Class Action

Expert Analysis

• Settlement Counsel Key For Efficient Mass Tort Resolution

  

  Team-based specialization in mass tort litigation defense allows each member to draw on individual strengths, maximizing their contribution. A core tenet of this approach is using settlement counsel to focus on strategic initiatives and end-game resolution efforts, separate from the heated battle lines of the litigation, say attorneys at Faegre Baker Daniels.

• High Court's Emulex Issue Is Narrower Than Some Suggest

  

  Some have seen the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to hear Emulex v. Gary Varjabedian as an opportunity to deny investors any ability to bring claims under Section 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act. This effort is misguided for several reasons, say Corban Rhodes and Anna Menkova of Labaton Sucharow LLP.

• Diversity's Next Step: Developing Minority Partners

  

  The lack of minority partners comes at a high cost to firms, say attorneys at Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC, as they suggest several practical ways to tackle this problem.

• A 2019 Field Guide To Calif. Class Actions

  

  For those navigating the California class action landscape in 2019, it pays to know what happened in 2018. William Stern of Covington & Burling LLP looks back at the most important developments and discusses what to expect going forward.

• A 9th Circ. Shift On Timing For Class Cert. Motions

  

  With its recent decision in ABS Entertainment v. CBS Corp — striking down a local rule that governs the time period for filing a motion for class certification — the Ninth Circuit created a major change to class actions in the Central District of California, say attorneys with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

• Arbitrators And Mediators Should Reflect Society's Diversity

  

  Alternative dispute resolution providers have made great strides toward diversity, but recent statistics show there is still work to be done. There are certain steps ADR providers can take to actively recruit more women and minority candidates to serve as arbitrators and mediators, says James Jenkins of the American Arbitration Association.

• A Small Crack In High Court's Pro-Employer FAA Absolutism

  

  Lately it’s become reasonable to ask: Is there any arbitration provision — however lopsided and unfair — that the U.S. Supreme Court won’t deem enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act? Thanks to Tuesday's decision in New Prime v. Oliveira, the answer is finally yes, says Scott Oswald of The Employment Law Group PC.

• Why AFAs Are Key To The Future Of Legal Practice

  

  Alternative fee agreements can help align law firm and client interests, increase efficiency and eliminate corporate extortion, among other benefits. They are the best thing to happen to the practice of law in decades, says Kelly Eisenlohr-Moul at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.

• What Conn. Opioid Ruling Means For Liability Insurers

  

  In New Haven v. Purdue, a Connecticut state judge ruled last week that opioid manufacturers are not liable for cities' emergency and social services costs. This decision protects liability insurance from being transformed into a funding mechanism for social problems that it was not designed to cover, say Patrick Bedell and Kevin Harris of BatesCarey LLP.

• Series

  Judging A Book: Barron Reviews 'The Clamor Of Lawyers'

  

  Can lawyers lead a revolution? According to "The Clamor of Lawyers: The American Revolution and Crisis in the Legal Profession" — a slim but elegant volume by Peter Charles Hoffer and Williamjames Hull Hoffer — they can and they did, says First Circuit Judge David Barron.