With little fanfare, the Northern District of California recently issued guidance on class action settlements (the “Guidance”). The Guidance—by far the most comprehensive in the country—has the potential to have a significant impact, not just on class actions filed in the Northern District of California, but in class actions filed throughout the country.

An Overview of the Guidance

The Guidance focuses on three key areas: (1) detailed and extensive disclosures at the preliminary approval stage, (2) increased scrutiny of attorneys’ fees during the final approval phase, and (3) unparalleled transparency of notice efforts and actual recovery via mandatory post-distribution accounting and judiciary oversight.