Happy 2024! It's been a while since I've done any blogging here but of course I want to encourage everyone to attend the upcoming UCL Institute, organized and sponsored by the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Law Section of the California Lawyers Association. The Institute will take place this Thursday, January 18, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.at the City Club Los Angeles. Click here for more information and to register. The cost is a mere $40 for Section members and $50 for non-members (lower for government, non-profit and in-house employees).
Here's the schedule. It looks really great this year:
Coffee & Registration | 9:00-9:30 a.m.
Panel 1: UCL and FTC Enforcement Priorities | 9:30-10:30 a.m.
This panel of federal, state, and local government enforcers will discuss recent enforcement activity in the unfair competition and consumer protection arena and provide insight into 2024 enforcement priorities.
Break | 10:30-10:45 a.m.
Panel 2: Privacy and the UCL | 10:45-11:45 a.m.
While privacy is now an important practice area in its own right, the unfair competition and consumer protection laws remain essential vehicles for the enforcement of individual privacy rights. Our panelists from the government and the private plaintiffs and defense bar will discuss the latest litigation trends at the intersection of privacy and unfair competition law.
Networking Lunch & Fireside Chat | 11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Sam Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection will share the latest from Washington on consumer protection in conversation with moderator Ted Mermin, Executive Director of Berkeley Law’s Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice.
Panel 3: Epic Reverberations | 1:15-1:45 p.m.
Hear practitioners on both sides of the “v” discuss the dueling amici perspectives on appeal and how this important case will affect UCL litigation going forward.
Panel 4: Developments in Discovery | 1:45-2:15 p.m.
Daniel Garrie, a practitioner (Zeichner Ellman & Krause), neutral (JAMS), and legal engineering entrepreneur (Law & Forensics), will discuss the abuses in class discovery that have become all too common in UCL matters.
Break | 2:15-2:30 p.m.
Panel 5: Mediating UCL Cases | 2:30-3:30 p.m.
These former state and federal judges will share their experience mediating unfair competition and consumer protection cases and advise on best practices to successfully resolve thorny consumer class actions and other high stakes unfair competition matters.