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Full-Text Articles in Law
Ethical Duties Of Class Counsel Also Representing Class Representatives, Nancy J. Moore
Ethical Duties Of Class Counsel Also Representing Class Representatives, Nancy J. Moore
Faculty Scholarship
In their excellent article entitled May Class Counsel Also Represent Lead Plaintiffs?,1 Professors Bruce Green and Andrew Kent explore a particular aspect of two broader questions I have also addressed: (1) who should regulate class action lawyers;2 and (2) who will regulate class action lawyers?3 I, too, focused on lawyers' conflicts of interest; however, Professors Green and Kent focus even more specifically on conflicts arising from class counsel's simultaneous representation of both the class and individual clients who are serving or will serve as class representatives. Their concern is with three particular scenarios in which the class …
Follow The Money? A Proposed Approach For Disclosure Of Litigation Finance Agreements, Maya Steinitz
Follow The Money? A Proposed Approach For Disclosure Of Litigation Finance Agreements, Maya Steinitz
Faculty Scholarship
Litigation finance is the new and fast-growing practice by which a non-party funds a plaintiff’s litigation either for-profit or for some other motivation. Some estimates placed the size of the litigation finance market at 50–100 billion dollars. Both proponents and opponents of this newly -emergent phenomenon are in agreement that the it is the most important development in civil justice of this era. Litigation finance is already transforming civil litigation at the level of the single case as well as, incrementally, at the level of the civil justice system as a whole. It is also beginning to transform the way …
How Like A Winter? The Plight Of Absent Class Members Denied Adequate Representation, Susan P. Koniak
How Like A Winter? The Plight Of Absent Class Members Denied Adequate Representation, Susan P. Koniak
Faculty Scholarship
Class actions assume absent class members. 2 Notices in class actions tell class members that they need not show up in the courthouse, although they may if they choose.3 Class members are told that class counsel and the named class representatives will look out for them, although if they choose to hire their own lawyer, she may appear on their behalf.4 They are also routinely told that once the decision in the class action becomes final they will be bound by it, losing any and all right to protest the resolution of their claims by the class action …
Secret Settlements And Practice Restrictions Aid Lawyer Cartels And Cause Other Harms, Susan P. Koniak, David Dana
Secret Settlements And Practice Restrictions Aid Lawyer Cartels And Cause Other Harms, Susan P. Koniak, David Dana
Faculty Scholarship
In this article, the authors argue that the use of secrecy agreements and practice restrictions in settlement contracts should be prohibited not only by the ethics rules, but also by criminal and civil law. The authors begin by discrediting four arguments that are traditionally employed to support the use of secrecy agreements and practice restrictions. They then argue that the use of secrecy agreements and practice restrictions generate substantial costs, but do not secure any legitimate benefits that could not be attained by other, less costly means. The authors also explain how the problems caused by secrecy agreements and practice …