Class Action Strategy & Practice Guide

Gregory C. Cook is a Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court.  He assumed the bench in January 2023.  Previously, he served as a partner in the Birmingham, Alabama law firm of Balch and Bingham LLP where he has practiced since 1991.  He is a graduate of Duke University, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, and served as the Executive Editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. His practice centered on complex commercial litigation with a concentration on defending class actions. Mr. Cook has spoken and written widely on civil procedure and class actions and is the author of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure Annotated (5th Ed.) (Thomson Reuters). He served on the Council of the Section of Litigation and numerous other positions with the Litigation Section.  He has held numerous positions with the Alabama and Birmingham Bars.  Prior to assuming the bench, he was a long time member of the Alabama Supreme Court's Standing Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure. While in private practice, he was recognized by many rating services including as a BTI Client Service All-Star twice, Benchmark, Best Lawyers, Martindale Hubbell and Super Lawyers. Justice Cook served in the United States Air Force, rising to the rank of Captain. Jocelyn D. Larkin is the executive director of the Impact Fund, a legal foundation in Berkeley, California, that provides funding and representation in support of complex public interest litigation. Her practice focuses on complex employment discrimination and class action practice on behalf of plaintiffs. Ms. Larkin has served as class counsel in many major class actions, including Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Ellis v. Costco Wholesale Corp., Parra v. Bashas’ Inc., Williams v. City of Antioch, and Stender v. Lucky Stores. For many years, Ms. Larkin spearheaded the Impact Fund’s complex litigation training program, including the development of its Class Action Training Institute and its annual Class Action Conference. Ms. Larkin is a frequent speaker and author on issues concerning class actions, employment law, ethics, and civil rights. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. Ms. Larkin is the past co-chair of the ABA Section of Litigation’s Class Actions and Derivative Suits Committee and a member of the ABA Federal Practice Task Force.