Tune into the Livestream during the event from 9:15 AM to 3:15 PM Eastern Time (Thursday, Oct. 18, 2017)

Multidistrict litigation (“MDL”) accounts for nearly half of all civil cases in federal courts. Although MDLs were designed to be efficient mechanisms for “coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings,” in some instances they have become one-sided forums known for lacking the basic protections afforded to all other cases by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), the Federal Rules of Evidence and appellate review.

You can join us via the embedded Livestream above or through the Federalist Society's Youtube channel or Facebook page. Click here to download the full MDL Conference Program.

 

PROGRAM AGENDA

Registration

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m.

Are MDLs working? An Assessment of Centralization

9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

Moderator

  • Prof. Brian Fitzpatrick, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University School of Law

Participants

  • Malini Moorthy, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Bayer
  • Timothy A. Pratt, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Boston Scientific Corporation
  • Dan Troy, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, GSK

Eliminating Meritless Claims

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Moderator

  • Doug Smith, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Participants

  • David Bernick, Partner, Paul Weiss LLP
  • Honorable Eduardo Robreno, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Chris Seeger, Founding Partner, Seeger Weiss LLP
  • Andrew J. Trask, Senior Counsel, McGuireWoods LLP

Luncheon Panel: Trying Cases and Settlement

12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Moderator

  • Jeffrey B. Clark, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Participants

  • John Beisner, Partner, Skadden Arps LLP
  • Brian Jackson, Partner, Butler Snow LLP
  • Chris Seeger, Founding Partner, Seeger Weiss LLP
  • Jonathan D. Selbin, Partner, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

General Reform Ideas and Pending Legislation

1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Moderator

  • Mary Nold Larimore, Partner, IceMiller LLP

Participants

  • Prof. Jaime Dodge, Director, The Institute for Complex Litigation & Mass Claims, Emory Law School
  • Prof. Maria Glover, Associate Professor of Law, Georgetown Law Center
  • Prof. Francis McGovern, Professor of Law, Duke Law School
  • Kate Comerford Todd, Former Senior Vice President & Chief Counsel, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center