Mass-Tort MDL Leadership Bench-Bar Leadership Summit (2026)

Mass-Tort MDL Bench-Bar leadership Summit

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law — July 16, 2026

The Center will hold a Bench-Bar Leadership Summit on Mass-Tort MDLs at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law on July 16, 2026, examining five general topics, including:

single consolidated master pleadings
joint training of TAR and generative AI to search discoverable documents and validate results
judge panel — which procedure that you adopted in a mass-tort MDL would you have changed in hindsight
optional deadlines for resolution of actions, including deadline after several years into the case for submission of essential documentation of claim with failure to submit documentation subject to automatic dismissal with prejudice without show-cause hearing
proposed best practices recommending 10% default common-benefit fee and expenses assessment and assigning higher compensable common-benefit tasks to more law firms in a mass-tort MDL

Ten to fifteen federal judges will join 20-25 practicing lawyers and other experts on five panels and consider recommending guidance addressing identified issues. Registrations for the summit will be limited.

The smaller size and the addition of more federal judges will ensure an in-depth analysis and better inform the process drafting best practices after the summit. All attending are expected to participate in discussions.

The New Jersey state bar has approved 435 minutes of CLE credit for attending the summit.

Summit Details

Agenda

Mass-Tort MDL Bench-Bar Leadership Summit

Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (July 16, 2026)

Wednesday, July 15

6:00 pm — 6:30 pm Reception: 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm Dinner at Osteria Via Stato, 620 N. State Street (Rubris, Inc. — Sponsor)

Thursday, July 16

Location: Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law, RB 175, 420 E. Superior Street Entrance

7:45 am — 8:30 am: Continental Breakfast

8:30 am – 8:40 am: Opening Remarks — John Rabiej

PANELIST BIOS

PANELIST QUESTIONS

8:40 am – 10:15 am: Panel 1 – Single Consolidated Pleadings; Setting and Holding Pilot (Test) Trials Early in the MDL

Moderator: Professor Myriam E Gilles, Northwestern University School of Law

Sheila Birnbaum — Dechert LLP
Edward Dumoulin — Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
Geoffrey Coan — Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Hon. Joy Flowers Conti — Western District of Pennsylvania
Stephen McConnell – Reed Smith LLP
Cliff Merrell — Greenberg Traurig LLP
Lori Cohen — Greenberg Traurig LLP
Aaron Freedman — Weitz & Luxenberg PC
Hon. Melanie Cyganowski — Otterbourg
Hon. Rebecca Pallmeyer — Northern District of Illinois

10:15 am – 10:30 am: Break

10:30 am – 12:00 pm: Panel 2 – Major Barriers to AI in Ediscovery — Lessons from TAR Experience

Moderator: Professor Adam Hoeflich, Northwestern University School of Law

Erica Zolner — Redgrave LLP
Bill Belt — CDS, Complete Discovery Source
Michael Zogby – Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Shannon McClure — Blank Rome LLP
William Monahan – Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Rebecca Weinstein Bacon — Bartlit Beck LLP
Jacksy Bilsborrow — Weitz & Luxenberg PC
Hon. Iain Johnston, Northern District of Illinois
Hon. Hope Cannon – Northern District of Florida

12:00 pm — 12:45 pm: Lunch, Second Floor

12:45 pm – 1:45 pm: Panel 3 – Judge Panel — Which procedure that you adopted in a mass-tort MDL would you have changed in hindsight?

Moderator: Khaldoun Baghdadi — Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

Hon. Matthew Kennelly — Northern District of Illinois
Hon. Leigh Martin May — Northern District of Georgia
Hon. David Proctor — Northern District of Alabama
Hon. Joy Flowers Conti — Western District of Pennsylvania

1:45 pm – 2:00 pm: Break

2:00 pm – 3:45 pm: Panel 4 – “Docket-Control” order issued after several years into the mass-tort MDL, which imposes deadlines to submit — after reasonable notice — medical records and documentation of injury; failure to submit records subject to automatic dismissal with prejudice without show-cause hearing

Moderator: Professor Adam Hoeflich, Northwestern University School of Law

Alex Parkinson — Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, PLLC
Jennifer Greenblatt — Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
Khaldoun Baghdadi — Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
Peter Rotolo — Chaffe McCall LLP
Steve Huffaker — DLA Piper
Alyson Jones — Butler Snow LLP
Ashlie Sletvold — Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise
Deborah Greenspan — Blank Rome LLP
Hon. Darrin Gayles — Southern District of Florida

3:50 pm – 5:15 pm: Panel 5 – Default 10% common-benefit assessment and allocation of more money to more individual law firms for common-benefit work in mass-tort MDL

Moderator: Professor Myriam E Gilles, Northwestern University School of Law

Ashlie Sletvold — Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise
Jeffrey Berniard — Berniard Law Firm
Jacksy Bilsborrow — Weitz & Luxenberg PC
Jen Alpert — Rubris, Inc.
Palmer Lambert – Pendley, Baudin & Coffin LLP
Michael Dockterman — McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Hon. Karoline Mehalchick — Middle District of Pennsylvania

5:15 pm: Adjournment Grab-and-Go Snacks

Attendees

Attendees

Hon. Cannon, Hope — Northern District of Florida
Hon. Conti, Joy Flowers — Western District of Pennsylvania
Hon. Gayles, Darrin — Southern District of Florida
Hon. Jantz, Beth — Northern District of Illinois
Hon. Johnston, Iain — Northern District of Illinois
Hon. Kennelly, Matthew — Northern District of Illinois
Hon. Lee, John — Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Hon. May, Leigh Martin — Northern District of Georgia
Hon. Mehalchick, Karoline — Middle District of Pennsylvania
Hon. Pallmeyer, Rebecca — Northern District of Illinois
Hon. Proctor, David — Northern District of Alabama
Hon. Cyganowski, Melanie — Otterbourg
Professor Gilles, Myriam E — Northwestern University School of Law
Professor Hoeflich, Adam — Northwestern University School of Law; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Alpert, Jen — Rubris, Inc.
Bacon, Rebecca Weinstein — Bartlit Beck LLP
Baghdadi, Khaldoun — Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger
Belt, Bill — CDS, Complete Discovery Source
Berniard, Jeffrey — Berniard Law Firm
Bilsborrow, Jacksy — Weitz & Luxenberg PC
Birnbaum, Sheila — Dechert LLP
Coan, Geoffrey — Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP
Cohen, Lori — Greenberg Traurig LLP
DeLuca Nicholas — Alvarez & Marsal
Desh, Sharon — Winston & Strawn LLP
Dockterman, Michael — McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Dumoulin, Edward — Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
Freedman, Aaron — Weitz & Luxenberg PC
Greenblatt, Jennifer — Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP
Greenspan, Deborah — Blank Rome LLP
Huffaker, Steve — DLA Piper
Hulse, Ben — Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Husman, Samuel — Greenberg Traurig LLP
Jones, Alyson — Butler Snow LLP
Kent, Emily — pwc
Lambert, Palmer — Pendley, Baudin & Coffin LLP
Maione, Stacy — Bartlit Beck LLP
McClure, Shannon — Blank Rome LLP
McConnell, Stephen — Reed Smith LLP
Merrell, Cliff — Greenberg Traurig LLP
Monahan, William — Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Parkinson, Alex — Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, PLLC
Rotolo, Peter — Chaffe McCall LLP
Sletvold, Ashlie — Peiffer Wolf Carr Kane Conway & Wise
Zanello, Lindsay — Dechert LLP
Zogby, Michael — Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Zolner, Erica — Redgrave LLP

Materials

SUMMIT MATERIALS — Significant Passages Highlighted in Yellow

Panel 1 – Single Consolidated Pleadings; Setting and Holding Pilot (Test) Trials Early in the MDL

In Re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and Mechanical Ventilator, MDL No. 3014, Doc. 3333 (May 7, 2025) (Analysis of Consequences of Consolidated Pleadings on Unfiled Census Registry Cases) – Download
Excerpts from Rule 16.1 Initial Management Conference Reports on Consolidated Complaints in Broiler Chicken, Shell Eggs, Air Crash at Muan Airport, Lyft, Roblox, and Class Action Settlement Administration MDLs (June 27, 2026) – Download
In Re: Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate), MDL No. 3140, CMO No. 1, Doc. 72 (February 23, 2025) (Selection of Five Pilot (Test) Cases Set for Trial Early in the MDL) – Download
In Re: Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate), MDL No. 3140, Scheduling Orders and Precedential Effect of Rulings on Preemption and Rule 702 Motions to All Individual Actions), Docs. 490, 527, and 534 (Consolidated) – Download
In Re: Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate), MDL No. 3140, PTO No. 30A, Doc. No. 661 (Supplemental Order In Light of Pending Global Settlement) — Download

Panel 2 – Major Barriers to AI in Ediscovery — Lessons from TAR Experience

Constant Contact Notices Addressing Summit Ediscovery Topics, Rabiej Litigation Law Center – Download
AI Webinar, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (March 6, 2026) (Obstacles to Use of TAR/AI in Production of Discovery Documents) – Download
Explanation of AI Prompts and How to Draft Them, White Paper, Relativity aiR (2026) – Download
The Ghost of Discovery Past: Will the Rejected “Reasonably Calculated to Lead to Discovery of Admissible Evidence” Standard Haunt Drafting of AI Prompts?, Comment, Rabiej Litigation Law Center – Download
Mass-Tort MDL Guidelines and Best Practices, Guideline 9, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (March 1, 2026) (Best Practices Removing Obstacles to Employing TAR/AI in Discovery Production) – Download
List of Mass-Tort MDLs with More than One-Million Documents Produced in Discovery, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (September 14, 2025) – Download
Description of MARC AI-Discovery Tool, Altorney – Download

Panel 3 – Judge Panel — Which Procedure That You Adopted in a Mass-Tort MDL Would You Have Changed in Hindsight?

Panel 4 – “Docket-Control” Order Issued After Several Years into the Mass-Tort MDL, Which Imposes Deadlines to Submit — After Reasonable Notice — Medical Records and Documentation of Injury; Failure to Submit Records Subject to Automatic Dismissal With Prejudice Without Show-Cause Hearing

In Re: 3M Combat Arms Earplug, MDL No. 2885, CMO No. 57, Doc. 3811 (August 29, 2023) (Docket-Control Order Requiring Submission of Extensive Records; Failure to Comply Results in Dismissal with Prejudice with No Show-Cause Hearing) – Download
Societe Internationale Pour Participations Indus. et Commerciales v. Rogers, 357 U.S. 197 (1958) (Court distinguishes dismissal of suit without a hearing on the merits under Rule 37 for purposes of punishment or inability to comply) – Download
In Re: Mirena IUD, MDL No. 2434, Order No. 7 (Plaintiff Fact Sheet) (two-step procedure: dismissal without prejudice, which is converted to dismissal with prejudice after giving plaintiff reasonable time to cure deficiency) – Download
In Re: Cook Medical, Inc. Pelvic Repair System, MDL 2440, Defendant’s Memorandum on Monetary Sanctions for Failure to Submit Required Information, Doc. 366 (June 10, 2015) (defendant moves for dismissal, and in the alternative for sanction of $500 per day for failing to submit plaintiff fact sheet – court later denied as moot) – Download
In Re: Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate), MDL No. 3140, Pretrial Order No. 17 (Threshold Proof of Use and Injury Requirements), Doc. 178 (March 14, 2025) — Download
In Re: Depo-Provera (Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate), MDL No. 3140, Pretrial Order No. 22 (Identification of Deficiencies In Threshold Evidence), Doc. 281 (May 6, 2025) — Download
Preliminary Draft of Best Practices Addressing Docket-Control Orders, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (May 18, 2026) – Download

Panel 5 – Default 10% Common-Benefit Assessment and Allocation of More Money to More Individual Law Firms for Common-Benefit Work in Mass-Tort MDL

- Constant Contact Notices Addressing Summit Common-Benefit Fund Topics, Rabiej Litigation Law Center – Download
- Preliminary Draft of Best Practices Recommending Default 10% Common-Benefit Assesment in Mass-Tort MDLs, Rabiej Litigation Law Center (February 27, 2026) – Download
- Chart Containing List of Mass-Tort MDLs Setting 10% Common-Benefit Fee Assessments, Rabiej Litigation Law Center
- In Re: Bard Implanted Port Catheter, MDL No. 3081, CMO (Common-Benefit Matters) Doc. 88 (October 26, 2023) (List of Citations to Mass-Tort MDLs with 10% Common-Benefit Assessments) – Download
- In Re: C.R. Bard, Inc., Pelvic-Repair System, MDL. Nos. 2187, 2325, 2326, 2327, 2387, 2440, and 2511 (Recommended Allocation of Common-Benefit Fees and the Reimbursement of Shared Expenses and Held Costs by the Court Appointed External Review Specialist) – Download
- In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair Systems, MDL No. 2325, Pretrial Order No. 273 (Analysis of Common-Benefit Fund Allocations) – Download
- Outlining steps to help assign common-benefit tasks, Rubris, Inc. (Download)
- In Re Flint Water Cases, Opinion and Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion for an Award of Attorney Fees, Case 5:16-cv-10444, ECF No. 2105, PageID.72046 (E.D. Mich. Feb. 4, 2022) (lawyers retained before the settlement announcement received 25% contingency fees; those retained after received 8%) – Download
- In Re: Roundup MDL No. 2741, Order Re Special Master’s Report and Recommendation Regarding Distributions from the Common Benefit Fund, Doc. 20028 (January 15, 2025) (in a provocative analysis challenging fundamental premises, master recommends terminating common benefit fund and returning deposits to each depositing firm, rejecting fee committee’s proposal to allocate 81% of the fund to three firms — court ultimately declines to accept recommendations) — Download

Registration

Regular Registration — $950.

Multiple Registrations —Two or more lawyers registering from the same law firm receive discounts (single registrant – $950; second registrant – $750; and third and each additional registrant – $700).

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.