The class action – that most American of legal phenomena – seems to be the hot topic of the moment. Not a week goes by without numerous column inches devoted to contemplation of whether it is, or is not, coming to Europe. The general consensus seems to be: it is and it isn’t…
What is certain, however, is that class action lawyers are coming to Europe. First was announced the launch of a London office for US class action plaintiff firm Cohen Milstein. Not far behind, Skadden is launching a class action defence practice in London to defend clients from a perceived onslaught of group actions across Europe. And this week lawyers from North America and Europe are gathering in Rome for an IBA conference billed ‘Class actions at a crossroads: Europe’s choice between its own and the American model’
