LSU Symposium on Multidistrict Litigation

Louisiana Law Review is hosting a symposium on Multidistrict Litigation this Friday, March 7, 2014, that focuses on remand and may be of interest to our readers.  The title of the symposium is "The Rest of the Story: Resolving Cases Remanded by MDL Here's the link for registration and additional information.

Here's the list of Panels and Panelists:

8:25-8:30: Welcome Address & Opening Remarks

• Chancellor Jack Weiss; LSU Law School

 8:30-9:30: Panel 1: Collaboration of Judges and Attorneys in MDL Case Management

The panel will discuss how attorneys and judges can successfully collaborate to use disaggregation as a tool of effective case management.

Moderator: Francis McGovern; Professor of Law, Duke Law School

• Judge Eldon Fallon; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
• Richard Arsenault; Neblett, Beard, & Arsenault
• James Irwin; Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC

 9:40-10:40: Panel 2: Effectively Planning for Disaggregated Discovery

The panel will discuss when discovery issues should be disaggregated for separate resolution, and the costs, benefits, and challenges of reserving issues for separate discovery. 

Moderator: Judge Lee Rosenthal; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

• Mark Lanier; The Lanier Law Firm
• James Irwin; Irwin Fritchie Urquhart & Moore, LLC
• Dean Edward F. Sherman; Tulane University Law School

 10:50-11:50: Panel 3: Integrating Aggregated and Disaggregated Discovery Issues

The panel will discuss various kinds of discovery (e.g., E-Discovery, expert discovery, and specific discovery), and the strategic and case management challenges each method presents in the context of MDLs, including both aggregated and disaggregated discovery issues. 

Moderator: Mark Lanier, The Lanier Law Firm

• Judge Lee Rosenthal; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
• Francis McGovern; Professor of Law, Duke Law School
• Richard Arsenault; Neblett, Beard, & Arsenault
• David Jones; Beck Redden, LLP

 11:50-12:10: Lunch Break

12:10-1:10: Panel 4: (Lunch Presentation) The Real Story: FJC Data on What the Empirical Data on MDL Remands Shows

Federal Judicial Center researchers will present findings from their research on multidistrict litigation. The analysis will focus on two sets of cases: (1) cases that are considered for transfer but not transferred, and (2) cases that are transferred and that are subsequently remanded back to the transferor court. Understanding these cases, and the cases that are resolved in the transferee court, may provide some insight into the effects of aggregation on various kinds of cases

Moderator: Judge Lee Rosenthal; U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas

• Emery G. Lee, III, Federal Judicial Center
• Margaret Williams, Federal Judicial Center
• Catherine Borden, Federal Judicial Center

 1:20-2:20: Panel 5: When Remand is Appropriate

The panel will discuss at what stages plaintiffs, defendants, and judges perceive optimal windows to disaggregate various kinds of issues, and the factors that influence the decision and timing.

Moderator: Dean Edward F. Sherman, Tulane University Law School

• Judge Fallon; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
• Professor Elizabeth Burch, University of Georgia School of Law
• David Jones, Beck Redden, LLP

2:30-3:30: Panel 6: How Remand Should be Effectuated

The panel will discuss how judges and attorneys work together to effectuate remand of MDL cases, including methods for ensuring smooth transitioning of work product, case management, and expertise to state and federal judges upon remand. 

Moderator: Francis McGovern; Professor of Law, Duke Law School

• Judge Fallon; U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
• Professor Teddy Rave, University of Houston
• Professor Elizabeth Burch, University of Georgia School of Law

 3:30-3:45: Closing Remarks

 

ECB