Symposium

 

Thank you to the practitioners, members of the judiciary, and members of the Academy who made the 2023 Symposium such a success. The Symposium Issue will be published in June 2023.

Friday, January 27, 2023

8:00-8:45        Breakfast at Texas Law – Jamail Pavilion

8:45-8:50        Welcome – Dean Chesney

8:50-9:00        Welcome – Symposium Co-Sponsors, Arnold & Itkin and Barnes & Thornburg

9:00-10:30      Session 1: The Political Economy of MDLs

Moderator: Jim Murdica (Barnes & Thornburg)

• Lynn A. Baker (Texas) & Andrew Bradt (Berkeley) – “MDL Myths”
  • Commentator: Jim Pfander (Northwestern)
• Tom Baker (Penn) – “Where’s the Insurance?”
  • Commentator: David Hyman (Georgetown)

10:30-10:45    Break

10:45-12:15    Session 2: The Judicial Role in Claim Integrity

Moderator:  Jason Itkin (Arnold & Itkin)

• Teddy Rave (Texas) – “MDL and the Field of Dreams”
  • Commentator: Myriam Gilles (Cardozo)
• Nora Freeman Engstrom (Stanford) & Todd Venook (Stanford) – “Harnessing Common Benefit Fees to Promote MDL Integrity”
  • Commentator: Bob Bone (Texas)

12:15-1:30      Lunch at Texas Law – Main Atrium

1:30-3:00        Session 3: Judicial Practices in Consolidations

Moderator:  Judge Lee Rosenthal (S.D. Tx.)

• David Noll (Rutgers) & Adam Zimmerman (Loyola LA/UCLA) — Judicial Control of Lawyers in MDLs: The Appointment Process
  • Commentator: Deborah Hensler (Stanford)
• Charlie Silver (Texas) – “The Suspect Restitutionary Basis for Fee Awards in MDLs”
  • Commentator: Sam Issacharoff (NYU)

3:00-3:15        Break

3:15-4:45        Session 4: The Role of State Courts in Mass Torts (including Federal-State Coordination)

Moderator: Zach Clopton (Northwestern)

• Erin Copeland (Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs)
• Judge Carolyn Kuhl (Calif. Superior Ct., L.A.)
• Kurt Arnold (Arnold & Itkin)
• Judge Eldon Fallon (E.D. La.) – if trial schedule permits
• Shannon McClure Roberts (Reed Smith LLP)

 

Saturday, January 28, 2023

8:00-8:50        Breakfast at Texas Law – Jamail Pavilion

8:50-9:00        Opening Remarks – Conference Organizers

9:00-10:30      Session 5: Bankruptcy as a Tool for Resolution of Mass Torts

Moderator:  Jay Westbrook (Texas)

• Jonathan Lipson (Temple) – “‘Special’: Remedial Schemes and Mass Tort
  Bankruptcies”
  • Commentator: Lindsey Simon (Georgia)
• Melissa Jacoby (North Carolina) – “Sorting Bugs and Features of Mass Tort Bankruptcy”
  • Commentator: Judge William J. Lafferty, III (N.D. Cal. — Bank.)

10:30-10:45    Break

10:45-12:15    Session 6: Innovations in Resolution and Settlements

Moderator: Howie Erichson (Fordham)

• Kendra Lounsberry (Barnes & Thornburg)
• Elizabeth Cabraser (Lieff Cabraser)
• Judge Robin Rosenberg (S.D. Fla.)
• Judge Dan Polster (N.D. Ohio)
• Judge William Orrick (N.D. Calif.)

12:15-12:20    Concluding Remarks – Conference Organizers and Co-Sponsors

12:20-1:20      Lunch at Texas Law – Jamail Pavilion

2023 Symposium Schedule + Bios

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