Insights & Events

The Federal Lawyer Winter 2026 issue features an article authored by Hollingsworth LLP attorneys Robert Johnston, Gary Feldon, and Alexa Halkias outlining what defense litigators need to know about the new Federal Rule of Procedure 16.1, which establishes a process by which courts and parties can (and should) engage on key multidistrict litigation (MDL) case management issues from the outset of litigation.

The problems endemic to MDLs are at least partially attributable to the lack of specific guidance under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. That changed when Rule 16.1 went into effect on Dec. 1, 2025. Rule 16.1 encourages courts to consider MDLs’ unique case management issues from the outset of the litigation and recognizes appropriate tools to address those issues. As a result, the new Rule may represent an inflection point in courts’ management of MDLs, leading to a more just and efficient system.

The substance of the new Rule 16.1 comes primarily from paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3), which list case management matters for the parties to include in their preconference report and that the MDL court may wish to include in its initial case management order. Paragraph (b)(4) additionally permits parties to include in their preconference report “any other matter that the parties wish to bring to the court’s attention,” allowing them to identify any MDL-specific case management challenges and propose procedures to address them from the outset.

In short, Rule 16.1(b) gives the parties the opportunity to raise case management matters at the outset of litigation and recognizes various case management tools that MDL courts can and should use. The Rule, however, makes it incumbent on individual MDL judges to decide whether and how to use those tools—and others not included in or referenced by Rule 16.1—to promote just and efficient MDL case management.

The Rule formally recognizes that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply to every case in an MDL proceeding. Moreover, the Rule endorsing and formalizing the early consideration of case management issues may entrench and expand the growing trend of judges effectively employing case management tools to address MDLs’ persistent problems.

While Rule 16.1 becoming law is progress, it is only the next step in a long process of improving how MDLs are managed. It is incumbent on defense counsel to continue advocating for the evolution of case management norms to help promote a fairer and more efficient MDL system that is less subject to abuse.