What's in Your Toolbox? Practical Tips for Avoiding Unintended Consequences by Balancing Litigation and Regulatory Discipline

Neal Walters and Lorene Boudreau, both partners in Ballard Spahr's Litigation Department, will speak at the National Association of Manufacturers' 2026 Manufacturing Legal Summit. They will be joined in conversation by Ali Rader, legal counsel at Rosenbauer America, and Amy Lawson, principal at Ramboll.

The event description:

Manufacturers face legal risks that rarely stay in one lane. Litigation strategy, regulatory reporting, product liability approaches, serious incident response, and vendor disputes can all affect one another—and a move that helps in one forum may create challenges in another. This session will offer practical guidance for coordinating litigation defense with regulatory compliance and enforcement strategy. Panelists will discuss how in-house teams and outside counsel can manage parallel proceedings, protect privilege, align messaging, address settlement considerations, and decide when to fight, cooperate, or recalibrate.