In Non-Compliant Podcast Episode 46, Host Jay Edelson, nationally recognized plaintiff’s attorney and founder of Edelson PC, and Guest Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, the Fuller E. Callaway Chair of Law at the University of Georgia School of Law, and author of Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation, discuss Elizabeth’s most recent work, a two-year procedural justice study titled, Perceptions of Justice in Multidistrict Litigation: Voices from the Crowd.

To start the show, Jay and Elizabeth get into the weeds of what is going on in the Plaintiff’s Bar and Elizabeth’s study. After spending two years conducting research for this project, Elizabeth came to the following conclusion— MDLs work really well for plaintiff attorneys, but not their clients. The reason for this? MDLs are like factories—they were built to serve a goal of efficiency, which often leaves clients unsatisfied and feeling like they are not being heard (15:36).

Later in the show, Elizabeth offers a solution to improve client satisfaction with the MDL process. According to Elizabeth, for people to feel good about judicial system, it’s not only the result they look at; they also look at procedural fairness— people want accountability, for others and the system to acknowledge the harm they’ve been subjected to, and to protect other people from these products/ companies (15:36).


Next, Elizabeth and Jay discuss the improper (and shocking) way many plaintiff’s firm calculate their costs, which includes charging their clients for steak dinners, flying private, and charging interest (34:34).


To end the show, Jay and Elizabeth discuss what the future holds. If the past is an indicator, Elizabeth is not optimistic, change is really slow, and the status quo benefits attorneys and judges (40:21). Jay on the other hand, believes there is going to be big change because of the huge shift in law students who are looking to do plaintiff’s side work.

Connect with Elizabeth:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elizabethcburch
Website: https://www.elizabethchambleeburch.com/
Read her study: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3900527

Connect with Jay:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayedelson
Edelson PC Profile: https://edelson.com/team/jay-edelson/



Connect with us:
Website: https://www.edelsoncreative.com/#podcast
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edelsonlaw
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EdelsonCreative
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edelson-pc



Recent Non-Compliant Podcast Episodes:
Non-Compliant Podcast Episode 45: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-compliant-podcast-episode-45-the-one-with-a-lot/id1491233296?i=1000564837907
Non-Compliant Podcast Episode 44: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-compliant-podcast-episode-44-the-one-with/id1491233296?i=1000561633377
Non-Compliant Podcast Episode 43: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/non-compliant-podcast-episode-43-the-one-with/id1491233296?i=1000551417114