| Time | Description |
| 8:30 am – 9:25 am | Registration Check-in (Outside of Room 3041 — Third Floor) |
| 9:25 am – 9:30 am | Welcome and Opening Remarks
David F. Levi, Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School |
| 9:30 am – 10:25 am | SESSION 1: The Decision to File (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Purpose and timing of MDL; strategic decisions re: filing state actions or seeking MDL; timing and venue of MDL; motions to centralize; tag-along cases; jurisdiction and choice of law Hon. Robert Dow, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois |
| 10:30 am – 11:25 am | SESSION 2: The JPML Process (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Scheduling JPML hearing and lawyer presentations; how panel chooses transferee judge; trends in centralizing cases; role of Rules of Procedure of the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation Hon. Denise Page Hood, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan |
| 11:30 am | Lunch (Star Commons – Second Floor) |
| 11:55 am – 12:50 pm | Lunch Session: Handling Media Attention (Room 3043 – Third Floor)
How to approach traditional and social media outlets; communication with reporters; story narratives and themes Jan Hoffman, New York Times |
| 12:55 pm – 1:50 pm | SESSION 3: The First Six Months of an MDL (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Court organization and responsibilities of court officers, e.g., magistrate judge, clerk of court, and court-appointed special masters on discovery or settlement; appointing leadership; collaboration and meet and confers; use of census data; census for leaders; plaintiff profile forms and fact sheets Hon. Denise Page Hood, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan |
| 1:55 pm – 2:50 pm | SESSION 4: Case Management – Breakout Sessions
Role of court in organizing attorneys: appointment of lead counsel, PSC, and other executive committees; managing MDL, including court order governing ongoing timekeeping and limits on expenses; judicial trends in appointing specific types of lawyers to leadership positions Plaintiff focus (Room 3037): Managing MDL and conferring with individual plaintiffs: appointment of PSC and executive committees and organization of subcommittees; who assigns lawyers to individual subcommittees, e.g., judge, lead counsel, executive committee; conferring with individual clients and communicating with all plaintiffs when appointed to a leadership position, e.g., disclosure of superior duty to the court and confidentiality limitations Defense focus (Room 3043): strategy and management of MDL from General Counsel and outside counsel perspectives; joint defense groups; financial responsibility among multiple parties (trial expenses and settlement); organization of tasks Plaintiffs: Defendants: |
| 2:50 pm – 3:05 pm | Break (Outside Room 3041 — Third Floor) |
| 3:05 pm – 4:00 pm | SESSION 5: Financing the Litigation (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Financing obligations and cost estimates; direct and third-party financing; risk tolerance; creation and administration of common benefit fund; allocation of expenses among multiple parties Hon. Robert Dow, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois |
| 4:05 pm – 5:00 pm
|
SESSION 6: Briefing on Legal Issues (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Project management — coordinate research and drafting of all pleadings and motions, e.g., plaintiff and defendant fact sheets, motions in limine, evidentiary motions; oral argument preparation; appellate briefing; choice of law Hon. Denise Page Hood, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan |
*session moderator
| Time | Description |
| 8:30 am – 9:00 am | Breakfast (Star Commons – Second Floor) |
| 9:00 am – 9:55 am | SESSION 7: Case-Management Order (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Scope of order and detailed procedural roadmap; Master Pleadings; time and expense reporting Hon. Eldon Fallon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana |
| 10:00 am – 10:55 am | SESSION 8: Document Review and Privilege Logs (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Institution and monitoring of litigation hold; vendor selection and review; ESI protocol negotiations; selection of custodian list; discovery negotiations; document review; discovery log; responding to document, interrogatories, and admissions requests of plaintiffs; review of privilege logs; transparency issues; confidentiality Hon. John Tunheim, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota |
| 10:55 am – 11:05 am | Break (Outside Room 3041 — Third Floor) |
| 11:05 am – 12:00 pm | SESSION 9: Fact Discovery (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Identifying fact witnesses to depose; preparing outlines for depositions; deposing witnesses Hon. Eldon Fallon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch (Star Commons – Second Floor) |
| 12:25 pm – 1:20 pm | Lunch Session – State Attorney Generals (Room 3043 — Third Floor)
Swain Wood, General Counsel for Attorney General |
| 1:25 pm – 2:20 pm | SESSION 10: Expert Discovery (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Researching and retaining experts; overseeing preparation of expert disclosures; deposing expert witnesses Hon. John Tunheim, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota |
| 2:25 pm – 3:35 pm
|
SESSION 11: Settlement (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Timing; role of judge; use of mediators; project management, e.g., negotiations, principal players; remand Hon. Robert Dow, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois |
| 3:35 pm – 3:50 pm | Break (Outside Room 3041 — Third Floor) |
| 3:50 pm – 4:45 pm | SESSION 12: Q&A – Breakout Sessions
Opportunity for participants to ask questions and discuss potentially sensitive issues Plaintiffs: Defendants: |
| 6:00 – 7:30 pm | Reception for All Attendees and Faculty (Washington Duke Inn) |
*session moderator
| Time | Description |
| 8:15 am – 8:45 am | Breakfast (Star Commons – Second Floor) |
| 8:45 am – 9:40 am | SESSION 13: Trial Preparation (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Bellwether issues; expert consulting; review of trial candidates recommended by law firms Hon. Michelle Childs, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina |
| 9:45 am – 10:40 am | SESSION 14: Post-Trial Payouts (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Common benefit fund; class-action settlement funds; individual client payments; distribution process: use of claims administrators and other experts; criteria for disbursements; continuing responsibilities, lien reconciliation; attorney fees Hon. Robert Dow, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois |
| 10:40 am – 10:55 am | Break (Outside Room 3041 — Third Floor) |
| 11:00 am – 11:55 am | SESSION 15: Unique Aspects of MDLs (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
E.g., class actions; parallel state court litigation Hon. Eldon Fallon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch (Star Commons – Second Floor) |
| 12:45 pm – 2:00 pm | Opening Statements (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Hear a live opening from an expert trial lawyer. Mark Lanier, Lanier Law Firm |
| 2:00 pm | MDL Certificate Program Ends |
| 2:00 pm – 2:15 pm | Break (Outside of 3041 – Third Floor) |
| 2:15 pm – 4:30 pm | SESSION 16: Advanced Certificate Small Group Session for Advanced Certificate Attendees Only (Room 3041 — Third Floor)
Discuss hypothetical MDL scenarios (max 12 per group) and assignment due in 8 weeks Hon. Eldon Fallon, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana Plaintiffs: David F. Levi,* Bolch Judicial Institute, Duke Law School |
*session moderator