I will say this as a long-time observer whose observational perch includes an extensive opportunity to watch developments both within and outside the U.S. that probably the single most important thing I have observed over the years I have been watching has been the increasing rise of collective action mechanisms outside the U.S. When I first started traveling outside the U.S. for professional meetings years ago, I was often the only American in the room. I was very accustomed to hearing the U.S. class action procedures being vilified as excessive and distortive. The funny thing that has happened over time is that while the U.S. system is still ritualistically condemned, the tools and processes that many countries are adopting increasingly look like – or at least resemble in many of the key details – the U.S. class action system. Of course important differences remain. But the fact is that an increasingly number of jurisdictions have found it necessary to adopt and implement mechanisms that allow for collective redress for large numbers of claimants. I expect that this evolutionary process will continue to develop in the months and years ahead.
Source: The Rise of Group Actions in the U.K and the E.U. | The D&O Diary
