MASS-TORT MDL CONFERENCE - Rabiej Litigation Law Center

MDL BENCH-BAR LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law

Lincoln Hall

September 28-29, 2023

This conference is open by invitation only. If you have significant experience in a mass-tort MDL and are interested in an invitation, please send a request to be invited along with a short description of your MDL experience to Contact@RabiejCenter.org.

Join the Rabiej Litigation Law Center as it continues the unprecedented program bringing 30-40 federal judges and 75-125 plaintiff and defense attorneys together to exchange insights about different case-management practices in mass-tort MDLs. The goal is to get views from as many different perspectives as possible on practices that have worked well and others that have not worked so well and develop or refine guidelines and best practices implementing the best of them. Such guidance is needed now more than ever to address: (i) emerging mass-tort MDL bankruptcies; (ii) the new MDL Rule 16.1 recommended by the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules, and (iii) the problem of premature mass-tort MDLs.

The conference will bring together a mixed balance of judges experienced and not experienced in mass-tort MDLs as well as practitioners and other experts, who have extensive mass-tort MDL practice. Six timely topics will be addressed. The topics include:

Panel 1: Centralization of Premature Mass-Tort MDLs; Early Screening of Claims for Merit
Panel 2: Optimizing Initial Pretrial Mass-Tort MDL Conference (Proposed New Rule 16.1)
Panel 3: Transfer of a Mass-Tort MDL to Bankruptcy Court, e.g., Using Information Developed in Mass-Tort MDL as Basis for Estimating Values of Tort Claims and Future Claims in MDL Bankruptcy

Panel 4: Procedures Handling Centralization of Class Actions in an MDL
Panel 5: Getting a Handle on the Number of Law Firms and Attorneys Appointed to Discovery and Other Committees in a Mass-Tort MDL
Panel 6: Examining Expanding Roles of Special Masters and Court-Appointed Experts and Technical Advisors in Mass-Tort MDLs

The Center’s teams of more than 35 attorneys and judges have developed draft guidelines and best practices addressing these topics, which will be considered at the conference. By bringing together practicing attorneys and judges, all can learn from each other on how best to manage the difficult issues arising in them, particularly the three overarching issues.

On day one of the conference, six panels of plaintiff and defense attorneys will address recurring MDL issues, identifying MDL practices that were successful and those practices that resulted in unforeseen adverse consequences, as well as consideration of premature mass-tort MDLs and mass-tort MDL bankruptcies. All attorneys attending the conference will have an opportunity to add their insights about their own experiences. Informal conversations will continue into the evening at a group dinner for all.

On day two of the conference, only judges will attend. Experienced MDL judges will respond to the concerns raised the preceding day by the attorneys. The judges will then drill down into specific issues led by the experienced MDL judges.

After the conference, opportunities will be be provided to join existing and new teams of attorneys and judges refining or developing guidelines and best practices, which eventually will be incorporated into the Center’s mass-tort MDL compendium.

New Jersey has approved 420 minutes (8.4 CLE credits) for attending the conference. Attorneys will receive a Certificate of Attendance, a Notification of CLE Course Accreditation, and a completed Uniform Application for Accreditation form after the conference in order to submit CLE hours for their state.

CHATHAM HOUSE RULE

The conference will be held under the Chatham House Rule: “[P]articipants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), or that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

Registration

The registration fee for day one of the conference for lawyers is $1,200, which includes conference materials, a continental breakfast, coffee breaks, lunch, and a group reception on Thursday evening. Two or more lawyers registering from the same law firm receive major discounts (single registrant – $1,200; second registrant – $900; and third and each additional registrant – $750).

CLE

New Jersey has approved 420 minutes (8.4 CLE credits) and Illinois has approved 6.75 general CLE credits for attending the MDL Bench-Bar Leadership Conference on September 28, 2023. Attorneys will receive a Certificate of Attendance, a Notification of CLE Course Accreditation, and a completed Uniform Application for Accreditation form after the conference in order to submit CLE hours for their state.

Conference Details

Agenda

Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

Pritzker School of Law Lincoln Hall

September 28-29, 2023 WEDNESDAY (Faculty Only) (Thank you Rubris, Inc., for Sponsoring the Dinner!)

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Faculty-Only Dinner:(Thank you Rubris, Inc. for Sponsoring the Dinner!)

THURSDAY: FIRST DAY – ATTORNEYS AND JUDGES

7:30 am – 8:30 am Breakfast:

8:30 am – 8:45 am Welcoming Remarks (Hon. Amy St. Eve, Professor Zachary Clopton, and John Rabiej)

8:50 am – 10:00 am Panel 1: Centralization of Premature Mass-Tort MDLs; Early Screening of Claims for Merit

Moderator: Professor David Noll, Rutgers Law School

Sheila Birnbaum, Dechert LLP
Alyson Oliver, Oliver Law Group
Brian Jackson, Butler Snow LLP
William Beausoleil, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
George Fleming, Fleming Nolen Nez LLP
Megan Pizor, Litigation Management, Inc.

10:00 am – 10:15 am Break

10:15 am – 11:15 am Panel 2: Optimizing Initial Pretrial Mass-Tort MDL Conference (Proposed New Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1)

Moderator: Professor David Noll, Rutgers Law School

Francis Citera, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Peter Rotolo, Chaffe McCall LLP
Don Downing, Gray Ritter Graham
Susan Sharko, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Roopal Luhana, Chaffin Luhana LLP
Kristian Rasmussen, Milberg LLP

11:20 am – 12:30 pm Panel 3: Addressing the Interrelation Between the MDL and Bankruptcy Practcies and Procedures in Resolving the Litigation

Moderator: Professor Zachary Clopton, Northwestern University School of Law

Hon. Robert Drain (ret. United States Bankruptcy Court S.D.N.Y.) Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Hon. Melanie Cyganowski — United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D.N.Y. (Ret.), Otterbourg PC
David Molton, Brown Rudnick LLP
Erin Diers, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Ed Bell, Rubris, Inc.
Anne Andrews, Andrews & Thornton

12:30 pm – 1:45 pm Lunch: Speaker — Hon. Robert Dow, Northern District of Illinois, Counsel to the Chief Justice of the United States

1:45 pm – 2:55 pm Panel 4: Procedures Handling Centralization of Class Actions in an MDL

Moderator: Professor Lynn Baker, University of Texas School of Law

Geoffrey Coan, Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Anthony Weibell, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, PC
Chris Seeger, Seeger Weiss LLP
Brooke Hodge, EisnerAmper
Daniel Nigh, Nigh Goldenberg Raso & Vaughn PLLC

3:00 pm – 4:10 pm Panel 5: Getting a Handle on the Number of Law Firms and Attorneys Appointed to Discovery and Other Committees in a Mass-Tort MDL

Moderator: Professor Lynn Baker, University of Texas School of Law

Andrew Cosgrove, TCDI
Sarah Jin, Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Majed Nachawati, Nachawati Law Group
Rene Rocha, Morgan & Morgan
Khaldoun, Baghdadi – Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

4:10 pm – 4:25 pm Break

4:25 pm – 5:35 pm Panel 6: Examining Expanding Roles of Special Masters and Court-Appointed Experts and Technical Advisors in Mass-Tort MDLs

Moderator: Professor Zachary Clopton, Northwestern University School of Law

Palmer Lambert, Pendley, Baudin & Coffin LLP
Paul LaFata, Dechert LLP
Gary Russo, Jones Walker LLP
Tim Raab, Alvarez & Marsal LLC
Deborah Greenspan, Blank Rome LLP

6:15 pm – 7:00 pm Reception: Osteria Via Stato, 620 State Street

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Dinner: Osteria Via Stato, 620 State Street (Thank you Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger; Shook Hardy & Bacon; and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati for Sponsoring the Reception and Dinner!)

FRIDAY: SECOND DAY – JUDGES ONLY

7:15 am – 8:00 am Breakfast:

8:00 am – 9:30 am Panel 1. Premature Centralization of Mass-Tort MDL and Optimizing Initial-Management Conference

Moderator: Professor David Noll, Rutgers Law School

Hon. Amy St. Eve, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. Nancy Rosenstengel, Southern District of Illinois
Hon. Eduardo Robreno, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

9:30 am – 9:45 am Break

9:45 am –11:10 am Panel 2. Handling Putative Class Actions Centralized in an MDL and Addressing the Interrelation Between the MDL and Bankruptcy Practices and Procedures in Resolving the Litigation

Moderator: Professor Zachary Clopton

Hon. Michael Kaplan, United States Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey
Hon. Bernice Donald, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (Ret. Resolute Systems)
Hon. Joy Flowers Conti, Western District of Pennsylvania

11:15 am – 12:30 pm Panel 3. Managing Mass-Tort MDLs, Focusing on the Number and Size of Committees and Roles of Special Masters and Court-Appointed Experts and Technical Advisors

Moderator: Professor Lynn Baker

Hon. Joy Flowers Conti, Western District of Pennsylvania
Hon. Eduardo Robreno, Eastern District of Pennsylvania

ADJOURNMENT

Panelists

Short Biographies of Panelists

Andrews, Anne — Andrews & Thornton
Baghdadi, Khaldoun – Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
Beausoleil, William — Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Bell, Ed — Rubris Inc.
Birnbaum, Sheila — Dechert LLP
Citera, Francis — Greenberg Traurig LLP
Coan, Geoffrey — Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Cosgrove, Andrew — TCDI
Hon. Cyganowski, Melanie — United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D.N.Y. (Ret.), Otterbourg PC
Diers, Erin — Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
Downing, Don — Gray Ritter Graham
Hon. Drain, Robert — United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D.N.Y. (Ret.), Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Fleming, George — Fleming Nolen Nez LLP
Greenspan, Deborah — Blank Rome LLP
Hodge, Brooke — EisnerAmper
Jackson, Brian — Butler Snow LLP
Jin, Sarah — Barnes & Thornburg LLP
LaFata, Paul — Dechert LLP
Lambert, Palmer — Pendley, Baudin & Coffin LLP
Luhana, Roopal — Chaffin Luhana LLP
Molton, David — Brown Rudnick LLP
Nachawati, Majed — Nachawati Law Group
Noll, David — Rutgers Law School
Oliver, Alyson — Oliver Law Group
Pizor, Megan — Litigation Management, Inc.
Raab, Tim — Alvarez & Marsal LLC
Rasmussen, Kristian — Milberg LLP
Rocha, Rene — Morgan & Morgan
Rotolo, Peter — Chaffe McCall LLP
Russo, Gary — Jones Walker LLP
Seeger, Chris — Seeger Weiss LLP
Sharko, Susan — Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
Weibell, Anthony — Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC

Materials

Panel 1- Centralization of Premature Mass-Tort MDLs; Early Screening of Claims for Merit

Description of Challenges in Vetting Claims in MDL — Vetting the Wether: One Shepherd’s View, Hon. M. Casey Rodgers, v. 89:4 UMKC Law Review (June 2021) View Details
JPML’s Explanations for Rejecting Objections Asserting Influx of Meritless Filings — JPML Transfer Order, In re: Bard Implanted Cetheter Prod. Liab. Litig., MDL No. 3081 (Aug. 8, 2023) View Details
Liberalizing JPML Criteria Applied to Centralizing Actions, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (December 20, 2023) View Details
Work-in-Progress Draft, Mass-Tort MDL Maturity-Criteria Guidelines, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (July 2, 2023) View Details
§ 22.1 Introduction (Maturity Elements Discussion), Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
§ 22.3 Multiple Filings in Federal District Courts (Maturity Elements), Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
Report of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and the Working Group on Mass Torts to the Chief Justice of the United States and to the Judicial Conference of the United States (February 15, 1999) View Details
Mass Torts Problems and Proposals: A Report to the Mass Torts Working Group, Thomas Willging, Federal Judicial Center (Appendix C) (January 1, 1999) View Details

Panel 2 — Optimizing Initial Pretrial Mass-Tort MDL Conference

Preliminary Draft of Proposed New Rule 16.1 on MDL Proceedings, Published for Public Comment, Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure – (August 2023) View Details
Work-in-Progress Initial Pretrial Conference in an MDL Best Practices, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (September 16, 2023) View Details
§ 11.2 Pretrial Conferences in Complex Litigation, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
§ 22.6 Pretrial Conferences in Mass-Tort MDLs, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
§ 40.52 Mass Tort Case-Management Order, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details

Panel 3 –Transfer of Mass-Tort MDL to Bankruptcy Court, e.g., Using Information Developed in Mass-Tort MDL as Basis for Estimating Values of Tort Claims and Future Claims in MDL Bankruptcy

Work-in-Progress Best Practices for Mass-Tort MDL-Bankruptcy Judicial Estimation of Tort Claims, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (September 13, 2023) View Details
§ 22.5 Multiple Filings in District and Bankruptcy Courts, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
Official Talc Claimants Committee’s Motion to Authorize Estimation of Claims for Voting Purposes, Second LTL Management Bankruptcy (New Jersy, July 12, 2023) View Details

Panel 4 — Procedures Handling Centralization of Class-Actions in an MDL

§ 22.7 Class Actions in Mass-Tort Cases, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details

Panel 5 — Getting a Handle on the Number of Law Firms and Attorneys Appointed to Discovery and Other Committees in a Mass-Tort MDL

§ 22.62 Organization of Counsel, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
Guideline 2, Best Practices 2(A) – (D), Guidelines and Best Practices for Large and Mass-Tort MDLs, Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School (Second Edition)(Sept. 2018) View Details

Panel 6 — Examining Expanding Roles of Special Masters and Court-Appointed Experts and Technical Advisors in Mass-Tort MDLs

§ 22.87 Experts and Scientific Evidence, Manual for Complex Litigation Fourth Edition (2004) View Details
Proposed ABA Model Rule on Court-Appointed Neutrals [state-court actions] (August 2023) View Details
Approved ABA Model Rule on Court-Appointed Neutrals [state-court actions] (August 7, 2023) View Details

Registration

Requests to register for the invitation-only conference should be sent to contact@rabiejcenter.org with a brief description of at a minimum of seven years’ experience with mass-tort MDLs.

Multiple Registrations —Two or more lawyers registering from the same law firm receive major discounts (single registrant – $1,200; second registrant – $900; and third and each additional registrant – $750).
In-House Counsel Discount —The registration fee for in-house counsel whose company does not provide a budget for continuing education and training is $250.

Please check the “Other Registration” box under “Registration Type” and insert the discounted fee amount.