The National Law Journal has a feature story on the recent increase in securities class action trials. The article suggests two possible reasons for the change: (1) an increase in the size of settlements, thus increasing the willingness of defendants to risk a trial; and (2) greater sophistication in how attorneys prepare for trial (e.g., using mock trials to hone their arguments).
Quote of note: “Ron Miller, an economist at NERA Economic Consulting in New York, suspects that the cases with bigger market losses are more likely to go to trial because of the cost-benefit analysis. Trials are expensive, and a small case is not worth anyone spending all that time or money in court. ‘My suspicion is that there have been so few of these trials that a few people have gotten the same idea at the same time; it is time to test the waters,’ he said.”
The 10b-5 Daily 