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Overview

Carlton Fields’ class action practice team of more than 70 lawyers handles complex class actions throughout the country, at every state and federal court level, including the U.S. Supreme Court. We have defended hundreds of high-exposure class actions across a range of substantive areas, including financial services, insurance, consumer fraud, health care, real estate, antitrust, securities, product liability, toxic tort, telecommunications, tax, construction, and employment. We are familiar with virtually every issue class actions present, including the standards for class certification and strategies for defeating it, challenges to standing, jurisdiction and venue, removal, dismissal, summary judgment, arbitration, settlement administration, MDL proceedings, and joinder of parties. Our lawyers handled 87 active class action matters throughout 2021 and 2022, of which 36 were opened during this time frame.

Our firm also has a deep understanding of the legal doctrines and laws that have particular impact on the financial services and insurance industries, including the filed-rate and form doctrines, primary jurisdiction, the McCarran-Ferguson Act, the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, and the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act. Additionally, we regularly litigate removal and settlement issues related to the Class Action Fairness Act.
 
Early Case Assessment

The early evaluation of class action litigation is critical to efficient case planning as well as risk management. Our class action attorneys work closely with our clients to assess not only the strengths and weaknesses of the case but also to craft a litigation plan to reduce exposure and identify a set of shared objectives.

Tailored Strategies

For some clients, a vigorous challenge to class certification is critical. Others prefer strategic settlement. Still others wish us to try their cases and, if necessary, pursue appeals. In each situation, we help clients achieve their business objectives and litigation goals.
 
Case Management

We are frequently retained to manage or coordinate a client’s overall institutional response to multiple jurisdiction, parallel class actions, or multidistrict litigation. The skills of our class action team are supplemented by our firsthand knowledge of the risks peculiar to various jurisdictions and our significant experience in selecting and teaming with local trial counsel as appropriate.
 
Firmwide Resources

Our national class action defense practice team works closely with firm colleagues who focus on particular issues that arise in class action lawsuit defense. For example, they collaborate with our e-discovery team to formulate cutting-edge strategies that address the growing challenges raised by electronically stored information. They also receive crucial support from the firm’s appellate lawyers, who work alongside them before and during trial to develop the best possible record and, if necessary, to prevail on appeal.

Thought Leadership

  • The firm conducts and publishes an annual national Class Action Survey, which details best practices for reducing class action costs and managing their risks. The survey draws on more than 300 in-depth interviews each year with general counsel and senior legal officers at leading companies of every size.
  • Our class action lawyers contribute frequent posts to our blog, Classified, which features case summaries and links to class action-related news.
  • We write and speak often on class action defense issues and trends, and have presented to clients and counsel across North America.

Experience

Carlton Fields has litigated and counseled clients in hundreds of class actions for more than 30 years in federal and state courts across the nation.

Search our interactive Class Actions Experience Map by circuit, federal courts, state courts, keyword, and industry. To search by circuit, click on one of the red markers on the map.

 

All Insights

Classified: The Class Action Blog Podcast - Eleventh Circuit Stands on Principle in TCPA Settlement Case

Classified: The Class Action Blog Podcast - Eleventh Circuit Stands on Principle in TCPA Settlement Case

September 15, 2022

The Eleventh Circuit has played a significant role in shaping TCPA jurisprudence over the last several years, and particularly in the context of Article III standing. Recently, in Drazen v. Pinto, the court relied on Eleventh Circuit and Supreme Court precedent to vacate the approval of a $35 million class settlement based on lack of standing.

News & Events

FAIR Conference

FAIR Conference

October 6, 2020

Carlton Fields Defends Transamerica in Putative Class Action Involving Long-Term Care Insurance

Carlton Fields Defends Transamerica in Putative Class Action Involving Long-Term Care Insurance

May 10, 2019

The judgment was an appropriate and significant win for the insurance industry.

Carlton Fields Releases Annual Class Action Survey Results

Carlton Fields Releases Annual Class Action Survey Results

April 16, 2019

Class action defense is more complicated, more expensive than ever before

Corporate Counsel Name Carlton Fields a Leading Law Firm in Five Types of Litigation

Corporate Counsel Name Carlton Fields a Leading Law Firm in Five Types of Litigation

October 19, 2018

The firm is named to BTI's Litigation Powerhouse list in five practice areas.

Florida Trend Names Gary L. Sasso One of the Most Influential Business Leaders

Florida Trend Names Gary L. Sasso One of the Most Influential Business Leaders

September 18, 2018

Carlton Fields President and CEO Gary L. Sasso is one of the “Most Influential Business Leaders,” according to the inaugural list of Florida Trend’s Florida 500.

Carlton Fields’ Clients Prevail in Unusual Qui Tam Case

Carlton Fields’ Clients Prevail in Unusual Qui Tam Case

October 9, 2017

Decision bars precedent that would hinder attorneys in practicing law

Key Contacts

Other Team Members

Gary L. Sasso

Gary L. Sasso

President and Chief Executive Officer

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Disclaimer

The information on this website is presented as a service for our clients and Internet users and is not intended to be legal advice, nor should you consider it as such. Although we welcome your inquiries, please keep in mind that merely contacting us will not establish an attorney-client relationship between us. Consequently, you should not convey any confidential information to us until a formal attorney-client relationship has been established. Please remember that electronic correspondence on the internet is not secure and that you should not include sensitive or confidential information in messages. With that in mind, we look forward to hearing from you.