Defense Division
- By [ Deborah White ]
The hallmarks of the successful retail industry — hundreds of millions of consumers and employees —make the industry an irresistible target of the well-organized plaintiffs' bar, which gins up lucrative mass action litigation targeting retailers. Retailers spend large sums of money each year fighting meritless lawsuits and other mass attacks. And retail corporate counsel expend valuable time and resources responding to the steady drumbeat of demand letters and complaints.
The RLC Defense Division, established in 2019, aims to help retail corporate counsel defend their companies from mass action litigation at the front end — before the litigation becomes an expensive "wave" that only benefits plaintiffs’ counsel. The Defense Division is not focused on tort reform or convincing policy makers to change the litigation landscape; rather, we are dedicated to helping our members learn from each other and elite outside counsel. Most importantly, the Defense Division is open to all members of your retail legal team and offers educational resources, alerts, and the opportunity for collaboration within the retail legal community.
Resources
Partnering with Skadden and McGuireWoods, the RLC Defense Division is developing unique new tools to help retailers "see around the corner." These tools will help retailers find out where the plaintiffs' bar intends to strike and provide practical solutions before they do.
BI-ANNUAL IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL MEETINGS
The RLC hosts meetings twice each year to allow retail and law firm members to share insights, learn from one another, and prepare for common attacks. The meetings often feature CLE-eligible sessions delivered by expert attorneys.
Targeted Collaboration On Emerging Litigation Issues
The RLC has also begun to combine forces between its Defense and Advocacy Divisions to tackle specific issues, especially litigation waves, that target the retail industry. The RLC both developed strategic amicus briefs and facilitated collaboration among retailers to defend themselves against new litigation waves, such as Braille gift card litigation, session replay, CIPA wiretapping allegations, VPPA suits, and many others. The RLC’s goal is to help retailers both spot these types of litigation waves early and to help retailers weather them as smoothly as possible.
Weekly Courtside Publication
The RLC launched Courtside with the Retail Litigation Center in March 2021. Courtside is tailored to busy retail corporate counsel and their outside experts to give them quick litigation highlights on key retail-relevant decisions, new litigation, and ongoing enforcement and judicial activities as well as practical tips.
Courtside also provides updates on the RLC's activities to ensure that all of its members can take full advantage of their membership.
Helping retail corporate counsel defend their companies
"The Retail Litigation Center's Defense Division is dedicated to helping retail corporate counsel work together and with carefully curate outside counsel to proactively identify and quickly address meritless mass action lawsuits. Amy Turk (McGuireWoods), Meredith Slawe (Skadden) and their teams were selected after an extensive vetting process, not only for their litigation prowess, but for their deep understanding of the industry, their practical approach, and their commitment to the Defense Division's success. I encourage all major retailers to join the Retail Litigation Center to take advantage of the resources we are developing to help strengthen the industry."
Rhonda Taylor
- Chair, RLC – Executive Vice President, General Counsel
- Dollar General Corporation
Premier Members
Skadden
