About


October 16-17, 2023
Touro Law Center

In-Person & Virtual

225 Eastview Drive, Central Islip, NY 11722

Co-Sponsored by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Sponsorship opportunities are available.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE:

Touro University Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, in conjunction with the Touro Law Review and co-sponsored by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is holding a two-day conference on legal and public health aspects of the opioid epidemic on October 16 and 17, 2023.

DAY 1: MONDAY, OCTOBER 16
Join us as we get an inside look at the historic five-month jury trial in Suffolk County presided over by Hon. Jerry Garguilo, the first in the United States to include all parties in the pharmaceutical supply chain, from manufacturers to wholesale distributors to retail sellers. Explore how settlement funds are currently being used to address the opioid epidemic and what we can anticipate in the future.

DAY 2: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17
Experts from the legal, academic, and healthcare fields, as well as community activists will join together as we examine opioid litigation and settlements across the country. We will examine what the outcomes of litigation (or possible outcomes for unresolved litigation) mean for combating the opioid epidemic and for developing legal strategies and regulations to respond to future public health crises.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
Day 1 Schedule: 4 CLE credits 
9:30 am – Check-in  
9:45 am Welcome Remarks – Dean Elena Langan 
10:00 – 11:15 am Panel 1: In re Opioid Litigation: The Pretrial Phase – The Hon. Jerry Garguilo, Jayne Conroy, and Harvey Bartle  
11:30 am – 12:45 pm Panel 2:  In re Opioid Litigation: The Trial Phase – The Hon. Jerry Garguilo, Jayne Conroy, and Harvey Bartle   
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch 
2:15 pm – 3:30 pm Panel 3: Opioid Settlement Funds on Long Island and in New York – Debra Pantin, Jon Kaiman, and Cari Faith Besserman 
3:45 pm – 5:00 pm Panel 4: Drug Diversion Courts – The Hon. Andrew Crecca, The Hon. David Goodsell, and Edward Gialella
5:30 pm - Reception starts  
6:30 pm - Keynote address from Professor Abbe Gluck  
7:30 pm – Closing remarks 
Day 2 Schedule: 2 CLE credits
9:30 am Check-in
9:45 am Welcome back 
10:00 am – 11:30 am Panel 5: Opioid Interventions: Funding and Other Policy Considerations – Olalekan Ogunsakin, Kristen Pendergrass, Sara Whaley, Bennett Allen 
11:30 am – 12:15 pm Breakout Session
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm Lunch
1:30 pm – 2:45 pm Panel 6: Opioid Interventions: Legal Considerations – Clayton Masterman, Ximena Benavides, Andrew Rothman
2:45 pm - 3:00 pm Closing remarks and Q&A

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

PROFESSOR ABBE R. GLUCK - Abbe R. Gluck is the Alfred M. Rankin Professor of Law and the founding Faculty Director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School. She is also Professor of Internal Medicine (General Medicine) at Yale School of Medicine and a Professor in the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale. Professor Gluck has written about opioid litigation in a number of scholarly articles.

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

Bennett Allen, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Harvey Bartle, Partner, Morgan Lewis, & Bockius LLP

Ximena Benavides, Lecturer EPE and Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale Law School’s Information Society Project

Cari Faith Besserman, Director, Suffolk County DOH, Division of Community Mental Hygiene

Jayne Conroy, Partner, Simmons Hanly Conroy

Hon. Andrew A. Crecca, District Administrative Judge, Tenth Judicial District, Suffolk County

Hon. Jerry Garguilo, Supreme Court Justice, Suffolk County

Edward Gialella, Project Director, Suffolk County Drug Treatment Court

Hon. David Goodsell, District Court Judge, Nassau County

Jon Kaiman, Deputy County Executive, Suffolk County

Clayton Masterman, Associate Professor of Law, University at Buffalo School of Law

Olalekan Ogunsakin, Assistant Professor, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

Kristen Pendergrass, Vice President, State Policy at Shatterproof

Sara Whaley, Research Associate, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

HOTEL INFORMATION for CONFERENCE GUESTS:
Courtyard by Marriott Long Island/Courthouse Complex
11 Court House Dr., Central Islip, NY 11722

Touro Law has secured a discounted hotel within walking distance to the law school at the Courtyard Marriott Long Island/Courthouse Complex. Rooms have been arranged for a group rate of $150 per night from Sunday, October 15 through Wednesday, October 18, 2023. The last day to book at this rate is Friday, September 29. Book your room today.

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Day one: 4 NY CLE Professional Practice Credits available for attending attorneys. Day two: 3 NY CLE Professional Practice Credits available for attending attorneys.  Attorneys wishing to attend CLE Courses at or through Touro Law Center may apply for tuition assistance.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact events@tourolaw.edu or call (631) 761-7006.

*Government Employee and Judicial discounts are available.

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