Winston & Strawn Attorneys Speak at the 2023 Northern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference

On April 14, 2023, Winston & Strawn attorneys participated in the 6th Annual Northern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference hosted by the Dallas and Fort Worth Chapters of the Federal Bar Association. The full-day CLE event was attended by over 600 federal judges, attorneys, law clerks, and law students. The day was filled with panels and speakers covering a variety of legal topics, such as updates to the federal sentencing guidelines, First Amendment issues, and trial advocacy, to name a few.

This year, Dallas Associate Ashley Wright served as one of the event’s co-chairs and participated in the first “Fed Talk” series in which she challenged all attendees to lean into “The Power of Sponsorship.” She discussed the difference between mentorship and sponsorship and how the latter is essential to furthering DEI efforts in the profession. She also gave special recognition to Tom Melsheimer for sponsorship and support of her career. Watch a clip of Ashley’s speech here.

Dallas Managing Partner Tom Melsheimer served as a panelist on a panel titled “ Patent Litigation: Trends in NDTX and Beyond” along with NDTX federal judges, in-house counsel, and private practitioners. He discussed the future of patent litigation and tips for crafting case strategy.

A panel titled “In Pursuit of Justice: Missions, Priorities, and Collaboration Across Agencies and Offices” included remarks by top leaders in the NDTX criminal justice system. The panelists discussed how each of their offices is committed to improving the criminal justice system and how collaboration between the offices ensure that justice is truly served.

Dallas Associate Collin Groebe moderated a panel titled “Paradigm Shift: How Cryptocurrency is Changing Litigation and Government Enforcement” with the Honorable Stacey Jernigan, Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge, ND Texas, David Hirsch, Chief of the SEC’s Crypto Asset Unit, Errin Martin, and Section Chief of the DOJ’s National Security, Cyber, and Money Laundering Unit.

Several Winston attorneys attended the program and enjoyed learning from the esteemed panels of judges and lawyers.

Photographs Courtesy of DaMarcus Wright of DWright Media.