The Global Legal Post launches class actions comparative guide

The Global Legal Post today launches the inaugural edition of the Law Over Borders Class Actions guide.

Edited by Sarah-Jane Dobson, global head of product liability and product risk at Ashurst, and Guy Robson, founder and vice-president of the Collective Redress Lawyers Association (CORLA), the guide provides a comparative overview of class actions and collective redress mechanisms across key jurisdictions.

Written by leading lawyers in their respective markets, the guide sheds light on the rapid expansion of class action regimes across the world and outlines important differences in how collective redress mechanisms operate, in light of distinct legal traditions, policy choices and procedural frameworks.

Dobson and Robson highlight in their introduction the crucial role played by litigation funding and the scrutiny it is coming under from lawmakers seeing to “balance access to justice against the risk of excessive funder influence” as well as important differences in how jurisdictions operate opt-in and opt-out regimes.

They also note how “the scope of class actions is expanding beyond traditional competition and consumer claims into areas such as data protection, ESG, environmental harm and securities litigation”.
 

Watch Sarah-Jane Dobson introduce the guide

The online and PDF versions of the guide are available today, while the print version will be launched during London International Disputes Week (LIDW) at a roundtable hosted by The Global Legal Post and Ashurst on 3 June that will bring together leading lawyers from across the world.

As Dobson and Robson note: “What is clear is that for businesses operating across borders, the developments in class actions internationally demand attention. The risk of an international business facing collective proceedings (including in one or more of the jurisdictions covered in this guide) is real and should not be underestimated.”

Click here to read the guide online and here to download the PDF version.

Class Actions Unpacked: Risks, Trends and What’s Coming Next takes place on 3 June from 11:30-13:00 at Ashurst's offices. Click here for further details and to register for this official LIDW26 event.

Speakers

Sarah-Jane Dobson - Partner - Ashurst (London)
Martin Eimer - Partner - Ashurst (Germany)
Hortens de Roux - Partner - Ashurst (France)
Shayla Alfonso - Partner - Perkins Coie (USA)
Juliana Ponde - Legal Director - Pogust Goodhead (Brazil)
Toby Riley-Smith KC - Henderson Chambers
Tom Middleton - Partner - Economic Consulting, Grant Thornton UK Advisory & Tax LLP
Chris Lisica - Omni Bridgeway