Firm Founder Jerry W. Blackwell to Present at DRI Product Liability Conference

Firm founder and chairman Jerry W. Blackwell will participate in two sessions at the 2013 DRI Product Liability Conference: Make Your Products Practice Bloom.  The DRI conference is being held April 3-5 near Washington, D.C.  Leading regulators, manufacturers, and attorneys will present on minimizing liability before and during product liability litigation. Top national attorneys, including Mr. Blackwell, will demonstrate voir dire, case theme development, and closing arguments.

On Wednesday, April 3, 2013, Mr. Blackwell will participate in a panel entitled, “Reap What You Sow: Using Technology to Pick the Right Jurors.”  He and his co-panelists will discuss how to analyze and select jurors for product liability cases as well specific voir dire techniques.  Mr. Blackwell will also give a closing statement demonstration during the conference.  Four top national product liability product lawyers will use the same fact pattern to develop and deliver a live closing statement.  This session, “Showdown: Products Masters Demonstrate Their Closing Styles” will take place on Friday, April 5, 2013.  Further details about the conference are available at the conference website.

Mr. Blackwell serves as national counsel and national trial counsel for major corporations including General Mills, Inc., and ConAgra Foods, Inc.  He has received numerous honors, including: twice receiving BTI Client Service All-Star honors; being a Benchmark Litigation Star; being named Minnesota Attorney of the Year; receiving the Minnesota Minority Business Owner of the Year Award; and the Minnesota Equal Justice Award. In 2011, Governor Mark Dayton appointed Mr. Blackwell to serve as an at-large member of the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection.  He is a founder of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers.

Blackwell Burke P.A., a litigation and trial boutique in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serves as national trial and litigation counsel for numerous Fortune 500 companies. The firm has extensive experience in class action defense, commercial litigation, food industry defense, labor and employment, and products liability. The firm has represented corporate clients in practically every jurisdiction in the country, as well as several foreign countries.

For information about Mr. Blackwell or Blackwell Burke P.A., please contact Kandy Branch at 612-343-3235.