/Portugal: Litigation & ADR Annual Report 2016: Getting Squeezed

Law firms that defend clients in class actions are buckling under the weight of the thousands of claims they have to contend with – consequently they face the choice of turning down work due to lack of resources or bolstering their teams to meet demand

Class actions are becoming increasingly popular as the public seek to hold financial institutions, in particular, to account for alleged misdemeanours. This phenomenon is enabling law firms that represent plaintiffs to dramatically increase their revenue, but for the firms that represent defendants in such cases, it is a trend that is proving difficult to adjust to. The sheer volume of claims being made in class actions means that some firms admit that they simply do not have the resources to provide their client with the service they expect. And this situation is going to get worse before it gets better – various financiers have spotted an opportunity to make money by financing class actions and have identified Spain