The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform is holding its eighth-annual Legal Reform Summit today, and I'll be using this blog to bring you those highlights that just don't fit into any of the articles we have planned for today.

Scheduled topics of discussion that are of interest to this site include: Results and recommendations from a recent ILR study regarding the power of state attorneys general; trends in business litigation, featuring attorney Chris Manning (the defender of the dry cleaners who were sued for $10 million after misplacing a pair of pants); and an assessment of the ongoing war between businesses and plaintiffs attorneys.

Speakers include Kathleen Casey, Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. She will be discussing the future competitiveness of the country's securities market at approximately 1:15 p.m.

I'll start blogging just as soon as the morning Mt. Dew kicks in.

If you all have any questions, submit them in the comments section. If I know the answer, I'll respond. If I don't, I'll quickly delete your comment and act like the site is malfunctioning (kidding!).
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10:18 a.m. - OK, time to come clean. I wrote that first blog entry yesterday because I knew traffic coming in to D.C. might be a little troublesome. I never even got around to my morning Mt. Dew (the horror).

Turns out, I was right about the traffic. The Summit even started a little late because so there were so many wrecks and roads closed. It hasn't rained hard in months here, and apparently people forgot how to drive in it.

I showed up to hear Bernard Nash, a partner at Dickstein Shapiro, speak to the power of state attorneys general. Good stuff. A story will be up this afternoon. He even covered a few issues that we normally don't at LNL (to our discredit).

Currently, Chris Manning (of the pants lawsuit) is speaking to consumer protection issues. The clacking of my keyboard may be distracting him, so we'll end this entry here.
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11:09 a.m. - The business trends portion of the program is wrapping up. We'll have a story detailing Manning's thoughts on consumer protection and Thomas Gottschalk's speech on global climate change.

What won't make the story, you say? What am I missing by not being there, you wonder? Tell me! you plead.

Well, Gottschalk, a partner at Kirkland and Ellis who spoke excellently, lamented the fact that he did not bring a visual aid like Manning (that will be in the story). Gottschalk joked that since global warming cases are fairly new, maybe he should have used a picture of "the tip of an iceberg."

Eugene Goldman, a partner at McDermott Will and Emery, later brought up the famous Stoneridge case that will decide if third parties (like banks, accountants and law firms) can be held liable for a company's fraud. The case is before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He noted that Congress had a chance to clearly define the issue in the 1990s, but gave the power to bring those types of suit to the Securities and Exchange Commission and not plaintiffs attorneys. Obviously, plaintiffs attorneys want that power.

He predicted five justices will affirm the lower court ruling dismissing the case, while Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John Paul Stevens will rule in favor of the investors.

Clarence Thomas, Goldman was not so sure about since he did not ask any questions during the Oct. 10 arguments. Stephen Breyer did not participate.

Good stuff so far. Hopefully I'm stunting your productivity at work today.
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12:16 p.m. - On an empty (and I mean e-m-p-t-y) stomach, I've managed to post the story recapping the litigation against businesses discussion. Go ahead, have a read. I dare you.

The current topic is the influx of U.S.-style class actions into Europe. My reasons for not blogging about it are threefold:

1. I've been up seven hours now and have only had a tiny glass of Coke. Needless to say, I'm hungry;

2. Articles come before blogging; and

3. Through no fault of the speakers, I have no clue what is being discussed.

The key to actually being the dumbest person in a room and not letting on is to play with your phone a lot. Think about it.

And when everybody laughs, smile slightly and don't dare laugh. It makes you seem like you got the joke, but it was still a little below you.
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1:14 p.m. - I'm alone in the ballroom while everyone is next door for lunch and the presentation of the Legal Reform Awards. The lunch registered a solid 8, with chocolate mousse providing a welcome ending. I even offered the lady from Chrysler sitting next to me $20 for hers. She countered with an offer of chocolates from her purse. No deal was struck.

Filet mignon, roasted potatoes, some weird tomato thing and asparagus were the rest of our meal, in case you're curious. And one of those cups of liquid with a lemon in it. This is the second luncheon I've attended with one of those things, and I still don't know what to do with it.

Let's quickly run down the award-winners so I can get back to writing.

Award for Outstanding Research - Tillinghast Towers Perrin, which is the standard-bearer for formulas used to determine the amount of money our current tort system costs each year.

Award for Outstanding Legal Reform Organization - Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

Legislative Achievement Award - Mississippi state Sen. Charlie Ross. I couldn't hear all of his speech. In fact, the only thing I heard was "cold day in hell."

Judicial Leadership Award - Harry Janna of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. After a gracious introduction by ILR President Lisa Rickard, Janna said, "I don't think my wife would recognize the person you're talking about."

Now he sounds like he's still reeling from the Indians blowing that 3-1 lead to the Boston Red Sox.
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3:31 p.m. - Right now, Ken Mehlman is talking immigration and its effect on the Republican party. At the National Association of Attorneys General meeting this spring, I decided that John Walsh of America's Most Wanted was the best public speaker I'd ever heard.

Mehlman, though, talks faster than that Micro-machines guy and has an incredible amount of substance behind his words. Every question from the audience he sends the answer right back like a line drive at a pitcher.

He's the former chairman of the Republican National Committee. He graduated Harvard Law and, as his campaign manager, got George Bush reelected in 2004. How do people get that smart?

It reminded me of this piece I watched about Tim Tebow. He's 19 years old, plays quarterback for the University of Florida, is really good, has a national championship, carries a near-4.0 GPA and goes to prisons in his spare time to try and convert convicts into accepting God into their lives.

Here's the rundown on me. I'm 25, play Tecmo Super Bowl on my computer, am not good at it, have trouble waking up before 11 o'clock, can't even spell GPA and go to bars in my spare time to try and convert sober people into drunk people, even if they have to work at 6 a.m. I'm no Tim Tebow, and I'm certainly no Ken Mehlman.

Before he spoke, ILR President Lisa Rickard outlined what she feels are the American Association of Justice's federal legislative goals. AAJ was formerly the American Trial Lawyers Association.

She says it wants to: Eliminate pre-dispute binding arbitration; scale back federal pre-emption laws so more suits land in state courts; expand the False Claims Act and Consumer Product Safety Committee legislation; and create new direct and implied causes of action.

All that's left for the day is a discussion on liability issues in the U.S. Supreme Court. Unfortunately for you, I won't be paying attention because I have one more story to write. Thanks for reading.