And Now A Word From The Panel: New Rules For The JPML

This article is part of a column published every two months that "rides the circuit" with the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) as it convenes at venues across the country. With spring and baseball opening day approaching, the panel heads to Birmingham, Alabama, a city and state without a major league baseball team, for its March hearing session. This month, the panel will consider four new MDL petitions, a slight decline from the five petitions it considered in January. This installment also examines recent developments in panel practice, specifically rule reform. Following the adoption of Rule 16.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, effective December 1, 2025, the panel has implemented several amendments to its own rules of procedure, which took effect February 19, 2026.