Program Details
2026-12-07 12:00:00
Over 1,000+ webinars
Course Overview
2026-12-07 12:00:00
2h CLE Credits
Intermediate
2
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ESTThis session walks defense counsel through building a diversity notice of removal that survives a federal court’s first-week citizenship screen. Attorneys will learn what courts read in the notice and the Rule 7.1 disclosure, how to trace multi-tier LLC and fund ownership inside the 30-day window, how to plead negative citizenship after a documented inquiry when the plaintiff is the LLC, how to prove the amount in controversy when the complaint is silent, and how to cure defects under 28 U.S.C. § 1653 on a court-set deadline. Attendees will leave with an annotated notice of removal, an ownership-tracing worksheet, an amendment checklist, and a framework for deciding when an untraceable tier means forgoing removal or consenting to remand.
P. Thomas DiStanislao 1:10 pm - 2:10 pm ESTThis session takes defense counsel from the decision to remove through the remand and fee fight that follows. Attorneys will learn how Enbridge Energy v. Nessel limits the 30-day clock to statutory routes, how to build the co-defendant consent record that satisfies unanimity, when snap removal and the forum-defendant rule allow an early filing, how Hain Celestial v. Palmquist changes the decision to remove on improper joinder and the steps that protect a defense verdict, and how to answer post-removal § 1447(e) joinder and Royal Canin amendments. Attendees will leave with a removal-decision checklist, a co-defendant consent form, and a pre-filing record that defeats a fee request under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c).
Kahn A. ScolnickKahn A. Scolnick is an appellate and litigation partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn, where he serves as Co-Partner in Charge of the Los Angeles and Century City offices and Co-Chair of the firm’s Class Actions Practice Group. He specializes in class actions, complex commercial cases, and constitutional issues in the trial courts and on appeal. He has handled cases involving billions of dollars in potential exposure for clients in insurance, financial services, gaming, real estate, transportation, and consumer-facing businesses. He is especially well suited to this program: defense of class actions and complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts across the country, extensive Ninth Circuit practice, and published work and talks on civil procedure, bringing the perspective of a defense litigator who handles high-exposure cases from dispositive motions through appeal.
P. Thomas DiStanislao is Counsel and Co-Leader of the Appellate Practice at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP in Richmond, where he represents clients in complex matters before state and federal courts across the country. He has served as both embedded and independent appellate counsel in cases involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Class Action Fairness Act, the Prison Litigation Reform Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Second Amendment, among many others, and has been lead counsel at the trial level. He is especially well suited to this program: co-authorship of an American Bar Association article on pleading citizenship, clerkships on the Fourth Circuit and the Eastern District of Virginia, and successful defense motions on personal jurisdiction and transfer, bringing the perspective of a former federal clerk who now writes for defendants in federal court.
Kahn A. Scolnick is an appellate and litigation partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn, where he serves as Co-Partner in Charge of the Los Angeles and Century City offices and Co-Chair of the firm’s Class Actions Practice Group. He specializes in class actions, complex commercial cases, and constitutional issues in the trial courts and on appeal. He has handled cases involving billions of dollars in potential exposure for clients in insurance, financial services, gaming, real estate, transportation, and consumer-facing businesses. He is especially well suited to this program: defense of class actions and complex commercial disputes in state and federal courts across the country, extensive Ninth Circuit practice, and published work and talks on civil procedure, bringing the perspective of a defense litigator who handles high-exposure cases from dispositive motions through appeal.
P. Thomas DiStanislao is Counsel and Co-Leader of the Appellate Practice at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP in Richmond, where he represents clients in complex matters before state and federal courts across the country. He has served as both embedded and independent appellate counsel in cases involving the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Class Action Fairness Act, the Prison Litigation Reform Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Second Amendment, among many others, and has been lead counsel at the trial level. He is especially well suited to this program: co-authorship of an American Bar Association article on pleading citizenship, clerkships on the Fourth Circuit and the Eastern District of Virginia, and successful defense motions on personal jurisdiction and transfer, bringing the perspective of a former federal clerk who now writes for defendants in federal court.
Requirements
The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.
Formats
