Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
@eburch.bsky.social
Callaway Chair of Law @universityofga.bsky.social. Author THE PAIN BROKERS: How Con Men, Call Centers & Rogue Doctors Fuel America's Lawsuit Factory.
Views are my own. Here for stories, civ pro, MDL, class actions, torts.
www.elizabethchambleeburch.com
Views are my own. Here for stories, civ pro, MDL, class actions, torts.
www.elizabethchambleeburch.com
A huge thank you to @stevevladeck.bsky.social for this incredible blurb. Steve is one of the sharpest observers of our legal system—and one of the most generous humans in it.
If you haven't read his book, The Shadow Docket, what are you waiting for? Read it, then The Pain Brokers (out Jan. 13)!
If you haven't read his book, The Shadow Docket, what are you waiting for? Read it, then The Pain Brokers (out Jan. 13)!
December 4, 2025 at 3:35 PM
A huge thank you to @stevevladeck.bsky.social for this incredible blurb. Steve is one of the sharpest observers of our legal system—and one of the most generous humans in it.
If you haven't read his book, The Shadow Docket, what are you waiting for? Read it, then The Pain Brokers (out Jan. 13)!
If you haven't read his book, The Shadow Docket, what are you waiting for? Read it, then The Pain Brokers (out Jan. 13)!
What happens when a beloved brand masks some of the most shocking corporate misconduct in American history?
Gardiner Harris’s No More Tears pulls back the curtain on Johnson & Johnson.
Essential reading for anyone who cares about accountability and women’s health.
#Books #Nonfiction #BookRecs
Gardiner Harris’s No More Tears pulls back the curtain on Johnson & Johnson.
Essential reading for anyone who cares about accountability and women’s health.
#Books #Nonfiction #BookRecs
December 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM
What happens when a beloved brand masks some of the most shocking corporate misconduct in American history?
Gardiner Harris’s No More Tears pulls back the curtain on Johnson & Johnson.
Essential reading for anyone who cares about accountability and women’s health.
#Books #Nonfiction #BookRecs
Gardiner Harris’s No More Tears pulls back the curtain on Johnson & Johnson.
Essential reading for anyone who cares about accountability and women’s health.
#Books #Nonfiction #BookRecs
Reposted by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Does Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism? Should women tough out pain and fever?
Dr. Tami Rowen is concerned about advice telling women to suffer without safe treatment options.
Hear what science says:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critically-speaking/id1463016517
Dr. Tami Rowen is concerned about advice telling women to suffer without safe treatment options.
Hear what science says:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critically-speaking/id1463016517
November 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Does Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism? Should women tough out pain and fever?
Dr. Tami Rowen is concerned about advice telling women to suffer without safe treatment options.
Hear what science says:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critically-speaking/id1463016517
Dr. Tami Rowen is concerned about advice telling women to suffer without safe treatment options.
Hear what science says:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/critically-speaking/id1463016517
FRCP 16.1 on MDLs goes into effect today.
Here’s the quiet part out loud: it mostly formalizes what judges have been doing for years. As one judge put it, it’s “a nothing burger.” 🍔
If you want to know what actually happens in MDLs, here's my (free) analysis👇
open.substack.com/pub/bethburc...
Here’s the quiet part out loud: it mostly formalizes what judges have been doing for years. As one judge put it, it’s “a nothing burger.” 🍔
If you want to know what actually happens in MDLs, here's my (free) analysis👇
open.substack.com/pub/bethburc...
Rule 16.1: Rearranging Beach Towels on the MDL Titanic
What the First Federal Rule for Multidistrict Litigation Misses About Justice
open.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:23 PM
FRCP 16.1 on MDLs goes into effect today.
Here’s the quiet part out loud: it mostly formalizes what judges have been doing for years. As one judge put it, it’s “a nothing burger.” 🍔
If you want to know what actually happens in MDLs, here's my (free) analysis👇
open.substack.com/pub/bethburc...
Here’s the quiet part out loud: it mostly formalizes what judges have been doing for years. As one judge put it, it’s “a nothing burger.” 🍔
If you want to know what actually happens in MDLs, here's my (free) analysis👇
open.substack.com/pub/bethburc...
Independent journalism remains a keystone for democracy. Plus…free tote!
Want to support great journalism and score one of the coolest totes around? Give to @propublica.org and be part of journalism that makes a difference!
give.propublica.org/campaign/749...
give.propublica.org/campaign/749...
Donate to ProPublica
Donate today to support ProPublica's singular mission: to produce deep-dive, well-researched, nonpartisan journalism that spurs real-world change.
give.propublica.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Independent journalism remains a keystone for democracy. Plus…free tote!
Reposted by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Want to support great journalism and score one of the coolest totes around? Give to @propublica.org and be part of journalism that makes a difference!
give.propublica.org/campaign/749...
give.propublica.org/campaign/749...
Donate to ProPublica
Donate today to support ProPublica's singular mission: to produce deep-dive, well-researched, nonpartisan journalism that spurs real-world change.
give.propublica.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Want to support great journalism and score one of the coolest totes around? Give to @propublica.org and be part of journalism that makes a difference!
give.propublica.org/campaign/749...
give.propublica.org/campaign/749...
🧵True or false: plaintiffs’ lawyers get paid even if they lose?
#lawyer #justice #MassTorts #ThePainBrokers
#lawyer #justice #MassTorts #ThePainBrokers
December 1, 2025 at 2:15 PM
🧵True or false: plaintiffs’ lawyers get paid even if they lose?
#lawyer #justice #MassTorts #ThePainBrokers
#lawyer #justice #MassTorts #ThePainBrokers
🚨 Last call! Dec. 1 is the deadline to win a free copy of THE PAIN BROKERS, the true story of a small-town lawyer who took on a ring of con men.
If you like whistleblowers, villains in Brioni suits, or justice served the messy way… Link 👇 goodreads.com/en/book/show... #MassTort #TrueCrime
If you like whistleblowers, villains in Brioni suits, or justice served the messy way… Link 👇 goodreads.com/en/book/show... #MassTort #TrueCrime
November 30, 2025 at 3:09 PM
🚨 Last call! Dec. 1 is the deadline to win a free copy of THE PAIN BROKERS, the true story of a small-town lawyer who took on a ring of con men.
If you like whistleblowers, villains in Brioni suits, or justice served the messy way… Link 👇 goodreads.com/en/book/show... #MassTort #TrueCrime
If you like whistleblowers, villains in Brioni suits, or justice served the messy way… Link 👇 goodreads.com/en/book/show... #MassTort #TrueCrime
5 days left to snag a free copy of The Pain Brokers through Goodreads Giveaway! Link 👇
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#MassTort #NarrativeNonfiction #TrueCrime
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#MassTort #NarrativeNonfiction #TrueCrime
November 26, 2025 at 9:45 PM
5 days left to snag a free copy of The Pain Brokers through Goodreads Giveaway! Link 👇
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#MassTort #NarrativeNonfiction #TrueCrime
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#MassTort #NarrativeNonfiction #TrueCrime
What Barry Meier did for opioids, I hope to do for other mass torts. Pain Killer first exposed what was really happening behind the #opioid crisis--years before most people believed it. I'm deeply grateful for the generous blurb he gave #ThePainBrokers.
#TrueCrime
#TrueCrime
November 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
What Barry Meier did for opioids, I hope to do for other mass torts. Pain Killer first exposed what was really happening behind the #opioid crisis--years before most people believed it. I'm deeply grateful for the generous blurb he gave #ThePainBrokers.
#TrueCrime
#TrueCrime
Books rarely stand alone. Mine stands on the shoulders of these 10 masters of true stories. 📚🔥
Save for your TBR, share it with a friend, & stay tuned for individual author spotlights.
Save for your TBR, share it with a friend, & stay tuned for individual author spotlights.
November 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Books rarely stand alone. Mine stands on the shoulders of these 10 masters of true stories. 📚🔥
Save for your TBR, share it with a friend, & stay tuned for individual author spotlights.
Save for your TBR, share it with a friend, & stay tuned for individual author spotlights.
Kim Cross’s In Light of All Darkness taught me how a book can be both a page-turner and a field guide. Her precision + compassion shaped how I wrote The Pain Brokers.
Her book proposal was dissected by Nieman Storyboard:
niemanstoryboard.org/2023/11/17/b...
#ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction
Her book proposal was dissected by Nieman Storyboard:
niemanstoryboard.org/2023/11/17/b...
#ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction
November 20, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Kim Cross’s In Light of All Darkness taught me how a book can be both a page-turner and a field guide. Her precision + compassion shaped how I wrote The Pain Brokers.
Her book proposal was dissected by Nieman Storyboard:
niemanstoryboard.org/2023/11/17/b...
#ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction
Her book proposal was dissected by Nieman Storyboard:
niemanstoryboard.org/2023/11/17/b...
#ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction
Happy 50th birthday to procedural justice! 🎉Thrilled to celebrate with so many brilliant scholars who’ve pushed this field forward.
Here’s to the next 50 years of asking harder questions, building fairer systems, and imagining a more just future.
#MassTorts #ProceduralJustice @jurygirl.bsky.social
Here’s to the next 50 years of asking harder questions, building fairer systems, and imagining a more just future.
#MassTorts #ProceduralJustice @jurygirl.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Happy 50th birthday to procedural justice! 🎉Thrilled to celebrate with so many brilliant scholars who’ve pushed this field forward.
Here’s to the next 50 years of asking harder questions, building fairer systems, and imagining a more just future.
#MassTorts #ProceduralJustice @jurygirl.bsky.social
Here’s to the next 50 years of asking harder questions, building fairer systems, and imagining a more just future.
#MassTorts #ProceduralJustice @jurygirl.bsky.social
🧵1) Despite researching mass torts for over 20 years, what I uncovered in writing The Pain Brokers still shocked me:
November 18, 2025 at 9:54 PM
🧵1) Despite researching mass torts for over 20 years, what I uncovered in writing The Pain Brokers still shocked me:
2 weeks left to get a free copy of The Pain Brokers!
#ThePainBrokers #MassTorts #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism #TrueCrimeReads
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#ThePainBrokers #MassTorts #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism #TrueCrimeReads
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
November 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
2 weeks left to get a free copy of The Pain Brokers!
#ThePainBrokers #MassTorts #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism #TrueCrimeReads
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#ThePainBrokers #MassTorts #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism #TrueCrimeReads
www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
Note to authors who are members of the Anthropic copyright #classaction - give this a read before opting out.
A federal judge accused a third-party law firm of attempting to “trick” authors out of their record $1.5 billion copyright class action settlement.
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/judge...
A federal judge accused a third-party law firm of attempting to “trick” authors out of their record $1.5 billion copyright class action settlement.
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/judge...
Judge Flames Firm Luring Authors Out of $1.5 Billion AI Pact (2)
A federal judge accused a third-party law firm of attempting to “trick” authors out of their record $1.5 billion copyright class action settlement with Anthropic PBC.
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Note to authors who are members of the Anthropic copyright #classaction - give this a read before opting out.
A federal judge accused a third-party law firm of attempting to “trick” authors out of their record $1.5 billion copyright class action settlement.
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/judge...
A federal judge accused a third-party law firm of attempting to “trick” authors out of their record $1.5 billion copyright class action settlement.
news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/judge...
Note to authors who are members of the Anthropic copyright #classaction - give this a read before opting out. 👀
www.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
www.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
November 14, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Note to authors who are members of the Anthropic copyright #classaction - give this a read before opting out. 👀
www.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
www.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
Reposted by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
Internal documents and former company executives revealed how Cigna doctors rejected patients’ claims without opening their files.
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them
Internal documents and former company executives reveal how Cigna doctors reject patients’ claims without opening their files. “We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Internal documents and former company executives revealed how Cigna doctors rejected patients’ claims without opening their files.
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
“We literally click and submit,” one former company doctor said.
(Published March 2023 w/ @capitolforum.bsky.social)
Want a quick craft tip? Read @praddenkeefe.bsky.social Empire of Pain! It’s a writing lesson in reporting without access.
What book taught you something about writing or reporting?
📚 Books Behind The Pain Brokers.
#EmpireOfPain #ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism
What book taught you something about writing or reporting?
📚 Books Behind The Pain Brokers.
#EmpireOfPain #ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism
November 14, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Want a quick craft tip? Read @praddenkeefe.bsky.social Empire of Pain! It’s a writing lesson in reporting without access.
What book taught you something about writing or reporting?
📚 Books Behind The Pain Brokers.
#EmpireOfPain #ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism
What book taught you something about writing or reporting?
📚 Books Behind The Pain Brokers.
#EmpireOfPain #ThePainBrokers #NarrativeNonfiction #InvestigativeJournalism
Meet the brave women at the heart of a real-life legal thriller, THE PAIN BROKERS.
Each received eerily similar phone calls. The callers knew their names, birthdays, medical histories, even their doctors. They were told they had a "ticking time bomb" inside them.
#TrueCrime #torts
Each received eerily similar phone calls. The callers knew their names, birthdays, medical histories, even their doctors. They were told they had a "ticking time bomb" inside them.
#TrueCrime #torts
November 13, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Meet the brave women at the heart of a real-life legal thriller, THE PAIN BROKERS.
Each received eerily similar phone calls. The callers knew their names, birthdays, medical histories, even their doctors. They were told they had a "ticking time bomb" inside them.
#TrueCrime #torts
Each received eerily similar phone calls. The callers knew their names, birthdays, medical histories, even their doctors. They were told they had a "ticking time bomb" inside them.
#TrueCrime #torts
Reposted by Elizabeth Chamblee Burch
My new post about Adrienne Hines's book, Bankruptcy Magic, and how it might help encourage the people who will benefit from filing bankruptcy to file bankruptcy. Link to her book, www.theladylikelawyer.com/bankruptcy-m...
November 11, 2025 at 6:17 PM
My new post about Adrienne Hines's book, Bankruptcy Magic, and how it might help encourage the people who will benefit from filing bankruptcy to file bankruptcy. Link to her book, www.theladylikelawyer.com/bankruptcy-m...
A 🧵 on mass tort plaintiffs
1) After studying 217 MDL plaintiffs across 42 states, I discovered the reality behind those late-night lawyer commercials. The numbers are shocking:
1) After studying 217 MDL plaintiffs across 42 states, I discovered the reality behind those late-night lawyer commercials. The numbers are shocking:
November 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A 🧵 on mass tort plaintiffs
1) After studying 217 MDL plaintiffs across 42 states, I discovered the reality behind those late-night lawyer commercials. The numbers are shocking:
1) After studying 217 MDL plaintiffs across 42 states, I discovered the reality behind those late-night lawyer commercials. The numbers are shocking:
Grateful to Eric Eyre for his powerful words about The Pain Brokers.
Eyre won a Pulitzer for investigative reporting and his book, Death in Mud Lick, is a riveting investigation into how corporate greed fueled the #opioid epidemic.
Eyre won a Pulitzer for investigative reporting and his book, Death in Mud Lick, is a riveting investigation into how corporate greed fueled the #opioid epidemic.
November 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Grateful to Eric Eyre for his powerful words about The Pain Brokers.
Eyre won a Pulitzer for investigative reporting and his book, Death in Mud Lick, is a riveting investigation into how corporate greed fueled the #opioid epidemic.
Eyre won a Pulitzer for investigative reporting and his book, Death in Mud Lick, is a riveting investigation into how corporate greed fueled the #opioid epidemic.
Alaska drops @motleyrice.bsky.social in opioid litigation, claiming the firm violated confidentiality and conflict-of-interest provisions. Utah terminated its contract with the firm on Oct. 16.
#MDL #MassTort #RepeatPlayers #LegalEthics @reuters.com www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
#MDL #MassTort #RepeatPlayers #LegalEthics @reuters.com www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
Alaska fires law firm Motley Rice in opioid litigation, joining Utah
The state of Alaska has terminated a contract with a national plaintiffs law firm it hired eight years ago to pursue a lawsuit over opioid painkillers, claiming it violated confidentiality and conflict-of-interest provisions.
www.reuters.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Alaska drops @motleyrice.bsky.social in opioid litigation, claiming the firm violated confidentiality and conflict-of-interest provisions. Utah terminated its contract with the firm on Oct. 16.
#MDL #MassTort #RepeatPlayers #LegalEthics @reuters.com www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
#MDL #MassTort #RepeatPlayers #LegalEthics @reuters.com www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
You have a “ticking time bomb" in you said the caller...
The Pain Brokers is a true story about 3 women who uncovered a con that turned their bodies into a business—and their fight for justice.
Want to read it first?
🎁 Enter this Goodreads Giveaway: www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#WomensHealth
The Pain Brokers is a true story about 3 women who uncovered a con that turned their bodies into a business—and their fight for justice.
Want to read it first?
🎁 Enter this Goodreads Giveaway: www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#WomensHealth
November 1, 2025 at 6:38 PM
You have a “ticking time bomb" in you said the caller...
The Pain Brokers is a true story about 3 women who uncovered a con that turned their bodies into a business—and their fight for justice.
Want to read it first?
🎁 Enter this Goodreads Giveaway: www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#WomensHealth
The Pain Brokers is a true story about 3 women who uncovered a con that turned their bodies into a business—and their fight for justice.
Want to read it first?
🎁 Enter this Goodreads Giveaway: www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
#WomensHealth