Mass Tort Defense : Mass Tort Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Sean P. Wajert : Dechert Law Firm : Products Liability, Class Actions, Pharmaceutical Litigation

I am pleased to announce that I will be speaking at the upcoming DRI Product Liability Conference taking place April 11-13, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I’ll be speaking on Wednesday afternoon, April 11th, as part of the session of the Mass Torts & Class Actions subcommittee.  The topic is Medical Monitoring. 

The conference will include many distinguished speakers, preeminent attorneys, and in-house counsel, discussing the current state of products liability law.  As if the excellent educational programs weren’t enough, this Products Liability conference provides a fantastic opportunity to network with hundreds of colleagues from across the country, both during the scheduled receptions and at informal evening social venues.

Brochure attached here. Registration here.

I look forward to seeing many of my faithful readers in Las Vegas.
 

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We wanted to alert readers to the HarrisMartin’s Mass Tort Litigation Conference, chaired by Judge Marina Corodemus (Ret.). 

It is set for June 4, 2012 - in our home base of Philadelphia, PA, at the Ritz Carlton.

This year's focus is “A Post-Modernistic Deconstruction of a Mass Tort Medical Device Case.”  The agenda follows the anatomy of the mass tort, from shareholder suits, to government investigations; key science issues; MDL and class procedural questions; and a sprinkling of ethics and discovery, through to a panel on settlement.

The conference includes speakers from the judiciary, the government, industry, and the bar, including my partner Ezra Rosenberg.

More info here.

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Last week I spoke at a CLE seminar on "Chemical Products Liability & Environmental Litigation."  The seminar was ably co-chaired by Ted Ray from ExxonMobil and Eric Sarner from Praxair.

My topic was Medical Monitoring Class Actions, with an emphasis on the trend by plaintiffs to seek (b)(2) certification, describing the money damages they want defendants to pay for future medical testing as some sort of court-supervised program and thus injunctive/equitable in nature.

By popular demand (ok, a handful of requests), I am making some slides on the topic available here.  Hope readers of MassTortDefense find them a useful resource.

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This year's United States Supreme Court term promises to be a blockbuster for class action law. By the end of June, the Court will have released three important opinions in the class action arena, including Wal-Mart v. Dukes, Smith v. Bayer Corporation, and AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion -- just out in a 5-4 decision that holds that the FAA preempts state-law rules that stand as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the FAA's objectives, requiring the individual cases involved to be arbitrated as opposed to a class-wide arbitration.

DRI has put together a timely class action seminar for July 21-22 in Washington, D.C.

The seminar will bring together counsel of record from these Supreme Court cases, along with federal appellate judges and renowned class action specialists to address these and other cutting-edge issues of class action law. If you practice in the fields of complex litigation, mass torts or class actions, you will want to check out this outstanding seminar.

More info here.

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A head's up for our readers about an upcoming seminar worth checking out. DRI’s Drug and Medical Device Committee will hold its 27th annual Seminar on May 5-6, 2011 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Chicago, Illinois. 

The Seminar offers an outstanding program for practitioners and in-house counsel who practice pharmaceutical and medical device law.  The Seminar features nationally recognized attorneys, both in-house and outside counsel, who will speak on a variety of cutting edge topics relevant to the life sciences industry.  The program offers a variety of presentations including moderated panel discussions, individual presentations from leading practitioners and practical demonstrations of trial skills.  There is also a Young Lawyers Blockbuster session. 

In addition to the outstanding educational opportunities, the Seminar provides great networking opportunities to connect or reconnect with counsel and clients from around the country. Attendees may earn up to 12 hours of CLE, including 1 hour of ethics credit.

More information available here. 

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As you plan your CLE activities for 2011, consider DRI’s Product Liability Conference, to be held at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, April 6–8, 2011.

This conference promises to provide you with insight from in-house counsel, government attorneys, and experienced practitioners regarding national trends and important recent decisions in the products area. The presentations will also provide creative practice tips and invaluable information that may assist you and your clients. This conference offers unmatched opportunities to keep abreast of current issues, earn CLE credits, and network.

Scheduled speakers include Cheryl A. Falvey, General Counsel for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Prof. Dane S. Ciolino, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law.

The sub-committee or "Specialized Litigation Group" (SLG) sessions will offer detailed analysis in 18 different practice areas. Your humble blogger is Chair of the Mass Torts & Class Actions SLG.  Our scheduled topics for our session include:

• Update on Climate Change/Global Warming Litigation
• Medicare Reporting Requirements for Settling Defendants in Class Actions and Mass Torts
• Impact of Shady Grove on Class Actions and the Plaintiffs’ Bar Response

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Your humble blogger spent part of last week at the DRI Annual Meeting in SanDiego, CA.  (I serve as Chair of the Mass Tort and Class Action Subcommittee of the Product Liability Committee.)

DRI is the international organization of attorneys defending the interests of business and individuals in civil litigation. DRI provides numerous educational and informational resources to DRI members and offers many opportunities for liaison among defense trial lawyers. DRI's goals include: To teach and educate and to improve the skills of the defense law practitioner; to strive for improvement in the civil justice system; to be a counterpoint to the plaintiff's bar and seek balance in the justice system in the minds of potential jurors and on all fields where disputes are resolved; and to assist members in dealing with the economic realities of the defense law practice, including the competitive legal marketplace.

The first day keynote speaker was former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell.

He received his Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training in Coronado, California, just down the road from the site of the DRI conference.  He participated in multiple missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In 2005, Luttrell and his SEAL Team 10 were assigned to a mission to kill or capture Ahmad Shah, a high-ranking Taliban terrorist leader responsible for multiple killings and atrocities.

Luttrell shared with the defense bar lawyers his harrowing mission, beginning with when his team was accidentally stumbled upon by local goat herders.  They let the herders go as non-combatants, but apparently the herders immediately  told the local Taliban about the team. Within a short time, the four SEALs were engaged in a vicious fire-fight against a force of 100-150 enemy fighters. The SEAL team engaged the Taliban for several hours in a running fire-fight through the hills and valleys of Afghanistan, killing more than half of them.  All of the SEALs continued to fight after being wounded multiple times. Eventually, all of the other team members were killed. Luttrell barely survived after being blown out of a gap in the boulders by an RPG, and rolling down the mountain away from the bulk of the forces.

A helicopter trying to rescue the SEALs was also shot down when it reached the hill on which the battle was raging.

Badly wounded in multiple places, Luttrell managed to crawl seven miles to evade capture, during which he killed several more Taliban.  Eventually, he was  given shelter in a village, whose elders follow the belief that an injured stranger needing shelter must be given it.

Luttrell recounts his ordeal in the New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10.

He told DRI that he doesn't view his appearances as being about "motivational speeches."  But it was clear that the dominant theme was applicable to anyone facing bad odds or tough times or difficult  challenges: don't give up, don't give in; you don't know what you are capable of until you try.

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DRI’s Drug and Medical Device Committee will hold its 26th annual Seminar on May 20-21, 2010, at the San Francisco Marriott, in San Francisco, California.

The Seminar is one of the best of its kind, highly useful to practitioners who represent pharmaceutical and/or medical device manufacturers. This year's Seminar will feature a number of nationally recognized attorneys, both in-house and outside counsel, who will address cutting-edge topics that are relevant to all who practice in this area, whether they are associates, lead trial counsel, or in-house counsel.

This year’s program will offer a mixture of presentations, such as trial skills demonstrations, panel discussions, and individual presentations from leaders in their practice areas. In addition to the outstanding program, there will be numerous networking opportunities, including the annual Young Lawyers Blockbuster.  And the cocktail reception co-hosted by your humble blogger's team at Dechert LLP.

See the Seminar Brochure to register or to learn additional information. The advanced registration deadline is April 30, 2010.
 

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Well, it may be too late to switch Northern Iowa for Kansas in your office pool (for amusement purposes only), but it is not too late to sign up to attend the 2010 DRI Product Liability Conference, "The Masters of Product Liability Litigation."

The conference will be held at the fabulous Venetian in Las Vegas on April 7-9, 2010. As always, this annual meeting offers premier educational and networking opportunities.

In addition to the general sessions, the various sub-committees, including the Mass Torts & Class Action group chaired by your humble blogger, will host breakout workshops focusing on topics particular to their practice areas.

Our breakout will include insights from two experienced in-house counsel, Matt Flesher, Assistant General Counsel of Cessna Aircraft Company, and Andy Rudd, General Counsel for the Home and Family Group of Newell Rubbermaid, a group that includes Graco Children’s Products, Calphalon Corporation, Goody Products, Levolor window coverings, and Rubbermaid consumer products. 

If interested, please check out the info here.

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We have posted before about the 2010 DRI Product Liability Conference in Las Vegas in April, as an event worth checking out.

Let me add that one of the attractive feature of the conference is that, in addition to the exceptional program put together for the main stage, there are many great Specialized Litigation Group (subcommittee) programs planned, including the highly-relevant-to-readers Mass Torts & Class Actions SLG.

At the Mass Torts & Class Actions SLG breakout session on Thursday, April 8th (likely to be more daring than Criss Angel, more talented than Terry Fator, more energetic than a Blue Man Group) includes:

Legislative and Regulatory Update: Impact of New Administration and New Statutes, Rollback on Preemption and Effort to Rollback Twombley
Jeffrey A. Holmstrand, McDermott & Bonenberger PLLC, Wheeling, West Virginia
Anthony Sammons, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Lexington, Kentucky

Emerging Class Action Issues: Impact of the ALI Project on Aggregation and Update on Problematic Causes of Action (Public Nuisance, Consumer Fraud Act and Medical Monitoring)
Richard A. Oetheimer, Goodwin Procter LLP, Boston, Massachusetts
John Parker Sweeney, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, Baltimore, Maryland

Emerging Mass Tort Issues: Examination of Daubert/ Frye Issues, Update on Green-Product Issues and Use of Risk Assessment Concepts
Robert C. James, TERRA Inc., Tallahassee, Florida
David C. Uitti, Dechert LLP, Princeton, New Jersey

Best Practices on Managing Mass Torts: Exploring the Virtual Law Firm, Cost Controls, Alternative Fee Arrangements and Early Case Dispositions
Moderator Kip T. Bollin, Thompson Hine LLP, Cleveland, Ohio
 

You can still register.

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Early notice of a seminar that should be of great interest to many readers. 

DRI's Product Liability Conference will be held on April 7-9, 2010 at the Venetian, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The "Masters of Products" is the theme for the 2010 DRI Product Liability Conference. Product liability superstars will light up the main stage, while rising stars lead breakout sessions in 18 separate disciplines to span timely product liability topics from big-picture issues to the finer points of products practice.

Specialized Litigation Group (SLG) breakout sessions are spread over the three days, offering detailed analysis directly relevant to your product liability practice areas and interests. [Your humble blogger is Chair of the Mass Torts & Class Actions SL group.]

The brochure is here.

And you can register here.

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