Class Action

Goldman Ruling Is A Boon For Class Action Defendants

In a broad win for class action defendants, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Monday in Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System could serve as a mandate to courts to consider all relevant evidence at the class certification stage, even if the same evidence is also relevant to a merits question, say attorneys at Skadden.

Attorneys Beware: Zoom Depositions Are Likely Inadmissible

As legal proceedings have moved online in light of the pandemic, lawyers may mistakenly believe that recorded Zoom video depositions can be entered as evidence, but without certain safeguards, the testimony is unlikely to be accepted by courts, says Phillip Zisook at Schoenberg Finkel.

How Attorneys Can Reach Claimants In Today's Comms Era

Communicating with clients can be challenging for plaintiffs attorneys due to barriers posed by the current onslaught of unwanted calls, work schedules and other factors, but certain best practices can help, say Scott Heisman and Kimberly Lavin at Verus.

Opinion

Justices Should Acknowledge ESG's Importance To Investors

In Goldman Sachs v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, the U.S. Supreme Court should reject Goldman's argument that its commitments to act with integrity were immaterial, and recognize the increasing weight of environmental, social and governance issues in investors' decision making, say attorneys at Motley Rice.

Employers Must Brace For PAGA-Like Bills Across US

As state legislatures across the U.S. consider bills modeled after California’s lucrative Private Attorneys General Act, employers should gear up for potential litigative burdens, work to mitigate liability risks and get involved in the legislative process, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

Opinion

NJ Fed. Court Should Ditch Litigation Funding Disclosure Plan

The District of New Jersey's wide-reaching proposal to require automatic disclosure of third-party litigation finance poses several problems for attorneys and litigants alike and should be nipped in the bud, say Sarah Williams and Marlon Becerra at Validity Finance.

10 Years Of Dukes: Workplace Bias Class Claims Are Still Alive

Cohen Milstein's Joseph Sellers and Christine Webber, who represented the plaintiff class in Wal-Mart v. Dukes, contend that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision 10 years ago to decertify the class was not a death knell for collective employment bias claims, but that some aspects of the ruling make certification more expensive and time-consuming to achieve.

How To Assess Price Volatility Changes In SPAC Class Actions

Adjusting for changing volatility over a special purpose acquisition company's life cycle, as well as changes in marketwide volatility, is crucial for proper evaluation of market efficiency, loss causation and damages claims in securities class actions, say Alok Khare and Erica Rose at FTI Consulting.

Law Firm Talent Must Reflect Shifting US Demographics

Stephanie Scharf at Scharf Banks and Roberta Liebenberg at Fine Kaplan analyze and project U.S. demographic trends to show that law firms that hope to succeed long-term must recruit, retain and advance female lawyers and lawyers of color, and they outline six steps for meeting these goals.

Baby Food Contamination Cases Face Class Action Hurdles

Claims of adulterated baby food products have led to putative class actions around the country, but they involve different products, different companies, different state laws and different specific allegations, creating significant obstacles to class certification, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.

Opinion

Judges Should Foster Diversity In MDL Leader Appointments

Through their powerful function as gatekeepers, judges should open the gate to minority practitioners when appointing leadership positions in widely influential multidistrict litigation and begin to correct the disparities that have long plagued the legal industry, say Majed Nachawati and Michael Gorwitz at Fears Nachawati.

A Biz Strategy Model To Improve Lateral Atty Hiring Diversity

Quantitative comparison tools commonly used by companies in evaluating merger targets will allow law firms to assess lateral hire candidates in a demographically neutral manner, help remove bias from the hiring process and bring real diversity to the legal profession, says Thomas Latino at Florida State University.

9th Circ. Pay Stub Ruling Highlights Employer PAGA Defense

The Ninth Circuit’s recent reversal of a wage statement class action judgment in Magadia v. Walmart provides employers with a road map for obtaining early dismissal of meritless Private Attorneys General Act claims and preventing uninjured plaintiffs from maintaining claims on behalf of other aggrieved employees, say Corey Cabral and Robyn Frick at CDF Labor Law.

5 Steps To Successful Mass Tort Management

When handling mass tort litigation, making strategic preparations before you're swimming in an ocean of data can maximize efficiency and increase the chances of delivering wins for your client, say Ryan Cobbs and Ashley Drumm at Carlton Fields.

Obstacles To Defining Injury, Class In Cyberattack Suits

As cyberattacks and data privacy litigation evolve, quantifying and identifying uninjured class members becomes increasingly complex and further complicates economic models of injury, as shown by the lawsuit filed last month in a Georgia federal court after the Colonial Pipeline hack, says Michael Kheyfets at Edgeworth Economics.