FUTURE OF MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION CONFERENCE RICHARD ARSENAULT Partner, Neblett Beard & Arsenault May 2 3, 2013 PANELIST PROFILES District of Louisiana has recently appointed her to its Attorney Disciplinary Committee. Mr. Arsenault is a nationally recognized member of the complex litigation bar. He has been involved in over 25 multidistrict litigation proceedings, often serving in leadership capacities. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the big players in the legal community. The Wall Street Journal featured Mr. Arsenault for his role in the Toyota Litigation, referring to him as having national notoriety and as a big gun amongst attorneys who were in competition for leadership roles. They also noted he hosts "must attend" legal seminars on the hot cases of the moment. Business Week has referred to him as a dean of the Louisiana tort bar, USA Today featured him as a member of the Legal Elite and the New Orleans Times Picayune has referred to him as an authority on class actions. His commitment to legal excellence is reflected in years of serving as a faculty member for Louisiana State University s Trial Advocacy Program, lecturing at Judicial Colleges and assuming leadership roles in both local as well as national bar associations. Most recently, he co authored a chapter on multidistrict litigation for a treatise published by the American Bar Association. DAWN BARRIOS Partner, Barrios Kingsdorf & Casteix Ms. Barrios concentrates her practice in plaintiffs complex litigation, class actions and MDLs. She was appointed Lead Counsel in MDL 1643 (Educational Testing Service Litigation), named a member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee and lead of the State Liaison Committees in MDL 2047 (Chinese Drywall Litigation) and MDL 2299 (Actos), and was selected by courts as a member of the State Liaison Committees in the Toyota, Vioxx, Baycol, and Propulsid. She has made numerous presentations at the request of the ABA, AAJ, Louisiana Bar Association, Louisiana Association of Justice, and both Tulane and LSU law schools on topics germane to complex litigation. The bench of the Eastern 1 JOHN BEISNER Partner, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom Mr. Beisner is national co chair of Skadden s mass torts and insurance litigation group. He has represented defendants in a wide range of high visibility litigation matters, including mass tort controversies and class actions, at both the trial and appellate court level. Over the past 35 years, he has represented defendants in over 40 federal multidistrict litigation proceedings (including the Vioxx MDL), often in a lead counsel role, and in more than 600 federal and state class actions. He is in the top tier of Chambers USA: America s Leading Lawyers for Business in the products liability category and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America and Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. For his work on the settlement of a state attorneys general investigation of Countrywide Finance/Bank of America lending practices, John was named Litigator of the Week by The American Lawyer. He is an active participant in legal reform initiatives and received the Institute for Legal Reform s 2011 Research and Policy Award for his integral role in crafting the federal Class Action Fairness Act. DAVID BERNICK Partner, Boies Schiller & Flexner Mr. Bernick is an internationally recognized trial lawyer and business counselor. He also has been the general counsel of Philip Morris International. For over 32 years, he has acted as outside counsel to a wide range of matters spanning a variety of areas that are priorities for international businesses today. His long and successful track record in trying controversial cases and in developing effective solutions to multi dimensional business/regulatory/legal problems is reflected in awards that he has received and regular coverage of his cases by national and international media.
DONALD H. BESKIND Professor of the Practice of Law, Duke Law School Professor Beskind has represented plaintiffs in civil cases for 40 years, including service on the Plaintiff s Steering Committee for In Re: AT&T Mobility Wireless Data Services Sales Tax Litigation and the In Re: American Honda Dealership Relations Litigation. While in private practice he directed and taught in Duke Law School s Trial Practice Program and taught evidence. In 2010, Professor Beskind joined the Duke Law faculty full time and now co counsels cases with various national and local firms. In addition to serving on the Board of Governors of both national and North Carolina trial lawyer organizations, he lectures on evidentiary and trial skills topics across the United States, runs trial training programs at major law firms, and has trained solicitors and barristers in the United Kingdom. SHEILA BIRNBAUM Ms. Birnbaum has been national counsel or lead defense counsel for numerous Fortune 500 companies in some of the largest and most complicated tort cases in the country. She was chosen as the leading products liability lawyer in the world by The International Who s Who of Product Liability, and one of the 25 most influential women in New York by Crain s New York Business. She was court appointed mediator in a dispute involving families of 9/11 victims, and in 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder appointed Ms. Birnbaum to serve as special master of the reactivated September 11 th Victims Compensation Fund program. She previously was a professor of law and associate dean at New York University School of Law. LISA BLUE Partner, Baron & Blue Ms. Blue is an accomplished trial lawyer in both private practice and previously with the Dallas County District Attorney s office. At the firm of Baron & Budd she specialized in environmental and toxic tort law. She has received nationwide recognition as a trial lawyer, including being named one of the Top 50 Women Litigators in the U.S. by the National Law Journal and in 2009 receiving Speaker Nancy Pelosi s Know Your Power Award. In addition to her legal practice, Ms. Blue maintains a private consultancy as a forensic psychologist and is a nationally renowned expert in jury selection. She is also a frequent media commentator, has coauthored numerous articles on jury selection, and is the author of two books including ATLA s Blue s Guide to Jury Selection. ELIZABETH CABRASER Founding Partner, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein Ms. Cabraser has 35 years experience representing plaintiffs in securities, antitrust/unfair competition, product liability, consumer fraud, mass tort, civil rights, and employment discrimination litigation in federal and state courts. She served as court appointed lead/co lead counsel in scores of federal multidistrict and state proceedings, currently serving in leadership roles in the Toyota and B.P. Oil Spill litigations. She teaches complex litigation at Berkeley and Columbia Law Schools, and regularly writes on class action, complex litigation and due process topics. Ms. Cabraser was named in National Law Journal s 2013 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America, and included in the Daily Journal s Top 100 Lawyers annually since 1998. In 2010, Ms. Cabraser was appointed to serve on the Federal Rules Advisory Committee. HON. ELDON E. FALLON United States District Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana Judge Fallon was appointed to the federal bench in 1995. He presides over three MDLs: Propulsid, Vioxx, and Chinese Drywall. Prior to his judicial appointment, Judge Fallon was a partner at the New Orleans firm of Kierr, Gainsburgh, Benjamin, Fallon and David, an adjunct professor at Tulane University Law School, president of the Louisiana State Bar Association, and a published author. 2
HON. JEREMY FOGEL Director, Federal Judicial Center Judge Fogel has been a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California since 1998 and was appointed as director of the Federal Judicial Center in 2011. He previously was a judge of the municipal and superior courts of Santa Clara County, California. Judge Fogel practiced law in San Jose, has taught at San Jose State University and Stanford Law School, and is a frequent lecturer on ethics, discipline and professional conduct for both judges and attorneys. HON. W. ROYAL FURGESON Senior United States District Judge, Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division Prior to taking senior status, Judge Furgeson served for over 18 years in the El Paso, Midland and San Antonio Divisions of the Western District of Texas and was in private practice for 24 years in El Paso. Judge Furgeson is a panel judge on the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, President of the Federal Judges Association, a member of the Judicial Branch Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, and a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. In June, Judge Furgeson will assume the role of dean of the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law, in anticipation of the law school s opening in August 2014. RICHARD GODFREY Senior Litigation Partner, Kirkland & Ellis Mr. Godfrey is a senior litigation partner, a member of Kirkland s worldwide management committee, and a director and/or trustee of Boston University, The Appleseed Foundation, the National Center for State Courts, as well as several other non profit educational and cultural institutions. He has over 30 years experience as a trial and appellate counsel litigating numerous complex and class action matters, including as counsel for BP in matters arising out of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Mr. Godfrey is the 2013 recipient of the Pillars of Justice Award, presented by The Appleseed Foundation and the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice in recognition of his contributions to pro bono work. HON. JOHN G. HEYBURN II United States District Judge, Western District of Kentucky In private practice, Judge Heyburn focused on civil litigation, with an emphasis on problems within the construction industry. He was nominated to the bench in 1992. In 1994, Chief Justice Rehnquist appointed Judge Heyburn to the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States. He served as chair of that committee from 1995 to 2004. In that capacity, he testified to the House and Senate each year to explain the judiciary policies and its budgetary needs. He has spoken throughout the country about the budget process and the requirements of an independent judiciary. In 2007, Chief Justice Roberts appointed Judge Heyburn to a seven year term as chair of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. He speaks on the subject of class action litigation and the role of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. W. MARK LANIER Founder, The Lanier Law Firm Mr. Lanier founded The Lanier Law Firm in 1990. Since then, he has earned widespread recognition as one of the top trial lawyers in the United States. His peers and the media consistently recognize him among the country s leading legal minds. The New York Times described him as one of the top civil trial lawyers in America Under his leadership, U.S. News and World Report has named The Lanier Law Firm to its list of Best Law Firms over the last three years, as well as naming Mr. Lanier as the 2013 Top Class Action Attorney in America. He is a frequent media commentator, and also teaches and lectures at seminars and law schools around the country. DAVID F. LEVI Dean and Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law David F. Levi became the 14th dean of Duke Law School in 2007. Prior to his appointment, he was the Chief 3
United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California with chambers in Sacramento. Before his judicial appointment, he was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California. He was chair of the Civil Rules Advisory Committee (2000 2003) and chair of the Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure (2003 2007); he has been reappointed to serve as a member of that committee. Dean Levi is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a member of the Council of the American Law Institute. FRANCIS MCGOVERN Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law Professor McGovern writes, teaches and lectures in the field of alternative dispute resolution at Duke and also at the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation. He also has taught at Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Cumberland, and the University of Alabama. He was among the first in the nation to write about and to use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques to avoid or to improve the litigation process. Three decades later, the federal judiciary, many state courts, and institutions around the world, including the United Nations, all seek his guidance on practical and conceptual issues in dispute resolution. As a court appointed special master, or neutral expert, he has developed solutions in most of the significant mass claim litigation in the U.S. MALINI MOORTHY Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, Pfizer, Inc. Ms. Moorthy is head of Pfizer s civil litigation group and has responsibility for overseeing the company s product liability, securities, antitrust, commercial and asbestos litigation. In addition, she manages the company s ediscovery operations and civil justice reform efforts, and serves as a member of the Legal Division s Operating Committee, which has budgeting and talent management responsibility. She has extensive experience managing mass tort litigation having led the company's defense of a number of its products. HON. SANDRA MOSS Civil Division Judicial Team Leader, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Judge Moss is the founder and coordinating judge emeritus of Philadelphia s Complex Litigation Center, as well as a founding member and chair of the State Judges Mass Tort Litigation Committee. She testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee concerning legislative and judicial solutions to the asbestos problem nationwide and addressed the Conference of Chief Justices and the Federal Court s Multidistrict Litigation Judges on managing complex litigation. She represents Pennsylvania on a National Multi Jurisdictional Task Force to create a best practices handbook for state/federal coordination and cooperation complex litigation. Judge Moss has been a faculty member at the National Judicial College since 1992 teaching civil procedure and complex litigation; she has also taught at several law schools. HON. R. DAVID PROCTOR United States District Judge, Northern District of Alabama Judge Proctor was appointed to the bench in 2003. He was previously in private practice with two firms in Birmingham and has taught civil procedure, torts, and complex civil litigation (including MDL segments) as a visiting professor at Cumberland School of Law and the University of Alabama School of Law. He has been assigned responsibilities for three MDL cases, and has been a speaker at two recent MDL Transferee Judges Conferences. JOSEPH RICE Co Founder, Motley Rice LLC Mr. Rice is recognized as a skillful and innovative negotiator of complex settlement negotiations in areas that include anti terrorism, human rights, securities and consumer fraud, medical drugs and devices, aviation, environmental, occupational disease and catastrophic injury. Over the past two decades, he has been recognized for structuring some of the most significant resolutions of asbestos liabilities on behalf of asbestos 4
victims and for his role as lead private counsel for 26 state attorneys general in crafting the landmark Master Settlement Agreement involving Big Tobacco. He was also central to executing the strategic negotiations for 9/11 victims families and is now helping numerous attorneys work towards resolution in the cases against Arab Bank and other alleged terrorist sponsors. Mr. Rice sits on the PSC of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill MDL and, most recently, served as one of the lead negotiators of the two settlements reached with BP, one of which is the largest civil class action settlement in U.S. history. He is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the President s Award of the National Association of Attorneys General, and has taught classes at Duke Law School, the University of South Carolina School of Law, and Charleston School of Law on the art of negotiating. He also volunteers his time as a guest speaker at various legal conferences and educational seminars across the country. HON. ANTHONY J. SCIRICA United States Appellate Judge, Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Scirica was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1984. In 1987, he was elevated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where he was chief judge from 2003 to 2010. In 2008, he was named chair of the Executive Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, which is the governing body of the federal judiciary. He was the chair of both the Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure and the Working Group on Mass Torts of the Judicial Conference. He is also a former member of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation and the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. CHRISTOPHER SEEGER Co Founder, Seeger Weiss Vioxx, Chinese Drywall, Zyprexa and DePuy ASR to name a few. Mr. Seeger is currently serving as co lead counsel in the NFL Concussion Litigation on behalf of thousands of retired NFL players who allege that the NFL failed to take the necessary precautions to protect its players from long term brain injuries resulting from concussive and subconcussive hits. Mr. Seeger has also served as lead trial counsel in major bellwether trials (e.g., Vioxx, Chinese Drywall, and Rezulin) and as negotiating counsel in successful global settlement discussions (e.g., Zyprexa, PPA, Vioxx and Chinese Drywall). HON. KATHRYN VRATIL Chief United States District Judge, District of Kansas Judge Vratil was appointed to the federal bench in 1992, and was named chief judge in 2008. She was previously a partner in the litigation department of a Kansas City law firm, as well as a municipal judge for the city of Prairie Village, Kansas. She is a member of the Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Judicial Center. W.G. WATKINS, JR. Founding Partner, Forman Perry Watkins Krutz & Tardy For over thirty years, Mr. Watkins has been one of the leading asbestos defense lawyers in the country having tried numerous cases to verdict in both state and federal courts. He is national trial counsel and/or national coordinating counsel for several companies involved in mass tort cases. He currently serves as chairman of the Defense Liaison Committee for MDL 875 in Philadelphia, Pa. Mr. Watkins also has served as lead negotiator for many companies in complex mass tort settlements. He enjoys a national reputation in both litigating and resolving cases involving mass torts. Mr. Seeger is one of the nation s leading attorneys in the areas of complex and mass tort actions, with a particular expertise in pharmaceutical cases. He has served as lead attorney and in other significant leadership roles in many of the country s most groundbreaking actions including 5