Cliff Merrell will be attending Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law’s 2025 “Tackling Controversial Problems in Mass-Tort MDLs Bench-Bar Summit,” a leadership event bringing together fifteen federal judges and 20–25 lawyers and experts to address critical issues in mass-tort multidistrict litigations (MDLs), such as common-benefit fund assessments, alternatives to court-imposed lodestar reporting, reducing document overproduction in discovery, timing for supporting claims filed on “information and belief,” the selection of claims administrators, and expanding the role of magistrate judges in bellwether trials.
On July 10, from 4:00–5:15 p.m., Cliff Merrell will speak on the panel, "Promoting Opportunities for Magistrate Judges, Including Recalled Magistrate Judges, To Try Bellwether Trials on Parties' Consent." The summit is designed to promote in-depth discussion and the development of best practices for tackling the most pressing challenges in mass-tort MDLs.