MDL judges appoint leadership through a formal application process: lead counsel, liaison counsel, and a steering committee (sometimes an executive committee above it). Appointments are competitive — the Zantac judge personally interviewed all 66 applicants; the 3M court winnowed 190.
The PSC's work is why your own lawyer doesn't depose the CEO: leadership does the shared litigation, your retained firm handles your individual facts and your settlement decision. Leadership is paid through court-ordered common-benefit holdbacks on every recovery.
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