Law Students Support Jurists and Panelist Taking Part in USD School of Law’s Class Action Law Forum 2022

SAN DIEGO (February 24, 2022) – University of San Diego School of Law and Western Alliance Bank’s fourth annual Class Action Law Forum taking place March 16-18, 2022 on the campus of the University of San Diego will be highlighting the legal research and writing talents of ten extraordinary law students at USD—most of whom are in their first year of law school.  Law Professor Shawn Miller and Morrison & Foerster Partner, Erin Bosman ’94 (JD), are carrying out the founding vision of David S. Casey, Jr. ’74 (JD).  Casey always believed that this conference should provide opportunities for students to interact with leading jurists and preeminent litigators. 

With Professor Miller’s academic support and Bosman’s practical legal experience, Sara Badrani ‘24, Danny Birmingham ‘24, Kate Bosman Cote ‘24, Kasey Helms ‘24, Zak Kakos ‘24, Martha Klak ‘23, Oliver McClymonds ‘24, Michael Rothberg ‘24, Arif Salam ‘24, and Bailey Webster ’24 will be involved in organizing discussions and shepherding content that is specific to many of the main panel presentations that will be taking place at this year’s conference. 

Students will be researching and writing in key areas of class action and complex litigation, including: class action arbitrations, settlements and notice claims trends, discovery in the age of COVID-19, special challenges in large mass tort cases, multi-district litigation (MDL), the intersection between class action and MDL, and best practices analysis related to complex litigation. 

USD School of Law first and second year students will be researching innovative issues, developing statistical analysis relative to the key areas of class action litigation, and extending the conversation of topics being explored at this year’s conference.  Once the 2022 Class Action Law Forum wraps up for the year, students will draft, edit and publish their insightful work inspired by the presentations of leading experts in the field of Class Action, Multi-District and Complex Litigation. 

USD School of Law alumni are welcome to attend and are encouraged to utilize discount code TOREROGO to receive a 50% discount on registration fees. The registration link and more information about the Class Action Law Forum can be found here.

2022 Class Action Law Forum Student Scholars Include:

Sara Badrani ’24 (JD) is a San Diego native who plans to practice Estate Planning.

• “My interest in Class Action Law Forum stems from my desire to learn more about litigation as a potential career option. In last semester's experiential course, we pursued a litigation case and this furthered my interest. I would love to learn more about how class action litigation cases are approached and how it compares to non- class action litigation cases. 

• Conference Panels: Intersection between Class Action and Multi-District Litigation (MDL) and Best Practices for  . . .  Trial

Danny Birmingham ’24 (JD) grew up in Encinitas and received his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University. 

• “I want to practice litigation and ultimately become a trial attorney. I enjoy the competitive aspect, and find motivation in representing others. I'm excited about CALF because it provides me with an opportunity to learn about class actions and complex litigation from not only practicing attorneys, but also judges. I want to build my career on these kinds of cases, and this is the ideal starting point.”

• Conference Panels: Settlements & Notice / Claims Trends and Discovery in the Age of COVID-19.

Kate Bosman Cote ’24 (JD) is a San Diego native who majored in law, history, culture at USC. 

• “I want to practice product liability and class action litigation. I love the challenge presented by complex civil litigation to combine the advocacy skills of a trial lawyer with the consulting and analytical mind of a transaction lawyer in order to counsel clients effectively — both inside and outside the courtroom.  I am drawn to Class Action Law Forum because of the unique opportunity to connect and hear from judges and leading attorneys throughout California. I am looking forward to hearing about the growing areas in the legal field from leading professionals.”

• Conference Panels: Settlements & Notice / Claims Trends and Discovery in the Age of COVID-19.

Kasey Helms ’24 (JD) grew up in Riverside, CA, but as an adult I lived on the east coast and overseas before making my way to San Diego

• “Before law school I worked as an intelligence analyst (military and law enforcement) where I researched and analyzed details about various organizations to predict their future behavior and vulnerabilities. I have always loved puzzles and complex projects so I think working on complex litigation and class actions would be really interesting. I am excited to learn about where environmental law intersects with class actions.”

• Conference Panels: Multi-District Litigation (MDL) Update and Consumer Class Action

Zakery “Zak” Kakos ’24 (JD) came to USD Law from the East Coast. He grew up in York, Pennsylvania, and attended college at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut where he studied Political Science, and Global Business Management.

• “I am excited about CALF because it will present an opportunity to bring people together to work and talk about the craft of class action litigation. The opportunity to work for and meet practitioners in the San Diego area is invaluable as law students. CALF will present us with a chance to learn about the practical skills we will be using in our soon-to-be careers.”

• Conference Panels: Special Challenges in Large Mass Tort Mass Tort Cases and 9^th Circuit Judicial Roundtable Discussion 

Martha Klak ’23 (JD) is in her second year of law school.  Born and raised in San Diego, Martha is a first generation law student born to parents who immigrated to the US from Poland.

• “I am excited that one of the areas of concentration during this year's Class Action Law Forum will focus on mass torts; this specialty is becoming a growing area of interest in the field of law, I am eager to be a part of this monumental moment, as it is being introduced for the first time in the conference.” 

• Conference Panels: Class Action Arbitrations and Chief Judges Roundtable 

Oliver McClymonds ’24 (JD) is from San Diego. He spent my undergraduate years at Bucknell University, in rural Pennsylvania, studying political science and playing Division I water polo. 

• “I came to law school with the goal of using my writing and oral advocacy skills to help other San Diegans. CALF excites me because it presents an opportunity to learn from expert attorneys and judges about the field of complex litigation. At this point in my legal career, any hands-on experience with local professionals is invaluable.”

• Conference Panels: Special Challenges in Large Mass Tort Mass Tort Cases and 9^th Circuit Judicial Roundtable Discussion

Michael Rothberg’ 24 (JD) grew up in Long Island, New York.

• “I hope to one day practice Intellectual Property Litigation. In a world that is constantly evolving and subject to so much innovation, to be able to advocate for people’s intellectual creations would be a rewarding career. I am particularly excited for the CALF because it will be a great chance to learn about Class Action Lawsuits from leading experts in the field. To hear of their personal experiences in real world litigation will be an invaluable learning opportunity.”

• Conference Panels: Class Action Arbitrations and Chief Judges Roundtable 

Arif Salam ’24 (JD) is from Moreno Valley and I went to undergrad at UCI

• “I’m interested in litigation work mostly and really want to look into cybersecurity and data privacy issues because I think it's a rapidly growing field of law that is extremely relevant to our future. I'm excited about CALF because I want to get a close up look at complex litigation matters and be able to speak with people who are directly involved with complex litigation and class actions suits upfront so I can learn as much as I can from them.” 

• Conference Panels: Multi-District Litigation (MDL) Update and Consumer Class Action

Bailey Webster ’24 (JD) moved from the beaches of Huntington Beach to the mountains of Durango, Colorado to attend Fort Lewis College where she double majored in Philosophy and Psychology while playing collegiate soccer. 

• “I want to litigate, most likely in criminal law or possibly environmental law. I am excited for CALF to get the opportunity to learn from local attorneys and judges who have experience and expertise in Class Action lawsuits and complex litigation.”

• Conference Panels: Intersection between Class Action and Multi-District Litigation and Best Practices for . . .  Trial

About the University of San Diego School of Law

Each year, USD educates approximately 800 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world.  The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest law and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 84 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates.  The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 30th nationally among U.S. law faculties in scholarly impact and 31st nationally in past-year faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.