Multidistrict litigation has been the subject of much controversy in recent years. Defendants lament the pressure to settle claims that they believe frequently lack merit and the inefficiencies of modern multidistrict litigation. In her recent book, Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation, Professor Elizabeth Chamblee Burch marshals a wide array of empirical data to suggest that a systematic lack of checks and balances may disadvantage plaintiffs in multidistrict litigation as well. Rather than faithfully representing them, she asserts that plaintiffs’ lawyers may sell them out in backroom settlements that compensate lawyers handsomely, pay plaintiffs little, and deny them the justice they seek. Please join Professor Elizabeth Chamblee Burch and Douglas Smith for a discussion of this important book.

Featuring:
-- Prof. Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, Fuller E. Callaway Chair of Law, University of Georgia School of Law and author of Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation (Cambridge University Press 2019)
-- Douglas Smith, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP