major retail growth, including when to pursue acquisitions, open stores, or expand through franchising or licensing. Attendees will learn how counsel navigates these options, mitigates key risks, and protects the brand in new markets.

Business Break

What Retail Counsel Need to Know about Advertising Law — a 360° Perspective with the NAD, In-House, and Outside Experts

Dive into the biggest advertising issues retail in-house counsel are currently facing—now with perspectives from every side. Hear directly from the head of BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division (NAD), a leading in-house lawyer, and seasoned outside counsel as they unpack the legal and practical challenges retailers are navigating today. From enforcement trends to real-world strategies, this panel offers a 360-degree view of what’s shaping retail advertising law right now.

Scanning for Risk: Decoding the New EEOC's Enforcement Agenda for Retail

Political dynamics and broader federal agendas are fueling sharp turns in some EEOC enforcement priorities alongside a recommitment to some historical norms. This session dissects those developments and unpacks their implications for retailers, with a close look at emerging litigation and compliance risks. Practical guidance will be shared to help companies stay prepared and protected.

Winning with Experts: Best Practices and Challenges in Consumer Class Litigation

Expert witnesses are often at the heart of consumer class action litigation, shaping class certification and trial outcomes – while also driving much of the litigation expense along the way. This session will offer practical insights on how to deploy experts strategically, manage Daubert and Comcast challenges, navigate the evolving use of conjoint analysis in damage models, and avoid the pitfall of overreliance or premature use of experts. Discover the real-world tactics top companies use to make or break consumer class actions with expert witnesses.

Retail M&A: Deal Trends and Litigation Lessons

From strategic roll-ups to distressed asset sales, retail M&A is evolving fast—and the legal challenges are keeping pace. Join us for a candid discussion on the latest dealmaking trends in the retail sector, the legal landmines that are surfacing more frequently, and the litigation risks that should be on every in-house counsel’s radar. Learn how to better anticipate, structure, and defend deals in an increasingly complex environment.

Registration & Information Desk - Vinoy Grand Ballroom

Supreme Court Watch: Retail-Relevant Rulings and What Lies Ahead

Description: The Supreme Court’s latest term included decisions with direct implications for retailers—touching on administrative law, labor, commerce, and regulatory authority. This session breaks down the rulings that matter most to in-house counsel and previews the upcoming cases that could shape retail operations, compliance strategies, and legal exposure. A brief look at a few landmark cases rounds out the session with broader context.

Reception on the Bayview Terrace

Join us for an evening on the Bayview Terrace, where stunning views of the bay set the backdrop for great conversation, delicious food, and refreshing drinks. Relax, connect, and enjoy good company in a beautiful setting.

Registration & Information Desk - Vinoy Grand Ballroom

Breakfast

Workforce in Focus: Trends Shaping Labor & Employment Law

The labor and employment landscape is undergoing rapid change, driven by new regulations, evolving technologies, and shifting expectations for workplace culture and compliance. This session examines the trends reshaping how retailers manage their workforces and the implications for in-house counsel navigating an increasingly complex environment.

Business Break

AI in Practice: Tools, Trials, and Transformation

Less talk, more action. This hands-on practicum moves beyond theory to showcase how retail legal teams are practically applying AI today. From contract review to compliance workflows, explore real-world applications and take away insights to test, scale, and govern responsibly.

Business Break

Ethical Frontiers: AI and the Attorney’s Role in a Changing World

The AI revolution is prompting fundamental questions about the duties and boundaries of legal professionals. This session confronts the evolving ethical challenges posed by AI—helping attorneys assess risk, uphold integrity, and provide sound counsel in an uncertain landscape.