The Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law is pleased to announce that registration is now open for its online Certificate in Mass Tort MDL Course, which provides an inside view of how mass-tort multidistrict litigation works from the perspectives of the field’s top litigators and judges.
The course is designed for lawyers and legal professionals who are interested in supporting, developing, or deepening an MDL practice, as well as for judges who handle or are seeking assignments to MDL cases. The course provides a broad overview of the history of and current practices in MDL, an introduction to major cases and trends, and insights and best practices from seasoned MDL judges and expert counsel.
“MDL currently comprises nearly two-thirds of the federal caseload and is increasingly used in state courts,” said Paul W. Grimm, the David F. Levi Professor of the Practice of Law and director of the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law. “The demand for lawyers and judges who are prepared to handle these complex cases will only increase. And yet MDL is not generally taught in law schools, and there are no formal rules of practice to guide practitioners who are new to MDL. This program captures the expertise of the nation’s leading MDL attorneys, judges, and scholars and brings that deep knowledge into one easily accessible course. Our hope is that this will open the area of practice to a new generation of lawyers and judges who can further advance the field.”
Duke Law has offered an MDL certificate course since 2019, one of a few entry-level survey courses focused on aggregate litigation. The new online course builds on that program and aims to reach a broader audience by offering it on-demand.
Participants who complete the course will receive a certificate of course completion from the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School and will be invited to join the Institute’s annual McGovern Symposium with a waiver of registration fees. This year’s McGovern Symposium will be held on Dec. 12, 2024, at Duke University.
More information about the course, pricing, and sponsorship opportunities can be found on our website judicialstudies.duke.edu/mdl. Please do not hesitate to email us if you have any questions.