"Defending the Class Action Trial"

Monday's Daily Journal had an interesting Perspective article, "Defending the Class Action Trial" (link not available), by attorney James Donato of Shearman & Sterling in San Francisco.  It begins:

Class action trials. It is probably safe to say that more lawyers have seen a double rainbow or climbed Mt. Everest than have tried a class action case. Most practice guides offer little or no commentary on the unique trial issues that can arise in class cases.

The article goes on to discuss (from a defense perspective, as the title promises) some of those issues, including "how to explain the class action to the jury," "the absence of a strong plaintiff representative at trial," and "the predominance of live witnesses on the defense side."  For plaintiffs' attorneys, the lesson is to be sure you make a strong showing of aggrieved plaintiff-side witnesses.