Aaron Marks, an associate in Cohen Milstein’s Antitrust practice, will be speaking at a panel organized by Harvard Law School’s Office of Public Interest Advising on March 12, 2026, at 9 am. Aaron will discuss pursuing public interest careers after working in Big Law. Aaron brings his expertise as the only plaintiffs’ lawyer on the OPIA panel.
The Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising is Harvard Law School’s career services office that provides vast resources to connect students and alumni with attorney advisors and to support public interest career planning.
Molly J. Bowen, a partner in Cohen Milstein’s the Securities Litigation & Investor Protection practice, will speak at the Women in Securities Litigation Network panel on March 4, 2026. Molly offers her expert perspective from being a leader in enforcement and litigation from the plaintiffs’ bar. The panelists will discuss new research on securities filings and examine current litigation trends.
Panelists:
• Molly Bowen, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Washington D.C.
• Kate St. Romain, Fried Frank, Washington D.C.
• Jennifer Marietta-Westberg, Cornerstone Research, Washington D.C.
Douglas McNamara, a partner of the firm’s Consumer Protection practice will be presenting the course, “Rule 23(c)(4) Issue Certification: Reconciling the Conflict With Rule 23(b)(3)’s Predominance Requirement”, on March 5, 2026 at 1 pm ET. The 90-minute webinar is eligible for 1.5 continuing legal education credits.
Class actions seeking monetary damages are often difficult to certify because common issues do not predominate over individualized issues as required by Rule 23(b)(3). Rule 23(c)(4) allows a court to certify a class “with respect to particular issues” when appropriate.
This CLE course examines limited issue class certification under Rule 23(c)(4) and the differing ways federal appellate circuits interpret and apply the rule. Because proposed damages class actions often fail Rule 23(b)(3)’s predominance requirement, plaintiffs increasingly turn to Rule 23(c)(4) to certify specific issues—often liability—while leaving individualized issues like injury, reliance, or causation for later individual proceedings.
The course reviews how Wal-Mart v. Dukes revived attention to Rule 23(c)(4), enabling plaintiffs to seek certification in cases that might otherwise fail predominance. However, the federal circuits remain split on whether issue certification can bypass predominance entirely or must be evaluated within the predominance framework.
Douglas will analyze current circuit positions, share practical strategies for litigating Rule 23(c)(4) certifications, and review recent case law implications for both plaintiffs and defendants.
Presenters
- Michael Hamburger, FBT Gibbons, New York NY
- Douglas McNamara, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Washington D.C
Katie Wolfe, of counsel in Cohen Milstein’s Civil Rights & Employment practice, will speak at the ABA National Conference on Equal Employment Opportunity Law at the Loews New Orleans on Wednesday, March 18th.
Katie’s panel, “From the Inside Out: An Analysis of Current Legal Trends by Former Government Practitioners” will take place from 3:30 to 4:45 pm EST.
Katie, a former senior attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, joins other former senior ranking members of the of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of Labor, and the National Labor Relations Board, for what should be a compelling discussion on the current administration’s enforcement efforts and impact on Equal Employment Opportunity laws and other agencies that regulate the workplace. They will also share their thoughts on relevant executive orders, directives, and guidance applicable to enforcement of EEO laws; and examine trends they are seeing or anticipating in legal challenges to federal enforcement efforts.
The legal profession is at a crossroads. Rising burnout, shifting cultural expectations, and the relentless pace of change have made one thing clear: wellness is no longer a “nice to have”—it’s a strategic imperative. Rachael Flanagan joins the discussion at the 7th Employee Wellness for Legal Professionals Summit in Tampa on March 3, 2026.
The session explores the current state of wellbeing across law firms and what it means for the future of work. Walk away with data and language you need to make the case for change, with possible discussion on:
- The latest research on lawyer burnout, engagement and retention
- The business case for wellness- linking culture to profitability and talent success
- What’s next: leadership accountability, hybrid challenges, the future of billable hours
For the full agenda, visit the conference site.
In an era marked by constant demands, high‑stakes litigation, and the pressures of an always‑on culture, prioritizing wellness is not optional—it’s essential. This session will offer practical guidance lawyers can use to maintain balance, reduce burnout, and sustain long‑term career resilience.
Rachael Flanagan will be presenting Keeping Well in Today’s World: Mental Health Tips at the AAJ® 2026 Winter Convention, taking place February 20–24 at the historic Hotel del Coronado. Rachael is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and wellness in the legal profession and the broader community. She serves as a member of The Florida Bar’s Mental Health & Wellness Committee and as president-elect of the Board of Directors of NAMI Palm Beach County, a leading nonprofit organization that provides education, advocacy, and support for individuals and families affected by mental illness.
The AAJ® Winter Convention brings together trial lawyers from across the country to sharpen their skills, strengthen their practices, and stand united in the fight for justice. Rachael is contributing to this year’s programming with an early‑morning session focused on one of the most critical—and too often overlooked—areas affecting today’s legal professionals: mental health and well‑being.
Michelle Yau, chair of Cohen Milstein’s ERISA & Employee Benefits practice, will be speaking at the American Bar Association’s 2026 Employee Benefits Committee Midwinter Meeting in Austin, Texas at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown.
Her panel, Dispensing Wisdom: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for the ERISA Practitioner, will take place on Friday, February 6 from 8:45 to 9:45 am.
PBMs are an integral player in how most Americans with employment based health coverage receive their prescription drugs. This panel will discuss the role and responsibilities of PBMs, the basics of PBM contracts, fiduciary considerations, attempts to regulate PBMs at the state level, recent lawsuits, and whether federal regulatory or legislative PBM reform is on the horizon.
Panelists:
- Timothy Eicher, Slevin & Hart
- Mary Powell, Trucker Huss
- Catha Worthman, Feinberg Jackson
- Michelle C. Yau, Partner, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, PLLC
Karina Puttieva, an associate in Cohen Milstein’s Consumer Protection practice, spoke at the 2025 NCLC Consumer Right Litigation & Class Action Symposium on Sunday, November 16 in Washington, D.C. at the Washington Hilton.
Karina’s session will discuss evolving changes and developments in class action practice, implications and responses to appellate rulings; expansive approaches to remedies; emerging substantive areas for class litigation; ethical issues in class administration; and strategies for class trials.
Read more about the 2025 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference & Class Action Symposium.
Agnieszka Fryszman, chair of Cohen Milstein’s Human Rights practice and newly appointed 2025–2026 Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Chair in Human Rights, presented Georgetown Law’’s Drinan Lecture on Human Rights on November 13, 2025.
In “Against the Headwinds: Human Rights Lawyering in a Fractured World,” she explored how human rights lawyers can advance justice and uphold human dignity amid growing global challenges.
The Drinan Lecture on Human Rights is hosted annually in honor of Professor Robert F. Drinan, S.J. Father Drinan was a professor at Georgetown Law for more than 25 years, where he taught international human rights, and constitutional law, among other topics. He was a priest, scholar, lawyer, politician, activist, ethicist and one of the nation’s leading advocates for international human rights.
Agnieszka, the 2025–2026 Robert F. Drinan, S.J., Chair in Human Rights, is one of the nation’s preeminent human rights litigators and founder of the Human Rights practice at Cohen Milstein. For more than two decades, she has been at the forefront of landmark litigation on behalf of survivors of grave human rights abuses.
Agnieszka’s achievements have earned wide recognition, including the National Law Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Public Justice’s Trial Lawyer of the Year, and the Human Trafficking Legal Center’s Advocate of the Year, among other honors.
Watch Agnieszka’s Drinan Lecture, “Against the Headwinds: Human Rights Lawyering in a Fractured World,” in full on Georgetown Law’s Human Rights Institute website.
Agnieszka Fryszman, chair of Cohen Milstein’s Human Rights practice, will speak at the University of Michigan Law School’s Transnational Law Conference: Forced Labor, Trafficking, and Recruitment: Measuring Progress in the Movement for Equitable Supply Chains on November 7, 2025 at 2 pm.
Fryszman will speak on Panel V: Legal Strategies.
Marking 25 years since the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol, this year’s Transnational Law Symposium will examine progress and persistent gaps in combating slavery and trafficking.
Amid global retrenchment, rising anti-immigrant sentiment, and protectionist labor and trade policies, the 2025 Symposium will evaluate the successes and failures of anti-trafficking law and, through the lens of labor recruitment, explore principles and standards to promote exploitation-free supply chains and worksites.