National Civil Justice Institute

2024 academic symposium on the daubert standard in the district of columbia. Ncji, the bar association of the district of columbia, and the american university washington college of law together presented a provocative symposium at the law school campus in washington, d.c. On march 30, 2024. This symposium featured engaging discussion among defense and plaintiffs' attorneys with several esteemed members of the d.c. Superior court to consider how the daubert standard has changed the landscape of legal practice in d.c. Since its adoption in 2016. Video of the symposium and more details are available at ncji's website.

The institute's 2024 appellate advocacy award was presented to the lawyers for the successful plaintiffs in two groundbreaking decisions: nandan joshi of the public citizen litigation group for his unanimous u.s. Supreme court victory in dept. Of agriculture rural development rural housing service v. Kirtz, 601 u.s. 42, 144 s.ct. 457 (2024), which established the right of consumers to sue a federal agency in consumer credit cases; and robert peck of the center for constitutional litigation for brandt v. Pompa, 171 ohio st.3d 693, 220 n.e.3d 703 (ohio 2022), which challenged a state cap on noneconomic damages.

Ncji awarded its 2024 civil justice scholarship award to two legal academics: prof. Gregory c. Keating of the usc gould school of law for his book, reasonableness and risk: right and responsibility in the law of torts (oxford university press 2022), which argues for rediscovering the vital role that tort law traditionally has played to institute civil justice as a bedrock of our legal system; and prof. Suzette m. Malveaux of the university of colorado law school for her article, is it time for a new civil rights act? Pursuing procedural justice in the federal civil court system (63 b.c. L. Rev. 2403 (2022)), which demonstrates how the supreme court's recent jurisprudence (particularly regarding pleadings, class actions, and arbitration) has reached a tipping point, and concludes that corrective civil rights legislation-rather than caselaw or a federal rule- is the answer. The winning publications were selected from among 44 nominations received for published articles and books on civil justice topics. Prof. Keating and prof. Malveaux will receive their awards (7,000 and 3,000, respectively, plus framed certificates and a trip to austin) at the ncji fellows reception on february 11.