John A. Shope of Foley Hoag serves as co-chair of this event. Description Who Should Attend: Attorneys, business executives, and consultants involved with class action litigation and government officials involved with parallel investigations Why You Should Attend: The last three years has been a remarkable period for development of class action law. Already, the Supreme Court's recent decisions in Concepcion and CompuCredit have accorded great deference to arbitration clauses, even where the result is to bar class action claims, and WalMart v. Dukes indicates that certification of class actions for cases that remain in court will become significantly more difficult. By the end of the current term, the Court will have decided three cases that will either continue this trend, or potentially curtail it. American Express v. Italian Colors Restaurant will test whether the Court's deference to bilateral arbitration agreements extends to situations where the plaintiffs claim that class procedures are necessary to "effectively vindicate" federal statutory claims. And Comcast v. Behrend and Amgen v. Connecticut Retirement Funds will further elaborate on the requirements for class certification under Wal-Mart. This comprehensive conference will explore these trends, which have led some to predict a drastic decline in class actions in court. It will also explore an important and emerging area of interest spawned by these trends -- namely, alternatives to the traditional class action as a means of resolving aggregate disputes. Topics to be Discussed: Updates on national class action trends Updates on trends in MDL litigation Evidentiary standards: New Supreme Court cases Arbitration clauses: Emerging law from follow-on cases after Concepcion Current issues in class certification Tips from recent wage and hour class actions Consumer financial protection bureau (CFPB) and the potential impact on securities and financial industry class actions Qui Tam litigation as a model for replacing private class action enforcement The future for class actions as a form of aggregate litigation Special Address: A view from the bench on the future of class action litigation Watching for ethical issues from the start of the case

Speakers

• John A. Shope, Foley Hoag LLP
• Introduction to Day 1: Recent Developments in Traditional Class Action Litigation Arbitration Clauses: Emerging Law from Follow-On Cases After AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion
• Introduction to Day 2: Weighing the Alternatives for Resolving Aggregate Claims Click here for a full agenda