Staff Review of Class Action Legislation


Book Description

Considers S. 984.




Managing Class Action Litigation


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The Conservative Case for Class Actions


Book Description

Since the 1960s, the class action lawsuit has been a powerful tool for holding businesses accountable. Yet years of attacks by corporate America and unfavorable rulings by the Supreme Court have left its future uncertain. In this book, Brian T. Fitzpatrick makes the case for the importance of class action litigation from a surprising political perspective: an unabashedly conservative point of view. Conservatives have opposed class actions in recent years, but Fitzpatrick argues that they should see such litigation not as a danger to the economy, but as a form of private enforcement of the law. He starts from the premise that all of us, conservatives and libertarians included, believe that markets need at least some rules to thrive, from laws that enforce contracts to laws that prevent companies from committing fraud. He also reminds us that conservatives consider the private sector to be superior to the government in most areas. And the relatively little-discussed intersection of those two beliefs is where the benefits of class action lawsuits become clear: when corporations commit misdeeds, class action lawsuits enlist the private sector to intervene, resulting in a smaller role for the government, lower taxes, and, ultimately, more effective solutions. Offering a novel argument that will surprise partisans on all sides, The Conservative Case for Class Actions is sure to breathe new life into this long-running debate.




Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation


Book Description

Wage and hour litigation continues to proliferate, carrying with it the risk of potentially exorbitant damage awards. Written from the defense perspective, Wage & Hour Collective and Class Litigation covers every step of a case, from complaint to certification, trial, verdict, settlement or dismissal. It's the first and only publication focusing exclusively on this growing area of practice and provides a vital weapon for employers. This comprehensive, up-to-date guide discusses how employers are targeted and the substantive, procedural and practical considerations that determine the outcome of wage and hour cases in today's courts. It includes analysis of the complex rules surrounding all types of wage and hour lawsuits: claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), claims under state wage and hour laws, "hybrid" cases involving both, and special issues involving government contractors. It explains how to proceed upon receipt of a wage and hour claim, how to assess the merits of the claim, whether to settle, how to oppose plaintiffs' motion for conditional certification and to facilitate notice, what the best affirmative defenses are, and how to tilt the odds in the defense's favor. Though designed to assist defense lawyers, this companion to high-stakes litigation will also prove useful to in-house counsel not involved in litigation, to plaintiffs' lawyers seeking analysis from the viewpoint of opposing counsel, and to any attorney developing an interest in this robust field of law.







California Class Actions


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Model Rules of Professional Conduct


Book Description

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.




Entrepreneurial Litigation


Book Description

In class actions, attorneys effectively hire clients rather than act as their agent. Lawyer-financed, lawyer-controlled, and lawyer-settled, this entrepreneurial litigation invites lawyers to act in their own interest. John Coffee’s goal is to save class action, not discard it, and to make private enforcement of law more democratically accountable.




Wholesale Justice


Book Description

As the first comprehensive effort to view the modern class action through the lenses of American constitutional and political theory, this book contends that the procedural device needs to be substantially modified to prevent it from violating key constitutional and democratic precepts.




Class Action


Book Description

The true story of Lois Jenson, a petite single mother, who was among the first women hired by a northern Minnesota iron mine in 1975. In this brutal workplace, female miners were relentlessly threatened with pornographic graffiti, denigrating language, stalking, and physical assaults. Terrified of losing their jobs, the women kept their problems largely to themselves—until Lois, devastated by the abuse, found the courage to file a complaint against the company in 1984. Despite all of the obstacles the legal system threw at them, Lois and her fellow plaintiffs enlisted the aid of a dedicated team of lawyers and ultimately prevailed. Weaving personal stories with legal drama, Class Action shows how these terrifically brave women made history, although not without enormous personal cost. Told at a thriller’s pace, this is the story of how one woman pioneered and won the first sexual harassment class action suit in the United States, a legal milestone that immeasurably improved working conditions for American women.