Class Actions

Litigating Class Action Suits

Secretariat experts bring decades of experience to the economics embedded in a wide range of class action litigation. We are adept at analyzing company records and voluminous data, determining theories of harm, econometric modeling, and advising on both common and individualized impact. Through advanced analytics, our experts are able to construct statistically and economically valid and supportable class damages models ourselves, while also assessing the validity of class damages models constructed by others.

Our team employs widely accepted economic theory and methods combined with our deep experience analyzing markets to help shepherd clients through every phase of a class action matter, from discovery through the certification process and trial. We work closely with clients’ attorneys to aid their understanding of the economic components underlying a dispute, and regularly serve as expert witnesses respected by courts for the quality, integrity, and independence of our work.

Conducting Economic Analysis During Class Certification

Class certification is often a watershed moment in high-dollar class action matters. Failure to certify a class often corresponds to the death of a case, while successful certification dramatically increases plaintiffs’ leverage and defendants’ monetary exposure. At the class certification stage, economists frequently address issues of class ascertainment, commonality, and predominance. Sophisticated quantitative analyses of transactional and other data are often necessary at the class certification stage to either prove or disprove that both:

• a reasonably practical and accurate method exists to estimate damages for all class members at the individual level; and
• necessary liability-related elements, such as fact of injury, can be established for the class as a whole “in one fell swoop,” rather than requiring individualized proof.

Measuring Damages in the Merits Phase

In the merits phase, trained economists conduct modeling and “but-for” analyses necessary to measure complex damages, and many liability-related questions fall squarely within the field of economics. These liability-related analyses range from statistical measurement of disparate impact in employment matters to proof of harm to competition in antitrust cases. In addition, class certification can always be reconsidered within this phase. The economic theories or findings underlying a class certification order may be revisited at any time in the litigation process, right up to the time of a final, non-appealable decision on the merits.

Working with Large, Complex Data Sets

Economic analysis of transactional data, a well-regarded Secretariat strength, often reveals whether a proposed class meets the requirements for certification. Economic analysis may also help to educate the court on issues likely to come before it in the merits phase. Because databases in class certification matters may have millions of records covering many parties and spanning multiple time periods, it requires expert econometric skills, sophisticated technical capabilities, and state-of-the-art technology resources to read, process, and analyze these large and complex data sets accurately and efficiently, and then frame the economic issues properly. These capabilities are what set Secretariat experts apart.

Presenting Objective and Persuasive Analysis

While our analytic methods may be highly sophisticated, conducted by seasoned Ph.D. economists and technical experts, as well as experts in specific industries, our true impact results from our clear and concise presentation of economic evidence to attorneys, judges, juries, and others in concisely worded, well-reasoned, and well-supported expert reports and testimony. We develop sound and compelling analyses, test theories, evaluate strategies, quantify damages, and form opinions that stand up to the rigors of the largest, most complex class action matters.