AI and the New Class Action Frontier: Litigation Trends, Key Rulings, and Defense Strategies

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Partner | Duane Morris

Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. is a Partner at Duane Morris LLP, where he chairs the firm’s Class Action Defense Team out of the Chicago and New York offices. Jerry is a Chambers recognized class action defense litigator with a national reputation, often consulted by major news organizations for his views on significant court rulings and legal issues.

• Education & Credentials

Jerry is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and the Northwestern University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Illinois and New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Jerry is an eight-time Law360 Employment Law MVP, a nine-time recipient of BTI Consulting Group’s distinguished Client Service All-Star Award, and a 2021 Legal 500 Hall of Fame inductee. Chambers has selected him as one of the leading class action defense lawyers in its U.S. rankings from 2006 to 2025, with its Global rankings calling him “absolutely phenomenal” and “one of the top class action minds in the country.” In 2023, Business Today included him in its rankings of the Top 8 Most Influential Labor & Employment Lawyers in the United States.

• Professional Involvement

Jerry has served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern University School of Law for 35 years. He is the author of eight books on the law and has served as a legal commentator on the Public Broadcasting System, National Public Radio, MSNBC, CNBC, and USA Talk Radio, with his comments appearing in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Business Insurance, USA Today, Fortune, and Forbes.

• Experience

Among his various cases, Jerry has successfully defended the largest EEOC pattern or practice lawsuit ever prosecuted in the history of the Commission, the largest age discrimination collective action ever brought in Illinois, the first sexual harassment class action brought by a State Attorney General in the United States, and the largest wage & hour class actions ever litigated in Florida, Illinois, and New York.

SESSION 1 – AI Technologies At Issue and Common Risks | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

Identify the AI technologies driving today’s class action exposure and the common risks creating new categories of employer and corporate liability.

SESSION 2 – Key Rulings and Developing Caselaw | 1:10pm – 1:25pm

Examine the key rulings and rapidly developing case law shaping AI-driven class action litigation and how courts are framing corporate liability.

SESSION 3 – State-By-State Legislative Update | 1:25pm – 1:35pm

Review the state-by-state legislative update on AI and how the patchwork of regulation is feeding new categories of class action claims.

SESSION 4 – Government Enforcement Radar | 1:35pm – 1:45pm

Survey agency priorities, investigations, and enforcement actions corporate counsel must monitor in the rapidly evolving regulatory environment around AI.

SESSION 5 – Risk Mitigation and Defense Strategies | 1:45pm – 2:00pm

Apply actionable risk mitigation and defense strategies that corporate counsel can deploy immediately against emerging AI-driven class action claims.