Public Interest Commons^™

Securities Class Actions As Pragmatic Ex Post Regulation, Elizabeth C. Burch

Georgia Law Review

Securities class actions are on the chopping block--again. Traditional commentators continue to view class actions with suspicion; they see class suits as nonmeritorious byproducts of self-interest and the attorneys who bring them as rent-seekers. This approach has popularized securities class actions' negative effects. High-profile commissions capitalizing on this rhetoric, such as the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, have recently recommended eliminating or severely curtailing securities class actions. But this approach misses the point: in the ongoing push and pull of securities regulation,corporations are winning the battle. Thus, understandingthe complete picture of securities class actions necessitates a positive pragmatic account. This …