The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”) is one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting litigation in the federal (and state) courts since the Judiciary Act of 1789. Enacted after eight years of intense lobbying by interest groups on both sides of the aisle, a presidential veto, and a fragile bipartisan compromise, CAFA opens the federal courts to most large class actions, whether brought there originally or by defendants' removal from state courts. Although it is too soon to reach a definitive view of the effects of this statute on litigation, federalism, and law enforcement, it is an appropriate time to frame the historical, normative, and empirical questions that should be addressed in reaching such a view, as well as to venture some preliminary assessments. To that end, the University of Pennsylvania Law Review convened a symposium on November 30 and December 1, 2007, at which many of the nation's most prominent scholars of litigation, judges, and practicing lawyers considered CAFA from six different perspectives: history, jurisdictional policy, federalism, regulatory policy, impact on the federal courts, and impact on the legal profession. The papers and some of the commentary will be published in Volume 156 of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. But the symposium's written record cannot replicate the give-and-take, the questions and answers, and the opportunities for informal discussion thst made this symposium extraordinarily valuable for all lawyers, judges, and scholars interested in class actions.

Registration for the 2007-2008 Symposium is now closed.

This program has been approved for 3 hours on Friday and 6 hours on Saturday of substantive law credit for Pennsylvania lawyers. Credit may be available in other jurisdictions. If you are interested in CLE credit for this event, you must bring a check in the amount of $75 for both days, or $25 for Friday and $50 for Saturday ($50 for both days or $25 for each day for public interest attorneys) to the event. The check should be payable to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and must be exclusively for CLE. Please note that this payment for CLE credit is separate from the registration fee payment required to attend the Symposium. Please also note that this is the updated and correct fee amount for CLE credit, and please disregard any different amounts that prior promotional materials may have indicated.