HarrisMartin's Webinar Series: MDL Litigation Conference - Mass Tort Litigation & The Current Landscape

Conference Agenda

Day 1, Wednesday, January 26, 2022

9:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
Panel 1 – Complex Litigation Management

• The Selection of MDL Transferee Judges and Venue: What Arguments Resonate?
• Fed/State Coordination: Peacefully Co-Existing in Parallel Universes
• Early Case Vetting
• Litigation Holds/Spoliation/Sanctions
• Litigating in the Digital Age:
- Key Challenges in ESI discovery
- Not Making that First Critical Mistake
- Getting all of the Documents
- Predictive Coding v. Search Terms
- Why TAR?
- Recall and Validation
- A Word about Keywords
- Why Native Documents
- Why Word Natives
- De-Duplication
- Email Thread Suppression
- Negotiating ESI CMO’s
- ESI Fee-Shifting

Moderator: Co-Chair Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault

Panelists:
Hon. Glenn Norton, Of Counsel, Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, St. Louis
Jayne Conroy, Simmons Hanly Conroy, New York
Elizabeth Koenig, Senior Litigation Consultant, International Litigation Services, Inc. (ILS), Irvine, CA
Joseph Thorpe, CEO, International Litigation Services, Inc. (ILS), Irvine, CA


10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Break

10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Panel 2 – PSC Team Selection

• Selection Process Criteria, Commitment, and Capital
- Deference to Private Ordering
- Should Defendants Have Any Involvement in the PSC Formation Process?
- Plaintiff Steering Committee: Allegiances Owed to PSC Clients vs. Other Counsel vs. Clients of Other Counsel
- Cautionary Observations Regarding Common Fee Benefits
• The Impact of Litigation Funding on Both Sides of the “V”
• Rules of Engagement: Monitoring Time and Expenses

Moderator: Co-Chair Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault

Panelists:
Joseph F. Rice, Motley Rice, Mount Pleasant, SC
W. Mark Lanier, The Lanier Law Firm, Houston
Paul Pennock, Morgan & Morgan, New York
Mike Morgan, Morgan & Morgan, Orlando, FL
Gale Pearson, Fears & Nachawati, Minneapolis


11:15 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Break

11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Panel 3 – Resolution Strategy

• Overseeing Aggregate Settlement Negotiations and Allocating Proceeds
• Papering The Deal and Master Settlement Agreement Best Practices
• Master Settlement Agreement Key Considerations
• Special Master Roles in Connection with Master Settlement Agreements
• Post-Settlement Issues: Claims, Lien Resolution, and Qualified Settlement Fund Administrators’ Roles

Moderator: Co-Chair Eric D. Holland, Holland Law Firm, St. Louis

Panelists:
Hon. Glenn Norton, Of Counsel, Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, St. Louis
Scott Freeman, Co-Executive Chairman, ARCHER Systems, LLC, Houston
Blake Deady, ARCHER Systems, LLC, Houston
Raymond C. Silverman, Parker Waichman LLP, New York
Scott A. Powell, Hare, Wynn, Newell & Newton LLP, Birmingham, AL


12:15 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Lunch Break

1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Panel 4 – Game Changing Rulings

• Jurisdictional Landscape Following BMS
• Preemption Status
Lone Pine Orders
• Proposed Amendment to Federal Rules Providing Interlocutory Appeals from MDL Judge’s Orders

Moderator: Co-Chair Eric D. Holland, Holland Law Firm, St. Louis

Panelists:
Patrick Luff, Luff Law Firm, PLLC, Dallas
R. Brent Wisner, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, Los Angeles
Hunter J. Shkolnik, Napoli Shkolnik PLLC, New York
Michael Goetz, Morgan & Morgan, Orlando, FL
Rachel Lanier, The Lanier Law Firm, New York


1:45 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Break

2:00 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Panel 5 – Rapid Fire Mass Tort Update 1.0

Roundup Products Liability Litigation - MDL 2741
National Prescription Opiate Litigation – MDL 2804
3M Combat Arms Earplug Products Liability Litigation - MDL 2885
Talcum Powder Litigation (Ovarian Cancer and Mesothelioma cases)
• Hernia Mesh Litigation (Ethicon Physiomesh - MDL 2782, C.R. Bard Polypropylene Hernia Mesh - MDL 2846, etc.)
• Transvaginal Mesh (TVM) Litigation
• Paragard

Moderators: Co-Chair Vicki J. Maniatis, Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC, New Jersey
Co-Chair Erin K. Copeland, Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs, Houston

Panelists: David Dearing, Beasley Allen Law Firm, Montgomery, AL
Michelle L. Kranz, Zoll & Kranz, LLC, Toledo, OH
Fidelma L. Fitzpatrick, Motley Rice, Providence, RI
Yvonne M. Flaherty, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., Minneapolis
R. Brent Wisner, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, Los Angeles
Melanie H. Muhlstock, Parker Waichman LLP, New York
Shannon Pennock, The Pennock Law Firm, Jersey City, NJ
Laura K. Stemkowski, Motley Rice, Mount Pleasant, SC


2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Break

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Panel 6 – Rapid Fire Mass Tort Update 2.0

• Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) Litigation
Onglyza & Kombiglyze XR Litigation (MDL 2809)
• Hip Implant Litigations (Biomet, Wright, Zimmer, DePuy etc.)
Zostavax (Zoster Vaccine Live) Products Liability Litigation – MDL 2848
• HIV Drug TDF
• Human Trafficking
• E-cigarettes and Vaping
• Zantac
• Infant Formula NEC

Moderators: Co-Chair Vicki J. Maniatis, Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC, New Jersey
Co-Chair Erin K. Copeland, Fibich, Leebron, Copeland & Briggs, Houston

Panelists: David Dearing, Beasley Allen Law Firm, Montgomery, AL
Michelle L. Kranz, Zoll & Kranz, LLC, Toledo, OH
Fidelma L. Fitzpatrick, Motley Rice, Providence, RI
Yvonne M. Flaherty, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., Minneapolis
R. Brent Wisner, Baum Hedlund Aristei & Goldman, Los Angeles
Melanie H. Muhlstock, Parker Waichman LLP, New York
Shannon Pennock, The Pennock Law Firm, Jersey City, NJ
Laura K. Stemkowski, Motley Rice, Mount Pleasant, SC