Class Action Litigation Ethics: Navigating Gray Areas in Class Communications, Settlement

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Class Action and Other Litigation
- event Date
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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An excellent opportunity to earn Ethics CLE credits. Note: BARBRI cannot guarantee that this course will be approved for ethics credits in all states. To confirm, please contact our CLE department at pdservice@barbri.com.
This CLE course will present a series of cutting-edge hypothetical scenarios routinely faced by class action defense counsel and their clients.
Faculty

Mr. Slowik represents employers in all aspects of litigation, with a particular emphasis in wage and hour class, collective, and representative actions, including those under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). He has defended dozens of class, collective, and representative actions in state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout California and beyond. In addition to his core wage and hour work, Mr. Slowik has defended employers in single-plaintiff discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases, and in labor arbitrations. He also regularly advises clients on a wide range of compliance issues and on employment issues arising in corporate transactions. Mr. Slowik has written extensively about PAGA on various platforms.

Mr. Marder focuses on class and mass actions, bet-the-company litigation, and complex business and commercial litigation. He handles disputes in federal and state courts across the country representing corporate directors and officers and public and private companies in matters involving complex business disputes and consumer torts, securities fraud, white collar, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), intellectual property, antitrust, unfair competition, and breach of fiduciary duty claims in mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Ms. Whitaker’s practice focuses on government and internal investigations, white-collar defense and complex commercial litigation, including class actions. She represents domestic and international clients in a variety of civil litigation cases, grand jury investigations, and government enforcement matters, including issues arising under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Melissa also routinely handles consumer protection litigation.
Description
The defense of a proposed class action often involves challenging ethical questions for attorneys. Those challenges may evolve, and answers become less clear as the case moves from proposed class action to certification or proceeds toward settlement.
Often the proposed class consists of the defendant's employees, customers, or others with whom the defendant must deal in the ordinary course of business. Navigating these issues requires careful analysis.
Listen as this panel of experienced class action attorneys discusses best practices and strategies for navigating ethical gray areas and preparing for the road ahead.
Outline
- Applicable rules of professional responsibility and statutes
- Conflicts of interest
- Communications with proposed class members
- Ethical considerations in settlement
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Can the defendant communicate with its customers/employees if the proposed class includes a large number of its customers or employees?
- Can the company communicate with potential class members to prepare their defense in opposition to class certification?
- Are side agreements with class counsel ethically permitted?
- Can defendants "pick off" plaintiffs?
- Are reverters ever permissible in class action settlements?
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