We are keen to hear from anyone who is interested in the Class Representatives Network.
Class Representatives
What is a Class Representative?
The ‘class’ in a collective action (often known as a ‘class action’) is the group of individuals whose claims are being brought against the defendant(s). In some class actions, the class will be actively involved in the legal action. In others, however, class members will have no involvement in the proceedings at all. They may not even know they are taking place! This is intentional: a goal of collective actions is to minimise the impact of bringing legal action on those who lack the time, resources, and know-how to bring their claims individually.
The ‘class representative’ is the individual or entity who agrees to act on behalf of the class. Their main objective is to make sure that the interests of the class are fully represented and respected, not only by the court but also by lawyers, funders, and other entities that have some involvement with bringing the claim.
Class representatives occupy a unique position in the administration of justice, and their role is constantly evolving. At the core of their role is their duty to ‘fairly and adequately act in the class members’ interests’.
Broadly, their role includes the following (non-exhaustive) list of responsibilities:
1. Instructing lawyers, experts, litigation support services, and others involved in the conduct of litigation,
2. Arranging funding from a third-party litigation funder, and after-the-event (ATE insurance),
3. Organising and approving a plan and budget for the proceedings,
4. Receiving legal advice and making the ‘final call’ on decisions about how the claim will progress, including decisions about appeals/settlement,
5. Communicating with members of the class about their claims, particularly around their options to opt in or out of the litigation,
6. Publicising the claim more widely in the media,
7. Negotiating settlements,
8. Receiving and distributing any damages or settlement pay-out to the class.
Class representatives may be more or less ‘hands on’ in fulfilling these reponsibilities, but they are typically provided with extensive support and advice from their lawyers, experts, litigation support provider and a specially-constituted consultative panel.
However, it is vital that class representatives are able to understand and question the advice they receive, and act on this advice independently in the best interests of the class. So, the role of a class representative is just as much about being able to quickly learn new things, ask good questions, and manage a team in light of the information they are presented with.
Class representatives are not required to have any specific qualifications. They are certainly not expected to have law degrees or be legally qualified. To date, class representatives have come from a range of career backgrounds including academia, policy, consulting, journalism and consumer advocacy. Some, but not all class representatives have industry experience in the sector where their claim has arisen.
For a collective action to be ‘certified’ (i.e., allowed to continue as a collective action), the proposed class representative must meet certain requirements.
Generally, class representatives are approached by law firms who have identified the potential for collective proceedings. Some collective proceedings are based on an existing finding of anti-competitive conduct by a regulator (otherwise known as a ‘follow-on’ action). Other collective proceedigns involve a completely new allegation of anti-competition conduct, or combine new allegations with follow-on claims (a ‘standalone’ action).
There have been rare cases where class representatives have identified and pursued a legal claim themselves, and have instructed lawyers and funders to help them take this forward. More frequently, the class representative may be chosen for the role by a law firm because of their awareness and experience of ongoing anti-competitive conduct in an industry.
Technically, class representatives instruct the lawyers who act on their claims, and arrange funding for the litigation with third-party litigation funders. However, class representatives are typically approached by lawyers and funders who have already identified a potential legal claim and assessed its merits of success.
If you are interested in acting as a class representative, please contact us using the form on our website.
No. The UK’s collective proceedings regime does not require class representatives to be class members themselves. Indeed, in the very first claim to be brought under the regime (Gibson v Pride Mobility), the class representative was an ‘ideological claimant’.
However, the CAT must be confident that the Class Representative will act fairly and adequately in the interests of the class members, and that they have no conflict of interests with the class.
There is no explicit prohibition against law firms acting as class representatives in the UK’s collective proceedings regime. However, it is likely that a claim would not be certified due to a potential conflict of interest if a lawyer at a firm which was instructed on the claim was also acting as a representative claimant.
However, there are strong reasons in favour of independent class representatives leading these claims:
1. Large, complex litigation is expensive. There is a great deal of money to be made from collective proceedings. Independent class representatives who are dedicated to representing class members’ interests are vital for ensuring that competing financial interests do not affect the conduct of litigation.
2. Class representatives provide additional legitimacy to collective proceedings, as they are strongly invested in ensuring good outcomes for their class members. The presence of a class representative builds public trust in the regime by acting as an interface between those working on the cases and the general public/class members.
3. Collective proceedings involve lots of moving parts. It is helpful to have an independent individual responsible for overseeing disparate teams to ensure that the claim is managed effectively.