Key legal insights at IRE 2025

By Emma Peterson.

Don’t miss industry expert Trent Cotney’s education sessions!

Are you ready for the 2025 International Roofing Expo (IRE)? Kicking off on February 19, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas, this is the biggest trade event for the construction and maintenance industry in North America. There is so much to do there, from exploring the hundreds of exhibitor booths on the trade floor to attending in-depth education sessions from leaders in all parts of the industry.

One such leader that will be there is Trent Cotney of Adams and Reese. If you haven’t heard of Trent, he is a leading construction lawyer and a staunch advocate for the construction industry local, state and national governments. He serves as the general counsel for a variety of leading associations and organizations, including but not limited to the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), Florida Roofing & Sheet Metal Association (FRSA), National Slate Association (NSA) and Western States Roofing Contractors Association (WSRCA).  

At this year’s IRE, Trent will be teaching and participating in multiple education sessions. We’ve made you a quick guide to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to learn from Trent!  

Deep dive: State of the industry 2025

Kicking off the show on Wednesday, February 19 at 8:15 a.m. (ending at 9:15 a.m.), Trent will be a part of the state of the industry panel. He will share his insights on the challenges the workforce faces, whether that be production efficiency or cost control. Attendees of this session can expect to leave with better insight into the upcoming year’s predicted market performance, emerging trends, innovations and more!  

NRCA 2025 safety leadership workshop

Also on February 19, Trent will be one of the speakers at the NRCA’s safety workshop. This is a one-day workshop (running from 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.) that is aimed at professionals in leadership positions, such as owners, project managers and supervisors. This is an opportunity for them to enhance their knowledge on safety and health topics. There are a variety of speakers that will be stopping by this workshop to talk about everything from risk management and safety culture to insurance and legal information. As one of the speakers, Trent will be focusing on sharing federal and regional perspectives on recent regulatory changes in the roofing industry.

Legal issues with sub labor

Then, on Friday, February 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Trent will be presenting his own educational session. He will focus on the topic of subcontractor labor and the subsequent legal issues that might arise when working with subs. The session will cover topics like the new independent contractor rule, quality control, insurance, OSHA inspections and more. Overall, attendees will learn how to work with subcontractor labor in a way the mitigates and manages risk.  

And, if you are looking for even more opportunities to learn from industry experts like Trent, make sure to check out the National Women In Roofing (NWIR)’s annual conference (NWIR Days), happening in San Antonio right before IRE! A little bird told us that Trent’s fellow attorney at Adams and Reese, Ashlee Poplin, will be speaking there!  

You can register for the 2025 IRE online and you can also register for NWIR Days 2025 online!