Speakers

Daniel A. Kaplan is a partner and litigation attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP and is co-chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice. Mr. Kaplan counsels employers in all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including wage and hour, employment contracts, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, worker’s and unemployment compensation, family and medical leave, disability accommodations and compliance with the Americans with Disability Act, and all state, federal and local discrimination laws. Mr. Kaplan has experience litigating before various state and federal agencies, various state courts, and federal courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court.

Karl Ahlrichs is an adviser to senior leadership on human resource and risk management issues, working for Gregory and Appel of Indianapolis. Karl has broad experience in senior level problem solving, with proven skills in handling complex organizational issues with uncommon sense. Karl is a national speaker and author, and is often quoted in the media on HR issues. He has facilitated a monthly CFO Roundtable for more than 10 years.

Michelle DiTondo is Chief Human Resources Officer for MGM Resorts International. As the company’s top Human Resources executive, Ms. DiTondo leads the team responsible for strategic development and implementation of the People Philosophy and Culture for MGM Resorts. In addition, she oversees the MGM Resorts Corporate Human Resources departments serving the 71,000 employees working at the company’s resorts around the world.

Mel Kleiman, CSP, is an internationally known authority on recruiting, selecting, and hiring employees. He is the founder of Humetrics and the onetime owner of three different businesses (including the largest Hertz franchise). Mel has over 30 years of consulting, writing and professional speaking experience.

Dave Newton has over 20 years experience in human resources and training, including six as Vice President of Human Resources at The Venetian Las Vegas, which won two awards for Workplace Excellence under his leadership.

Amy Hirsh Robinson, MBA, is the founder of the Interchange Group and a leading expert on the changing workforce and the impact of generational shifts on organizations. She consults to Fortune 500 companies, privately held businesses and not-for-profits to prepare and retool leaders and their workforces to excel and compete in the New Economy. Amy speaks and publishes widely on workforce strategies for the New Economy and has been cited and quoted in publications such as Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, and the Huffington Post.

Sarah is an attorney at the Stoel Rives law firm, where she provides advice to avoid and resolve claims relating to discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage-and-hour claims. Sarah also represents employers in an array of commercial litigation matters.

Kathleen Dreyfus Bardunias is a special counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP, where she focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. Ms. Bardunias is admitted to practice in New York and Wisconsin.

Joseph (“Joe”) Beachboard is a nationally recognized expert on labor and employment law issues who joined Ogletree Deakins in 2001. He helps employers avoid work-related legal exposure, including providing training to a variety of high-profile organizations. He regularly speaks at large employment law conferences around the country and has been quoted in a number of prestigious publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, National Law Journal, and HR Magazine.

John Alan Doran has over 25 years of experience counseling and successfully representing employers in all facets of labor and employment law matters. He regularly represents employers in mass employment, wage/hour class and collective action litigation, as well as employment discrimination, public accommodations discrimination, and wrongful termination litigation. He also represents management in areas of traditional labor law, including the defense of unfair labor practices charges, the orchestration of campaigns to prevent workplace unionization, representation proceedings, and arbitrations. In addition, John represents employers in restrictive covenant and trade secret matters in state and federal courts. He also regularly counsels clients on prevention strategies, executive employment contracts, downsizing, personnel policies, and merger/acquisition employment issues.

Rick L. Etter is a trusted advisor and experienced trial attorney who focuses on representing employers throughout the country in FLSA and state law collective and class actions. He is a contributor to the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law’s wage and hour treatise, The Fair Labor Standards Act; and was recently selected as one of 32 “Lawyers on the Fast Track” by The Legal Intelligencer.

Abe Gonzalez is a partner in the firm’s labor and employment department. He represents employers in federal and state courts in Texas and New Mexico. Mr. Howard-Gonzalez focuses his practice on defending employers in lawsuits alleging discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage issues involving overtime issues and minimum wage issues—among others. In addition to defending lawsuits, Mr. Howard-Gonzalez also defends employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor for wage claims and claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Sandra is a partner at Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton, where she counsels employers and represents them in court. She has served as a professor at USC Law School and taught HR courses at Webster University. She is a frequent lecturer and author on employment law issues.

Suzanne is an attorney in the Las Vegas office of Ogletree Deakins, where she represents employers in federal and state employment law issues, including wage-and-hour law, discrimination, harassment and retaliation. She also conducts regular employment law compliance training for
employers and is a frequent speaker to employer groups.