Class Action Litigation: Avoiding Legal Ethics Violations and Malpractice Liability
Intra-Class Conflicts, Communication With Class Members, Attorney Fees, and More
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will provide plaintiff and defense class action attorneys with guidance on dealing with the legal ethics hurdles and malpractice threats inherent when there are large classes of plaintiffs in a single lawsuit. The program will address intra-class conflicts, communication with class members, and attorney fees.
Outline
- Conflicts of interest within the class
- Differences among class members
- Model Rules
- Model Code
- Communication with class members
- Solicitation
- Ex parte communications
- Discovery and disclosure obligations/e-discovery preservation issues
- Ethical issues in settlements
- Negotiating attorneys' fees
- Non-monetary class benefits--how to place a value on these benefits?
- When named plaintiff settles pre-certification
- When a plaintiffs' lawyer leaves case pre-settlement
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Guidance from Model Rules, Amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23, and case law to resolve legal ethics issues that arise in complex and class litigation
- When plaintiff and defense attorneys may contact potential class members
- When and how a precertification settlement by a named plaintiff creates a conflict of interest as it relates to other potential class members
Faculty
Robert D. Phillips, Jr.
Partner
Alston & Bird
Mr. Phillips is a business litigator with nearly 40 years of experience assisting numerous companies in high-stakes... | Read More
Mr. Phillips is a business litigator with nearly 40 years of experience assisting numerous companies in high-stakes class actions and other litigation related to unfair competition, false advertising, privacy issues, product liability, labor and employment, life insurance, financial services, trade secret litigation and food labeling. His counsel extends to litigation involving financial products, consumer products, life insurance and annuity sales, advertising and labeling cases against manufacturers and retailers, employment issues, antitrust and product liability. In addition to serving clients throughout California, he serves as lead counsel in national class actions in jurisdictions across the country and has won numerous cases in state, federal and appellate courts.
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Brett J. Preston
Shareholder
Hill Ward Henderson
Mr. Preston practices in the firm’s Litigation and Cybersecurity and Data Breach Groups and is the firm's... | Read More
Mr. Preston practices in the firm’s Litigation and Cybersecurity and Data Breach Groups and is the firm's General Counsel. Although his practice emphasizes the defense of professional malpractice and life, health and disability insurance cases, Mr. Preston also represents clients involved in personal injury, products liability, toxic tort and commercial disputes, and represents attorneys in grievance proceedings before the Florida Bar. Mr. Preston's professional undertakings include, among many others, active membership in the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel, where he serves as a Senior Director on its Board of Directors, a member of its Executive Committee, and Conference Chair for its 2018 Winter Meeting. He also recently completed his tenure as Program Chair for the FDCC’s 2016 Annual Meeting and Chair of its Ethics and Professionalism Committee, Law Firm Management Section, and Life, Health and Disability Section.
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John E. Tangren
Partner
DiCello Levitt Gutzler
Mr. Tangren maintains a national practice in consumer class action litigation, with vast experience in the field of... | Read More
Mr. Tangren maintains a national practice in consumer class action litigation, with vast experience in the field of automotive defect litigation. He has represented plaintiffs in class actions and multidistrict litigation over defective power steering systems, cooling tubes, tailgates, and sudden unintended acceleration. Mr. Tangren also experienced in antitrust class actions and in federal appeals. He is frequently asked to speak on topics relating to class action litigation.
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