Ralph Dado Presents Legal-Engineering Approach to Catastrophic Risk at 2026 NFPA Conference & Expo
09.02.26
On June 23, Aronberg Goldgehn Member and Chair of the White Collar Investigations, Risk & Integrity practice group Ralph Dado served as an invited speaker at the 2026 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Dado and co-presenter Michael Snyder, Vice President of Operational Risk Management at DEKRA Process Safety, presented a session titled “Engineering, Law & the NFPA Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™: Catastrophic Risk Prevention & Response.”
The presentation used NFPA’s Fire & Life Safety Ecosystem™ as a framework for examining how the multiple components of organizational safety systems interact before, during, and after a potentially catastrophic event. Dado and Snyder explored how technical standards, engineering decisions, high-consequence risk identification, investment and resource allocation, leadership governance, preparedness and response, and legal and regulatory considerations can operate as parts of a single interconnected risk system.
The session discussed principles associated with high-reliability organizations; the identification and escalation of weak risk signals; the role of NFPA codes, standards, and recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices in risk-based decision-making; and the ways in which organizational decisions and actions may later be reconstructed and evaluated by regulators, investigators, and enforcement authorities. Case studies were used to demonstrate how known technical hazards, deferred corrective actions, documentation practices, and organizational decision-making can converge in the aftermath of a catastrophic event, including in the form of individual and corporate criminal exposure.
“Ralph’s NFPA session was a natural fit for the work he is leading,” said Aronberg Goldgehn Senior Member John C. Sciaccotta. “Catastrophic events do not respect organizational silos. Engineering, operational, governance, and other decisions all become part of the same record, with potentially significant legal consequences. The Safety & Risk practice helps companies connect those perspectives before an event occurs, understand their potential legal consequences, and make a difference while there is still an opportunity to reduce the chance or impact of a serious event.”
The Safety & Risk practice within Aronberg’s White Collar Investigations, Risk & Integrity group advises companies on proactive risk management and organizational assessments, safety and quality architecture, crisis preparedness, and responses to catastrophic or potentially catastrophic events. The practice integrates legal, regulatory, enforcement, governance, engineering, and operational perspectives, frequently within a privileged framework.
