The Class Action Playbook
Oxford University Press, USA, 2010

Excerpt: “… class actions are different from other civil litigation. Any lawsuit requires a lawyer to think strategically along one dimension: Will the tactics he adopts help his client win the case on the merits? In class-action litigation, because of the centrality of the debate over whether to certify a class, there is another dimension: Will these tactics help the lawyer obtain (or defeat) class certification? These two dimensions may conflict. Strategies that may help a litigant win a motion on the merits can undermine its arguments when debating certification, and vice versa. …The purpose of this book is to discuss the points at which class-action litigators—whether representing plaintiffs or defendants—must make strategic decisions. We identify those decision points and then discuss the tactical choices available to each side. To the extent possible, we also try to evaluate the strength of various tactics available in each circumstance.”

Praise: “With the claims of class-action plaintiffs under scrutiny and the coffers of class-action defendants under stress now as never before, Trask and Anderson’s groundbreaking study of class-action practice is timely. Using behavioral psychology, strategic economics, and even game theory to explain the behavior of class litigants and their counsel, they work in—and, frankly, have done no small honor to—the best tradition of scholars like Sunstein and Viscusi. This is an essential volume for anyone who wants to understand American mass litigation.” —Garrett Wotkyns, Schneider Wallace Cottrell Brayton Konecky LLP