Be Careful What You Wish For: The Rise of Mass Arbitration

Adam Polk is a partner at Girard Sharp. His experience covers all aspects of civil litigation, from initial case investigation and complaint preparation through settlement or trial. Adam’s practice encompasses a range of class action matters, including products liability, consumer finance, securities, antitrust, corporate governance, life science, and sexual abuse. Adam is respected among his peers for his leadership, preparation, and client-centered decision-making.
Adam currently serves as co-lead counsel in In re Meta Browsing Tracking Litigation (an action filed on behalf of Facebook users who allege their online activity was surreptitiously tracked without their consent); In re Maxar Technologies Inc. Shareholder Litigation (an action alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933); the Accellion Data Breach Litigation (litigation following a data breach incident the led to the theft of sensitive information in files loaded to Accellion’s File Transfer Appliance system); and the In re Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. Shareholder Litigation (a securities case alleging Hewlett Packard misled investors when it merged with Computer Science Corporation Inc. to form DXC Technology Company). He also serves as on the co-lead counsel teams in In re California Gasoline Spot Market Antitrust Litigation, In re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation, and In re PFA Insurance Marketing Litigation and is an executive committee member in In re Allergan Biocell Textured Breast Implant Products Liability Litigation.
Recently, Adam served as part of the trial team in the first In re Pacific Fertility Center Litigation trial. In a landmark result, the jury awarded approximately $15 million for the loss of four families’ eggs and embryos.
Adam also led several recent cases that resolved favorably for his clients, including In re Subaru Battery Drain Litigation (a consumer protection action concerning defective batteries in Subaru vehicles); Bentley v. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. and Sosenko v. LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc. (class actions alleging that LG’s refrigerators are defective and prone to premature failure); and In re Nexus 6P Products Liability Litigation and Weeks v. Google LLC (two consumer class actions against Google relating to defective mobile phones, which resolved for a combined $17 million); and In re Sears Holdings Corporation Stockholder and Derivative Litigation ($40 million settlement).
Adam is the current co-chair of the ABA’s National Institute on Class Actions and the previous chair of the ABA’s Class Action and Derivative Suits committee, where he has been a frequent contributor of written and verbal content regarding emerging issues in class action litigation.

Jason S. Rathod is a founding partner of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP and regarded as one of the most accomplished plaintiff-side class action litigation lawyers under the age of 40, particularly in the areas of consumer protection and defective products. Mr. Rathod has been appointed to leadership teams in some of the most high-profile cases in the country. In In Re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level Pap, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Litigation, he is among a small group of lawyers appointed to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee and serves as the co-chair of the Science and Experts Committee. He was also recently appointed to serve on the experts committee in the In Re: Kia Hyundai Vehicle Theft MDL. Mr. Rathod has been quoted in the national press, including in The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. In addition to his consumer protection work, Mr. Rathod also prosecutes data privacy, wage theft, civil rights, and environmental protection cases.
Though a notable class action litigation lawyer, Mr. Rathod has been recognized as a leader in his field beyond the courtroom. He is the author of several published works, including a law review article on aggregate litigation in poor countries. Another recent law review article that he co-authored, comparing public and private enforcement in the United State and Europe, was cited by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in its proposed rule prohibiting class action waivers in the fine print of consumer contracts.
Mr. Rathod graduated from Grinnell College in 2006 (B.A. with honors in Political Science and Religious Studies). After college, he traveled to Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname on a Watson Fellowship, studying the Indian Diaspora. He graduated law school from the Duke University School of Law in 2010, where he was an Articles Editor of the Duke Law Journal. In law school, he also worked for one of the largest labor unions in India - the Self-Employed Women’s Association - in public interest litigation on behalf of street vendors seeking an injunction against the city of Ahmedabad for unlawful harassment and evictions.

Warren Postman is the Managing Partner of Keller Postman LLC. He combines a deep understanding of the civil litigation system with broad substantive expertise to solve complex litigation challenges for the firm’s clients.
Warren has helped build Keller Postman’s arbitration practice, which devotes unparalleled resources to resolving the claims of consumers and employees who are subject to forced arbitration clauses. The firm’s commitment to arbitration allows it to aggressively pursue individual arbitrations for tens of thousands of clients simultaneously and, as described by the New York Times, has left defendants “scared to death.” Warren has won numerous precedent-setting victories requiring defendants to comply with their obligation to arbitrate under agreements they drafted.
Due in large part to the arbitration practice Warren has built at Keller Postman, the rise of “mass arbitrations” has been one of the most significant recent developments in civil litigation. In the last two years alone, Keller Postman has secured millions in settlements for more than 500,000 individual clients.
Before joining Keller Postman, Warren was Vice President and Chief Counsel for Appellate Litigation at the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center. In that role, he managed appellate strategy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which participates in more than 150 cases each year to shape the law on a wide range of issues affecting businesses. Working closely with senior in-house lawyers at some of the world’s largest companies, Warren gained unique insight into the dynamics and trends that shape business litigation.
Warren was previously an attorney in the Issues & Appeals practice at Jones Day, where he helped guide trial and appellate strategy in some of the firm’s most complex and high-stakes cases.
Warren served as a law clerk for Justice David H. Souter at the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge William A. Fletcher at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was Articles Editor on the Harvard Law Review, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Brandeis University.
Warren was named Law360’s 2022 Technology MVP for leading one of Keller Postman’s largest mass arbitration litigation efforts against Amazon—and for his work to spearhead operational and technological efficiencies for mass claims litigation. He was named Law360’s 2021 Employment MVP for his work to represent hundreds of thousands of gig economy workers in arbitration. He was also named a 2021 Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Trailblazer by the National Law Journal and is ranked as Band 1 by Chambers and Partners in the District of Columbia. Warren is listed on Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers’ Top 100, and District of Columbia Super Lawyers.

Robert J. Herrington, Co-Chair of the firm’s Class Action Litigation Group, focuses his practice on defending consumer products companies in complex, multi-party litigation, including class actions, government enforcement litigation, product defect litigation and mass torts. Rob represents companies in a variety of industries, including apparel and footwear, retail, emerging technologies, consumer electronics, video game, telecommunications, advertising and publicity, online retailing, food and beverage, nutritional supplements, personal care products, sports and fitness, outdoor equipment, home appliances, automotive, and insurance.

Rob is the author of the best-selling book, Verdict for the Defense (Sutton Hart Press 2011), and a co-author of the first and second editions of The Class Action Fairness Act: Law and Strategy (ABA Publishing 2013 and 2022) as well as Class Action Strategy and Practice Guide (ABA Publishing 2018). Rob was recognized as the "Class Action Litigation Lawyer of the Year" (2017) by the Century City Bar Association. In 2013, 2014 and 2015, Rob was named in Law360's list of "Top Attorneys Under 40" for Class Actions.

Melanie Conroy focuses her practice on class action defense and complex commercial litigation. Melanie has experience in investor and consumer class actions based on alleged consumer fraud and unfair practices, consumer privacy, medical device marketing, product recalls, website accessibility, banking practices and fees, change of control transactions, insurance claims, securities laws, and fiduciary duties. She has represented clients in connection with internal, government, and regulatory investigations, and has counseled boards of directors, board committees, and senior management on a broad range of matters, including consumer and vendor contracts, corporate governance, trade secrets, data privacy, and regulatory issues.

Melanie represents businesses and organizations across industries, including financial services, technology, construction, life sciences, insurance, retail and consumer goods, private equity, real estate, energy, and media. She regularly appears in state and federal trial courts, and is experienced in private arbitration and mediation. As a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US), Melanie helps clients understand and navigate complex data privacy and security issues that can underlie class action claims and arise in litigation. In addition, she counsels clients on compliance with a variety of state and federal laws and regulations concerning data privacy and digital accessibility.

Prior to joining Pierce Atwood, Melanie was a senior associate in the Securities Litigation Practice Group at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Melanie frequently writes and speaks on topics including class action litigation, data privacy matters, and securities laws.