Robert Klonoff

Biography

Professor Klonoff served as Dean of the Law School from 2007-2014. His areas of expertise include class action litigation, civil procedure, federal courts, appellate litigation, and criminal procedure. He serves as a co-author of the Wright & Miller treatise, Federal Practice and Procedure, and has sole responsibility for the three volumes devoted to class actions. In addition, he is the author of a West casebook on class actions; two West Nutshells (on class actions and federal multidistrict litigation); and numerous law review articles. He is also the co-author of a leading text on trial advocacy and a West Nutshell on federal appellate practice. He has taught and lectured throughout the United States and in numerous foreign countries. In addition, he has been a member of the American Law Institute (ALI) for 20 years, serves on the ALI Council, and was an Associate Reporter for the ALI’s class action project, “Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation.” He is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and served as a Reporter for the 2005 National Conference on Appellate Justice. In addition, he is an elected member of the International Association of Procedural Law, and he has served as an advisory board consulting editor of Class Action Litigation Report (BNA). Also, he serves as a board member of the Judge John R. Brown Scholarship Foundation.

After graduating from Yale Law School, Professor Klonoff clerked for the Honorable John R. Brown, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney in D.C. and as an Assistant to the Solicitor General of the United States. After his government service, he was a visiting professor at the University of San Diego Law School. He later served for many years as a partner at the international law firm of Jones Day. At Jones Day, Professor Klonoff handled complex litigation at both the trial and appellate levels and also held the administrative post of chair of the pro bono program for all of the firm’s 20+ offices. He received an award from the DC Bar for public service, was instrumental in establishing a free walk-in clinic in DC’s Shaw neighborhood, and served as a board member for the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and for Bread for the City. Also, while practicing at Jones Day, Professor Klonoff served for many years as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center.

In 2003, Professor Klonoff was selected as the Douglas Stripp/Missouri Endowed Professor of Law at the University of Missouri/Kansas City School of Law. As the holder of this position, Professor Klonoff received two awards for most outstanding teacher and an award for service to the law school community. Professor Klonoff was also selected by the third year class to deliver the 2007 commencement speech.

In 2011, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., appointed Professor Klonoff to serve as the sole academic member of the United States Judicial Conference Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. He was reappointed by Chief Justice Roberts in May 2014 for a second three-year term, which ended in 2017.

Professor Klonoff has extensive litigation experience. He has argued eight cases before the United States Supreme Court, including Gentile v. Nevada Bar and Kungys v. United States, and has argued dozens of cases in other federal and state appellate courts throughout the country. He has also tried dozens of cases (primarily jury trials). In addition, he has served as an expert witness in numerous class action and other aggregate cases, including the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill litigation, the JUUL Labs Product Liability litigation, the National Football League Concussion litigation, the Volkswagen Clean Diesel litigation, the Wells Fargo Unauthorized Accounts litigation, the Equifax Data Breach litigation, and the Parkland Shooting civil litigation. He has personally represented clients on both the plaintiff and defense side in more than 100 class actions. For example, he served as co-lead appellate counsel in the U.S. Supreme Court class action case, TransUnion v. Ramirez and co-lead appellate counsel in the Sixth Circuit in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation. He also serves as co-counsel for plaintiffs in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Product Liability litigation and the Marriott Data Breach litigation. His pro bono cases have included death penalty, civil rights, and veterans’ rights cases.

In 2013, Professor Klonoff received the Oregon Consular Corps’ individual award for international engagement. In 2018, Professor Klonoff received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of law from Who’s Who in America. In 2020, he received the Lewis & Clark Law School’s Leo Levenson Award for Excellence in Teaching (the law school’s most prestigious award).

Specialty Areas and Course Descriptions

• Class Actions
• Civil Procedure
• Complex Litigation
• Federal Courts
• Appellate Procedure
• Criminal Procedure

Academic Credentials

• AB with highest honors 1976 University of California, Berkeley
• JD 1979 Yale Law School

Bibliography

Books

• Klonoff, “Objections to Class Action Settlements: Ethical Considerations,” chapter in Class Actions and Other Complex Litigation: Ethics (Lexis Nexis forthcoming 2025)
• Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, co-author, with sole responsibility for the three class action volumes
• Castanias & Klonoff, Federal Appellate Practice in a Nutshell (West 3d ed. 2023)
• Klonoff, Introduction to the Study of U.S. Law: Cases and Materials (West 2d ed. 2021) (with teacher’s manual)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation in a Nutshell (West 6th ed. 2021)
• Klonoff, Federal Multidistrict Litigation in a Nutshell (West 2020)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation in a Nutshell (West 5th ed. 2017)
• Castanias & Klonoff, Federal Appellate Practice and Procedure in a Nutshell (West Publishing Co. 2d ed.) (2017)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation: Cases and Materials (West 4th ed.) (2017) (with Teachers’ Manual; supplemented annually)
• Klonoff, Introduction to the Study of U.S. Law: Cases and Materials (West Publishing Co. 2016) (with Teachers’ Manual; supplemented annually)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation in a Nutshell (West 4th ed.) (2012)
• Klonoff, Bilich & Malveaux, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation: Cases and Materials (West 3d ed.) (with teacher’s manual) (2012)
• Klonoff (associate reporter), Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation, American Law Institute Publications (2010) (along with Samuel Issacharoff, reporter, and associate reporters Richard Nagareda, and Charles Silver)
• Castanias & Klonoff, Federal Appellate Practice and Procedure in a Nutshell (Thomson West) (2008)
• Klonoff & Colby, Winning Jury Trials: Trial Tactics and Sponsorship Strategies (NITA 3d ed., 2007)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation in a Nutshell (Thomson West 3d ed.) (2007)
• Klonoff, Bilich & Malveaux, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation: Cases and Materials (Thomson West 2d ed. 2006) (with teacher’s manual)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation in a Nutshell (Thomson West 2d ed. 2004)
• Klonoff & Colby, Winning Jury Trials: Trial Tactics and Sponsorship Strategies (Lexis Nexis 2d ed. 2002)
• Klonoff & Bilich, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation: Cases and Materials (West Group 2000)
• Klonoff, Class Actions and Other Multi-Party Litigation in a Nutshell (West Group 1999)
• Klonoff & Colby, Sponsorship Strategy: Evidentiary Tactics for Winning Jury Trials (Michie Co. 1990)

Articles and Book Chapters

• Klonoff, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(f): Reflections After a Quarter Century, 75 Syracuse L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2025)
• Klonoff, COVID-19 Aggregate Litigation: The Search for the Upstream Wrongdoer, 91 Fordham L. Rev. 385 (2022)
• Klonoff, International Handbook on Class Actions, chapter on the Future of U.S. Aggregate Litigation, Cambridge University Press (2021)
• Klonoff, The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation: The Virtues of Unfettered Discretion, 89, UMKC L. Rev. 1003 (2021)
• Klonoff, Class Action Objectors: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 89 Fordham L. Rev. 475 (2020)
• Klonoff, Foreword—Class Actions, Mass Torts, and MDLs:The Next 50 Years, 24 Lewis & Clark Law Review 359 (2020)
• Application of the New Discovery Rules in Class Actions: Much Ado About Nothing, 71 Vand. L. Rev. 1949 (2018)
• Class Actions in the U.S. and Israel: A Comparative Approach, 19(1) Theoretical Inquiries in the Law 151 (2018) (co-author)
• Class Actions Part II: A Respite From the Decline, 92 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 971 (2017)
• Class Actions in the Year 2026: A Prognosis, 65 Emory L.J. 1569 (2016)
• Why Most Nations Do Not Have U.S.-Style Class Actions, 16 BNA Class Action Litigation Report, Vol. 16, No. 10, at 586 (May 22, 2015) (selected for presentation at the May 2015 World Congress of the International Association of Procedural Law, Istanbul, Turkey)
• Federal Rules Symposium:  A Tribute to Judge Mark R. Kravitz – Introduction to the Symposium, 18 Lewis & Clark L. Rev. 583 (2014) (co-author)
• Class Actions for Monetary Relief Under Rule 23(b)(1)(A) and (b)(1)(B): Does Due Process Require Notice and Opt-Out Rights?, 82 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 798 (2014) 
• The Decline of Class Actions, 90 Wash. U. L. Rev. 729 (2013)
• Richard Nagareda: In Memoriam, 80 U. Cin. L. Rev. 289 (2012)
• Robert H. Klonoff, Reflections on the Future of Class Actions, 44 Loy. U. Chi. L. J. 533 (2012); also published in Bloomberg BNA Class Action Litigation Report, 13 CLASS 669 (June 22, 2012).
• Introduction and Memories of a Law Clerk, 47 Houston L. Rev. 529, 573 (2010)
• ALI’s Aggregate Litigation Project Has Global Impact, 33 ALI Reporter 7 (Fall 2010)
• Book Review, In the Public Interest, 39 Env. Law 1225 (2009)
• The Public Value of Settlement, 79 Fordham L. Rev. 1177 (2009) (co-author)
• Making Class Actions Work: The Untapped Potential of the Internet, 69 U Pitt. L. Rev. 727 (2008) (co-author)
• The Class Action Fairness Act: An Ill-Conceived Approach to Class Settlements, 80 Tul. L. Rev. 1695 (co-author) (2006) (part of a symposium on class actions)
• The Twentieth Anniversary of Phillips Petroleum v. Shutts, Introduction to the Symposium, 74 UMKC L. Rev. 433 (2006) (part of a symposium on class actions)
• The Adoption of a Class Action Rule: Some Issues for Mississippi to Consider, 24 Miss. C. L. Rev. 261 (2005) (part of a symposium on class actions)
• Antitrust Class Actions: Chaos in the Courts, 11 Stan. J.L. Bus. & Fin. 1 (2005), reprinted in Litigation Conspiracy: An Analysis of Competition Class Actions (Stephen G.A. Pitel ed. Irwin Law 2006), and 3 Canadian Class Action Review 137 (2006) (part of a collection of papers presented on April 1, 2005, at a competition class action symposium sponsored by the University of Western Ontario College of Law)
• The Judiciary’s Flawed Application of Rule 23’s “Adequacy of Representation” Requirement, 2004 Mich. St. L. Rev. 671 (2004) (part of a symposium on class actions)
• Class Action Rules — Are They Driven by Substance?, 1 Class Action Litigation Report 504 (Nov. 10, 2000) (co-author)
• Response to May 2000 Article on Sponsorship Strategy, 63 Tex. B.J. 754 (Sept. 2000) (co-author)
• A Look at Interlocutory Appeals of Class Certification Decisions Under Rule 23(f), 1 Class Action Litigation Report 69 (May 12, 2000) (co-author)
• The Mass Tort Class Action Gamble, 7 Metro. Corp. Counsel 1, 8 (Aug. 8, 1999) (co-author)
• “Legal Approaches to Sex Discrimination” (co-author), in H. Landrine & E. Klonoff, Discrimination Against Women: Prevalence, Consequences, Remedies (Sage Pub. 1997)
• Sponsorship Strategy: A Reply to Floyd Abrams and Professor Saks, 52 Md. L. Rev. 458 (1993) (co-author)
• A Trial Lawyer’s Roadmap for Handling Bad Facts: The Role of Credibility, 16 Trial Diplomacy Journal 139 (July/Aug. 1993) (co-author)
• Opening Statement, 17 Litigation 1 (ABA Spring 1991) (co-author)
• Contributing Editor, Criminal Practice Institute Trial Manual, Young Lawyers Section, Bar Ass’n of D.C. (1986)
• The Congressman as Mediator Between Citizens and Government Agencies: Problems and Prospects, 15 Harv. J. Legis. 701 (1979)
• A Dialogue on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, 25 Villanova L. Rev. 6 (1979) (co-author)
• The Problems of Nursing Homes: Connecticut’s Non Response, 31 Admin. L. Rev. 1 (1979)