The Center's 2022 Wrap Up

The Center for Law and Public Policy (The Center) provides the most effective voice for the defense bar in the discussion of substantive law, judicial process, constitutional issues, and the integrity of the civil justice system at both the national and state levels. This report highlights major accomplishments of The Center this year.

Public Policy

Published in August, Nonlawyer Investment in the Legal Economy provides an in-depth look at the complicated realm of lawyer regulation and the rise of the “alternative business structure” or “ABS” movement. The white paper was authored by Marta-Ann Schnabel (O’Bryon & Schnabel PLC), Chair of The Center’s Economics of Law Subcommittee, and subcommittee members Susan E. Gunter (Dutton Brock LLP) and Thomas J. Hurney, Jr. (Jackson Kelly PLLC). The authors also presented on the topic during the DRI Managing Partners and Law Firm Leaders Conference in November.

The Center appointed Steven M. Siros (Jenner & Block) as new chair, and Carmen Toledo (King & Spalding), Roy Prather (Beveridge & Diamond), and Irving Jones (Balch & Bingham) as new members, of its Climate Change and Sustainability Task Force.

The Center was also pleased to announce the creation of a Social Inflation Task Force. The task force will be charged with developing policies and procedures to counteract this trend, through research into its causes and education as to its effects on the resolution of litigation. John Pierce (Dentons Sirote) serves as chair of the task force, which plans to publish a white paper by the end of 2022.

Legislation and Rules

DRI Leaders Offer Insight into Important Changes for Expert Testimony: Thanks to former DRI President Douglas Burrell and DRI Center for Law and Public Policy President Toyja Kelley, along with Gardner Duvall, then chair of the Center’s Legislation and Rules Committee, for their testimony in January before the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Evidence in support of proposed amendments to Federal Rule of Evidence 702. In June—in alignment with the Center’s comment—the Judicial Conference of the United States’ Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure voted unanimously to approve the amendments.

More than ten years after the implementation of the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, the Center’s MSP Task Force remains dedicated to serving DRI members and clients, including insurance carriers and self-insured entities, by providing up-to-date information on developments and best practices for complying with every legal requirement for reporting to CMS and protecting the Medicare fund in resolving cases involving Medicare beneficiaries. Coming off a memorable turn on the DRI Showcase Theater stage at the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, newly appointed Task Force Chair John Morgenstern and Vice Chair Judy O’Grady look forward to collaborating with DRI’s SLCs on educational programs in 2023.

Amicus Update: The Ten Amicus Briefs Filed in 2022

In 2022, The Center’s Amicus Committee filed ten amicus briefs. This included briefs:

in two appeals pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit supporting healthcare providers and nursing homes responding to the COVID-19 pandemic; also in the Eighth Circuit, similarly in support of several skilled-nursing-facility operators;
with the United States Supreme Court, supporting the preservation of traditional limits on general personal jurisdiction; and
in cases involving junk science, medical monitoring claims, corporate attorney–client privilege, and more.

Read all The Center’s amicus briefs here.

ADR Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative

This year, The Center announced its ADR Diversity, Equity, and & Inclusion Initiative, with a goal of increasing diversity and inclusion among neutrals in underrepresented categories. In recognition of their efforts, members of the initiative were presented with the Law Firm/Corporate Legal Department Diversity Award at the DRI Annual Meeting in October.

Now it’s time for you and your firms and companies to get involved! Visit the initiative’s webpage or email TheCenter@dri.org for more information or to join the initiative.

In the News

The Florida Record Interviews Center President Toyja Kelley: Mr. Kelley addressed litigation funding in an article discussing CNN’s attempts to discover who's funding Alan Dershowitz's defamation suit against the cable news giant. Read the full article here.

Ten Questions with Center Leadership: This fall, DRI CEO Dean Martinez took the opportunity to visit with Toyja Kelley and Kathy Guilfoyle, then president and chair, respectively, of the DRI Center for Law and Public Policy, to discuss the past, present, and future of DRI’s advocacy wing.

Stay tuned for more updates about The Center for Law and Public Policy in 2023!

Thank you! Your DRI membership helps support the work of The Center. Please spread the word about DRI and share this update with your colleagues in the civil defense space.

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