Welcome to Law.com Class Actions: Critical Mass, a weekly briefing for class action and mass tort attorneys. About 16% of plaintiffs' attorneys appointed to leadership roles in 2021 multidistrict litigation identified as nonwhite. In opening statements at San Francisco's opioid trial this week, plaintiff lawyers played redubbed movie scenes, while one defense attorney insisted "the stakes are very, very high" in the case. Find out who McDonald's hired in a PFAS class action over its food packaging.

I'm Amanda Bronstad. Feel free to reach out to me with your input. My email is [email protected], or follow me on Twitter: @abronstadlaw.

L-R: Julien Adams at Dovel & Luner, Bibi Fell at Fell Law, and Syreeta Poindexter of Babin Law. Courtesy photos

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MDL Appointments For Attorneys of Color Tripled in 6 Years

After a lackluster showing of diversity in multidistrict litigation for years, attorneys of color are making some inroads, obtaining senior leadership positions in the past two years. According to Law.com statistics, 16% of plaintiffs' attorneys appointed to leadership roles in 2021 multidistrict litigation identified as nonwhite, up slightly from 14% in 2020. Here's my story, which includes a chart of the data. (Ethnicity could not be determined for about 4% of attorneys in 2021, and 2% in 2020).