You're a taxpayer, yet you've never heard of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation? Shame on you.
Lawyers call it the "MDL Panel." Think of it as a sort of secret society of seven federal judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. These seven judges meet at a different place every two months to figure out what to do when a whole bunch of similar federal lawsuits are filed against the same defendant.
Need an example? Let's say Washington Mutual does something rotten to a lot of people then gets sued in ten different federal courts. Bring on the MDL Panel! The team of seven judges will issue an order consolidating the various cases into a single giant lawsuit, saving the defendant the hassle of defending a bunch of little cases scattered around the country. Next, the judges of the MDL panel will decide what federal judge gets to oversee the consolidated giant case. (The judge who chairs the MDL Panel explains the process here.)
It's a big job. The MDL Panel deals with cases of such complexity that lawyers whose cases are handled before it feel entitled to brag whenever it happens. (I'll show you what I mean. I've had lots of cases before the Panel.)
What really makes the judges of the MDL Panel special? It's their travel agent. If you want to know what I mean, stay tuned for the next post.
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