Group actions are a collective litigation against a company, Governmental body or individual on the basis of an alleged wrongdoing, causing loss in situations that are broadly similar for all claimants. They are also known as collective, mass, or class actions.
The types of firms that cover this class of work, range from large US internationals to boutiques. Some firms are dedicated to solely undertaking group actions work and most, if not all, have well-developed litigation funder relationships to back their cases. Whether you prefer working as part of a big team with multiple Partners, or as part of a small close-knit group, there are firms investing in collective redress at all levels.
Group litigation arises in a variety of areas, including competition, product liability, financial mis-selling, personal injury, data breach, environmental and others. In any instance where a group have suffered an alleged damage, there is the potential to progress the matter as a group action.
Because many multi-national corporates are incorporated in the UK, they can be subject to group claims in the English Court; noted cases being the Nchanga Copper Mine Litigation (Zambia), and the current Fundao dam (Brazil) case against BHP.
Group claims as an area are currently viewed as nascent in the UK. Group Litigation Orders (GLOs) have been part of the CPR since 2000, however, it has only been in the last couple of years that particularly large and notable cases, such as Lloyds/HBOS, VW NOx Emissions and British Airways Data have been contested.
The growth in the litigation funding space and advances in technology (to facilitate the management of high volume of claimants) are making previously unpursued, or uncommercial claims more attractive; and the increase in foreign (primarily US) firms setting up in the UK for group claims is testament to that.
Lloyd v Google, which could have opened the door to US-style “Opt Out” actions in the data protection/consumer sectors, failed in the Supreme Court. Competition cases are now progressing on an “Opt Out” basis: these types of cases lead to higher numbers of claimants and are likely to increase in the coming years.
At Jepson Holt, we are experienced in placing candidates in group claims practices, from Associate to Partner level and entire teams. Whether you are an experienced group claims lawyer, or a broader commercial litigator looking to move into the area, get in touch and see if we can help with your next move!
