Products Liability, Class Actions & Mass Torts Section Aims To Broaden Appeal With Its New Name

During its Jan. 29 meeting, the NCAJ Board of Governors unanimously approved a request from the section formerly called Products Liability and Construction Defects to take a new name: Products Liability, Class Actions & Mass Torts Section.

Section Chair Matt Lee told board members that the new name better represents the current membership of the section and would help it build membership.

“It’s going to breathe some much-needed life into our section and help us recruit new members, and it’s going to allow our section to grow as the state and legal community grows,” Lee said. “I think we’ve all seen, frankly, some firms that are more involved in class action on the national level moving into our state and creating a presence here. It’s been happening for the past five or 10 years.

Lee said section leaders surveyed the membership and found unanimous support for the new name. It fills a gap, since NCAJ previously had no section dedicated to class action and mass torts.

Board of Governors Member Dan Bryson, also a member of the newly renamed section, said the change will help NCAJ stay on top of trends occurring in the legal profession in North Carolina.

“There are many attorneys across the state that do the type of work that we do, and this name change will better broadcast what we’re doing and help us to plug in in a more effective way within the organization,” Bryson said.

To kick off its rebrand, the section will hold a CLE, Back to the Basics: Medical Device and Drug Injury Mass Torts and Class Action Litigation on Feb 25. The program includes a deep dive on current mass torts of interest, including the Allergan breast implant recall and the Elmiron injury cases.