Call for Papers: "The Public Life of the Private Law: The Logic and Experience of Mass Litigation" A Conference in Honor of Richard A. Nagareda

Here's the announcement from Vanderbilt Law School:

Vanderbilt Law School announces a conference in honor of the late Richard Nagareda, the David Daniels Allen Distinguished Chair in Law and founding Director of the Cecil D. Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program.  “The Public Life of Private Law: The Logic and Experience  of Mass  Litigation”  Conference will be held  on  September 27  and  28,  2013,  at  Vanderbilt  and  is  jointly  sponsored  by  the  Branstetter  Program, the Journal of Tort Law, and the University of Texas Center on Lawyers, Civil Justice, and the Media.   Conference organizers are Tracey George (Vanderbilt), John Goldberg (Harvard), Sam Issacharoff (NYU), and Charlie Silver (Texas). We invite junior scholars to submit paper proposals for the conference by February 15. 

In  the  spirit  of  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Richard  Nagareda  devoted  himself  to studying the life of the law‐‐the law as it actually plays out in lawyer‐client relationships, the  maneuvering  of  adversary  litigation,  the  efforts  by  judges  to  manage  an  unruly litigation  process,  and  the  construction  of  elaborate  settlement  agreements  that  now dominate the modern landscape of civil litigation.  Yet despite his relentless focus on the “realities” of civil litigation, Richard never fell prey to skepticism about law.  Indeed, he insisted that lawyerly efforts to fashion new claims and new forms of dispute resolution are and  should  be  shaped  by  substantive  law, the  rules  of  professional  responsibility,  and ultimately principles of administrative law.   The hallmark of his work is its commitment to taking seriously both the logic and the experience of mass tort law and complex litigation.  

This conference pays homage to Richard’s scholarship by inviting a new generation of  scholars  to  address  topics  and  concerns  related  to  his  work.      Each  panel  will  be organized around a junior scholar’s paper with senior scholars commenting on papers. Senior scholars will include Lynn Baker, Bob Bone, Beth Burch, Brian Fitzpatrick, Tracey George, Myriam Gilles, John Goldberg, Sam Issacharoff, Bill Rubenstein, Suzanna Sherry, Charlie Silver, and Patrick Woolley.     All papers and comments will be published in the Journal of Tort Law.  

If  you  are  a  junior  scholar  interested  in  participating,  please  submit  a  five‐page paper proposal to Branstetter.Program@vanderbilt.edu no later than February 15.   If your proposal is accepted, we will inform you by March 15.   All travel expenses will be covered for invited  junior  scholars.   If  you  have  any questions,  please  email  Branstetter Director Tracey George (tracey.george@vanderbilt.edu). 

ECB