March 26, 2019
Federal judges in California are cracking down on warped incentives in class-action lawsuits, exerting tighter oversight of settlements that provide hefty fees for plaintiff lawyers but no meaningful benefit for those harmed by corporate misdeeds. A recent example was the …
January 26, 2018
The U.S. Justice Department has issued a memo that lawyers say could result in fewer whistleblowers being allowed to pursue lawsuits on the agency’s behalf against companies accused of defrauding the government. The Jan. 10 memo, reviewed by Reuters, advised …
October 26, 2015
For all the black robes and ceremony, the American legal system often operates more like a factory assembly line than a citadel of individualized justice. Ninety- five percent of criminal prosecutions end in plea deals. Many defective-product claims settle in …
March 18, 2015
For better or worse, the lawsuit-finance market continues to grow. Hedge funds and others speculating on litigation are making more and larger bets. Some corporate lobbyists warn that the new financial engineering encourages wasteful courtroom warfare, but investor demand for …