2013 did not offer the blockbuster docket in front of the Supreme Court that 2011 did, but that didn’t stop the Court from issuing a number of opinions whose effects will be felt for some time to come. In addition, a number of other courts took bold steps to either support or constrain class

Back in January, NERA Economic Consulting published yet another interesting paper, entitled Dynamic Litigation Analysis: Predicting Securities Class Action Settlements as a Case Evolves, by Dr. Ronald Miller.

Using the data NERA has collected on securities class actions over 20 years, Dr. Miller comes to some interesting conclusions about motions practice in securities

 Last week, there were two appellate opinions, one from the Seventh Circuit and one from the Tenth, that are worth some attention. They’re worth discussing together as well, because while only one is really helpful for defendants, both discuss different conceptions of how to argue comity in class actions.

The first is Smentek v. Dart

 Earlier today, I had the distinct pleasure of presenting at the CLE International Class Action conference in Los Angeles with an old friend of mine, plaintiff’s lawyer Garrett Wotkyns of Schneider Wallace.   The topic was The Gauntlet: Early Challenges to Class Certification, which regular readers will know is a topic near and dear to

 Confidential Witness Confidential

The confidential witness is the bane of the securities defendant’s existence. While there may be some legitimate reasons to keep a witness confidential, the words "Confidential Witness #1" can also hide problems with the plaintiffs’ case, like sloppy research or outright misrepresentation.

How do we know this is the case? Well, many defendants