Conference Agenda

Due to the impacts of COVID-19, the conference has been postponed to September 21, 2020.

The 2020 agenda is still in development. See our confirmed topics and speakers below.

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Conference Agenda

7:30 a.m.
​Registration
Continental breakfast served.

​8:00 a.m.
Opening Remarks

• Jeffrey Klenk, Director, Berkeley Research Group
• Christopher Ritchie, Senior Managing Director, Huntington Bank

8:10 a.m.
Recent Trends in Securities Litigation

• Stephen Cirami, Head of Class Actions and Corporate Actions, Broadridge Financial Solutions
• Dean Seal, Senior Reporter, Law360
• Jeroen Van Kwawegen, Partner, Bernstein Litowitz Berger Grossman
• Glenn K. Vanzura, Partner, Mayer Brown

Moderated by Robyn Griffin, Managing Director, Huntington Bank, this panel will discuss recent trends in securities litigation including global developments such as in the Netherlands, the increased complexity of cases and the increased duration of class settlements.

9:00 a.m.
ERISA, Labor and Employment

• Seth Kaufman, Partner, Fisher Phillips LLP
• Randy Moon, Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group

Moderated by David Lewin, Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group, this panel will examine class actions and compensation disputes. Labor and employment litigation is usually about money. Such litigation, both individual and class action, ranges across issues involving wages and hours, discrimination, no-poaching and non-compete agreements, independent contractor v. employee status, executive compensation and benefits. This panel will address several money issues: the reasonableness of executive compensation, challenges to ERISA and related benefits and class actions involving discrimination, wages and hours.

9:50 a.m.
Networking Break

10:10 a.m.
Data, Technology and Privacy

• Karen Hanson Riebel, Partner, Lockridge Grindal Nauen
• John A. Yanchunis, Attorney, Morgan & Morgan

Moderated by Amy Worley, Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group, this panel will discuss trends in class action litigation arising out of data breaches and related privacy claims, especially in the wake of the California Consumer Privacy Act.

11:00 a.m.
An Analysis of the Antitrust Landscape over 10 Years

• Nathaniel Ament-Stone, Associate, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle
• Joshua Davis, Professor, University of San Francisco Law School
• Pamela Gilbert, Partner, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca
• Jeffrey Klenk, Director, Berkeley Research Group

Moderated by Rose Kohles, Assistant Vice President, Huntington Bank, this panel will review the 2019 Antitrust Annual Report, published by Huntington Bank and the University of San Francisco Law School. The first of its kind, the Antitrust Annual Report analyzes private class action lawsuit settlements in the United States Federal Court System to better understand how class action litigation is changing and how those changes affect class action professionals.

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12:00 p.m.
Keynote Luncheon
Brian T. Fitzpatrick
Law Professor, Vanderbilt University
Brian T. Fitzpatrick is the author of “The Conservative Case for Class Actions,” which argues that lifelong Republicans like himself should embrace class actions as a private-sector mechanism to combat commercial malfeasance, as opposed to government regulation and oversight. Fitzpatrick is Professor of Law at Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville, Tenn. Before joining Vanderbilt, he graduated first in his class at Harvard Law School, served as a law clerk on the U.S. Supreme Court to Justice Antonin Scalia, practiced corporate litigation in Washington, D.C. and worked as Special Counsel to John Cornyn in the U.S. Senate.  
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1:30 p.m.
No-Injury Class Actions

• Eric Cramer, Chairman, Berger Montague
• Michael P. Daly, Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP
• David Kalat, Director, Berkeley Research Group

Moderated by Robin Cantor, Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group. So-called “no-injury” class actions are the subject of substantial debate not only in the law, but also among experts charged with examining the proximate cause of economic losses and the reliable measurement of damages, if any. Increasingly in these matters, courts must address standing, predominance, and due process challenges. The panel will discuss some recent decisions and their potential importance for the treatment of no-injury class actions.

2:20 p.m.
Ethics: Protecting Data in Class Actions and Fund Administration

• Christopher J. Dalton, Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
• Allison Grande, Senior Reporter, Law360
• Brent Landau, Global Managing Partner, Hausfeld, and Lecturer in Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

With claimant information typically submitted electronically and data breaches on the rise, how can class counsel and fund administrators most effectively protect the confidential information with which they are entrusted? The panel will discuss lawyers’ duties under the rules of professional responsibility in the event of a data breach or cyberattack, as well as how best to mitigate risks associated with handling sensitive claimant data, including protected health information.

3:20 p.m.
Networking Break

3:40 p.m.
Mass Arbitrations

• Ray E. Gallo, Senior Partner, Gallo LLP; and Founder, Gallo Digital LLC
• Joshua G. Konecky, Partner, Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky LLP
• Travis Lenkner, Managing Partner, Keller Lenkner LLC
• Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, Of Counsel, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
• Lindsey D. Schmidt, Associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Moderated by Matthew Dundon, Principal at Dundon Advisers, this panel will examine the emerging tactic by the plaintiff bar of advanced marketing and intake techniques to recruit and coordinate arbitration plaintiffs to confront pre-dispute class waivers and arbitration agreements in consumer and employment contracts. Could these violate the spirit of the class waiver, as the defense bar is trying to establish? Are plaintiff lawyers properly marketing and vetting for clients using mass-tort style engagement? How do defendants avoid or mitigate the costs, which can amount to tens of millions of dollars in arbitration fees? Could this trend spell changes in the Federal Arbitration Act?

4:30 p.m.
Climate Change

• Katie Beran, Partner, Hausfeld LLP
• Mike Gerrard, Professor, Columbia Law School
• Gabrielle Sigel, Partner, Jenner & Block

Moderated by Bradford Cornell, Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group, this panel will look at environmental litigation. If there is one issue that affects virtually everyone, from local communities to the world as a whole, it is climate change.  For some time, various legal approaches have been tried with climate change claims. Will these lawsuits eventually evolve into class action matters, or are climate change impacts poorly suited for the courts and best addressed by policy makers?  The panel will consider recent court decisions such as Juliana vs. United States and the potential role of class action litigation as a response to the consequences of climate change.
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5:20 p.m.
Closing Remarks

• Robin Cantor, Managing Director, Berkeley Research Group 
• Christopher Ritchie, Senior Managing Director, Huntington Bank

5:30 p.m.
Evening Reception

For speaking and sponsorship opportunities, contact:
Colin Post
(240) 629-3300 ext. 100
colin@beardgroup.com