Class Action

The plaintiffs’ bar is increasing its use of complex, multijurisdictional class action litigation as a primary weapon against target companies. For individual plaintiffs, the risks involved in such litigation are relatively low; however, for defendants in these large-scale cases, the threat can be enormous. According to BTI Consulting, the number of companies facing at least one major class action rose nearly 10 percent from 2014 to 2015. The rise is fueled largely by an increase in regulatory oversight and obligations, and includes suits regarding consumer fraud, product liability and data privacy, among others.

The class action lawyers of McGuireWoods are widely respected for our litigation capabilities and we defend clients from all major economic sectors against class and collective actions. We have a strong record of winning on summary judgment and obtaining favorable verdicts in some of the country’s largest, high-stakes cases. Our experience encompasses an array of industries in all areas of class action litigation in the U.S. and abroad, including antitrust, consumer financial services, consumer products and mass tort,data privacy and security,labor and employment, and securities.

Protecting our clients before an issue arises is a hallmark of our representation. McGuireWoods has spent more than 25 years defending major class actions and complex litigation and, as a result, we deliver the infrastructure and technology to handle the accompanying demands to the benefit of our clients. In our experience, litigation is best managed when the client has the necessary information to arrive at a decision as soon as possible. That’s why we developed an innovative approach to document collection and discovery designed to improve efficiency and reduce discovery-related error.

Our class action team strives to arm clients with useful thought leadership that impacts their businesses. McGuireWoods created and maintains the highly regarded Class Action Countermeasures blog and our lawyers contributed to The Class Action Playbook (Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.) — a valued reference for class action defense.

In addition, independent authorities have recognized McGuireWoods for our litigation prowess and client service. We were among the highest-ranked firms in 2016’s “BTI Litigation Outlook” report, honored as a “Powerhouse” for product liability and complex commercial litigation and as a “Standout” for class actions and torts. BTI also placed us sixth on its 2016 “Client Service A-Team” among a small group of elite firms singled out for excellence.