Michael R. Cohen, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Merchant & Gould PC, where he practices in the following technology areas: Computer, Internet and information technology law as well as in general copyright and trademark practice and IP related transactions. He is the Co-author of “Legal Issues on the Internet” and author of “Computer Contracts” (West Publishing).

Gregory M. Duncan , kick-off speech, Senior Vice President, National Economic Research Associates, received his PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and is Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Southern California. He has directed a number of market research studies of offering, bundling and pricing of Internet offerings; on elasticities and market share losses, optimal pricing models, and market research design and support of internet B2B business plans.

Vadim Levitin, Luncheon Address, is Chief Operating Officer of ECommerce Institute, an electronic commerce development, training and solutions provider helping businesses and organizations improve market share, increase sales, and leverage core technologies to provide innovative e-care solutions for online customers.

Joseph M. Beck, a partner at Kilpatrick Stockton LLP and listed in "Best Lawyers in America, " is a trustee of the Copyright Society of USA, an Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property at Emory University Law School, the author of a novel and the producer of a television program.

Brian D. Bellardo is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at StockPower Inc. , a privately held Internet company that helps retailers build customer loyalty by putting stock into customer’s hands entirely over the Intenet. Before Stock Power, he was Vice President and Associate General Counsel with Charles Schwab & Co. , Inc.

Ernie L. Brooks is a founder and managing partner of Brooks & Kushman where his practice spans all areas of intellectual property for clients ranging from individual investors to Fortune 500 companies, currently including the Ford Motor Company.

Karen Brown is an Account Director at Carmichael Lynch which was recently named as one of the 10 best advertising agencies in the world.

Bruce W. Burton, CPA, CMA, CFE, is a partner at Deloitte & Touche and is the national leader of the firm’s Intellectual Asset Management Consulting practice. He focuses his practice on helping organizations identify, protect, manage, and extract value from their intellectual assets.

Duncan Cornell Card is partner and senior member of Davies Ward & Beck’s technology, e-commerce, and communications group. He is included as one of the top 200 Internet Lawyers in the world and serves on the Retail Council of Canada’s E-Business Committee.

Dawn L. Courrier, a Partner KPMG leads the Midwest e-Tax Solutions practice. In this leadership role she is responsible for the marketing and coordination of KPMG resources and delivery of services in the internet and e-Business practices of KPMG.

Lannie Dawson is Vice-president and Media Director at Martin Williams where she oversees a department of 45 media professionals in planning, buying, research and operations. She also oversees media strategies on Novartis Plant protection, Cargill and Pillsbury. Business Marketing recently named her one of the twelve “Best and Brightest Media Strategist. ”

Steven W. Finegold is a partner at Whitman Breed Abbott & Morgan LLP in New York, NY, where he specializes in Trademarklaw and Internet related business issues. His clients include Merv Griffin, Fuji Film USA, and Tishman Speyer Properties.

Edward F. Glynn, Jr. , is a partner at Venable Baetjer Howard & Civiletti LLP, where he practices advertising law and trade regulation. He spent 14 years at the FTC and is Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association.

Thomas W. Lathram is a partner in the Technology, Intellectual Property, and Trade Regulation practice groups at Thelen Reid & Priest LLP. He has had extensive experience litigating unfair business practice, false advertising, antitrust, unfair competition, and business tort claims.

Daniel McDonald is an officer with Merchant & Gould PC, a full-service intellectual property firm with offices in Minneapolis, Denver, & Seattle. He manages the firm’s litigation group. He also chairs the MSBA Computer Law Section and the Litigation Committee of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Association.

Heather L. McDowell is a partner at Venable Baetjer Howard & Civiletti LLP. She focuses on advertising and direct marketing communications, litigation, and trade regulations. She previously served on the staffs of both the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

Ralph Mehnert-Meland is Corporate Counsel with Great Plains Software in Fargo, North Dakota. His responsi-bilities include international mergers & acquisitions, intellectual property and transactional work. Great Plains is a global provider of financial management solutions to over 130, 000 customers in over 100 countries using cutting-edge Internet technologies in its products and internal operations.

Joel Ronning is Chief Executive Officer of Digital River, Inc. which he founded as part of his vision to become the number one source of software delivery via the Internet. Digital River has evolved into a global leader in e-commerce for not only software publishers, but also manufac-turers, retailers and distributors.

John Roberts is General Counsel of Net Perceptions, Inc. It is the world’s preeminent developer and supplier of realtime recommendation technology. Realtime recommendation technology predicts an individual’s preferences and makes specific recommendation accordingly.

Daniel A. Ross is member of the Trial Team and Media Law Practice Group at Dechert Price and Rhoads, where his practice includes counseling and complex litigation, including First Amendment, copyright and trademark issues, as well as issues relating to liability for Internet-based content.

Spenser Segal has spent his entire career in the financial services industry and recently joined American Express Financial Advisors to coordinate the overall financial services online strategy and develop-ment. Previously he helped build Big Charts into the leading provider of financial charting on the internet.

Steven J. Shumaker is in the Twin Cities office of Fish & Richardson PC, PA where his practice emphasises patent prosecution, patent validity and infringement options, licensing, counselingwith significant technical expertise in Internet technology. Previously he was an in-house intellectual property attorney at 3M, and later Imation Corp. , the 3M spin-off.

William J. Wernz is a partner at Dorsey & Whitney and practices in the area of Attorney Ethics and Malpractice. He is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct Committee, a former Adjunct Professor of Professional Responsibility University of Minne-sota Law School, and past President of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers.