On October 28, Tucker Ellis hosted the in-person segment of its 12th annual In-House Counsel Summit Series. In-house counsel gathered at the firm’s Cleveland office for an afternoon dedicated to networking and continuing legal education presentations. The program featured five interesting and educational sessions, which covered the following topics:

1. IP Lessons Learned from Taylor Swift
   This entertaining presentation by Sandy Wunderlich and Francesca LaMontagne celebrated the music mogul Taylor Swift and the enforcement of her intellectual property rights, including the protection of her name, image, and Reputation through trademark enforcement and her unique approaches to enforcing her copyrights for Evermore – enlisting the help of the Swiftie fan base to “Change” the way digital streaming platforms compensate all musicians.
2. Beyond the Headlines: Practical Strategies to Prevent and Respond to Labor Trafficking Risk in Light of Recent Litigation
   This session presented by Joe Manno and Chelsea Mikula equipped in-house counsel with practical strategies to identify, prevent, and respond to labor-trafficking risk across operations and supply chains – demystifying the current legal landscape, translating enforcement and litigation trends into concrete exposure points, and walking through high-impact controls: vendor due diligence, contract terms, auditing, complaint channels, and remediation frameworks. Using real-world examples, the program covered internal investigations, privilege and documentation hygiene, crisis communications, and board/ESG reporting.
3. Wait, Wait … Don’t Disbar Me!
   Following the format of the radio show Wait, Wait . . .Don’t Tell Me!, Caroline Tinsley and Grayson Sieg explored what listeners need to know about cutting-edge ethical challenges related to AI, social media, and other ethical dilemmas. Using the WWDTM challenges such as Panel Questions, Bluff the Listener, Lightning Fill-in-the-Blank, and Listener Limerick Challenge, the questions explored ethical questions and answers with contestants.
4. Ethics and Compliance – Is that a Legal, Board, or CEO Function?
   As investor scrutiny, stakeholder expectations, and regulatory demands continue to rise, organizations face increasing pressure to maintain strong ethics and compliance frameworks. But if the board, CEO, and legal department each believe that the buck stops with someone else, how can the framework be effective? This program, led by Jayne Juvan and Tony Petruzzi, explored the lines of responsibility and the interplay between legal departments, boards of directors, and executive team members. Panelists covered topics including best practices for establishing a culture of integrity, the role of oversight versus management, and how to continually refine compliance programs to meet everchanging needs – providing attendees with practical insights into defining accountability, fostering collaboration across functions, and ensuring that an organization’s compliance effort is not simply a check-the-box exercise, but a driver of both organizational trust and long-term value.
5. Supreme Court Term in Review
   From Tik-Tok to ERISA, the Supreme Court’s 2024–25 term was significant in its own right, but also for companies large and small. Presenters Elisa Arko, Chad Eggspuehler, Mike Ruttinger, Ben Sassé, Jeff Sindelar, Ethan Weber, and Razi Lane discussed some of the past term’s important cases, the practical implications for in-house counsel, and upcoming highlights. Topics included limits on universal injunctions, technology regulation, healthcare enforcement, employment discrimination, ERISA fiduciary exposure, immigration enforcement, and the shadow docket.

The series will continue over the next several weeks with four more virtual sessions.