Joshua P. Davis
Joshua P. DavisProfessor & Practicing Attorney
A leading academic and practitioner, Joshua P. Davis (davisj@usfca.edu) is a nationally recognized expert on legal ethics and class actions, as well as on artificial intelligence in the law, antitrust, civil procedure, free speech, and jurisprudence. He has published more than 30 scholarly articles and book chapters on these subjects and is currently writing a book on AI titled Unnatural Law, which will be published by Cambridge University Press. He is Research Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of Law, and a Shareholder of the Berger Montague PC law firm and Manager of its new San Francisco Bay Area Office. Before taking these posts, for more than 20 years Davis was a tenured Professor of Law at University of San Francisco Law School, where he also served as the Director of the Center for Law and Ethics.

Davis is also a member of the Editorial Board of Advisors for the Journal on Emerging Issues in Litigation, published by Fastcase Full Court Press. Tom Hagy, Editor in Chief.

Scott Dodson
Scott DodsonCenter for Litigation and Courts
An expert in civil procedure and federal courts, Professor Scott Dodson is the James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation and Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Hastings Law. He has published seven book titles, including The Legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Cambridge 2015) and New Pleading in the Twenty-First Century (Oxford 2013). He has written around 100 shorter works appearing in such journals as Stanford Law Review, New York University Law Review, Michigan Law Review, University of Pennsylvania Law Review, California Law Review, Virginia Law Review, Duke Law Journal, Northwestern University Law Review, Georgetown Law Journal, American Journal of Comparative Law, American Journal of International Law, and Law & Society Review. His scholarly writings have been cited in more than 30 court opinions and have been downloaded more than 45,000 times. For 2010-14, he was listed as the 9th (tied) most-cited civil-procedure scholar. Professor Dodson is a frequent commentator in the news, including appearances on the 10:00 Nightly News, NPR Radio, and CNN Radio; quotes in various print media; and blogging stints at SCOTUSblog, SCOCAblog, Civil Procedure & Federal Courts Blog, and PrawfsBlawg.

You can also listen to Josh on the Emerging Litigation Podcast!

New Litigation Ethics Conference to Feature Sitting Judges, Legal Scholars, Prominent Attorneys

For Immediate Release

SAN FRANCISCO – Aug. 25, 2022 – Luminaries and thought leaders in the complex litigation arena will gather in San Francisco on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, to discuss insights and practices on an issue of critical significance to the nation’s justice system: ethical conduct among litigants and litigators.

With a projected in-person and remote audience of 100 plus, this important continuing legal education program will be held at the UC Hastings College of Law in association with the school’s Center for Litigation in Courts. Professors Joshua P. Davis and Scott Dodson have assembled a faculty of leading jurists, litigators, and other subject matter experts.

Complex Litigation Ethics Conference
Oct. 22, 2022
UC Hastings College of Law
Learn more

“Data suggest that, depending on the year, as much as half of all cases filed in federal court are part of multidistrict litigation, or MDL, proceedings or involve proposed class actions,” said Professor Davis, who is both a research professor at UC Davis and managing partner of the San Francisco offices of Berger Montague, a prominent class action and complex litigation law firm.

According to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation there were 186 MDL dockets pending, which brought together 770,623 actions, with 426,495 pending as of July 2022. At the same time, thousands of new class actions are filed each year (some put the number as high as 10,000) in state and federal courts representing millions of named and potential class members. Cases and claim types run the gamut, such as consumer product liability, antitrust, toxic substances, drug and device liability, data breaches, securities, employment, environmental contamination, and both injury and damage claims arising from wildfires and floods, to name a few.

“Despite these figures, insufficient scholarly attention has been paid to the ways in which ethical rules, which are typically designed for traditional litigation, should be adapted and applied to MDLs and class actions,” said Professor Davis. “The Complex Litigation Ethics Conference will address these important and timely issues.”

Topics include adapting general legal ethics rules to complex matters; ethics in litigation funding; diversity, equity, and inclusivity in complex litigation; and communications with “absent class members.”

U.S. Judge Jon S. Tigar of the Northern District of California will be among the speakers. Judge Tigar has or continues to preside over headline-grabbing litigation brought against Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook), Twitter Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., Wells Fargo & Company, Subway restaurants, Sanofi S.A., and others.

Also on the faculty are:

  • Lynn A. Baker, University of Texas School of Law
  • Jennifer Bennett, Gupta Wessler PLLC
  • Eric Cramer, Berger Montague PC
  • Lauren Godshall, Tulane Law School
  • Alexandra D. Lahav, Cornell Law School
  • Brent Landau, Hausfeld
  • Roger Michalski, University of Oklahoma College of Law
  • Melissa Mortazavi, University of Oklahoma College of Law
  • Sarah Ray, Latham & Watkins LLP
  • Maya Steinitz, University of Iowa, College of Law
  • Brad Wendel, Cornell Law School

Three annual Awards for Excellence in Ethics in Complex Litigation will also be announced during the event, one to a plaintiffs’ attorney or law firm, one to a defense attorney or law firm, and one to a judge, scholar, third-party neutral, party to litigation, government official, other lawyer or law firm, non-profit organization, and other participant in or commentator on complex litigation. The winners will have demonstrated excellence in promoting ethics in class actions or other complex litigation (e.g., MDLs).

Huntington National BankThe event is being co-sponsored by Huntington National Bank, a nationwide provider of settlement fund and other financial services for law firms.

Members of the legal and business press are invited to request passes to attend the event in San Francisco or via webstream, and to receive program materials. Pre-program interviews with the conference leaders and faculty should be addressed to Tom Hagy, +1 (484) 844-0428, or Editor@LitigationConferences.com.

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