Critical Mass with Law.com's Amanda Bronstad: MDL Leadership Roles Rise For Attorneys Of Color. In San Francisco, Drug Companies Deny Blame for Opioid Crisis.
April 27, 2022 at 12:17 PM
6 minute read
Critical Mass
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 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).
Although still low, the numbers are a big jump from 2016 to 2019, when Law.com found that only 5% of attorneys of color, on average, got leadership positions.
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Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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