Girard Gibbs attorneys Amy Zeman and Adam Polk will attend the Duke Law Bolch Judicial Institute Conference on Documenting and Seeking Solutions to Mass-Tort MDL Problems on April 26-27 in Atlanta, Georgia. Amy and Adam were asked to participate in this invitation-only conference, which brings together the nation’s mass-tort MDL leaders, including 13 federal judges, 13 in-house counsel from ten pharmaceutical and multinational corporations, and the most experienced and respected MDL plaintiff and defendant lawyers in the country. The purpose of the conference is for counsel experienced in mass-tort MDLs to share their experiences, so that national policymakers can be better informed when making their decisions. Specifically, participants will identify specific mass-tort MDL problems, document them, and discuss which remedies make the most sense: rules, legislation, official guidance, or maintaining status quo. The work of the conference will better inform the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules and House and Senate Congressional staff, who are actively studying ways on how best to handle mass-tort MDLs. Six panels will address the following key MDL issues: Panel 1: Impact of Critical Transferee Judge Decisions Not Subject to Review or AppealPanel 2: Inappropriately Filed Cases and Bundling of Filing FeesPanel 3: No Standards in Determining Optimum Number of PSC Members and Amounts of Common Benefit FundPanel 4: No Control Over Client Cases by Non-Leadership Counsel and Concerns About PSC-Member Inventory SettlementsPanel 5: Third-Party Financing and Impact of JPML Selection of Transferee JudgePanel 6: Transferee Judge’s Authority to Order Specific Procedures, e.g., Establish Common Benefit Fund, and Diversity in PSC Appointments About the Duke Conferences The Center for Judicial Studies holds bench-bar-academy conferences, inviting a wide range of prominent bench leaders, government officials, senior-level plaintiff and defense lawyers, technical experts, and academics to address emerging or pressing legal issues, providing them an opportunity to develop positions that can guide government policy-makers and decision-makers. The conferences are invitation-only, inviting 15 judges, 1-5 scholars, and 75 senior-level lawyers. Active interaction among judges, practitioners, and law professors in an intimate environment is a hallmark of every Duke Law’s Distinguished Lawyers Conference. About Amy Zeman Amy Zeman represents clients in a wide variety of medical mass tort matters involving defective drugs and medical devices. She has litigated complex cases against some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country, including multi-district litigation on behalf of individuals harmed by transvaginal mesh, the birth-control medications Yaz and Yasmin, the diabetes drug Actos, and the dialysis medication Granuflo, among others. Ms. Zeman works closely with clients in all stages of litigation, and is currently representing plaintiffs who suffered permanent, disfiguring hair loss after treatment with the Taxotere chemotherapy drug. About Adam Polk Adam Polk represents plaintiffs in complex securities, antitrust, and consumer protection, and products liability class, derivative, and mass actions. He takes a client-focused approach to each matter he is involved with. His experience covers all aspects of civil litigation, from initial case investigation and complaint preparation through resolution.
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