Public Justice Impact Series: Environmental Enforcement Project
The Public Justice network of supporters, members, and donors are critical to our litigation efforts to fight to end systemic inequities and create impact for the communities affected by abusive corporate powers, assaults on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability.
To share more of our work, we launched the Public Justice Impact Series in November 2023, which features a selection of our cases.
Our second episode was held on February 22, 2024, featuring Dan Snyder from the Environmental Enforcement Project:
- Dan Snyder, Director, Environmental Enforcement Project
Click here to access the full webinar.
Click here to access the presentation slides.
Public Justice Impact Series: Access to Justice
The Public Justice network of supporters, members, and donors are critical to our litigation efforts to fight to end systemic inequities and create impact for the communities affected by abusive corporate powers, assaults on civil rights and liberties, and the destruction of the earth’s sustainability. 
To share more of our work, we launched the Public Justice Impact Series in November 2023, which features a selection of our cases.
The inaugural first episode was held on November 1, 2023, featuring our Access to Justice team:
Click here to access the full webinar.
Click here to access the presentation slides.
Civil Eats: Biogas Expansion May Compound Worker Risks
Government incentives are driving larger, more crowded CAFOs—while protections for the workers inside lag behind.
Fighting Secrecy in Civil Litigation
In February 2022, former Public Justice Richard Zitrin Anti-Court Secrecy Attorney Craig Briskin & Budd Attorney Ellen Noble spoke on fighting court secrecy in civil litigation, in a webinar presented free to Public Justice Members as a part of the Justice Talks Series sponsored by Western Alliance Bank.
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CLE information for this webinar (PIN information is in the above webinar recording): https://events.navisinc.com/western-alliance-bank-2021-webinars/jt2
View the PowerPoint associated with this webinar here.
Challenging the Vulnerable Arbitration Clause: The Defenses Still Available in Many Cases
In June 2021, Public Justice Executive Director Paul Bland & Staff Attorney Ellen Noble spoke on the latest developments in court secrecy, in a webinar presented free to Public Justice Members as a part of the Justice Talks Series sponsored by Western Alliance Bank.
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CLE information for this webinar (PIN information is in the above webinar recording): https://events.navisinc.com/western-alliance-bank-2021-webinars/jt1
View the handout associated with this webinar (using password “Justice123”) here.
Letting the Sunshine In: Fighting Unnecessary Secrecy in Mass Torts
In March 2021, Public Justice Senior Attorney Leslie Brueckner & Staff Attorney Ellen Noble spoke on the latest developments in court secrecy, in a webinar presented free to Public Justice Members as a member benefit. You can view the webinar recording here, using the password “Justice123”.
Preserving Access to Justice in Mass Torts
In November 2020, Public Justice Senior Attorneys Leslie Brueckner & Leah Nicholls spoke on the latest developments in pre-emption in mass torts, including medical device, pharmaceutical and Round-up litigation, in a webinar presented free to Public Justice Members as a member benefit. You can view the webinar recording here.
Breaking Down SCOTUS's New Prime Decision
Tuesday, February 12, 2019 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT
For the first time in years, the Supreme Court has ruled against arbitration! In New Prime v. Oliveira, the Court unanimously held that the Federal Arbitration Act exempts all transportation workers engaged in interstate commerce-employees and independent contractors alike. What does this mean for the millions of people who work in the transportation industry? What does it mean for attorneys who litigate cases on behalf of transportation workers? What are the next battles we need to be prepared for and what’s our best shot at winning them? Hear from Jennifer Bennett, who argued the case, and Paul Bland, the Executive Director of Public Justice, for a deep dive into the New Prime v. Oliveira decision, how it will affect cases going forward, and tips on how to litigate new issues arising from the decision.
CLE credit is not available for the webinar.
2019-02-12 14.03 Transportation Worker Claims After Oliveira from Public Justice on Vimeo.
Password is justice19.
Spokeo and the Present and Future of Class Actions
THURSDAY, JUNE 2 1PM ET / 10AM PT
This month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins could have represented an unprecedented corporate gutting of America’s privacy laws, and federal consumer law generally. Instead, the decision was much more narrow, but has bearing on a number of pending class and individual actions.
Consumer class action expert Beth Terrell of Terrell Marshall and appellate advocate Deepak Gupta of Gupta Wessler take you through the decision, and discuss the short and long-term implications for class actions and individual consumer cases.
The webinar has ended. Slides from the presenters’ presentations are available here. View model TCPA allegations for robocalls to cell phones here.
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2016-06-02 13.03 Spokeo and the Present and Future of Class Actions from Public Justice on Vimeo.
Class Actions in a New Supreme Court: Tyson Foods Gets Skewered
Tuesday, April 5 3PM ET / Noon PT
Jocelyn Larkin of the Impact Fund and Jason Lichtman of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein discuss the long-awaited result in one of this term’s blockbuster Supreme Court cases.
Tyson v. Bouaphakeo, which upheld a jury verdict in a class action brought on behalf of low-wage workers at a Tyson Foods pork-processing plant, had the potential to drastically change the future of class action litigation. As it turns out, the Supreme Court’s decision broke little new ground, although it did include some surprising twists. Hear from two of the country’s foremost experts about what this decision will mean for the use of statistical evidence in class litigation going forward.
Larkin and Lichtman will explain how consumer advocates and class action litigators can use the case to their advantage and continue to use representative evidence to prove both liability and damages on a class-wide basis.
The webinar has ended. Slides from the presenters’ presentations are available here.
Enter password justice16 to view the video of the webinar below.
Class Actions in a New Supreme Court_ Tyson Foods Gets Skewered from Public Justice on Vimeo.
What's Next After the Supreme Court's Campbell-Ewald Decision?
January 28, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. EDT/noon PST
On January 20, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez, concerning when defendants can pick off named class representatives through offers of judgment. The Court ruled an unaccepted offer of judgment under Rule 68 does not moot the claims of the class representative, and thus cannot be the basis for an order dismissing a case.
The Court left unanswered whether defendants might be able to employ other methods of trying to moot out named class representatives’ claims, however. There are a variety of other important strategic issues facing lawyers who represent consumers and workers in class actions that arise from this case.
On January 28 at 3PM ET, hear from two of the country’s foremost experts about how to respond to this important case.
Seth Lesser of Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP and Paul Bland, Public Justice’s Executive Director, will discuss the Court’s holding in Campbell-Ewald, and the important issues that are not resolved by the case.
Tyson, the Chamber, and the Supreme Court:
October 14, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. EST/noon PST
Jocelyn Larkin of the Impact Fund and Jason Lichtman of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein discuss one of the fall’s blockbuster Supreme Court cases. Tyson v. Bouaphakeo could drastically change the future of class action litigation. Hear from two of the country’s foremost experts about how this important case could also impact wage and hour lawsuits and the role of experts and evidence in litigation.
Larkin and Lichtman will explain why consumer advocates and class action litigators must pay close attention to the case and why the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fighting alongside one of the country’s largest food producers to turn consumers and workers away from the courthouse doors.
Key Steps to Making Better Appellate Arguments
June 16, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST
In this webinar, a very experienced appellate advocate will discuss strategies and approaches for handling appellate arguments. Topics addressed will include choosing the right opening, anticipating likely questions, how to make concise and pointed answers, and addressing hostile judges. The presenter will be Public Justice Executive Director Paul Bland. NOTE: Jonathan Selbin of Lieff Cabraser Hermann Bernstein, originally slated to present, is unable to attend. (photo via wallyg on Flickr)
Supreme Court in Review
April 1, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST
Erwin Chemerinsky, Founding Dean and Distinguished Professor of Law at the UC Irvine School of Law, will present. The constitutional law expert will review major cases from the October 2013 and October 2014 terms, with a special emphasis on those affecting Public Justice’s program areas.
GM Ignition Switch Litigation Update
Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. PST
Lance Cooper will provide an update on the GM ignition switch litigation. He will address the status of the MDL cases in New York, as well as the state court cases around the country. He will also discuss the findings contained in the Valukas Report (GM’s June 2014 report to federal regulators outlining the problems that led to its ignition switch recall crisis) and their implications not only in the ignition switch litigation, but GM cases generally. There will also be a discussion of the Feinberg Plan to compensate victims, including claims submitted and awards made to date.
Legal Catch 22: How to Navigate ERISA Subrogation and Avoid Liens
Wednesday, October 8, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. PST
Public Justice Staff Attorney Matt Wessler and Attorney Stan Marks will discuss recent developments in the current landscape governing ERISA subrogation and reimbursement claims, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in US Airways v. McCutchen and Cigna v. Amara and the pending cert. petition in Thurber v. Aetna. They will also discuss effective strategies to avoid or reduce ERISA liens.
Working on High-Profile Civil Rights Cases with Daryl Parks
Tuesday, September 16, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. PST
Daryl Parks is one of the foremost civil rights litigators in America, and he is currently working to secure justice for the family of Michael Brown. Parks has also been an attorney for the family of Trayvon Martin, and is a member of the Public Justice Foundation’s Board of Directors
In this webinar, Parks will speak on:
- The social context of police shootings in America
- Strategies for investigating the key facts in a police shooting case
- Strategies for litigating and trying police shooting cases
- Handling the interplay between criminal actions and civil cases for families and victims
- Dealing with the media storm in high-profile cases
Ask Public Justice's Executive Director Paul Bland
On September 10, Public Justice Executive Director Paul Bland answered questions posed by members on a variety of aspects of Public Justice’s current work. These included questions on the state of the fight against forced arbitration, on efforts to pick off class representatives, and on the firm’s litigation against so-called “rent-a-tribe” payday lenders. (September 10, 2014)
Proposed Changes to the Federal Rules for Civil Procedure (Special non-Speaker Series webinar open to all)
Proposals are working their way through the system that, if they’re not amended, would change the rules of discovery – including decades-old language we’ve all come to rely on. What do these changes mean for people seeking access to justice? Hear from three lawyers actively involved in the discovery amendment process about what is changing, and what lawyers need to do to best represent their clients in the face of a changing discovery landscape.
Learn how to:
- Use changes in the case management process to get more discovery at less expense.
- Keep the proposed historic changes to Rule 26 – the heart of the discovery rules – from barring the doors to justice for our clients.
- Show judges that “proportionality” and “cost-shifting” language should not be used to make the injured party bear the defendant’s discovery costs.
- Use a new tool to uncover stonewalling.
- Navigate the new sanctions standard.
Learn what made Professor Arthur Miller caution: “What appears to be happening…betrays either an antilitigation, antiplaintiff, pro-business and pro-government orientation, or pro-management bias, or a combination thereof.” (See more at: https://www.publicjustice.net/content/access-justice-stake-federal-rules-changes#sthash.2BVAovSa.dpuf) (August 25, 2014)
How to Navigate Challenges of Social Media as a Litigator
Social media is exploding.
Its use or misuse by potential clients, lawyers and defendants pose a very difficult challenge both of marketing, discovery and ethics.
Spencer Aronfeld is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer in Miami who has practiced for more than 20 years in the areas of personal injury, cruise ship passenger injury claims and mass torts. He has been at the forefront on the use of social media both in and out of the courtroom. He lectures frequently to lawyers and law students on the do’s and don’ts of social media.
During the presentation, Aronfeld will review the basic types of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram as well as how he has successfully used the profiles of defendants, witnesses and jurors in litigation and trial. He will also share his best practices and do’s and don’ts for maintaining and optimizing a lawyer’s presence and profile in social media. (June 11, 2014)
Defeating Defendants' Efforts to Pick Off Class Representatives: Beating the Rule 68 Offer of Judgment After Genesis
With increasing frequency, corporate defendants in class actions are making offers of judgment to the named class representative, and then arguing that the case is moot (even when the plaintiff refuses the offer).
While most courts rejected this tactic prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Genesis case, the law has become increasingly complicated and divided around the nation.
This webinar will explore the principal arguments that plaintiffs can make to defeat corporate efforts to pick off the named class representatives, and will discuss some practice tips that counsel should consider to strengthen their arguments and position against this cynical defense strategy.
Paul Bland, Executive Director, has been a senior attorney at Public Justice since 1997. As Executive Director, Paul manages and leads a staff of nearly 30 attorneys and other staff, guiding the organization’s litigation docket and other advocacy. (July 9, 2014)
Essential Tools for Cases Against Animal Agriculture
This seminar covers options for bringing cases against Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, slaughterhouses, and/or meat packing plants. The topics covered will be potential legal tools and litigation strategies that will be effective in court as well as empower local communities. The seminar will discuss Right to Farm Laws, citizen suit provisions, common law claims, the pros and cons of bringing federal environmental claims and state common law claims, and potential hurdles outside of litigation, including the public response in press and working with local community groups to encourage support for the litigation. (May 14, 2014)
photo credit: Farm Sanctuary
ERISA Subrogation
David Place of Synergy Settlement Services on the topic of ERISA Subrogation (May 1, 2014).
Reporting Fraud and Fighting Retaliation: Whistleblowers Playing Offense and Defense
Federal regulators are relying more and more on whistleblower incentives to encourage individuals to report corporate misconduct. Congress has made this easier by enacting a series of laws that provide stronger protections against retaliation for employees who report such illegal activity, and the SEC has stepped up its efforts to take enforcement action against retaliating employers. This webinar was designed to help members understand more about litigating these cases.
Lawyers David J. Marshall and Robert Vogel represent whistleblowers before the SEC and in qui tam actions in a wide range of industries. They discuss their work in helping taxpayers and shareholders to recover moneys lost to fraud, corruption and securities violations, and also in securing rewards and protections for their clients. They focus on recent developments in the law and on practice pointers for whistleblower lawyers, both experienced and new.
This promises to be another banner year for whistleblowers and their lawyers. Whistleblower cases filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act allowed the Department of Justice to recover some $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2013 in areas ranging from Medicare fraud to procurement fraud in government contracts. During the same period the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the SEC Whistleblower Program it established under the Dodd-Frank Act produced several whistleblower awards, including the first large award in the amount of $14 million. The SEC has also said it took in more than 3,000 whistleblower tips in 2013 and that more awards and very large ones are coming soon.
photo credit: Zephyris via wikimedia commons cc
Nuts and Bolts of Social Media
Building on our December Speaker Series on why firms should use social media, this webinar focuses on how. What tools should we use and why? What kinds of results should we be looking for? How do we create social media pages and know whether we’re actually getting the results we want? Public Justice Communications Director Catherine Behan walks participants through the nuts and bolts of social media, focusing specifically on Facebook and Twitter. (March 12, 2014)
photo credit: ePublicist via photopin cc
Using Civil Litigation to Fight Injustice Government Won't
While business is working swiftly to exert control over government (hello Citizen’s United!) nationally, it’s been a way of life in places like West Virginia. Attorney Kevin Thompson has made a career using civil litigation to do what government, controlled by business, won’t. H describes how he helps the little guys take on big business — and win. Thompson discusses his tactics in Hairston v Equitable Production, in which 14 African-American families in a small West Virginia town sued a natural gas company when old family gravestones were desecrated by building an access road. He also talks about work he is currently doing, leading a group of lawyers who have filed class actions representing the more than 300,000 whose water was undrinkable for weeks after a dangerous solvent was spilled into a West Virginia river. (Wednesday, February 12, 2014)
Cy Pres Done Right and Wrong
When it’s impossible to get damages from a successful class action to class members, cy pres awards—properly used—ensure that justice is done. Misused, they undermine the class members’ rights, impose injustice, and lead to settlements being overturned. Public Justice Executive Director Arthur Bryant discusses when and how to use cy pres awards. (January 7, 2014)
Social Media: Enhance Your Practice and Advance the Public Good
In a brave new world of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, social media wields incredible power of influence. Public Justice’s Paul Bland, Janet Varnell of Varnell and Warwick, and Michael J. Swanson of Advocate Capital, Inc., shared how they use social media to rally people on injustice.
How to Litigate Bullying Cases Against School Districts and Officials
Recorded Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Public Justice Managing Attorney Adele Kimmel provided an overview on how to navigate this emerging area of law. She discussed how to evaluate a school bullying case, legal theories and remedies available against school districts and officials, recent trends in bullying verdicts and settlements, and best practices for handling these cases.
