2022 Agenda
Luxury Law Summit Americas 2022 – November 2nd, 2022
This is a working agenda and subject to change.
08:15
Welcome & Chair’s Opening Remarks
Chair: Barbara Kolsun, Professor of Practice and Director, FAME Program, Cardozo Law School
08:30
The Luxury Outlook: Fashion, Trade & Economics
Steve E. Lamar, President and CEO, American Apparel and Footwear Association
09:00
Luxury, Politics and Sustainability
2022 has been a year of unprecedented activity for fashion in the world of public policy – from the Nation’s Capital to the Fashion Capital of New York. In this session, we will explore these legislative developments and discuss why we are seeing this level of public engagement. We will look at the FABRIC Act, which would build on California’s SB62, the Garment Workers Protection Act and set a minimum wage floor by prohibiting, in many instances a piece-rate compensation. It would also create a new Undersecretary of Labor of the Garment Industry. Would this position be the #FashionCzar that many have been asking the Administration to create? We will also discuss NYS’s foray in fashion legislation with the introduction of the Fashion Act, which would require fashion retail sellers and manufacturers with over $100 million in revenue worldwide to disclose their environmental and social due diligence policies. Are these bills setting a pattern for legislative action from the state house to the House of Representatives?
Hilary Jochmans, President, Jochmans Consulting; Founder, PoliticallyinFashion
Dana Davis, Vice President of Sustainability, Product and Business Strategy, Mara Hoffman
Lizzie Landau, Communications Director, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand
Adrien Gardner Lesser, Interim Communications Director, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney
09:30
Workshop: Fashion’s Role In Politics, Diplomacy and Social Change – Leading Change or Mere Reflection?
Hosted by K&L Gates
This session will look at what role if any should fashion play in politics and how fashion has shaped political issues. The panel will consider:
- Fashion’s influence on diplomacy and bridging differences
- Queen Elizabeth’s inspiration and influence on fashion and sartorial diplomacy
- Jackie Kennedy’s fashion impact on diplomacy
- Vegan Leather and other non-animal options
- When and Why to Speak (BLM, Climate change, ESG, workers’ rights, etc.)?
- How Fit the Brand and Brand Values?
Susan Kayser, Partner, K&L Gates
Howard Feller, Founder, H Feller Enterprises LLC
Maura Kent, Vice President, New Business, Merchant Financial Group
Ryan Parley, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Neiman Marcus Group
Kristin Wells, Associate, K&L Gates LLP
10:00
Luxury Travel: The Future is Now
Travel is the number one passion of affluent consumers. Learn more about today’s travelers – their mindset, buying trends, and what’s next for this important segment of the luxury market.
Ignacio Maza, Executive Vice President, Signature Travel Network
10:30
Workshop: Protecting The Brand: People, Product, Partnerships, And Privacy
Hosted by Greenberg Traurig
In the competitive industry of luxury fashion and retail, brands must take a multi-faceted approach to protecting their business from the inside out, from trade secret matters amongst employees, to trademark protection and partnerships that drive revenue and enhance brands, to ensuring consumer information is protected at every level. All of these key business issues have critical legal considerations that are unique, but interconnected. This workshop will focus on key considerations for protecting and promoting your brand in today’s legal environment with your people, product, partnerships, and privacy.
Candice Kim, Vice Chair, Global Trademark & Brand Management Practice, Greenberg Traurig
Courtney Noce, Co-Chair, Immigration & Compliance Practice, Greenberg Traurig
Lily McNulty, Labor & Employment Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
11:00
New Issues in the World of Luxury Jewelry
What’s next for jewelry? Given the incredible market performance of jewelry the last two years, what can brands expect for the coming 2 financial quarters? Hear from leaders on the cutting edge of jewelry from financial, sales, design, sustainability and compliance standpoints. The panel will share their predictions about what’s next.
Tiffany Stevens, CEO and GC, Jewelers Vigilance Committee
David Eshmoili, General Counsel, David Yurman
Jenny Luker, President, Platinum Guild International USA
Johanna Levy, Head of Sustainability, GIA
11:30
Workshop: Pervasive Design & Ownership Issues Within the Fashion Industry
Hosted by Epstein Drangel
This panel will touch upon some recent, trending issues facing fashion brands and designers, including: 1) the protection and enforcement of fabric designs, including best practices for creating and sourcing textile designs; and 2) IP ownership issues between designers, employers, manufacturers, and/or licensees.
Kerry Brownlee, Partner, Epstein Drangel LLP (moderator)
Sue Timney, Designer, Sue Timney Design
Cheval, Creator, Illustrator, and Chief Inspiration Officer
Jeni Sheaffer, General Counsel, Chantecaille Beaute Inc.,
Simon Bock, Associate General Counsel, IP, Tommy Hilfiger
12:00
Keynote Speech
Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director, The New York Times
12:30
Workshop: Luxury in the Metaverse: How to protect your brand’s experience
Hosted by Corsearch
The way we experience luxury retail and lifestyle is shifting from physical places and interactions to digital environments, driven by the emergence of new technologies and changing consumer behavior. Digital trends such as social gaming and NFTs are allowing the luxury sector to appeal to new demographics, and experts agree that the industry will benefit from the adoption of Metaverse technologies.
However, many luxury brands choose to enter these new platforms only to find out that infringers have already infiltrated them, undermining businesses’ strategies, exclusivity, and IP. In 2021, a luxury brand observed that one of their exclusive digital purses available as a collectible item on Roblox, a popular Metaverse-like social gaming platform, was re-sold for 350,000 Robux, or roughly 4,115 USD, by a platform user. This was 700x the original price (475 Robux). The brand then discovered that the most expensive item offered on the Roblox marketplace under their name was not genuine.
In this session, we’ll discuss the examples of successful Metaverse experiences, walk through the emerging trends and brand protection challenges posed, and share what brands can do to safeguard both their IP and customers.
Svetlana Ilnitskaya, Director of US Customer Strategy, Corsearch
13:00
Lunch Break
14:00
Luxury vs Art: Inside the Secondary Marketplace
This conversation will explore the history of the overlap between the Luxury and Art Market, specifically the introduction of luxury in the Auction world. We will cover the trends and updates to the market, as well as answer important questions about how luxury goods, including jewelry, watches, handbags and wine are handled in the secondary market, both at auction and private sale. Finally, we will cover important legal considerations surrounding the sale of luxury items through an auction house.
Bonnie Brennan, President, Christies, America
Samantha Anderson, Director of Legal and Fiduciary Services, Art Intelligence Global
14:30
Workshop: It’s Not Always Golden in the Golden State – Navigating California Consumer Laws
Hosted by Steptoe
Home to the strictest consumer protection laws in the country, many first-of-their-kind laws, a zealous Plaintiff’s bar, and several task forces of public enforcers, California sets the “Golden State” standard for retail law compliance. This session will discuss important California laws that every retailer should know about, regardless of where they do business. Topics will include the ongoing wave of “deceptive pricing” litigation, which has targeted several luxury outlets, and the related new threat of mass arbitrations; the state’s suite of ESG laws that could provide fodder for litigation; and privacy class action trends under the CCPA and CIPA.
Stephanie Sheridan, Partner, Steptoe
Meegan Brooks, Associate, Steptoe
15:00
In Conversation: Timelessness and the reimagining of a Luxury Brand
Gabby Hirata, CEO, Diane von Furstenburg
Rachel Zilberfarb Schreiber, Fashion Lawyer and Retail Lawyer
15:30
Workshop: Automotive Distribution & Retail in the Age of Electric Vehicles (EVs)
Hosted by BFKN
This workshop discusses the rapidly evolving market for EVs and its effects on luxury vehicle distribution and retailing, including the ways in which legacy manufacturers and their independent dealer networks are meeting the rising competition from new market entrants, such as Tesla, who sell mostly online and directly to consumers.
Owen Smith, Partner & Co-Chair, BFKN Motor Vehicle Group
Andrew D. Koblenz, Executive Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel, National Automobile Dealers Association
16:00
Pivot! Embracing change through career pivots
Kelly Koyama, General Counsel, Louis Vuitton America (moderator)
Melissa Roth Mendez, Global Vice President, Brand Protection, Burberry
Nicole Marra, Founder & CEO, Fixer Advisory Group and former Vice President and General Counsel, Gucci America.
16:30
Workshop: Artificial Intelligence: A legal update
Hosted by McCarthy Tétrault
Whether used to personalize luxury product recommendations and offerings, to enhance in-store experience, or to protect high-end brands against counterfeiting, AI-enhanced solutions are becoming evermore integrated into the luxury market sector. In parallel with the maturation of this deployment of AI, the regulatory framework for the responsible deployment of AI is also taking shape. John Buyers and Charles Morgan, two leading AI regulatory experts who have collaborated on several AI-related publications, will provide insights not only on cutting edge use cases for AI solutions, but also on the concrete business implications of AI regulatory frameworks that are starting to take shape in both Europe and North America.
Charles Morgan, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault
John Buyers, Partner, Osborne Clarke
16:45
Workshop: Fashion’s Distinguishing Digital Assets: More Technologies Being Woven into the Fashion Scene through M&A
Hosted by Linklaters
With competition in a crowded luxury market, how a brand personalizes with technological features and processes is paramount. What should acquisitive and barrier-breaking brands look for in digital tools to increase customer interaction, improve operations, payments and sustainability? Increasingly, the industry is embracing new technologies, such as Blockchain, NFTs and cryptocurrencies, for supply chain security and payments, ESG purposes, exchange-good transactions, marketing and branding, transparency and to guarantee authentication of product origins and ownership. Because these technologies are outside of the core functions of many fashion houses, we will discuss considerations for developing these technologies in-house or acquiring tech specializations through M&A endeavors.
Pierre-Emmanuel Perais, Partner in Linklaters’ Corporate, Mergers and Acquisitions Group
Joshua Ashley Klayman, Co-Head of Global Tech Sector, U.S. Head of Fintech, and Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets, Linklaters
17:15
Interview
Daniel L. Dominguez, Chair, Fashion, Luxury & Retail Group, BFKN (moderator)
Kelly Koyama, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Senior Vice President, Louis Vuitton Americas
Catherine So, General Counsel, Senior Vice President, Legal, Tiffany & Co
18.00
AI Book Launch, Luxury Law Awards, Roxanne Elings from Davis Wright Tremaine in Conversation with Asher Levine, American Fashion Designer, and Fashion Show
Cocktail Reception & Networking Drinks as hosted by Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP
21:00