THE OPIOID CRISIS: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

The darkest days of America’s opioid crisis may be behind us. For the first time in four years American life spans are rising—apart from the effects of COVID-19—as opioid deaths decline. We have, however, a long way to go, both to heal a sorely damaged community and learn from the catastrophe. At the 26th Clifford Symposium, some of America’s leading experts will consider the legal and public health implications of the scourge and our response to it. The symposium will begin with reports from the front lines of the opioid litigation by those intimately involved in the matter. It will then turn to consideration of the procedural mechanism that has framed our primary response to the crisis—multi-district litigation. Symposium faculty will then consider some of the substantive legal tools being used or considered to address the problem and those who caused it, most particularly tort claims (especially public nuisance) and criminal sanctions. The symposium will then examine a range of public health initiatives to assist in the nation’s recovery. Finally, a number of prior litigation experiences (especially the tobacco imbroglio) will be examined as signposts to where our responses may lead us.

DePaul University College of Law is an accreditated CLE provider. This webcast has been approved for up to 7.0 of general CLE credits. This is a two day only event to earn CLE credit.

Day 1 4.50 CLE credits

Day 2 2.50 CLE credits

WEBINAR AGENDA - THURSDAY, MAY 28

Opening Remarks (15 minutes)

Robert Clifford

Clifford Law Offices

Jennifer Rosato Perea

Dean, DePaul University College of Law

Stephan Landsman

Director, Clifford Symposium, DePaul University College of Law

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SESSION I: REPORTS FROM THE FRONT LINES (60 minutes)

Kenneth Feinberg, The Law Offices of Kenneth Feinberg, Mediator Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy

David Nachman, New York State Attorney General’s Office

William Rubenstein, Harvard University, Advisor to the Court in the Federal Opioid MDL

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SESSION II: MDL MACHINERY (90 minutes)

Law, Federalism and the Opioid Crisis

Abbe Gluck, Yale University

Information as a Public Good

Elizabeth Burch, University of Georgia

Alexandra Lahav, University of Connecticut

Opioid Cases and State MDLs

Zachary Clopton, Northwestern University

Theodore Rave, University of Houston

Discussant: Judith Resnik, Yale University

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SESSION III: TORT SOLUTIONS (60 minutes)

Revenue and Responsibility

John Goldberg, Harvard University

Benjamin Zipursky, Fordham University

Nuisance Framing

Catherine Sharkey, New York University

Discussant: Stephan Landsman, DePaul University College of Law

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SESSION IV: LEGAL LEVERS FOR INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY (60 minutes)

Corporate Misconduct in the Drug Industry

Richard Ausness, University of Kentucky

Irresponsible Owners: Purdue Pharma and the Limits of Criminal Law

Miriam Baer, Brooklyn Law School

Legal Restrictions on Opioid Prescribing

Michelle Mello, Stanford University

Discussant: Michelle Mello, Stanford University

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WEBINAR AGENDA - FRIDAY, MAY 29

SESSION V: PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSES (90 minutes)

No Moral Panic: Public Health Responses to Illicit Fentanyls

Daniel Ciccarone, University of California, San Francisco

Improving Access to Treatment in Rural Communities

Sheri Doyle, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Using Litigation to Effectively Abate Opioid Health Harms

Rebecca Haffajee, Rand Corporation and University of Michigan

The Evolving Opioid Crisis: Evidence-Based Approaches to a Public Health Problem

Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar, American Institute for Research

Discussant: David Hyman, Georgetown University

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SESSION VI :THE PAST AS PROLOGUE (60 Minutes)

Super Litigation for Super Cases: From the Electrical Equipment Cases to the Ultimate MDL

Andrew Bradt, University of California, Berkeley

The Legacy of Tobacco Litigation and Lessons from Opioids

Nora Engstrom, Stanford University

Robert Rabin, Stanford University

Discussant: Mark Galanter, University of Wisconsin

CONCLUDING REMARKS