Furniss and Culbreath Lead a Dynamic Spring Meeting in Washington, DC

LCJ Spring Meeting Co-Chairs Natalie Furniss (Nationwide) and Gray Culbreath (Gallivan White & Boyd) welcomed 180 LCJ member attorneys and guests to a sold-out Spring membership meeting that highlighted emerging litigation issues and new rules developments.

We kicked off our meeting with a networking reception on Wednesday, May 6th, hosted by Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath at their DC office. LCJ President Scott Kreamer joined LCJ past president Wayne Mason in welcoming attendees to the meeting.

The meeting opened on Thursday with a discussion of the pelvic mesh MDL scandal, brought to light in The Pain Brokers, How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America’s Lawsuit Factory. An interview of the author, Professor Elizabeth Burch, by LCJ MDL Committee Co-Chair Kaspar Stoffelmayr (Bartlit Beck) was followed by nearly 30 minutes of participant Q&A, reflecting the high interest in the issues raised by the book.

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy St. Eve was joined by the Bolch Institute’s new Executive Director, retired U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly Mueller, for a discussion with LCJ Public Trust in the Courts Committee Co-Chair Barbara Smith Tyson (Bryan Cave), on top judicial priorities and concerns. Judges St. Eve and Mueller focused on federal funding impacts on federal courthouses and the personal security of judges.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have refined a potent weapon to keep cases in favorable state courts: naming “throw away” defendants for the sole purpose of defeating diversity jurisdiction. The fraudulent joinder tactic is sophisticated, and the stakes are high: staying in state court versus removal can determine the outcome of major litigation. But defendants aren’t without recourse. Our panel – Julie Tersigni (Kenvue Inc.), Alan Rothman (Sidley Austin LLP), and Linda Coberly (Winston & Strawn) – explored how to identify fraudulent joinder schemes, pierce inadequate pleadings, leverage conclusory allegations against plaintiffs, and deploy effective removal strategies.

LCJ General Counsel Alex Dahl led off Thursday afternoon’s program with an analysis of recent rule proposals and their status following the conclusion of the recent public comment period and follow-on meetings of the federal advisory committees of civil rules and evidence. He highlighted new LCJ initiatives on discovery issues.

Arbitration was designed as an efficient alternative to litigation—but plaintiffs’ lawyers, third-party funders, and lead generators have turned it upside down. By flooding companies with thousands of cookie-cutter arbitration demands, they’re weaponizing the very agreements meant to streamline dispute resolution. Our panel on mass arbitration abuse – Joe Tocco (AT&T), Meredith Slawe and Michael McTigue (Skadden Arps Meager & Flom) examined the evolving mass arbitration threat, from the business models driving it to the coercive tactics being deployed and led a discussion of defense strategies that work.

Thursday’s program culminated with a discussion with Cardinal Health General Counsel Patrick Pope and Crown Equipment General Counsel Todd Penney, who shared their insights on litigation strategy and key corporate concerns with LCJ Board member Jeff Koppy (General Motors)

At our annual dinner on Thursday, we recognized Lina Bensman (Cleary Gottleib Steen & Hamilton), with our Founders Award for her outstanding contributions to LCJ’s advocacy during 2025. We also recognized our departing leaders and gave a special farewell salute to ExxonMobil Executive Counsel Robert Levy for his long service in multiple LCJ leadership roles. The evening culminated with the handing of the “gavel” from President Scott Kreamer (Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice) to President-Elect Chris Guth (Bayer US LLC).

Our in-house and law firm lawyers met in separate breakfast meetings on Friday. In both meetings, ideas for new rule initiatives and emerging litigation trends were discussed.

Friday’s leadoff panel featured former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, Cooley LLP, and Jaime Santos (Goodwin Proctor), who joined Beth Chiarello (Alston & Bird) for a discussion of the most important Supreme Court cases of the current term and the future direction of the Court.

We wrapped up the meeting with an all-star panel on “gig economy” issues and their wider impact on corporate compliance and litigation. The panelists, Marie Trimble Holvick (Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani), DJ Manthripragada (Gibson Dunn & Crutcher), Aaron Tidman, (Pinterest), and Colin Wells (Uber Technologies) spoke with moderator Toyja Kelley (Troutman Pepper Locke) about compliance, regulatory and litigation implications from this “new economy” trend.

Thanks to all who participated in this meeting. We look forward to our next meeting in New York City on December 2-4.