This program will provide attorneys with an examination of the current status and future direction of class action litigation in light of a series of recent Supreme Court decisions and other federal decisions raising fundamental questions about the viability of the class action mechanism. The panelists will discuss the impact of the Supreme Court's recent decisions concerning the scope and viability of class actions under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, as well as the Court's arbitration-related class action decisions, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Arbitration Study. The panelists will also discuss recent developments regarding the settlement of class actions, including the structure of settlements that receive or are denied court approval, as well as current trends in the types of legal issues and claims being litigated in class actions, and class action issues currently pending in the Supreme Court or in the pipeline on their way up to the Supreme Court. The policies underlying class actions and how those policies are being affected by these recent decisions will also be explored.