Media Contact:
Tom Hagy
+1 (484) 844-0428
Editor@LitigationConferences.com

For Immediate Release

New Litigation Ethics Conference to Feature Sitting Judges, Legal Scholars, Prominent Attorneys

• With hundreds of thousands of highly complex litigation cases pending in state and federal courts, this program will address the important issue of legal ethics, specifically adapting for these matters rules originally created for traditional lawsuits.

• A federal judge overseeing complex and highly consequential matters involving some of the world’s largest technology, e-commerce, and data-driven companies will be among the presenters.

• Ethics surrounding the growing multi-billion-dollar litigation finance industry will be addressed. 

• The first-ever award for ethics in complex litigation excellence will be announced based on an evaluation performed by a committee comprising prestigious jurists, scholars, and litigators.

SAN FRANCISCO – Aug. 25, 2022 – Luminaries and thought leaders in the complex litigation arena will gather in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, to discuss insights and practices on an issue of critical significance to the nation’s justice system: ethical conduct among litigants and litigators.

With a projected in-person and remote audience of 100 plus, this important continuing legal education program will be held at the UC Hastings College of Law in association with the school’s Center for Litigation in Courts. Professors Joshua P. Davis and Scott Dodson have assembled a faculty of leading jurists, litigators, and other subject matter experts. 

Complex Litigation Ethics Conference

Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022

UC Hastings College of Law

Learn more

“Data suggest that, depending on the year, as much as half of all cases filed in federal court are part of multidistrict litigation, or MDL, proceedings or involve proposed class actions,” said Professor Davis, who is both a research professor at UC Davis and managing partner of the San Francisco offices of Berger Montague, a prominent class action and complex litigation law firm.

According to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation there were 186 MDL dockets pending, which brought together 770,623 actions, with 426,495 pending as of July 2022. At the same time, thousands of new class actions are filed each year (some put the number as high as 10,000) in state and federal courts representing millions of named and potential class members. Cases and claim types run the gamut, such as consumer product liability, antitrust, toxic substances, drug and device liability, data breaches, securities, employment, environmental contamination, and both injury and damage claims arising from wildfires and floods, to name a few.

“Despite these figures, insufficient scholarly attention has been paid to the ways in which ethical rules, which are typically designed for traditional litigation, should be adapted and applied to MDLs and class actions,” said Professor Davis. “The Complex Litigation Ethics Conference will address these important and timely issues.”

Topics include adapting general legal ethics rules to complex matters; ethics in litigation funding; diversity, equity, and inclusivity in complex litigation; and communications with “absent class members.”

U.S. Judge Jon S. Tigar of the Northern District of California will be among the speakers. Judge Tigar has or continues to preside over headline-grabbing litigation brought against Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook), Twitter Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., Wells Fargo & Company, Subway restaurants, Sanofi S.A., and others.

Also on the faculty are:

• Lynn A. Baker, University of Texas School of Law
• Jennifer Bennett, Gupta Wessler PLLC
• Eric Cramer, Berger Montague PC
• Lauren Godshall, Tulane Law School
• Alexandra D. Lahav, Cornell Law School
• Brent Landau, Hausfeld
• Roger Michalski, University of Oklahoma College of Law
• Melissa Mortazavi, University of Oklahoma College of Law
• Sarah Ray, Latham & Watkins LLP
• Maya Steinitz, University of Iowa, College of Law
• Brad Wendel, Cornell Law School

Three annual Awards for Excellence in Ethics in Complex Litigation will also be announced during the event, one to a plaintiffs’ attorney or law firm, one to a defense attorney or law firm, and one to a judge, scholar, third-party neutral, party to litigation, government official, other lawyer or law firm, non-profit organization, and other participant in or commentator on complex litigation. The winners will have demonstrated excellence in promoting ethics in class actions or other complex litigation (e.g., MDLs).

The event is being co-sponsored by Huntington National Bank, a nationwide provider of settlement fund and other financial services for law firms.

Members of the legal and business press are invited to request passes to attend the event in San Francisco or via webstream, and to receive program materials. Pre-program interviews with the conference leaders and faculty should be addressed to Tom Hagy, +1 (484) 844-0428, or Editor@LitigationConferences.com.