Welcome to our 40th installment of "And Now a Word from the
Panel," a column which "rides the circuit" with the
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation as it meets on a
bimonthly basis at venues around the country. As we reach this
milestone, we will take a few moments to reflect on lessons learned
over the past 40 panel hearing sessions, and the evolution of the
MDL landscape over that six-and-a-half-year period.
But before looking back into history, let us first reflect on
the present. This week, the panel heads northwest to Portland,
Oregon, for its July 25 hearing session and another busy docket.
Picking up the pace from earlier this year, the panel will consider
11 new MDL petitions, bringing this year's total to 27 MDL
petitions heard by the panel, with two hearing sessions
remaining.