Ellen Relkin, the practice group chair of Defective Drugs and Devices at Weitz & Luxenberg, is sharing her legal knowledge at two different conferences at the end of June.
She is presenting at the 2021 Boardwalk Seminar on Mass Torts, sponsored by the New Jersey Association for Justice (NJAJ). She is also a keynote speaker at the Class Action Money & Ethics Conference sponsored by the Beard Group.
Boardwalk Seminar Looks at Mass Torts in N.J.
On June 28, the New Jersey Association for Justice sponsors the Mass Torts Boardwalk Seminar. It focuses on current issues in the state of New Jersey. Ms. Relkin is speaking on recent updates on New Jersey products liability law.
The NJAJ is a statewide association of legal professionals devoted to representing plaintiffs. The seminar is designed to share information and exchange views. Ms. Relkin, also a co-chair for this program, points out “Along with many of my colleagues, we seek to protect families who were harmed by unsafe products and companies that took advantage of them. We often use mass tort law to achieve justice for as many people as we can to restore the dignity they deserve.”
Diversity Appointments in Leadership Positions
On June 29 and 30, Ms. Relkin is a keynote speaker at the Class Action Money & Ethics Conference: Aligning Interests & Optimizing Outcomes in Class Action Litigation. She is part of a panel addressing the issue of diversity appointments of attorneys to leadership positions in multidistrict litigations (MDLs) and class action lawsuits reflecting on experiences as one of the pioneering women in the field.
The panel is looking at the recent publication of the Inclusivity and Diversity Guidelines and Best Practices for Judges Appointing Lawyers to Leadership Positions. The report was released by the James F. Humphrey’s Complex Litigation Center at George Washington Law on March 11, 2021.
The Guidelines provide concrete suggestions to judges for giving attorneys an equal chance at leadership positions. All of the speakers plan to discuss their experiences and by what methods these guidelines can be used to make improvements in how appointments are made.
“It is critical that leadership in class action and mass tort MDLs reflect the diversity and breadth of the legal community,” explains Ms. Relkin. “Justice is best served when everyone has a voice, and we need to groom the next generation of attorneys, so they are prepared to lead in the future.”
Experienced and Recognized Attorney
Ms. Relkin has represented thousands of plaintiffs who have been harmed by defective medical products. She has been responsible for several multimillion and billion-dollar settlements for those clients. She brings that experience with her when she presents at professional conferences, such as these two. She has been AV rated by Martindale-Hubble for more than two decades.
Ms. Relkin has received appointments by courts for leadership positions in several cases, including as co-lead counsel of the In Re: DePuy ASR MDL, In Re: Farxiga MDL and the In Re: Juul MDL. She was also appointed the lead and liaison counsel for the New Jersey In Re: Stryker Rejuvenate & ABG II Modular Hip Implant Multi-County Litigation and the In Re: Stryker L Fit Multi-County Litigation, as well as serving on numerous court appointed Plaintiff Executive and Steering Committees.
Certified by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a Civil Trial Attorney, she is an elected member of the American Law Institute as well as the Summit Council and the American Bar Foundation. She serves on the Board of Governors for the New Jersey Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Relkin is a frequent lecturer nationally at continuing legal education programs.
She has also published law review articles in the Cardozo Law Review and the Dickson Journal of Environmental Law and Policy. She published the chapter on Failure to Warn in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Mass Tort Litigation in the treatise New Jersey Mass Torts and Class Action (2015).
