Class Action Litigation Ethics: Navigating Gray Areas in Class Communications, Settlement
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will present a series of cutting-edge hypothetical scenarios routinely faced by class action defense counsel and their clients.
Outline
- Applicable rules of professional responsibility and statutes
- Conflicts of interest
- Communications with proposed class members
- Ethical considerations in settlement
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Can the defendant communicate with its customers/employees if the proposed class includes a large number of its customers or employees?
- Can the company communicate with potential class members to prepare their defense in opposition to class certification?
- Are side agreements with class counsel ethically permitted?
- Can defendants "pick off" plaintiffs?
- Are reverters ever permissible in class action settlements?
Faculty
Neal R. Marder
Partner
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Mr. Marder focuses on class and mass actions, bet-the-company litigation, and complex business and commercial... | Read More
Mr. Marder focuses on class and mass actions, bet-the-company litigation, and complex business and commercial litigation. He handles disputes in federal and state courts across the country representing corporate directors and officers and public and private companies in matters involving complex business disputes and consumer torts, securities fraud, white collar, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), intellectual property, antitrust, unfair competition, and breach of fiduciary duty claims in mergers and acquisitions transactions.
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Jonathan Slowik
Special Employment Law Counsel
Proskauer Rose
Mr. Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class,... | Read More
Mr. Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions, including those under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). He has defended dozens of class, collective, and representative actions in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout California and beyond. In addition to his core wage and hour work, Mr. Slowik has defended employers in single-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases, and in labor arbitrations. He also regularly advises clients on a wide range of compliance issues and on employment issues arising in corporate transactions. Mr. Slowik has written extensively about PAGA on various platforms.
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Melissa D. Whitaker
Counsel
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Ms. Whitaker’s practice focuses on government and internal investigations, white-collar defense and complex... | Read More
Ms. Whitaker’s practice focuses on government and internal investigations, white-collar defense and complex commercial litigation, including class actions. She represents domestic and international clients in a variety of civil litigation cases, grand jury investigations, and government enforcement matters, including issues arising under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Melissa also routinely handles consumer protection litigation.
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