Competing class actions that drag out proceedings can have devastating effects on group members, and whether funded class actions provide genuine access to justice, not just “access to the court’s processes”, was a legitimate question, the head of the Australian Law Reform Commission said Wednesday.
Lawyerly spoke to ten class action experts on the release of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s highly anticipated report into the class action regime. While many of the ALRC’s proposals were expected — and welcomed as sensible — others were greeted with concern and skepticism. Here, we look at the most controversial of the 24 recommendations.
Law firms would be able to charge contingency fees and the corporate disclosure obligations would go under the microscope as part of a shake-up of the class action regime recommended by the Australian Law Reform Commission.