Patrick Leahy: “We all know without consolidating procedures, such as class action lawsuits, it might be impossible for plaintiffs to…”

“We all know without consolidating procedures, such as class action lawsuits, it might be impossible for plaintiffs to receive effective legal representation. Lawyers tend to be paid by the hour. They are well paid. But lawyers usually hope they get a portion of the proceedings to take on either the governmental or culprit defendants. They have to do so on a case-by-case individual basis. Sometimes that is what cheaters count on. That is how the cheaters get by on their schemes. If you cheat thousands of people just a little bit, you still cheat; if you only cheat them by $3 or $4, nobody will sue them. But if you are cheating a million people of $3 or $4 each, it adds up. Class actions allow the little guys to band together and get a competent lawyer and address wrongdoing. The best class action made it possible for individual tobacco victims to take on the powerful tobacco conglomerates in ways individuals could not. It allows stockholders and small investors to join together and go after investment scams. Another example of a class action litigation serving the public interest is the Firestone tire debacle.”