Current Issues in Class Action Defense: Trends, Innovations, Strategy, and Practical Insights
Preparing for More Lawsuits, More Expansive Theories, and More Determined Plaintiffs
Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will discuss current, significant trends in class action defense related to settlement amounts, certification rates, and availability of arbitration, as well as analyze some prime drivers of the surge in class litigation, such as the role of government enforcement actions, the explosion of privacy statutes, and changes in the substantive law. The panel will examine how these trends inform defense strategy on critical decisions regarding, for example, forum selection and removal, pre-certification discovery, selection and retention of experts, settlement strategy, and other issues.
Outline
- Trends and developments
- Strategies in key areas
Benefits
The panel will review these and other important questions:
- What should companies and their counsel expect in future class action litigation?
- What questions about venue and removal need to be answered immediately after service of process?
- Will jurisdictional defenses help or hurt the company's long-term goals?
- Should defendants ever elect not to enforce an arbitration agreement?
Faculty
Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
Partner
Duane Morris
Mr. Maatman, Jr., chair of Duane Morris’ Workplace Class Action group, has nearly four decades’... | Read More
Mr. Maatman, Jr., chair of Duane Morris’ Workplace Class Action group, has nearly four decades’ experience of practicing law and has defended some of the most significant bet-the-company cases ever filed against corporate America. He has represented companies, executive teams and boards across the country in class action litigation, ranging in size from thousands to hundreds of thousands of claims by employees. Among Mr. Maatman's accomplishments, he defended and defeated the largest systemic enforcement action ever brought in the history of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the first Attorney General prosecution of a Wall Street company for workplace discrimination and harassment, and the largest wage & hour class and collective actions ever brought in Florida and New York. While he is known to be a fierce litigator, he also helps his clients anticipate large-scale litigations risks before they happen to prevent issues that could turn into litigation. Mr. Maatman pioneered the process of conducting employment-practices audits to assist employers in structuring effective and practical personnel policies and protocols. Profiled in The Wall Street Journal, these audits are designed to minimize the incidence of employment-related class action litigation and to maximize management discretion and workplace productivity. Mr. Maatman has served as a legal commentator on PBS, NPR, MSNBC, CNBC and U.S. talk radio, and his comments have appeared in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Insurance, USA Today, Fortune and Forbes.
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Jennifer A. Riley
Partner
Duane Morris
Ms. Riley practices in the employment litigation area, with a particular emphasis on complex collective and class... | Read More
Ms. Riley practices in the employment litigation area, with a particular emphasis on complex collective and class action proceedings. Ms. Riley counsels and defends employers from a range of employment law theories, including claims of race, age, gender, and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, and alleged wage and hour violations.
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