Miami Law Class Action & Complex Litigation Forum

Lady Justice statue symbolizing fairness and justice in legal education at Miami Law. Banner for Miami Law’s Class Action and Complex Litigation Forum featuring a Lady Justice statue.

Join an exceptional lineup of judges, leading practitioners, and scholars from across the country for timely insights, lively discussion, and fresh perspectives on the issues shaping class actions, MDL proceedings, mass torts, and complex litigation.

REGISTER

Cards

Friday, January 29, 2027

University of Miami
Shalala Student Center
1330 Miller Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146

8:30 AM - 5:30 PM

Select an option to learn more.

2027 Agenda (Subject to change)

Open All Tabs
  • Friday, January 29, 2027

    8:00 AM – 9:00 AM

    Check-In and Breakfast


    9:00 AM – 9:15 AM

    Welcome Remarks

    Patricia Sanchez Abril, Dean
    University of Miami School of Law

    Conference Hosts

    Tal Lifshitz, JD ‘12,
    Partner, Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton
    Co-Chair of the 2027 Miami Class Action Forum.                

    Peter Prieto, JD ’85
    Partner, Podhurst Orseck
    Co-Chair of the 2027 Miami Class Action Forum 

    9:15 AM – 10:30 AM

    Panel #1: The Coming Docket: How AI Will Generate and Reshape Complex Litigation

    Artificial intelligence is generating a new category of claims, from algorithmic pricing and training data disputes to challenges to automated decision making, while raising hard questions about how machine-generated material is authenticated and admitted. This panel takes up the claims themselves, the evidentiary standards courts are developing for AI outputs, and the privilege and discovery problems that arise once AI tools touch attorney work product. 

    Panelists:
    Hon. Maritza Dominguez Braswell, United States District Court for the District of Colorado
    Maura R. Grossman, Research Professor, University of Waterloo
    Jon Polenberg, JD ’03, Shareholder, Becker & Poliakoff

     10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

    Break


    10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

    Panel #2: Inside the Blue Cross Blue Shield Antitrust Litigation: Certifying, Settling, and Administering a Nationwide Class

    Multidistrict litigation now accounts for a remarkable share of the federal civil docket, and the
    judges who manage it are actively reshaping practice, from leadership appointments and early
    claim vetting under Rule 16.1 to bellwether design and global resolution. Judges with extensive MDL and class action experience discuss what is working, what is not, and what counsel on both sides should be doing differently.

    Panelists:
    Hon. R. David Proctor, United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
    Hon. Amy St. Eve, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit


    12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

    Lunch Keynote and Fireside Chat: TBD

     

     1:45 PM – 3:00 PM

    Panel #3: Litigating the Helms-Burton Act: Title III Claims in the Eleventh Circuit and Beyond

    Dormant for more than twenty years, Title III of the Helms-Burton Act was activated in 2019 and has since produced a wave of claims over property confiscated in Cuba. Counsel who have litigated these cases from both sides examine where the doctrine stands, what recent appellate rulings mean for pending and future claims, and why this statute deserves the attention of anyone handling aggregate claims.

    Panelists:
    Bryan Gowdy, Partner, Creed & Gowdy, P.A.
    Andrés Rivero, Partner, Rivero Mestre LLP
    Scott D. Ponce, Partner, Holland & Knight

    Moderator: Roberto Martinez, Partner, Colson Hicks Eidson

    3:00 PM – 3:15 PM

    Break


    3:15 PM – 4:30 PM

    Panel #4: A Conversation with the federal bench

    Federal judges speak candidly about what they see from the bench: how complex cases are actually managed, where technology is changing courtroom practice, and which advocacy earns credibility and which squanders it. Attendees leave with concrete guidance to apply the next time they appear in federal court.

    Panelists:
    Hon. Jacqueline Becerra, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
    Hon. David Leibowitz, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
    Hon. Detra Shaw-Wilder, JD ’94, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida

    4:30 PM – 5:30 PM 

    Closing Reception


CLE Credits: PENDING

  • Alabama: 6.50 general, including 1.30 ethics.
  • California: As FL is an approved jurisdiction, CLEs will qualify for credit through reciprocity
  • Florida: 8.0 general (1.5 Ethics, 1.5 Professionalism, 1.5 Technology and 8.0 Civil Trial and 8.0 Appellate Practice Certification Credits)
  • Georgia: 6.5 general (2 Ethics, 2 Trial)
  • Louisiana: 6.25 general 
  • New Jersey / New York: As FL is an approved jurisdiction, CLEs will qualify for credit through reciprocity
  • North Carolina: 12.0 general 
  • Pennsylvania: 5 general credits and 2 ethics credits

Thank You to Our 2026 Sponsors

Founding Sponsors

BECOME A 2027 SPONSOR

For more information contact events@law.miami.edu or 305-284-1689. The forum is held under the Chatham House Rule.

Top