Agenda

*All Times Eastern*

Wednesday, September 21

6:00 PM-8:00 PM

Reception

7:00 PM–8:30 PM

Reception: DSAPAC Fundraiser for Rep. Tim Walberg*

Thursday, September 22

7:30 AM-9:00 AM

Breakfast

8:00 AM-9:00 AM

Breakfast: DSAPAC Fundraiser for Rep. Marc Veasey*

9:00 AM-9:15 AM

Welcome to the DSA Legal & Regulatory Seminar

Joseph N. Mariano
President
Direct Selling Association

9:15 AM-10:00 AM

Congressional Support of Direct Selling

Members of Congress who support direct selling will discuss why they supporting the business in Congress and prospects for issues and legislation impacting the business in the years in to come and how we can work to position the industry for a positive outcome.

United States Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ)

United States Congressman Marc Veasey (D-TX)

10:00 AM-10:30 AM

Update from the Federal Trade Commission

A senior official from the Federal Trade Commission will discuss the priorities of the agency as well as how direct sellers and DSA can work better with the Commission to protect consumers while continuing to provide supplemental income for millions of Americans.

Samuel Levine
Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection
Federal Trade Commission

10:30 AM-10:45 AM

Break

10:45 AM-11:45 AM

Winston & Strawn Session

Leading industry attorneys will provide an update on hot issues impacting the industry.

Katrina Eash
Partner
Winston & Strawn

John Sanders
Partner
Winston & Strawn

11:45 AM-1:00 PM

Lunch

12:30 PM-1:00 PM

Remarks by United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

1:00 PM-2:00 PM

Compliance Officers Handbook

DSA released a first ever Compliance Officers Handbook which seeks to help companies stay compliant by offering best practices, tips and suggestions for companies just starting a compliance program, looking for ways to improve existing compliance programs, or onboarding new compliance professionals. The handbook’s main goal is to provide a standard base of good compliance practices across the industry.

Compliance Officers who drafted the handbook will discuss why the Compliance Officers Council decided to draft the handbook, how companies can utilize it and further updates that can be made to this critical document.

Alissa Neufeld
General Counsel
LifeVantage

Rena Schultz
Senior Director, Compliance
Xyngular

Jemima Wechsler
Group Vice President, Compliance
Beachbody LLC

Travis Wilson
Director of Business Development
Momentum Factor

2:00 PM-3:00 PM

Federal Trade Commission Earnings Claims ANPRM: What Next?

The Federal Trade Commission’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Unfair and Deceptive Earnings Claims was released in March. DSA and other industries filed comments in May regarding a rule that could have wide ranging impacts on the business. The FTC will determine whether to proceed with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the coming months.

Hear from members of DSA’s FTC Engagement Task Force members on what the comments said as well as insights on future strategies and engagement on the rule.

Linda Goldstein
Partner
Baker Hostetler

Jon Jackman
Vice President, Legal (Advertising)
Herbalife Nutrition

Justin Powell
Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel
Market America, Inc.

John Villafranco
Partner
Kelley, Drye & Warren

3:00 PM-3:15 PM

Break

3:15 PM-4:15 PM

Protecting Your Company’s Business Model

Direct selling companies are under the constant cloud of protecting themselves against allegations made by regulators and in private class action litigation challenging their business model.

Unfortunately, the legal guidance available on this issue, including statutes and case law, does not shed much light. Best practices in this area require that a company look at its entire business model including, especially, its products, compensation plan, and focus on retail sales to ultimate end users.

This panel will attempt to tackle this challenging subject by looking at the available law, a discussion of how a forensic economic analysis of a company’s data can educate, and a practical view of how the incentives built into your business can help minimize your vulnerability to an FTC enforcement action.

Branko Jovanoic
Principal
The Brattle Group

Daniel Kaufman
Partner
BakerHostetler

Kevin McMurray
Chief Legal Officer
Young Living

Larry Steinberg
Chair, Multilevel Marketing Practice Group
Buchalter

4:15 PM-5:00 PM

International Legal & Compliance Update

Industry leaders and leading legal minds from Canada and Europe talk about current developments in these important countries and regions that many direct selling companies have a presence in.

Laure Alexandre
Executive Director
SELDIA

Francisco Ortega Gaxiola
Partner
Turanzas, Bravo & Ambrosi

Beatrice Nelson-Beer
Chief Legal Officer, Head of LRC and HR
PM-International AG

Lewis Retik
Partner
Gowling WLG (Canada)

5:00 PM-6:00 PM

Reception

6:00 PM-8:00 PM

General Counsel Dinner

6:00 PM-8:00 PM

Compliance Officer Dinner

Friday, September 23

7:30 AM-9:00 AM

Breakfast

9:00 AM-10:00 AM

Top Down Compliance: How to Get Buy-In

Compliance is only effective if it is implemented at every level in the organization. The journey outside of the legal or compliance department has to start with the C-Suite and even Board of an organization. What methods are effective to get these senior leaders to prioritize compliance?

Hear from executives that have successfully navigated this strategy within their companies and tips for you to get buy-in from senior leaders.

Erin Barta
General Counsel
Mannatech

Brent Kugler
Partner
Scheef & Stone, LLP

Jacintha Parker
Senior Director, Business Ethics & Sustainability Team
Arbonne International LLC

Dan Whitney
Vice President, Ethics and Market Expansion
USANA Health Sciences, Inc.

10:00 AM-11:00 AM

Preserving Independent Contractor Status: Rule and Litigation Update

2022 has been a busy year for independent contractor status. There was a huge court victory by the Coalition of Workforce Innovation (which DSA serves as Vice Chair) ruling the Biden Administration recission of the Trump era independent contractor rule was not legal.

The Department of Labor followed up with proposing a rule on independent contractor status. Come here from people on the front line of those fights about what has happened and what is next. The Department of Labor followed up with proposing a rule on independent contractor status. Come here from people on the front line of those fights about what has happened and what is next.

Evan Armstrong
Vice President, Workforce
Retail Industry Leaders Association (Moderator)

Marek Laco
Deputy Chief of Staff
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY)

Jim Paretti
Shareholder
Littler Mendelson, P.C.

Matt Sommer
Legislative Assistant
United States Senator Mike Braun (R-IN)

Glenn Spencer
Senior Vice President, Employment Policy Division
United States Chamber of Commerce

11:00 AM-12:00 PM

Update from the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council

Executives from the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) will provide an update on program activity in the first half of 2022 as well as its current work, including updates to the recently released Earnings Claims Guidance. They will also discuss projects they are currently working on to further educate and provide resources to the industry.

Peter Marinello
Vice President
Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council
BBB National Programs

Howard Smith
Senior Attorney
Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council
BBB National Programs

12:00 PM-1:00 PM

Lunch

12:00 PM-1:00 PM

Government Relations Committee

*Separate contribution required. Please contact bbennett@dsa.org for more information.

  • Jenkon

    Jenkon

  • MillarKreklewetzLLP

    Millar

  • MomentumFactor

    MomentumFactor

  • Nexio2

    Nexio

  • ScheefStone

    ScheefStone

  • Squire

    Squire

  • WinstonStrawn

    WinstonStrawn