Margaret Langdon practices from the firm’s Independence, Mo., office, where she is a member of complex tort teams. She joined L&E from the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office, where she served as Director of Child Support Enforcement for the county. She was also responsible for the county’s Treatment Court programs and first chaired a felony trial.
John A. Yanchunis leads the Class Action Department of the firm. Mr. Yanchunis’ practice which began after completing a two-year clerkship with United States District Judge Carl O. Bue, Jr., Southern District of Texas has concentrated on complex litigation and spans over 36 years, including class actions for almost two-thirds of that time.
This program examines the intersection of vehicle technology, product liability, and consumer class action litigation, focusing on how evolving automotive systems and legal frameworks shape accountability in modern product cases. Attendees will explore the critical role of vehicles and collision avoidance technology (CAT) systems in crash causation and failure analysis, while reviewing the foundational principles of product defect law including design, manufacturing, and marketing defects. The discussion extends to the structure and strategy of consumer class actions, key defenses, and the strategic considerations facing both plaintiffs and defense counsel. Through case studies, regulatory insights, and emerging trends such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and ESG accountability, practitioners will gain practical guidance on evidence preservation, litigation management, and ethical obligations in complex product and auto defect cases.
Key topics to be discussed:
This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.
Date / Time: October 28, 2025
Closed-captioning available
Margaret Langdon | Langdon & Emison
Margaret Langdon practices from the firm’s Independence, Mo., office, where she is a member of complex tort teams. She joined L&E from the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office, where she served as Director of Child Support Enforcement for the county. She was also responsible for the county’s Treatment Court programs and first chaired a felony trial.
Before working at Cass County, Margaret interned at the Johnson County District Attorney’s office. There she managed a case load of misdemeanor offenses, including those set for trial. While in Johnson County, she served as second chair of a felony trial.
Margaret was identified by The National Trial Lawyers as one of the top civil litigators under 40 for plaintiffs in 2025. She is an active member of the Cass County Bar Association and several lawyer associations. While at the University of Kansas School of Law, she received the CALI Award in advanced litigation. During those years she was on KU’s mock trial team and competed in three competitions. She also during law school clerked for the Missouri Court of Appeals.
John A. Yanchunis | Morgan and Morgan
John A. Yanchunis leads the Class Action Department of the firm. Mr. Yanchunis’ practice which began after completing a two-year clerkship with United States District Judge Carl O. Bue, Jr., Southern District of Texas has concentrated on complex litigation and spans over 36 years, including class actions for almost two thirds of that time.
Mr. Yanchunis has served as lead, co-lead, or class counsel in numerous class actions in a wide variety of areas affecting consumers, including but not limited to anti-trust, civil rights, defective products, environmental claims, life insurance, annuities, and unfair and deceptive practices. He has been appointed by courts to leadership positions in multidistrict class action litigation, and presently serves as the lead in In re: Yahoo! Inc. Customer Data Breach Security Litigation, 5:16-md-02752 (N.D. Cal.), as a member of the plaintiffs’ steering committee In re Equifax, Inc. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 1:17-md-02800 (N.D. Ga.); on the three-member Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL No. 2664, In re: U.S. Office Personnel Management Data Security Breach Litigation, and serves on the Executive Committee overseeing the consumer class, the financial institution class, and the shareholder derivative litigation pending against Target Corporation one of the largest data-breach cases to date in In re Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2522 (D. Minn.).
As a result of his experience in insurance and complex litigation, beginning in 2005, Mr. Yanchunis served as lead counsel for the Florida Department of Financial Services and the Florida Department of Insurance Regulation (the insurance regulators of Florida) in their investigation of the insurance industry on issues concerning possible antitrust activity and other possible unlawful activities regarding the payment of undisclosed compensation to insurance brokers. Mr. Yanchunis served as lead regulator counsel and worked with a core group of state Attorneys General from the National Association of Attorneys General, which were selected to conduct the investigations. The insurance regulators for Florida was the only insurance regulators in the group. The litigation that was filed and the other investigations recovered millions of dollars in restitution for Florida consumers and resulted in significant changes in the way commercial insurance is sold in Florida and across the country.
During his career, Mr. Yanchunis has tried numerous cases in state and federal courts, including one of the largest and longest insurance coverage cases in U.S. history, which was filed in 1991 by The Celotex Corporation and its subsidiary, Carey Canada, Inc. During the seventeen years the case was pending, Mr. Yanchunis served as lead counsel for several insurance companies, regarding coverage for asbestos and environmental claims. The case was tried in three phases over several years beginning in 1992. Mr. Yanchunis was also lead counsel for these parties in the subsequent appeals which followed a judgment in favor of his clients.
I. Vehicle technology and crash causation | 1:00pm – 1:15pm
II. Product defects and liability foundations | 1:15pm – 1:30pm
III. Common defenses in product and vehicle cases | 1:30pm – 1:45pm
IV. Consumer class action structure and strategy | 1:45pm – 2:00pm
Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm
V. Litigation strategy and case management | 2:10pm – 2:30pm
VI. Case studies and key precedents | 2:30pm – 2:40pm
VII. Regulatory and legislative environment | 2:40pm – 2:50pm
VIII. Emerging issues and future trends | 2:50pm – 3:00pm
IX. Practical and ethical guidance | 3:00pm – 3:10pm