ACC Oregon - Symposium

Join us for the ORACC Fall Symposium:

Navigating a Frightening Legal Landscape

Thursday, October 29, 2026

The Symposium is our signature event - a full day of practical programming for Oregon's in-house counsel community. This ACC members-only event is free to attend.

What's on the agenda:

Morning - Session 1

Title: AI Across the Enterprise: Key Issues for Corporate Counsel   

Summary: Hosted by Schwabe, this panel explores emerging AI technologies and trends in the workplace, and the resulting legal and practical challenges and opportunities for in-house counsel navigating this rapidly evolving landscape.

CLE eligible states:  OR & WA

Panel: 

• Kasey Hemphill – Managing Counsel, Privacy and Security Legal, Intel
• Gary Lau – Assistant Director, Senior Associate General Counsel, Cambia Health
• Ian Wolfe – Senior Security Counsel, Autodesk
• Xavier Clark – Data Privacy Attorney, Schwabe

Morning - Session 2

Title: Avoiding In-House Counsel Becoming Litigation Witness

Presenter: Ashley Gammell, Arnold & Porter

Summary: Ashley Gammell will share the ins and outs of keeping your IHC out of the litigation process.

CLE eligible states: OR & WA

Hosted Lunch

Afternoon - Session 3

Title: Ghosts in the Data: Using eDiscovery Technology to Prove Facts and Expose Falsified Evidence 

Presenter(s): Megan Crowhurst and Christine Sargent, Littler

Summary:  This presentation will highlight electronically-stored information (ESI) that can prove facts, refute bogus allegations, and identify falsified evidence. We will discuss the benefits of using ESI in investigations and litigation and highlight real-world scenarios for collecting company data, reviewing documents received from opposing counsel, and filing motions for sanctions to win your case.

CLE eligible states: OR & WA

Afternoon - Session 4

Title: Privilege Under Pressure: Navigating Modern Challenges for In-house Counsel

Presenter: Shannon Armstrong, Holland & Knight

Summary:  Your head of sales just asked you to “quickly look over” a vendor contract in a group email thread with six people copied. Your CEO wants your take on a termination decision — on Slack, in the #leadership channel. A board member forwards your privileged litigation memo to the company’s outside accountant. Sound familiar? In this scenario-driven session, we will work through the everyday privilege problems that trip up in-house counsel at companies of every size. Using real-world hypotheticals and interactive audience exercises, we will stress-test privilege doctrine against the situations you actually face: keeping privilege intact during workplace investigations and internal reviews when you are both lawyer and business partner, navigating the dual-hat problem when courts are increasingly skeptical of in-house privilege claims, protecting board and management communications when the circle of people “who need to know” keeps expanding, and deciding when outside consultants, accountants, and HR vendors are inside or outside the privilege. We will also tackle two fast-evolving frontiers — how courts and bar authorities are beginning to address privilege and work product implications of generative AI tools, and the real-world discovery risks created by Slack, Teams, and ephemeral messaging platforms that most retention policies have not caught up with. Expect polling questions, small-group hypotheticals, and candid discussion — not a lecture.

CLE eligible states: Ethics CLE, OR & WA

We'll also give back together. Blanchet House, a Portland nonprofit that has served neighbors in need since 1952 with meals, clothing, and shelter and recovery programs, will welcome us in the morning and share ways to volunteer. Over lunch, we'll pack sack lunches for Blanchet House, so come ready to connect with colleagues and do some good.

Registration and a welcome breakfast start at 8:30am with sessions starting at 9:00am. Lunch is included, and we'll close the day with an ORACC-hosted happy hour.