When it comes to complex class action litigation, once the hard work is done – litigation and settlement – more hard work begins – administering it. But is the deal really ready?
After years of arduous proceedings, discovery, motions, appeals, hearings, negotiations, and more, the scope and structure of your settlement has been drafted. Everyone is in agreement. The hard work of the courts, the attorneys, the legal teams, and the litigants is complete. Now it’s time to administer the settlement. Send out notices. Cut the checks. Get people paid. Boom! Sit back and relax. Get a claims administrator to take it from there.
But wait … you find out that the terms of the agreement, the promises made, the budget established, and the deadlines calendared are not only inefficient, they are completely unworkable. Now the settlement is in jeopardy. The clients are frustrated. The court is frustrated. And you have a headache.
That is a situation you, as a class action attorney, never want to find yourself in. The best way to avoid this quagmire is for attorneys to work with a professional and experienced claims administrator before you agree on settlement terms, someone who has been to this rodeo many, many times before. If you want smooth execution of your claims program, they must be on your team as you pull the pieces of the settlement together, not afterwards.
Join us for a complimentary CLE webinar on Thursday, April 8, 2021, for a practical discussion based on Seven Elements of Effectively Settling Class Actions led by a class action litigator turned class action settlement expert, who will moderate a discussion with two highly regarded class action attorneys who have been involved in a number of high-profile complex cases.
On Demand | Recorded April 2021
Included with registration
- 1+ CLE credits (subject to bar rules). CLE codes are embedded in the video.
- For questions write to CLE@LitigationConferences.com.
- 75 minutes of insights from experienced professionals.
- The complete PowerPoint presentation.
- Continued access to the complete recording for later use.
- Answers to your questions via email to the presenters, or write to HB and we will be sure to contact the speakers.
KEY POINTS
These Seven Elements of Effectively Settling Class Actions will serve as the framework for our practical presentation.
- Consult Early, Before Settlement
- Evaluate Noticing Options
- More Outreach = More Claims
- Understand Your Data
- Use The Right Technology
- Consider Appropriate Scope of Services
- Compare Apples to Apples on Estimates
Meet the Panel
Michael O’Connor
Vice President
Class Action & Mass Tort Solutions
Epiq
Vice President
Class Action & Mass Tort Solutions
Epiq
Over the past 10 years Michael O’Connor has established himself as a national expert on complex settlement administration matters and oversees client relationship development and strategic client communications. He works closely with our class action and mass tort team of project managers to ensure consistent, superior client service standards.
Based in Washington, DC, Mr. O’Connor also works extensively on Epiq’s contracts with the United States Federal Government, including the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Currently, Mr. O’Connor also oversees Epiq’s administration of: (a) Peterson v. Islamic Republic of Iran, Case No. 10-CIV-4518 (S.D.N.Y., Hon. L. Preska), a $1.9 billion disbursement to victims of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut; and (b) In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:05-MD-1720 (MKB) (JO) (E.D.N.Y.), a nearly $6 billion settlement brought by all U.S. merchants against Visa and Mastercard.
A highly esteemed thought leader, O’Connor is a frequent national speaker on settlement administration best practices and has worked on and overseen many of Epiq’s largest and most complex engagements. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University. Before joining Epiq in 2010, Mr. O’Connor was a trial lawyer for thirteen years, most recently as an owner at Garvey Schubert Barer (now Foster Garvey).
Alexandra “Xan” Bernay
Partner
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Partner
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP
Alexandra Bernay is a partner in Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP’s San Diego office, where she specializes in antitrust and unfair competition class-action litigation. She has also worked on some of the Firm’s largest securities fraud class actions, including the Enron litigation, which recovered an unprecedented $7.2 billion for investors.
Xan currently serves as co-lead counsel in In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, in which a settlement of $5.5 billion was approved in the Eastern District of New York. This case was brought on behalf of millions of U.S. merchants against Visa and MasterCard and various card-issuing banks, challenging the way these companies set and collect tens of billions of dollars annually in merchant fees. The settlement is believed to be the largest antitrust class action settlement of all time. Additionally, Xan is involved in In re Remicade Antitrust Litigation pending in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania – a large case involving anticompetitive conduct in the biosimilars market, where the Firm is sole lead counsel for the end-payor plaintiffs. She is also part of the litigation team in In re Dealer Mgmt. Sys. Antitrust Litigation (N.D. Ill.), which involves anticompetitive conduct related to dealer management systems on behalf of auto dealerships across the country. Another representative case is Persian Gulf Inc. v. BP West Coast Prods. LLC (S.D. Cal.), a massive case against the largest gas refiners in the world brought by gasoline station owners who allege they were overcharged for gasoline in California as a result of anticompetitive conduct. Xan has also had experience in large consumer class actions, including In re Checking Account Overdraft Litigation, which case was brought on behalf of bank customers who were overcharged for debit card transactions and resulted in more than $500 million in settlements with major banks that manipulated customers’ debit transactions to maximize overdraft fees. She also helped try to verdict a case against one of the world’s largest companies who was sued on behalf of consumers. Xan speaks on a variety of issues related to litigation, including recent changes to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In December 2018, with another lawyer, she prevailed for her client in a multi-day probate court trial as part of her pro bono work with the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers’ Program. Xan has been named a Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyer by Lawdragon. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from Humboldt State University, where she received the Society of Professional Journalists Outstanding Graduate Award. She then graduated magna cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego School of Law, where she was Comments Editor for the San Diego Law Review, and an Order of the Coif member.
Keith Dubanevich
Attorney
Stoll Berne
Attorney
Stoll Berne
Keith is an accomplished trial, appellate, and healthcare lawyer with over 35 years of experience in more than a dozen different jurisdictions around the country. With a focus on complex dispute resolution, with particular emphasis in the healthcare industry, Keith is adept at handling multi-state and international antitrust cases, consumer litigation, and securities disputes. In healthcare, he has handled peer review disputes, partnership and incorporation matters, and billing investigations.
Keith’s clients value his keen instincts in court and his ability to delve into complex legal issues while never losing sight of the overall strategy of a case. A judge commented that during a recent trial Keith was “remarkably thorough, … prepared, respectful, and efficient.” Keith has also received high praise from his peers including this comment about a recent arbitration proceeding: “I was so impressed with your professionalism and effectiveness. Your whole presentation was a model of what an advocate should be.”
During his time at the Oregon Department of Justice as Associate Attorney General and Chief of Staff, Keith led the creation of a civil rights unit, managed securities litigation including multiple cases against financial services companies, and supervised antitrust investigations and prosecutions. He was also involved with the adoption of legislation that expanded the Unlawful Trade Practices Act to include financial services companies.