For anybody interested in class action law in Australia I would strongly recommend the following Podcast entitled "Class Actions: Capital, Regulation and the Public Interest" hosted by the Australian Academy of Law and the Law Council of Australia.
The introduction by John Sheahan QC is a classic as he charts the inconsistent decision making and government interventions in the class action field over the last few years.I would also recommend you listen carefully to Jason Betts' presentation. Jason Betts is from Freehills and is probably the leading class action defence lawyer in the country. I particularly liked his subtle use of language - ie
(1) referring to an analysis of class action activity as a "diagnosis" which seemed to me to be suggestive of the idea that class actions are some type of disease;
(2) referring to the fees charged by litigation funders as an "extraction" which sounded a bit like they are pulling people's teeth out - maybe defence law firms are doing their class action defence work on a pro bono basis rather than charging (extracting?) $800 plus an hour?
(3) asking the question whether the class action system is being used by plaintiff lawyers as a mechanism for the recovery of compensation for aggrieved consumers or rather as a launching pad for the generation of significant profits from the legal system - it seems to me that defence lawyers are very well compensated for their work (generating significant profits) particularly when you consider that they are not taking the same significant financial risks as plaintiff firms and litigation funders in running such claims on a no win no fee basis; and
(4) constant disclaimers that what Jason has just said or is going to say about class actions is not meant in a "pejorative" sense - now, I wonder why we would suspect that?
I strongly recommend the Podcast.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment