CLC Annual Report 24-25

Center for Litigation and Courts at UC Law – SF

2024-2025

CLC ANNUAL REPORT

CLC Founding Director Professor Scott Dodson

MESSAGE FROM THE FACULTY DIRECTOR Scott Dodson

No other academic center in the world has the broad mandate of studying civil litigation and the courts. The Center for Litigation and Courts at UC Law has that mandate.

Founded in spring 2021, CLC has become a global leader in bringing academic discussion, knowledge, and guidance to civil litigation: Hosts, in partnership with key organizations like NITA and the National Judicial College, educational and skill-building events for the bench and bar; Organizes and cosponsors an annual academic conference on the cutting-edge topic of complex litigation ethics; Produces original scholarship on litigation and courts and submits amicus briefs to courts across the nation; Publishes The Judges’ Book annually and disseminates it free to all federal judges nationwide and all California state judges; Holds moot courts for attorneys appearing before appellate courts around the country, and is currently slated to moot around 70% of the California Supreme Court’s civil cases in 2025; Houses the nationally ranked UC Law SF Trial Team and is the focal point for the Concentration in Civil Litigation and ADR.

SELECT HIGHLIGHTS in 2024-2025

New Scholarship “The Complexities of Consent to Personal Jurisdiction” California Law Review (2025) This article showcases the complexities of the new consent-to-personaljurisdiction doctrine after Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co..

“Cy Pres in Federal Securities Class Actions” Emory Law Journal (2024) This article empirically validates some concerns about cy pres distributions, including lax oversight by courts, conflicts with recipients, and the selection of recipients unlikely to advance the class’s interests.

2025 National Civil Justice Institute Appellate Advocacy Award CLC Director Scott Dodson and CLC Research Professor Joshua Davis won the National Civil Justice Institute’s 2025 Appellate Advocacy Award for their pro bono representation of Stuart Harrow before the United States Supreme Court. Harrow, a longtime federal employee, challenged a furlough but was told by the Federal Circuit that he missed a filing deadline in his case and that, because the deadline was jurisdictional, the court could not excuse his lateness.

Dodson and Davis successfully sought certiorari on the jurisdictional issue. Dodson wrote the briefs, and Davis argued the case. They prevailed, securing a 9-0 reversal of the Federal Circuit. In addition to keeping Harrow’s case alive, the win provided greater access to justice for the many pro se MSPB complainants seeking judicial review.

Special Thanks To: Chancellor and Dean David Faigman Provost and Academic Dean Morris Ratner CLC Staff and Affiliates CLC Advisory Board Huntington National Bank

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