YES WE HAD A CONFERENCE, AND YES IT WAS AMZING– if you were there you know, and if you weren’t, well….

I will update with more pics throughout the day. All I had time for right now. :):):)

So…

The Troutman Amin Summer/Advertising Law Conference was last Thursday and… YES IT WAS AMAZING!

An absolutely incredible event. So so so much positive feedback. Everybody loved it.

As I said to the lucky attendees–those who had tickets to attend in person!!–they can say “I was there” forever.

Without question this will be an annual event. We obtained only a small conference facility but we could have filled 3 times over with the number of folks requesting tickets.

And so many major brands attended–both in person and virtually. Plus we had a ton of AmLaw 100 law firms attend–and all of them requested our slides, hahahaha.

That’s fine, I don’t mind helping #biglaw to get up to speed on the incredible cutting edge topics we covered.

But there were a few real highlights here:

Puja’s incredible opening remarks–she absolutely blew me out of the water. AMAZING! You can watch the end of her address here;
Brendan from Polly (i.e. a guy who flew in from Vermont to attend the conference!) had an amazing comment linking state privacy compliance tips that blew everyone’s minds;
Back to Puja, the last 10 minutes of her compliance presentation was probably the best content I have ever seen at a conference, and TRUST ME all the attendees agreed;
Brent and I dueling on the scope of First Amendment protections and the link to carrier deliverability–oh, and the announcement that the first lawsuits against carrier call blocking (looking at you AT&T) would be filed this year (and sooner that you might expect);
The Countess and the Duchess coming through with incredible visual aides on the patchwork topics of state privacy enactments and the mini-TCPA.

Just incredible stuff.

But that’s just a handful of moments. The conference was absolutely full of CRITICAL content and the day just flew by.

And the virtual option? Chef’s kiss baby. Three camera format–including a handheld steadycam–with behind-the-scenes footage and the slides on a separate panel for easy reference.

Kiera and Zeina made it all possible!!!

It was expensive but we treated the event LIKE AN EVENT and not like a conference. And it really paid off. The virtual attendees stuck around throughout and had some of the best questions and many told me “it was like I was there.”

The event kicked off with an incredible speech by Puja to get us started (I may have said a few words also but everyone forgot them as soon as Puja started talking.)

In seriousness it is amazing how responsive everybody was to Puja. Every time she took the stage the audience perked up. lots of attention. Lots of focus. Audible “woots” and tons of interaction. She is a star. An absolute star.

I then spent 1.5 hours diving through the TCPA–with a particular focus on the battle over express consent. Indeed I dove deeper into the arguments of Public Knowledge and NCLC than I ever had before. Critical stuff. The audience loved it as I helped them to really UNDERSTAND the shape and scope of the arguments here.

Next the Duchess delivered a fantastic breakdown of the state of mini-TCPA’s right now, including incredible visuals that helped orient folks to the scope of the proliferation of mini-TCPAs and state level specific requirements.

After lunch the Countess launched us into a privacy road trip and a ton of AMAZING content was provided. Really actionable stuff. Amazing command. Countess really is a privacy pro and it SHOWED.

Next up was Brittany who wowed with Hot CIPA Summer–and my goodness are the risks under the California Invasion of Privacy Act growing. From her historic overview to the discussion of the new theories posing the most risk–and the $5k per violation penalties–everyone was tuned in.

Then, of course, the star of the show–Queenie. Puja Amin is an absolute monster right now. I am not used to being outdone or overshadowed but as she stalked the stage in her bright blazer (what color was it?) there was no question she owned the place. And I LOVED TO SEE IT! Her final 10 minute breakdown of state privacy and CIPA compliance tips were the finest stuff I have ever seen at a conference. Seriously. Amazing.

I then broke down the carrier call blocking and labeling problems in this nation explaining how we are at an inflection point. The carriers have been pushed into blocking perfectly legal traffic–and have chosen to label calls to make money using their own white listing services–and this is going to come to an end. And the Czar will make sure of it.

The Dame And I

Then came the Dame with her ethereal remarks on AI and the future of legislating the incredible risks and rewards posed by the emerging technology. Some told me they thought Tori’s breakdown was the highlight of the show. On the other hand some found the startling realities of the AI landscape too much to bear…

Finally we concluded with an HOUR LONG QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION. Despite devoting a full hour to this people were asking questions all the way until the end. I think most agreed this was actually the most informative and incredible segment of all. Amazing.

After breaking we gave everyone a tour of the new office!!! Attendees were treated to viewing our new suite along with our cool conference table. podcast studio and massive sign. hahaha. It was such a pleasure to welcome folks in and make them feel at home.