Practitioners' Note by Stephen B. Murray and Linda S. Harang
A class action cannot be prosecuted by a pro se plaintiff. The class must be represented by one or more counsel deemed to be “adequate representatives.” These “adequate” counsel must be qualified, experienced, and have the necessary resources of time, personnel, and funds usually required for litigation of a class action suit. Typically, when a suit is filed seeking certification as a class action, the parties and the court perfunctorily assume that the lawyer or lawyers who filed the suit are “adequate” to represent the members of the class seeking to be certified. But is this assumption valid? And, if it is not, then what must lawyers and courts do to ensure that class actions are, in fact, being prosecuted by counsel who are “adequate”? This Note explores the issues and problems that confound and sometimes complicate the process of selecting class counsel.
About the Author
Stephen B. Murray. Murray Law Firm, New Orleans, Louisiana. B.S. Louisiana State University, New Orleans; J.D. Tulane University School of Law. Member of the Louisiana Bar since 1968.
Linda S. Harang. Murray Law Firm, New Orleans, Louisiana. B.S., M.S. Louisiana State University; J.D. Tulane University School of Law. Member of the Louisiana Bar since 1982.
Citation
74 Tul. L. Rev. 2089 (2000)